The Chain Game (2008)

About this game

From the manufacturer's website: "Unlock your mind for spontaneous laughter! Race to say a common phrase using one word from the previous phrase. Keep the chain going and you keep your links. If the horn blows, the time is up, and you lose a link." The game consists of 216 word cards, a squeeze-the-bulb bicycle/clown horn, and 36 plastic links. One player starts by reading a word - for example, "check." The next player may say, "checkmate," the next, "blank check," and the next, "blank slate." And so on around the circle, till one player blanks out and can't think of a combination involving the previous words within 5 seconds. Then the horn is honked and that player must remove a link from the chain they were given at the start of the game. When any player loses their last link, the game is over and whoever has the most links left wins.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 3 to 10.
• Rules load. At 1.4/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 12 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.