Pictures is a game that has had some rotten luck. The party game launched in late 2019 and relies on players using unique physical objects to represent different pictures from a central grid. It was nominated for Spiel De Jahres 2020, and then… the world shut down with the Covid 19 Pandemic. As a game that relies entirely on physical pieces, it did not translate to zoom. By the time folks were emerging from their covid bubbles to play games in person again years later, its moment had passed.

I recently had a chance to pick this one up, and I think it has potential as a sleeper hit. My favorite thing is that it emphasizes the physical nature of board games. In Pictures each player has one of five different sets of tools with which to represent a picture the 4 x 4 grid in the middle of the table. The tools make for a strange unboxing as they are all purposely not the best way to accomplish this task. You get some sanded sticks and actual rocks for one tool, some building blocks that wouldn’t look out of place in a kindergarten classroom, two shoelaces, a set of icon cards, and a picture frame with a bunch of colored cubes.

The tools themselves are a hint at what makes this game great. They are purposely terrible. When was the last time you had to convey the concept of a car to someone with two shoelaces? Players have to be creative, but the tools level the playing field vs other party games that involve drawing or other traditionally creative skills. Each player is secretly given a coordinate token that corresponds to the picture they are trying to represent, and there are 3 of each coordinate so multiple players could be trying to represent the same thing. After players have constructed their own piece of art they vote on what picture they think other players’ masterpieces represent. Once everyone is finished everyone discusses what they guessed for each player and the owning player confirms which picture they had. Players get points for guesses they get right and also for every correct vote for their own creation. 

This discussion of the guesses is both amusing and insightful. From the high five moment when everyone guesses correctly to the befuddled look on everyone’s faces when no one does, to the quiet joy that at least ONE other player understood your vision. This is complemented by the  ahas of understanding or groans of incredulity at the reveal. Given how crude the tools are, the game provides some pretty fascinating insight into how other players think. In several of my games there has been a player or two who were on a completely different wavelength in terms of how they represented their picture. Unlike a game of pictionary where raw talent can unbalance the teams a bit, there is no talent basis for any of these besides maybe an understanding of abstract art. The game is also inherently funny without asking players to be funny on command, as the task and the tools themselves are silly.

Pictures is a game that revels in being preposterous in what it’s asking the players to do. It definitely came out at the wrong time, and has a VERY generic name, but it’s well worth looking into. As a bonus it makes for a fun spectator sport as anyone not in the game can sort of play along and guess based on the art on the table. I am currently looking into the expansions that bring even more ridiculous tools for representing the pictures. Can you capture a picture with some clothespins and pieces of felt?