Movie Mind Game Review And Impressions

MOVIE MIND GAME REVIEW

 In 2013, I saw 160 movies in theaters. Technically, that was every "wide release" movie that year. That means I have a problem; it also means I sat out movies like The Smurfs 2, The Hot Cop, and the only Die Hard movie that was truly terrible, Die Hard Good Day.

 I regularly watch 75-100 movies in theaters every year. I refuse to talk to other people during the Oscars. I've seen Indian movies in India. I've gone to the theaters alone during COVID. I've waited outside theaters in all weathers to be first in line for midnight premieres.

 It's safe to say that I like movies. I'm pretty good at film trivia, but my general knowledge of movies, accumulated over time, is pretty strong. When I got my hands on a game from Gigamic, namely Movie Mind, I immediately sat down to figure it out.

 Here's the short summary: a lot of fun, but only for die-hard movie buffs.

 Movie Mind is a three-round quiz game for two or three teams against each other. On their turn, a team draws one of 80 picture cards; the opposing team selects a reader who asks five questions that must be answered within 90 seconds. Each correct answer earns one point. Between rounds, each team has the opportunity to answer one question about the card currently in play to potentially steal a point. After three rounds, the team with the most points wins.

 The illustrated square cards are the heart of Movie Mind. Each card features visuals from 10 different films released over the past 70 years or so. The illustrations don't always try to depict a single scene; sometimes there's a character from, say, Pulp Fiction walking up to a masked man you remember from the Scream movies, without any context. It's essentially a collection of ideas piled into one space, so as you listen to each question, moviegoers have to figure out which films are depicted, then try to match the answers to the random questions:

• "A film about an airplane."
• "A film in which a character is granted three wishes."
• "A film in which a man leads a group on a great adventure."

 Vague, isn't it? More often than not, when someone on my team answered a question correctly, I would yell, "Where do you see THAT?" because I couldn't find the link to the image for some reason.

 The illustrations further complicate matters; on one card, the character is simply sitting on a couch. Most of us had no idea who this person was supposed to be, despite the fact that this was a character from a very successful comic book franchise. That's because there wasn't much additional information about this character; he was just sitting there.

 But if you recognize some of the characters, symbolism, or key visual moments from your favorite movies, then you're in for a treat. Also, there are no quotes in the images. For a fan who knows movie quotes well, this won't help you at all in the "Movie Quotes" game.

WHO WILL BE INTERESTED IN THE GAME?

 Movie Mind really works, but it's a game for a true movie buff. I know this because even as a movie buff, I often had a hard time answering some of the questions.

 The illustrations by Diane Fayol and Charles Deroux are interesting, and many of the players I sat with found the work to be solid, if not at times impressive. But that's not the point. When you see something from, say, Jaws, you just have to see a shark, and bam, you get it, right? Jaws is and always will be "The Shark Movie." (Apologies to The Meg, Shark Tale, and the classic Sharknado TV franchise.)

 But, "Interstellar"? Can you imagine things from the movie and then imagine them animated? How about "Lawrence of Arabia"? You imagine the footage from the movie, but it's not drawn, right?

 This makes Movie Mind a little more difficult than it needs to be. It's always fun, and as I often say on these pages, I love games with screaming, timers, racing, and drama. Movie Mind has it all. But if you have a friend who considers himself a movie buff because he's seen all the Star Wars movies, this game isn't for him.

 This is for the person who loved — and remembers! — Big Fish. Fan of the French film Amelie? Go here. Are there any references to Star Wars, Jurassic Park, or some Marvel movies? Sure, and those references are a bit ahead of the less obvious ones. But I think the main enjoyment here will come from someone who has a really broad and deep taste in filmmaking.

 One manufacturing flaw: the hourglass is a bit awful. My included hourglass only holds enough magic dust for 55 seconds, so I used my smartphone timer.

 With two teams and 90-second rounds, this game takes literally nine minutes to play; let's call it ten, since you'll have to spend 60 seconds learning it. For this price, and the reasonable price at many online retailers, you'll be in great shape if you decide to pick up a copy of Movie Mind!