New Catch Phrase – still a fantastic party game

Catch Phrase is a party game that we’ve loved for a long time. Its simple to explain, easy to play, and gets everyone involved for a lot of fun.

No matter how many people are gathered, Catch Phrase is a party game that can accommodate them all.

Brooke and I posted our video review of Catch Phrase 3 years ago with a very high rating from everyone in the family. However, today we’re reviewing the latest version of Catch Phrase – Scrabble Electronic Catch Phrase.

 

Original Catch Phrase

To start a game of Catch Phrase players select one of the many double-sided discs with a ton of words on it to put in the Catch Phrase hand-held contraption. Then players sit alternating team members so the contraption can be easily handed to the next player (other team). A player presses the timer and begins.

In turn, players view the word through the little window slit and get their team to guess the word. Then they slap the side – which will advance the disc inside to the next word – and pass it to the next player on the other team. Meanwhile the loud timer is beeping away and begins to sound more frantically as it gets closer to buzzing. Once it goes off, the team that isn’t currently holding the contraption gets a point.

And while that may sound pretty dry, it’s a ton of fun. Because of the buzzer, players get really flustered as it starts beeping faster and faster – at which point the clue giving gets harried and often ridiculous with a lot of laughs.

 

So fun but with a drawback

It helps to have an even number of people to easily split into 2 teams, but that’s usually not a problem. What we have found to be a problem though is the viewing area where the words appear. Even though everyone has a great time, the long pause while a player tries to read the words can cause problems at times.

If you’re familiar with the original version of Catch Phrase you’ll know what we’re talking about. Whenever we have older people in the group, they struggle to see the words through the little area. And sometimes even the younger folks are taken back when trying to decipher a word.

First of all, the words are printed in small type to fit a lot of words on each disc. And second, and more difficult, is the viewing area itself. The plastic window is like a little magnifying glass to enlarge the words from their small type – which is a good move. But players often have to look at just the right angle to see the words.

But now that’s changed!

 

New and Improved

We recently got the new Scrabble Catch Phrase from Hasbro and are super glad that we did.

Gone are the paper discs full of words the cycle through. And gone is the tiny viewing window. But what isn’t gone is the fun.

Catch Phrase is still a fantastic game and we really like it in it’s new digital form.

Now, instead of discs to choose from, players get to select different categories. At the start of a game, players cycle through the category options of Fun & Games, The World, Variety, Entertainment, and Everyday Life. Once that’s selected, simply hit the ‘Go/Stop’ button and you’re off and running.

Words will pop up on the screen and, just like in the original, players have to get their teammates to guess the word or phrase. Once their teammates guess it correctly, the player presses the “Next” button and passes it to the other team. All the while the timer continues it’s loud ticking to let you know that you’re running against the clock. The faster the ticking gets, the more frantic everyone becomes. Since the timer is random every time, you never know how long you’ve got before it buzzes. There’s nothing quite like holding a ticking time bomb in your hand.

 

The game even keeps score for you!

Once the buzzer goes off, it’s time to tally the point. But with the new Catch Phrase, there isn’t any need for a separate paper and pencil to keep score because the device keeps score for you. Simply press the button of “Team 1” or “Team 2” for whichever team scored the point. Once a team reaches 7 points, the game’s over.

Of course, I should probably say the ‘Round is over’ instead of the ‘Game is over’ because we’ll never stop playing at just 7 points. At that point we’re just getting warmed up. With over 1,500 words and phrases, we’re sure we could play for a very long time.

You can also change categories in the middle of a round if you’d like. If one team is way out in the lead while playing words from the Entertainment category, before you start the timer to Go again, simply press the “Category” button and select something different. It will still keep the score where you’re at and keep going to 7 points.

 

Very compact and tactile

For a game that’s all about passing a device from one player to another in a rapid (frantic) manner, it’s got to be very durable. And the new Catch Phrase is definitely durable. But in addition to that, it also has a great tactile feel to it. And now since all the words are stored in the device, it doesn’t even need a box.

Having it sitting out on the game shelf also makes it constantly visible and ready to picked up and played at a moment’s notice. It’s also so easy to grab when we’re pulling games off the shelf to take with us when we head off to an extended family gathering.

We’ll still keep our original Catch Phrase, but realize that it’s going to be more of a dust collector as we’ll be playing the new Scrabble Catch Phrase going forward.

Great game Hasbro!

We highly recommend Scrabble Catch Phrase to everyone.

The Board Game Family Game Ratings
	Caleb
	Brooke
	Jaden
	Trevor
	Mom
	Dad
	Average