Board Game Review: Dixit

Dixit is a party game for 3-6 players, designed by Jean-Louis Roubira, published by Libellud and distributed in the U.S. by Asmodee. You’ve probably already heard of it, since it won the 2010 Spiel des Jahres.

Here’s a reminder of my scoring categories:
Components – Does the game look nice? Are the bits worth the money? Do they add to the game?
Accessibility – How easy is the game to teach, or to feel like you know what you are doing?
Depth – Does the gameplay allow for deeper strategies, or does the game play itself?
Theme – Does the game give a sense of immersion? Can you imagine the setting described in the game?
Fun – Is the game actually enjoyable? Do you find yourself smiling, laughing, or having some sense of satisfaction when it’s over?

Components: The first thing you’ll notice about this game is the box cover’s beautiful art. The second thing you’ll notice is that the oversized cards for the game are nothing but gorgeous paintings, each one unique. It is truly some of the most beautiful, serene, subtly strange artwork I’ve ever seen. Each painting is full of tiny interesting minutiae that are extremely useful for actually playing the game. As a cute twist, the inside of the game includes a scoring track within the box, with little rabbit meeples (rabbeeples!) to keep track of scoring. The game is absolutely gorgeous.

                I have some complaints about the box though. The first is just that the box is ridiculously big for what amounts to a scoring track and some cards. Second, the area in the middle to hold the cards doesn’t work very well with the expansion, Dixit 2. I had to flip the scoring track over in the box to fit everything in. A minor inconvenience – the real complaint is that for people who like to buy a lot of games, shelf space is at a premium, and this box is too big. 9/10

Accessibility: The most obvious comparison to make with this game is Apples to Apples, but even if you’ve never played that game, actually playing this game is mind-numbingly easy. All you need to know is that you pick a card from your hand, say anything you want, and everybody else picks a card to match your description. Everyone else votes, and you want some people to vote for yours, but not all or none. Wanting “just some” votes is a very clever twist, and makes people think long and hard about what they want to say, sometimes with hilarious results. The scoring, when first explained, sounds very confusing, but it’s necessary to justify that people actually play correctly (i.e. actually vote for which card they think is actually yours, instead of “throwing” their vote). If you have an experienced player keeping score, then it’s really a non-issue, but it does put a dent of complexity in an otherwise very simple game. 9/10

Depth: It should be clear up front that this game is a party game, and so it’s meant more for laughter than to test skill. That being said, it does offer some very interesting decisions. You’ll want to look at your hand throughout other people’s turns and think long and hard about the references you can make off of what they say, as well as what you’ll want to say during your own upcoming turn. The options are endless, especially because the tiny details in the artwork allow you to make tricky references that some may not catch at first glance. The only complaint is that the game can suffer intensely from abuse of inside jokes, making sure to exclude one or two people and get the points that you want. Trying to ban such references would be ridiculous, but they’re probably not in the spirit of the game. As long as everyone plays fair, you’ll have plenty to think about, but nowhere near as much as in an actual strategy game. The game will also lose some replayability after you’ve seen all 84 cards several times, but with Dixit 2 already out and Dixit 3 on the way, that won’t really be a problem for too long. 8/10

Theme: Although Dixit doesn’t have a particular obvious theme, the real question is whether or not you feel a sense of immersion, whether the game takes you somewhere else. This can come from the artwork or the mechanics. It’s hopefully clear that the artwork will transport you to a magical dreamland that no one else could have found. Marie Cardouat’s artwork is absolutely integral to this game. Mechanically, most of what you’re going to hear are pop culture references, but occasionally, someone will bust out something poetic like “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” or “You can’t be any poorer than dead,” giving the game an overarching story whose dots you can connect inside your own mind. 9/10

Fun: I don’t know what to say here other than the obvious. If you enjoy smiling, laughing, stories, art, bunnies, or any combination of the above, you’re destined to have a good time with this game. We rarely remember who won or lost, but we always remember having a good time. 10/10

Average: 9/10

Bias: 9/10

If you’re tired of playing Apples to Apples or Loaded Questions, or if even if you aren’t, you owe it to yourself to give Dixit a try.