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Hitting the Jackpot! Vegas Wits & Wagers Reviewed

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Vegas Wits & Wagers (North Star Games)Game Name: Vegas Wits & Wagers

Publisher: North Star Games

Designer: Dominic Crapuchettes

Artists: Ali Douglass and Ben Goldman

Year: 2017

Genre: Trivia and betting party game expansion

Players: Five or more players

Ages: 6+

Playing Time: 20-30 minutes

MSRP: $25.00 on Kickstarter through September 7th, 2017

It’s no secret I’m not big on most party games. This isn’t to say I knock folks who enjoy that sort of lightweight gaming but, for the most part, party games leave me pretty cold and don’t scratch my itch. That said, I also make no bones about Wits & Wagers being my favorite party game to bust out when I’ve got five or more people kicking it and looking to have a blast with something light. Feel free to take a peek at my thoughts on the original edition and you’ll see I truly dig the game.

Now North Star Games is in the midst of a Kickstarter funding run to bring the Vegas Wits & Wagers expansion to the masses. One of the big selling points of the original Wits & Wagers is the clever betting system as it’s a trivia game where you don’t have to know all the answers to win. The follow up Party Edition downplayed the gambling aspect quite a bit but I’m happy to report the Vegas expansion cranks up the betting fun to eleven!

If you aren’t familiar with either of the Wits & Wagers titles, learning the rules and game play is easy peezy. First gather up a bunch of friends (or even strangers, as I actually used Wits & Wagers in my introduction to board gaming pub get togethers back in Arizona) around a good sized table; I always recommend at least six people as it’s helpful to have someone act as a bit of an MC to ask the questions and handle the chip pay outs. You don’t need to have an MC and can rotate those duties around the table but I prefer having a host. Once the players have their initial betting chips the Mc is ready to ask the first of seven questions from the deck of trivia cards. It’s important to keep in mind the players never lose their initial betting chips so it’s impossible for anyone to go “broke” and drop out of the game.

The answers to each of the trivia questions are always a number. Once a question is asked, the players have a short period of time to secretly write down their answers on small dry wipe boards. The players place their boards face down in the middle of the table for the MC to collect. As soon as the MC has collected all the boards the answers are revealed and placed in order from low to high in the odds spaces across the play mat. It will always turn out the two answers on the extreme ends of the numbers range will pay out the highest odds while those in the middle pay out the lowest odds. The players then place their bets.

The betting is where the most fun, and the design uniqueness, of Wits & Wagers shines through as a player doesn’t have to bet on their own answer. If you think your answer is closest, take a gamble on yourself. If you think another answer sounds best, toss your bet on that answer. If you have absolutely no clue as to what might be a good answer, just take a stab and bet on any of the odds spaces. Once all bets are placed, the MC reveals the correct answer from the trivia card and the board showing the closest number, without going over, is declared the winner. Any bets on that odds space get paid out to the appropriate players.

Once the players play through seven questions, the game concludes and the player with the most chips is the winner. I do need to point out you’ll need Wits & Wagers Party (and I’m 99% sure you can use the original) to use the Vegas expansion.

What Vegas Wits & Wagers brings the to table are new betting areas and wrinkles in how you approach winning the game. The new playmat is a wonder to behold and really makes the presentation of the game pop. Not only is the mat far larger than that of the original but also has good bit of color so it really catches your eye. The mat is also made of neoprene (the same material of which most mouse pads are made) so it’ll hold up to plenty of hours of trivia gambling goodness. As an added bonus, the mat is also dual sided with the layout for the original game on the other side.

The Vegas Wits & Wagers expansion really cranks up the casino/game show feel of the proceedings too. Rather than just having the option of placing a bet on an answer you think might be correct, now you can take a variety of approaches. Players can place a bet on either black or red, ala roulette, and win a smaller payout (even money) if the correct answer falls under that colors’ blanket area of about half the answers. You can take a long shot by betting on a particular player, rather than an answer, before anyone begins writing down their guesses. Be careful though since it’s possible one player finds themselves with a lot of long shot bets on them so they may be tempted to tank their answer. These new betting areas provide an extra level of fun and also make for some amazing comebacks because of the large long shot (ten to one) payoffs.

Also included in the expansion are two area closed covers which are placed over specific odds spaces so there’ll never be any confusion about what odd spaces are open in games with fewer players than seven. The covers have just the right amount of Vegas flair and are also made of neoprene.

I have to say I love the Vegas Wits & Wagers expansion. I was a big fan of the original game and these additions really add that final polish to the design which makes it a must play. I will mention the expansion probably won’t appeal to those who ardently oppose the concepts of betting or gambling (even if we’re only talking about cardboard tokens) but for other folks out there who dig getting friends together for some lighter “party” fare Wits & Wagers is a must have. The Vegas expansion makes the game even better and pushes he combined package to the rarefied ten out of ten review score from me! If you already own either the original or Party follow up then adding Vegas to your collection is a no brainer.

Currently there are about nine days left to reserve a copy of Vegas Wits & Wagers through Kickstarter. The funding project is about 30% beyond the initial goal so you don’t have to worry about seeing the expansion get made. Plus, as more stretch goals unlock new sets of questions will be included with your order. I’ll also point out a little birdie at Gen Con told me this will be the only print run for Vegas Wits & Wagers. Once the release hits, North Star will turn their attentions to other games as well as the eagerly anticipated all new Wits & Wagers core game arriving in late 2018.

Right now you can score the expansion alone at the $25.00 pledge level or combine Wits & Wagers Party and the Vegas expansion at the $40.00 pledge level through September 7th. Estimated delivery is this November.

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