Apples to Apples is a fast-paced party game published by Out Of The Box Publishing. It is designed for four to ten players. It was chosen by Mensa International in 1999 as a "Mensa Select", an award given to five games each year.

Rules

Each player is dealt seven "red apple" cards; on each is printed a noun or noun phrase (Madonna, Lightning, Socks, Mahatma Gandhi, Street Gangs, London, The Universe, A Locker Room, The San Andreas Fault, Science Fiction, etc.). Keep in mind, cards that start with "My" such as "My 16th Birthday" are based on the judge's sixteenth birthday, and not the 16th birthday of the person who played the card. (After all, they're not supposed to know who played what, anyway.)

One player is appointed as the first "judge". The judge draws a "green apple" card on which is printed an adjective (Scary, Smelly, Patriotic, Rich, Aged, etc.), and places it face-up. Each of the other players chooses one of their red apple cards that they think is the best match for the green apple card, and places it face down. The judge shuffles the red apple cards, then turns them face up (without knowing who submitted each) and decides which red apple card is the best match for the green apple card. The player who submitted that red apple card wins the round, and takes the green apple card to signify the win.

The judge's decision is completely subjective: the official rules condone the judge picking the match that is "most creative, humorous or interesting". A particular judge might think it ironic if Helen Keller is played on visionary, and might give that match the point rather than Galileo.

All players then draw cards to bring their hands back up to seven, and the responsibility of being the judge passes to the player to the previous judge's left.

The winner is the player who first wins a predetermined number of rounds. The more players, the lower the recommended total.

Variations

If desired, the players may explicitly agree to judge based on which red apple is least described by the green apple, or by which is most ironic, etc...

A variation known as "Baked Apples" allows all players to play one red card, with no time limit, onto the table. The judge then puts the cards down in reverse order, one at a time, explaining why he or she did not pick the card. The winner not only gets the green card, but becomes the next judge. This variation is rather common among Apples to Apples fans.

Another variation, known as "Apple Turnovers", has players playing green cards from their hand of 5 to best describe a red card.

Another variation works by handing out paper clips and allowing the combination of red cards that are played. For example if the green card reads "sexy" you can clip together "cocaine" and "underwear."

An optional rule is to disqualify the slowest player to select a red apple for a given turn; that player retains all their red apple cards. The rule sheet that comes with the game describes this as an optional variation, but the rules online describe this as part of the basic rules. ^* This rule encourages players to make snap decisions, rather than engaging in extended deliberation.

Instead of playing to a set number of wins, the game can also be played for an open-ended amount of time. When all the players don't feel like playing anymore, or they run out of cards, each player counts how many cards they have won. The player with the most cards is the winner.

"Rotten Apples-to-Apples" is a popular variant. You play it by having the judge pick what he/she thinks is the WORST match of the red cards. So hilarious picks and funny excuses arise, because you try to prove that other people's cards DO match.

Strategy

Lobbying for the appropriateness of certain matches is allowed and encouraged. For example one may say, "Don't you think Michael Jackson is rather frightening? Remember the baby incident..." One is not required to lobby for one's own apples; on the contrary it is both fun and sporting to praise interesting matches offered by other people.

It is wise to play to the judge. Some judges are prone to look for the most technically correct match, whereas others tend to vote for the funniest or most creative association. Also be aware of the judge's biases. If the judge is a vegan, and turns over the green apple disgusting, you may have a better chance of scoring with meat than with mildew, regardless of how much you personally think mildew is a better match. Because of this, in a large group, a player who does not know some of the other players is at a disadvantage.

When none of your red apples seems likely to win, it may be wise to throw away a boring one in order to draw a new card. Occasionally, a judge will completely misunderstand the definition or will have a twisted interpretation and your card will win anyway.

Although there is no such thing as a formal "trump card," some cards evoke stronger reactions than others. For example, cards relating to sexuality, politics or other controversial topics have a better chance of winning in a wide variety of categories.

Equipment

The original boxed set contained:

• 108 green cards (green apples) each of which has an adjective such as frightening or fresh printed on one side.
• 324 red cards (red apples) each of which has a noun such as Eleanor Roosevelt or lollipops printed on one side.
• A tray for holding the cards.

Four expansion sets were available adding 72 extra green apple cards and 216 extra red apple cards each. In 2002, Expansion Set 3 won the Origins Award for Best Card Game Expansion or Supplement of 2001.

As of 2005, the original set and its expansions have been retired and replaced by a "Party Box" with the combined contents of the basic set and its first two expansions, and a "Party Expansion" set with the combined contents of the third and fourth expansions. A Junior edition is also available.

External links

• Out Of The Box Publishing: Apples to Apples
• In episode 27 of The Dice Tower, a weekly podcast about board games, the game is reviewed.

Dedicated deck card games | Party games | Origins Award winners

アップルトゥアップル