Top Ten is all about absurd stories and co-operative thinking

Social games such as Activity, City Country Whack-a-Mole or Rory's Story Cubes have one thing in common: To win, you don't need luck or strategy, but your creativity. With the cooperation game from Cocktail Games, I have found my favourite game, which in my opinion tops everything else hehe.

One asks - nine answer

A game consists of five rounds and is recommended for four to nine players. In each round, the captain, who is given this title in the game instructions, draws a topic card and asks the others one of the printed questions. All players then draw a number card face down from the pile with a number between one and ten. Each topic has a scale that indicates the direction in which the answers must go. The other players must now come up with an answer or a story that corresponds to the value of the card they have drawn.

An example of a question:You have developed a revolutionary drug that makes you immune to all diseases. However, it has certain side effects ... which ones?From "Not worth mentioning" (1) to "This will never be approved" (10).

Once everyone has answered, the captain names the person who he thinks has the lowest number in their hands. They then reveal their card value. If the card actually has the lowest number, the captain can guess the person with the next highest number. If he guesses wrong, the coin is moved from the unicorn zone to the pile zone. If all the coins are in the heap zone, the group loses immediately. However, if there are still coins in the unicorn zone after the fifth round, the game is won.

Winning with creativity and empathy

The great thing about the cooperation game is that it requires and encourages a certain amount of empathy. I don't have to give the answer that I think fits best, but one that the captain can match best. This was demonstrated, for example, during a game round with the question: Name the most horrible (1) or the most beautiful (10) name in the world

The captain (and everyone else) realised that the answer was "Gertrud - but it was the only name the parents chose for their child. And then a boy was born." was the most terrible name. But when it came to "Love", the group ultimately disagreed as to whether it really was the most beautiful name in the world for a child. It was even more difficult with the numbers between four and seven. Where do "Luca, Laura and Lena" belong?

From time to time, the theme cards ask you to perform small scenes. This is when acting talents are required. This could be something like Say no even though you mean yes (1) or say no the way you mean it (10) or Give a very modest (1) or arrogant (10) winning speech.

I think what you think

I have rarely experienced a game in which all players remained focussed for hours. Including me. As soon as the question is asked, it becomes as quiet as a mouse. The brain starts to rattle. The first task: what story could I use to come up with an entertaining answer? Because every round is also a little battle to win the most laughs with the most absurd answer. The second task: How do I package the story so that the captain realises what number I have in my hands? This not only requires creativity, but also empathy.