Pictures

Pictures (2020) is a puzzle game about recreating pictures with everyday objects. You are assigned a picture from a grid of cards on the table and given a set of materials (cubes, sticks and stones, cards) to make it with. How well you do is determined by how many people can guess which picture you are creating. It's quick and fun because it forces you to get creative with limited resources.

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Each player is assigned one of the pictures on the four-by-four grid of cards on the table. You then use your materials to create the image as best you can. You score points for how many other players guess your picture correctly and you get points if you guess other people's pictures.

You then pass your materials around to the next person and go again with your new set of items. This continues until each player has used each type of material. This repetition is more than a means of moving the play along, as you develop a language about the pictures you have in front of you that enables you to use your materials in more nuanced ways.

Pictures is a game that's simple to understand yet offers some really deep play as you learn to work with the different sets of objects. You are forced to use unusual forms of expression and each material set feels really distinct from the others.

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Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Pictures 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Ellen Robertson and updated 9 weeks ago.