Lord. That was an experience. And a quick one. Also, a funny one. The good folks at Cyanide & Happiness put together a masterful card game that is easy to understand and funny as hell to play. It’s just that simple, folks. Welcome to Master Dater.
Let’s get right into the nitty-gritty.
The Nitty-Gritty
This game has to be the simplest learning curve with a card game that I have had since playing Jabba’s Palace months ago. Master Dater works as such:
- There are three piles of cards to choose from in the game. One pile is a ‘Head’ pile, where you have various character heads that could range from a Viking all the way to a decaying zombie. There are a lot of wacky heads to choose from and each one has a different story to tell.
- Of course, you can only tell that story by choosing a ‘Body’ card. This card, much like the ‘Head’ card, features various types of torsos to choose from to match the head card. Bodies could be a tall body, a vampire body, or a body of a witch. There are a lot of bodies to choose from and each one accompanies the story that starts with the head.
- Each player must choose three body and head cards during the game. When a round begins, two players (out of three) must put together a head and body of their choice and wait to review it with the third player, also known as the judge.
- The judge player is assigned the third pile of cards labeled ‘Interest’. This player’s job is to pull three of those interest cards out that have a phrase that relates to the categories: Fun Fact About Me, I’m Interested In, and I Need Someone Who. For example, one card might say “I’m interested in…Being Inspired” or “I Need Someone Who…Is extremely fake”. Much like the other card categories, interests probably have the biggest pile of choices.
- The person who pulls the interest cards presents these to the other players, who must then put together their perfect person and verbally convince the judge that they are the right person who fits all those categories. The judge must then distribute the three interest cards to the player who best convinces them that they’re right for each interest. For example, player 1 might convince them of two cards. Player 2 might just get one of those cards. For each interest card obtained, the players get a point. The interest card duties are then passed clockwise to the next player and the round repeats until someone gets five points total.
The game is just that simple, which is remarkable. When my wife read the rules, I was flabbergasted that it was that easy and there was nothing else to the game. The best part of the entire process is talking and convincing the interest card player why they should choose your character. I never imagined how ridiculously funny this verbal process could be. There’s something beautifully creative about putting together a random character and then giving them a short backstory to make them interesting. It’s fun. Seriously, a lot of fun.
While we played with only three people during this review process, I can imagine how much laughter could fill a room with 5-8 people playing this at once. It took us a good 10-15 minutes to run through this, but the more people and the longer the game might last. The zaniness of the process would certainly be dialed up quite a bit, which would make this game a heckuva lot more entertaining.
To extend the longevity of this game over a period of games, Master Dater comes with a ton of cards for all categories. What’s great about this is that the game won’t get old quickly, which can’t be said about a lot of card games these days. We played quite a few rounds of this game and never repeated bodies or heads, which was a big concern when we began the review process. To stem the tides of repetitiveness, the game also has expansion packs that add even more bodies, interests, and heads to the process. Some of them are even appropriate.
Staying appropriate, I think the biggest concern we had was the age range. While it says 14+ on the side of the box, it’s still a bit more adult than that age group. There are more cards that are appropriate than not, but when inappropriate interest cards hit, they are definitely out there. These cards aren’t Cards Against Humanity inappropriate, but they will probably make any parent squirm a bit from time to time. This was just a little bit of a concern, but not a major one.
Anyway, that’s the game in a nutshell. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it has the longevity to warrant the $30 investment in the initial starter set. It would be the perfect party game for the holiday season. The more the merrier with Master Dater.
Conclusion
Master Dater is a card game gem. It’s an easy-to-learn card game that has plenty of giddy-up in its creativity and longevity. It’s one of those games that feels so simple and silly that you’re left wondering how this wasn’t created before now. It’s a definite must-have for the holiday season when the family gets together. But definitely watch that age.
