[Note: I received free copies of these games in exchange for a fair, unbiased review. Due diligence, full disclosure, and all that.]

The folks at Bananagrams are synonymous with letter-tile games like Pears in Pairs, Zip It, and of course their flagship product, but today they’ve brought us something a little different. Instead of flashing your anagram skills or showing off your well-honed Scrabble techniques, these games will test your trivia knowledge, your ability to play well with others, and how shrewd a strategist you are.

In this post, we’ll be reviewing Linkee and Mr. Lister’s Quiz Shootout!

Linkee is a trivia game for three or more players. (Up to 30, apparently!) Each trivia card has a letter on the back, and the goal of the game is to acquire enough letter cards to spell “LINKEE.”

One person acts as the Question Master, while the other players (or teams, if you prefer) each grab a pencil and pad. The Question Master shows the players what letter they’re playing for, then poses each of the four questions on the card. The players write down the answers and try to figure out what theme links the four answers.

The first player or team to shout out “LINKEE!” and identify the link gets the letter card. You can shout out “LINKEE!” at any point, but if you’re wrong, you’re out until the next card is played. So confidence and boldness has to be tempered with strategy.

That’s what makes the game more intriguing than your average trivia game. It’s not just knowing the answers to individual trivia questions; it’s figuring out the link between them, and doing so before your opponents.

If the four answers aren’t enough for any player or team to figure out the link, the Question Master reads a clue at the bottom of the card.

Although this can be a fun game for a few players, it really shines when you can get four teams going at once, because the shouting and competitiveness really brings out the fun of the game. (Thankfully, you don’t need to get both the yellow and green Es. That was the difference maker in one game this weekend.)

Although I’d rate the trivia as fairly easy for the average board game fan or puzzler in your household, some of it is not geared toward younger players — I doubt the 8- or 10-year-olds in your house know about the Rat Pack or Malala Yousafzai, for instance — so that’s something to consider.

Otherwise, this is the rare trivia game that’s more about speed and association than about straight-up trivia knowledge.

Mr. Lister’s Quiz Shootout follows a similar format to Linkee, but has a completely different flavor.

Here, instead of a Question Master, you have Mr. Lister, the mustachioed bartender. Instead of spelling out LINKEE, you’re trying to acquire five different drinks, which are on the backs of the question cards. Again, players get a pad of paper and a pencil.

The main difference is that instead of figuring out the link between trivia questions, the teams must instead try to figure out which entries appear on the card, in the manner of Family Feud. For instance, a card could list “Americans’ 10 Favorite Cheeses.” Now the teams have a brief bit of time in which to write down which cheeses they think are in that top ten.

Once the teams have made their lists, it’s time for the shootout! The first team selects one of the answers they’ve jotted down and tells Mr. Lister. If the answer is on the card, Mr. Lister marks it as a hit. If not, Mr. Lister marks it as a miss. Then the other team takes their first shot.

After both teams each take three shots, the team with the most hits wins the card. If there’s a tie, Mr. Lister reads the tie-breaking Last Chance Saloon trivia question at the bottom of the card. Each team writes down their answer, and whichever team is closest to the correct answer wins the card.

This game feels more like a night of bar trivia than a round of your favorite trivia board game, and the old-timey saloon shtick is delightful. (Throwing in a mustache eraser that fits on atop the pencil is just the icing on the cake.) This is reinforced by the awesome box design, which features several bullet holes that go all the way through to the other side. It’s a simple gag, but an effective one, a highlight in game design for me.

Unfortunately, the gameplay was marred slightly by a few themed categories that were unclear or otherwise poorly explained. (The loose definition of “amusement parks” and “ethnic groups” led to some acrimony during one session, especially since these were trivia hounds, who are nitpickers and hair-splitters by nature. In the future, I recommend any Mr. Listers read through the card beforehand in order to avoid similar issues.)

Whether you prefer list building or associative thinking, both of Bananagrams’ latest trivia offerings will make welcome additions to your gaming arsenal.

[Linkee is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and on the Bananagrams website. Mr. Lister’s Quiz Shootout is available at Target and on the Bananagrams website.]

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