Get on Board: Dixit

Winner of the 2010 Spiel des Jahres – the Oscars for board and card gamers – Dixit is a family game where imagination is the main tool and descriptions of a single illustrated card are limitless.

Dixit contains a deck of 84 cards, beautifully drawn with surreal and abstract art, which are dealt out in sixes to each player. On their turn a player will act as the storyteller, choosing a card from their hand from which they must provide a verbal prompt. With no words displayed on the card, the storyteller must creatively think of a way to best describe it. Be it with a word, phrase, song lyric or even a sound, they must say it out loud to the group. The rest of the participants then pick a card from their own hand that relates best to the storyteller’s description.

After shuffling the chosen cards, the storyteller places them all in a row on the table. Each player must then decide which they think is the storyteller’s card. After everyone has voted, the storyteller reveals which is their card and points are awarded. If all the players or none of the players find the storyteller’s card then the storyteller receives no points and the other players receive two. If only one player finds the selected card then they, along with the storyteller, are awarded three points each. There are also bonus points if anyone has voted for another player’s card. At the start of the next round, cards are replaced from the deck and someone new is the storyteller. The game is over when all 84 cards have been used up.

Adding to the gorgeous aesthetic of the cards, the game’s box comes with a raised built-in scoring track, and the counting pieces are little wooden rabbit-shaped meeple. The game is open to much interpretation and it can be played with any combination of players, but grown-ups beware – imagination is a child’s game. Very young children may struggle to voice ideas that don’t directly describe the card, but Dixit is definitely a game to inspire all ages.

A simple, elegant game that has massive replay value, Dixit has numerous expansion decks that just add to the infinite, innovative world. With the game’s title being Latin for “he/she/it said”, it’s a game of communication and interpretation to get people talking.