Identity Crisis Board Game - Ibble Dibble

Where can I buy one: Ibble-Dibble.com
How Much: £19.75

What exactly is a board game household? One that sits down once a week for a family fun night? Or one that knows every rule of Dungeons and Dragons? Either way, last week was the first time I have felt something of a board game house, and not surprising as we managed to play Identity Crisis over ten times in the space of a few days.

Winner of Best New Quiz Game at the UK Games Expo, Identity Crisis builds on the typical “Who Am I?” game by giving each player a card that the other players can see, and then allowing that player a series of questions to find out their identity. To give everything structure the whole thing plays out across a square board which you must work your way around to earn the right to ask a yes-no question, or in an interesting twist; clues.

Each card contains ten clues, and by landing on the right space you can roll a dice and find out an interesting fact about your identity. These range in usefulness from 1-10 so 1 may simply be “Male” but ten will be “Went to Hogwarts School of Wizardry”. So even when you are struggling for an answer, the prospect of a clue can quickly turn a game around.

A further twist comes from a single square that causes you to lose your identity. This makes every guess, and every clue you’ve had redundant and means you take on a whole new identity that you must guess. It also creates another opportunity for a victorious player to quickly be placed back on a level playing field.

The ultimate outcome of the game is to guess one animal, person, object and place across 200 cards. Each card has a different coloured back so you’ll always know what you’re guessing but some control must be placed as it’s very easy to slightly lean over and see your card. Even those playing by the rules may find out their identity my mistake, as the white back on the ‘person’ cards can become see-through when played near a window or heavy light source.

Likewise if you can police people to put card back no one has any chance of guessing (“Kruger Park” anyone)? Or avoid slightly odd clues (A Screwdriver has the clue “not electrical” as well as a later clue “manually driven or electrical”) then it’s a fun game that is definitely addictive. Although I’ve lost 11 games out of 12 each time you guess your identity it’s a great feeling and enough to turn any house in to a board game household.