WIth so many replies disparaging Sinatra, I’m starting to wonder whether my impression of his reputation is flawed.
Seriously, doesn’t basically everyone with a soul get the urge to dance with their honey when Sinatra is playing?
I suspect that there’s a strong correlation with age. I doubt that there are many under the age of 40 for whom that’d be the case. For them, Frank Sinatra was their parents’ (or grandparents’) music.
But *in person *he was often kind of a dick.
On the other hand, Jack Sparrow (the current iconic pirate) is extremely charming.
If I was the judge, I’d probably pick pirates over Sinatra too.
Was there a third choice, like “slime mold” or something?
This is exactly how we play in my group of old college buddies–so close to exactly, actually, that I now halfheartedly wonder if you’re in my college clique.
Are you familiar with the Gamist vs. Simulationist vs. Dramatist model of RPG design? It applies here, too.
Ha … no. I got into A2A by playing with some friends I know from work. The wife is a stand-up comic and the husband is a game designer. They’re a great pair to play A2A with.
Stuff like A2A works on a completely different axis, really: game as social lubricant.
For us, “Flying Monkeys” and “Golfball Sized Hail” are generally trumps for nearly anything.
Our general sense of humor is such that the winning card is often the most hilariously offensive. Couple weeks ago, the category was “Demanding”. My submission? Rosa Parks. I am both proud and deeply ashamed for that one.
This makes me want to play A2A with you!
(Followed by hours of booster drafting, of course.)
I would willingly play A2A with anyone other than my non bilingual inlaws. And for the bilingual ones… WTF were you thinking?
I see nothing to be ashamed of. She was demanding. Rightfully so.
Quoth Mosier:
With me, it’s the fact that I once worked at a place where the manager insisted on playing Sinatra all day, every day. Well, not every day, but every one of the days I was working. Even Sinatra at his best would get grating after all of that, but when you’re filling that much time with a single singer, you start really dredging the bottom of the barrel. I still can’t forgive the butchery he made of “Mrs. Robinson”.
I dunno, I’ve heard coherent arguments that it’s able to be shoehorned pretty readily into a Dramaist mindset.
Note: many of my fellow Apples to Apples players like beer, and at least three of them have web-published at least one RPG rule set. One of them is up over a dozen.
We had “Dirty” and “Mexicans” once, but yours is much better.
One time when I was playing, the green card was “Smelly”. The winner was “Michael Jackson”. It was about 8 months after he had died. Too soon?
Too late. I’d think after 8 months the decomposition process would be largely complete.
Don’t think of it as a “game” then. Like many drinking games, it’s more of a guided conversation.
My kids learned the game at school - and at school you state a case for your card.
Its a silly way to play - as the game often goes “I vote against my sibling when I’m a judge every time, so Mom usually wins.” At the same time, its endless fun as people make cases for the most ludicrous things. But the arguments made to defend your card can be a hoot.
Right, when playing with my brother, his wife, and one or both sets of parents, someone played the card “luxurious” on a “date” card. My sister-in-law was the judge, and she laughed, claiming that whoever had picked that card obviously hadn’t dated my brother. So then my parents talked about their early dates for a few minutes, and then we remembered we were supposedly playing a game, and moved on to the next card.
I have also lost playing “Fuzz” on “Fuzzy”, but I think the winning card had something to do with the police. I can accept that.
As long as there’s a good mix of easygoing people who are all moderately intelligent, this game is a riot. Definitely better than Cranium.