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‘That’s Not a Hat’ is a memory and bluffing game where your goal is to keep track of the gifts everyone’s holding while avoiding earning any negative points. When the game wraps up, the person with the fewest negative points will be crowned the winner.
👥 3-8 players, ages 8+
🕰 Playing time: 15 minutes
📝 Designers: Kasper Lapp
🏢 Publisher: Ravensburger
https://www.ravensburger.com/
🃏 To get started, shuffle all the gift cards, and each player is dealt one. This is your initial gift. Place it in front of you, symbol-side-up. All the leftover cards are placed in a stack in the middle of the table, symbols showing, forming the “gift store.” Keep track of which gifts are already in play.
🎁 Now, let the games begin! The player who received a gift most recently kicks things off. They can select a new gift from the gift store, show everyone, flip it, and pass it on according to the card’s instructions. When passing on the gift, they announce what the gift is. The recipient then makes a crucial decision – accept or reject the gift.
✅ ACCEPTING A GIFT: If you trust that the announced gift matches the card, accept it with thanks. Place this new gift card blindly above your previous one. You now have two gifts, but you’re only allowed to keep one. It’s time to pass your older gift to someone else, according to the arrows on the back of the card. The gift-giving continues in this fashion until someone declines a gift. And remember, no peeking at the cards once they’ve been flipped!
❌ REJECTING A GIFT: If you suspect the announced gift doesn’t match the card, you can say, “That’s not a XXX,” and reject it. You don’t have to know what’s actually on the card. The card is then flipped over. If a player is wrong, they earn a negative point and put the gift card in their personal discard pile. They also must pick a new gift from the gift store, show everyone, flip it, and give it to the designated player. Then the gift-giving resumes.
🏁 The game ends when a player has three gift cards in their discard pile. Each of these cards counts as a negative point. The player with the fewest negative points at the end is the winner. If you want to extend the fun, agree beforehand to play a number of rounds equal to the number of players, keeping score after each round. The person with the fewest negative points is declared the grand gifter and claims victory!
Kasper Lapp, the creative mind behind popular games like ‘Magic Maze,’ ‘Fun Facts,’ and ‘Gods Love Dinosaurs,’ brings us ‘That’s Not a Hat,’ another engaging and laughter-inducing party game. Published by Ravensburger, this memory-testing game, designed for 3-8 players, comes in a small box, making it an ideal pick for both home and travel.
⏳ One game lasts about 15 minutes, but these are minutes packed with intrigue and hilarity. Players are caught in a constant tussle of gifting and guessing. Is the card you’re being handed a cupcake, or is it really a toothbrush? The game’s charm lies in these suspenseful moments that test your memory and your ability to bluff convincingly.
👦 ‘That’s Not a Hat’ surprises by often making champions out of the youngest players. With their keen memory skills, kids tend to outwit adults, adding an amusing twist to the gameplay. After all, who can resist a game where a seven-year-old bluffs about a strawberry gift card only to reveal a book?
✔️ For fans of fast-paced, portable games with a mental edge, ‘That’s Not a Hat’ checks all the boxes. It’s not just a game; it’s a memory test wrapped in layers of laughter and lighthearted rivalry. However, do keep in mind that if your memory skills are a bit rusty, you might find the game challenging. But then, that’s part of the fun!
💭 In summary, ‘That’s Not a Hat’ is a compact, easy-to-learn game that blends memory, bluffing, and heaps of fun. The only luck you’ll need is a good memory. With its engaging gameplay and ability to bring laughter to the table, this game is a must-try for anyone who loves a combination of fun and mental challenge.
📣 Disclaimer: We’d like to express our gratitude to Ravensburger for providing us with a review copy of ‘That’s Not a Hat’.
