Top Tier party game review

It’s always been popular to rank things.

By human nature, we feel compelled to place all sorts of things in order of preference.

And with the meteoric rise of our online world, ranking things have reached all time highs.

So why not make a new party along those same lines?

Top Tier, recently published by Indie Boards & Cards, is exactly that.

It’s a light party game where players take turns ranking contenders based on a crazy category and the rest of the players try to guess the rankings.

How to play Top Tier

Top Tier is a super simple game to learn and play.

During the game, players take turns being the “Tier Wizard”. That player takes the Tier Wizard board and draws a category card without showing the other players.

The rest of the players, write names on the 8 Contender cards. The names can be anyone – people they know, celebrities, historical figures, fictional characters, etc.

The Tier Wizard then ranks all the contenders for the round (based on the category they drew) by noting them on the Tier Wizard board.

Once the Tier Wizard has recorded their rankings, they reveal the category card. Then the rest of the players work together to place the contender cards next to the letter ranking they believe the Tier Wizard chose. Of course, this may first involve some lively discussions / debates.

After the group has placed all 8 contender cards, the Tier Wizard reveals their rankings. The group scores points based on the number of contenders they correctly placed.

Then play moves on to the next Tier Wizard for the next round.

After everyone has had a chance to be the Tier Wizard once (or however many times you’d like), the game ends and players celebrate how well they did (or didn’t do).

Can the whole family enjoy Top Tier

Top Tier is a game that players of all ages can enjoy playing together. With everyone pitching in to come up with names to put in the mix, you’ll foster all sorts of conversations.

And once the category is revealed, the debates begin. It’s fun to hear different reasons players come up with for how to rank the contestants in the mix. It’s also a good time to discover who thinks alike. Essentially it comes down to if the group can crack into the mind of the Tier Wizard to figure out how they’re thinking.

We definitely enjoy that it’s a cooperative game and players all work together to get as high of score as they can. We also like that the group size really isn’t limited. Sure the box says 4 to 10 players, but you can really have as many people join in as you’d like.

It’s also a game that works well at the office. I’ve taken it to work and played over lunch with coworkers. Tt’s a great way to get to know each other better by finding out what they think. Of course, it’s also interesting to find out about people simply by seeing what names they come up with for the contestants.

In many games, celebrities and movie stars come up a lot. But we’ve also played some games where we restrict the type of names people can put in the mix. For example; characters from Shakespeare plays, cartoon characters, school mascots, or even people playing the game.

While the recommended age on the game box is 10+, younger kids may also enjoy joining in the fun. If you have young kids, simply choose names of people or characters kids are familiar with and may enjoy ranking. For example, characters from their favorite stories or shows. You also don’t have to feel limited to the categories listed on the included cards. You can come up with all sorts of categories to rank. For example; who would make the best imaginary friend, who would be the best at tucking you in to bed, who could draw the best, etc.

Also, the game rules indicate that players come up with new names for each round. However, we’ve had fun in sticking with the same names from round to round. Or just changing the contestant names every 3 rounds. That way, you can see how differently the contestants will be ranked based on the different categories drawn.

Overall, Top Tier is a fun game to play. And if you’re looking for a way to generate some discussion among your family and friends, it’s a great fit.

How does Top Tier score on our “Let’s Play Again” game meter?

Top Tier scores high on our “Let’s Play Again” game meter. It’s a great conversation-starter and a nice relaxing way to hang out after family dinners. It’s a low-stress game that generates some creativity as well.