Floodgate Games Decorum (Deluxe Edition)

Its a unique game that is rather unlike anything Ive played with my family before. The rules are pretty easy to understand, and the age range (13+) is about right. Now, the deluxe version with nicer pieces is only a $5 difference than the standard one. Id go for the deluxe edition, though I will say that both are a bit on the pricey side. Still, if your family loves table games like these, its worth it.

Number of Players: 2-4 Duration: 30-45min Recommended Ages: 13+ Weight/Complexity: 1.5/5 according to BGG = its a light rules games Competitive/Co-operative: Co-op Type: Puzzle game Is this too true to life? I didnt realize how often many of us (of course not me...*cough*) are passive aggressive instead of communicating outright. Moving a lamp to one table only to find the others you live with move it to a different table. This game is all that and more. Each player has objectives and the only way to hint at their objective is by showing the other players through doing (change the paint color; move a piece of furniture, etc.) Recommended # of players: Two(2)...it just works better for me at this player count. Three(3) isnt too bad but four(4) is too many objectives messing with the play area. Similar to games like Fog of Love, Id recommend people role play as if they are someone other than themselves and/or have a different relationship to the other players than they may have in real life. Anything to make it so other players dont take it personal. The more you play this, the easier it becomes as each player more readily falls into the realization that each of you has a piece to the puzzle and working together so both can win is the goal...you just make passive aggressive changes to the shared home to get the win-win solution. Definitely worth getting the Deluxe version as the pieces are so much nicer to handle. This is definitely not strategic to the level of Chess or Tak (excellent 2-player game!). Id almost put it on par with many of the roll-and-write or flip-and-write games. Its a fairly quick play and some games are faster than others, but you dont feel brain dead from trying to play 3-5 steps ahead. I see this keeping a space in our collection as it is a unique game that is definitely worth trying.