Finally if your piece touches the outside of the scoring frame (it is just outside of the scoring frame), you will score one point for the piece. This includes pieces that diagonally touch the outside of the scoring frame. The one area where we’ve deviated from the game rules is having all players draw cards at the outset. Since the tough part (and most time-consuming part) of the game is coming up with the cues. By letting players have a card in hand long before their turns, they can be thinking of their potential cues before their turn comes. And that’s helped the games flow more smoothly.

Surprisingly, the colors on the cards don’t always perfectly match the colors on the game board. For a game where the whole point is to match colors, this seems like a big miss. I’m hoping for better quality control in their next printing. But it’s just a game, so I try to not take it too seriously and just focus on what it does well! Each player then scores the two pieces they placed on the gameboard. They will score points based on where their pieces are located in relation to the color for the round. Well… It’s been argued that writing things down is the most-important process! So is Hues and Cues your only game? Or have I missed some? Good guessers are rewarded, and good cue-givers are also compensated appropriately for their efforts! Staking Our C.L.A.I.M. on Hues and Cues COMPONENTSWe have yet to play with players who are colorblind, so we don’t know what they’ll think of the game. But we could only imagine it would be tough. This color game also presents a perfect opportunity to introduce students to the concept of “ local color“. What is local color? Once the cue is given, players take turns to guess the correct hues with their markers. Once all players have a guessed, another two-word hint is given and players get another opportunity to pinpoint the specific shade. For this second clue, we banned the use of words like light, dark and pale after someone followed the clue ‘poo’ with ‘darker poo’.

Overall despite a few minor quibbles Hues and Cues has proven to be a great game for our game groups. I’m personally not a big fan of party games and due to that I don’t own a lot of them, but I’m happy to add Hues and Cues to that small collection. After everyone has guessed, you can give an additional clue. This one up to two words, to allow people to refine their guesses. You’ll then place the included box on the board so that your target color is in the center. Everyone who is in, or near, the box will score points. The clue giver scores points based on the number of people who were in the scoring box as well. Players will get to make two guesses on what you are hinting at. Game Experience:To start each round the current cue giver draws the top card from the draw pile. They will look at the card making sure none of the other players see it. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a fun game to play. The real question is will your family and friends enjoy playing it? While fun I do have to say the game isn’t nearly as easy to play as I was expecting it to be. The basic concept is simple enough to grasp but coming up with good cues is surprisingly difficult. While coming up with something that fits a colour isn’t hard, trying to think of something that is uniquely that colour can prove to be much harder than you would expect. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention these three things that could detract from an otherwise great color game experience:

Some rounds we’ve all hit really close to the chosen color and other times we’ve been super spread out all over the board. Those rounds usually bring a lot of laughs. The other players score points depending on where their cones are in relation to the scoring frame. Guessing the exact square is worth 3 points. Each cone within the frame but not in the exact center scores 2 points. And each cone adjacent to the frame on the outside scores 1 point. I consulted with a board-certified ophthalmologist during the design process. On top of that, I – and multiple publishers – tested the game with different players of all types of deficiencies. Because Hues and Cues isn’t about “what colour is an apple”… It’s about how one recalls or sees an apple, and how well it matches the other players’ perceptions of an apple, say. So players who see the colour spectrum differently will still see the hue in the same area of the board as you and I do. Of course, you can’t just say “green.” First off… that is a terrible clue. There are like 20 different shades of green on the board. Also, the rules specifically disallow color words. You also can’t describe something in the room that people can see. It’s got to be more like a feeling. “Herbaceous,” maybe. Or “dusty.” We also had numerous situations where the first round of player markers were significantly off from where the Cue-giver intended. There was plenty of ‘what were you thinking’ going on every time that happened. With those more abstract cues, that’s bound to happen.Hues and Cues, on the other hand, triggers a more analytical part of my brain. How can I describe how this light shade of pink feels? It’s a bit Codenames-like in how it opens up to really allow some very clever clue giving. I’m sure there are more artistic minded folks that might see Hues and Cues as a more creative outlet (or even a test of color theory or something). Overall, we think Hues and Cues is a middle of the road but ultimately enjoyable party game. If you are searching for an activity to fit your non-gaming friends who prefer to chill and converse over a game, Hues and Cues is a good fit. Allowing for up to ten to play makes this a good choice for large groups, especially those with a large variety in ages amongst players. After all of the markers have been placed, the scoring rig descends from the heavens, centered around the color that was initially chosen. Players score based on how close they were to guessing the exact color, and the Cue-giver scores based on how many people were centered around their color. I think, generally, Hues and Cues will appeal to people who love Dixit and Codenames both. Even if the description may not obviously be a mashup of the two, I think it lands firmly in the middle of the experiences those games evoke. And a clue/guessing party game that can appeal to both the analysts and artists alike is pretty unique.

Then you will give one more clue. This time a two word clue. So perhaps I’ll say “Sea Foam” to be more specific with this color. Now players will take their second pawn and place it on the board where they think Sea Foam is best represented. It may be close to their original guess or not. Great stuff. We need to wrap this up now, Scott… Like the rest of the year, the time’s flown by! Just two more thoughts: first, if I wanted to get an interesting answer from you – one nobody else is likely to get – what question would I have to ask? Ah! Right… So if I see an apple a little brighter than you do, then I also see that colour on the board brighter than you do. It’s in the same place!

How does Hues and Cues score on our “Let’s Play Again” game meter?

Most of our game plays have been with 4 or 5 players. But the game has enough color cones for 10 players to join in. And once we get past this COVID era, we’ll give it a shot with 10. Plenty of color cards.