It’s always good to have a couple “party games” on hand — you know, those games that can accommodate more than 4 people, are easy to learn, and tend to create a hefty amount of laughter and/or good-natured ribbing. Party games are the perfect thing to bring out after a holiday dinner, or when your extended family has come by for the evening.

And if you’ve ever played Scattergories, you’re well on your way to getting the hang of this week’s game: Hit or Miss.

Hit or Miss was put out by Gamewright last year, and has the tag line: The Game Where Great Minds Think Alike. And it’s true, Hit or Miss requires you to figure out what other people might be thinking, so it works best in a setting where you’re somewhat familiar with the other players (family gatherings have been perfect, in my experience). However, it could also serve as a good ice-breaker or “get to know you” type game, since each round will give you a little more insight into your fellow players.

When you open the Hit or Miss box, you’ll find a timer, pencils and paper for up to eight players, a scorepad, a special die, a hit/miss card for each player, and a box of “category cards.” Each player gets a pencil, paper and a hit/miss card, and the game begins.

To start a round, the Round Leader (determined however you’d like) draws a category card and reads it to the group. The timer is flipped over and all players immediately write down as many items in that category as they can. When the sand in the timer runs out, pencils are put down.

Some examples of categories in the game are:

• Things in a post office
• Emotions
• U.S. Presidents
• Things made out of glass
• and Grocery store aisles.

As in the game Scattergories, players furiously jot down item after item until the time runs out. Unlike Scattergories, however, players have to put a bit more thought and strategy into the items they choose. When you’re frantically coming up with answers that fit the categories, you’ll want to come with: 1) Several items that you think many other players will put, and 2) A few items you think no one else will put. Here’s why:

After everyone’s pencil is down, starting with the leader (and then moving clockwise around the table), each player will roll the die and take action. The die has 3 different possible results: Hit, Miss, or Wild. Here’s what happens with the various rolls:

1) If the player rolls a Hit, he chooses an item from his list that he thinks many other players will also have written. He reads it out loud. Each player then takes their hit/miss card (one side says “Hit” and one side says “Miss”) and puts the appropriate side up on the table. For example, if Joe says “Love” for the Emotions category card, anyone who also wrote “Love” on their paper will put their hit/miss card with the Hit side up on the table. Anyone who did not write Love will put their card with the Miss side up on the table.

Joe will score one point for each Hit card showing, and anyone who has a hit card showing will also score 1 point.

2) If the player rolls a Miss, he chooses an item from his list that he thinks no one else wrote, and reads it to the group. Once again, players put their hit/miss cards on the table — Hit side up if they also wrote that item, Miss side up if they didn’t. Let’s say Joe rolled a Miss and picked “Elation” as his emotion. Anyone who wrote Elation will put their Hit side up and anyone who didn’t will put their Miss side up.

In this case, Joe will score one point for each Miss card showing, but any player who had a Hit will score 3 points, for hitting on a Miss.

3) If the player rolls a wild (jester), he can choose to go for a Hit or a Miss. He just announces to the group what he’s going for, and reads his item.

Play continues around the table with each player rolling the die, choosing an item, and calculating their score. That’s one full round. The role of Round Leader now moves to the next person, and a new round is begun. One full game involves the same number of rounds as there are players, each player having one turn as Round Leader. Scores are totaled and the winner is the one with the most points.

There are a few tricky areas of the game where players will have to come to a consensus. For example, can a player use both “skillet” and “frying pan” in the “Things with handles” category? Should Greg be allowed to put “screaming baby” for “Things in a post office” or should it just be things that are always in a post office? Players may discuss and vote on these and other dilemmas when they arise.

I found Hit or Miss to be a lot of fun. I’ve always enjoyed Scattergories, but I really appreciated the challenge to get inside my competitors heads during this game. Would Mom put “Millie” for “Girls names that begin with M” since she has a good friend named “Millie”? What state capitals was my geography-nut husband least likely to include on his list? I was often surprised by what others included or didn’t, but that was all part of the fun.

My in-laws also played this game (without me, even though I was the one who brought the game…but that’s a story for another day) and they seemed to enjoy it as well. In fact, it’s my nephew Josh who keeps checking with me to see if I reviewed this game yet, since he had so much fun playing it.

Hit or Miss plays well with 3-8 people (though I think 5-8 is most fun) and is recommended for ages 10 and up. I’m sure you could play it with younger kids by modifying categories to make sure the kids are familiar with them, extending the time allowed for them, etc. I’ve found that many Gamewright games are flexible and can accommodate a variety of ages and situations.

In summary:

Hit or Miss

Number of Players: 3-8
Time required: about 30 minutes, but it depends on the number of players
Ages: 10 and up
Where to buy: Time Well Spent or Amazon.com

Callapidder recommends it: For gatherings of family or friends, when you want some light-hearted fun and a few good laughs.

Read more of Callapidder’s Game Reviews by clicking HERE.