It wouldn’t be Christmas without party games and Time’s Up Title Recall is one of the best party games out there. In recent times Just One and So Clover have become my party games of choice so it’s been nice to get an old classic back to the table.
What we did add were the 2nd, 3rd and 4th expansion packs to the game. The nice thing about these is that they are packaged in their own, more reasonably shaped boxes. So all you need to do is grab one pack and a 15 second timer and something to write down the scores on and you’re good to go, you wouldn’t actually need to buy the original game.
Each expansion comes with 250 new titles, and you’ll use around 40-50 per game, so you could easily play 5 games without repeats for around £5 which is fantastic value. The title selection definitely skews more American, with titles like America’s Got Talent and the Real Housewives of Orange County but there’s still plenty of recognisable reference points. I did think the expansions might concentrate more on newer properties, essentially updating the original game with titles that have come out since its release but they do not seem to be predominantly that.
In Time’s Up Title Recall players are playing through 3 rounds in pairs, attempting to collect the most Titles of things from pop culture. In the first round you can give any clues you want, without saying the words on the card, but you can’t pass and you only get 15 seconds. In the second round you can say 1 word, make noises and pantomime. In the final round, no words are allowed. Hilarity ensues.
Savvy players will build pantomime clues into the earlier rounds to make guessing easier. But Time’s Up is all about the ridiculous ways players try to get their meaning across with very little information. Some of the fun comes from players not knowing the film, song, play etc but thinking they do and giving a completely bizarre set of clues, such as my mum telling us I am Legend is a film about Will Smith as Muhammed Ali.
While Time’s Up is arguably best with more players, we have consistently played it with 3 and had a great time, everytime we play. Time’s Up is a classic and it’s here to stay in our house, especially around the holidays.