Open Talk Mom

Game Review: In a Pickle

Posted on 06. Dec, 2009 by Mary Lutz in Mom Talk

My newest obsession is the card/word game called “In a Pickle”. I love this game. No surprise there though because I love card games and I love word games and In a Pickle combines both!

How to play:

Each of the cards in the game contain one noun with an arrow pointing down. There are 4 cards placed face up on the table, one in each direction (imagine north, south, east and west). Each player is dealt 5 cards.

Play begins with the player to the left of the dealer. Each play consists of laying one card from your hand either on top of or underneath one of the cards on the table. The idea is to make rows of cards off of each of the 4 cards on the table and the object is to win rows. The number of rows to win is based on the number of players. For 2 players, 5 rows must be won. For 3 players, 4 rows must be won and for 4 or more players, 3 rows must be won.

This game is all about “in”. For instance, a card on the end of a row on the table is “coat”. A player has the word “limousine” in her hand. She can place “limousine” on top of “coat” because “the coat is in the limousine”. Makes sense right? Another example: If the player had the noun “button”, she could place “button” under “coat” because “the button is in the coat” (it could be in the pocket).

During a normal round, nouns can only be placed at the top of the row or the bottom, never in the middle or between cards.

When a row has 4 cards, it’s called “a pickle”. When the game is “in a pickle”, each player then can only play on the row that’s a pickle and can only play on the card that’s at the bottom of the row, not the top as in a normal round. When in a pickle, each player lays one card that makes sense with the previous card played until ending with the person who laid the fourth card in a row, creating the pickle. Players can pass if they don’t have a word that makes sense in the pickle. Whoever lays the last card in the pickle wins the row.

In a normal round, if a player doesn’t have a card that makes sense in any of the rows, they can trade any number of cards in their hand for cards in the deck, and that constitutes their turn.

Each time a player plays a card, they draw a card from the deck to keep 5 cards in their hand.

This game is all about using your imagination. A solar system can be the actual solar system, or it could be a toy, a mobile, on a poster, etc., for example, but it does have to make sense. Make an announcement each time you play a card, adding an explanation if needed. Players can vote using thumbs up or thumbs down if the explanation is iffy. Majority rules.

There is a variation to the game, but we haven’t played it yet because I love the original play. “In a Pickle” is inexpensive to purchase, and tons of fun!

It’s great for younger kids who can read, and fun for adults of all ages. I highly recommend “In a Pickle” for family game night or parties.

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About the author  Mary Lutz began blogging in 2004 on her personal blog. In June of 2008, she began her own Virtual Assistant Business, and discovered her passion for writing. Besides writing for her own blogs, she also writes for other Work at Home Mom sites. Read more from this author

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Tags: game, in a pickle, review