I bought the Dixit boardgame at Pax East 2010 based on a suggestion by E and Dave: The Game. The game was instantly adopted by my kids even though they haven’t quite grasped the “don’t tell too much and pick your bridge partner ” aspect of the game yet.
This evening, after spending a sizable chunk of time with my son Nico, my 7 year old daughter Rory dropped by asking for her share of my attention. Realizing that I don’t spend as much time with her like I should, I asked her if she wanted to play some Dixit. When she reminded me that we couldn’t play this game with only 2 players, I smiled my game designer smile and told her to trust me on this.
We took the cards out of the box, set the board and the little wooden score-marking bunnies aside and dealt 5 cards each. After a few trials, we settled for this game:
- A player sets a card down, uses the details shown on it to describe a short introduction for a story
- That player draws draws a card
- The other player plays a card beside the previous one and advances the story such that elements of the new card are added in a way that makes sense to both players.
- If a card is played that makes no sense, players can discuss how to make the card fit in the story, be creative and flexible. Otherwise, play another card.
- The player draws a card
- Play alternates until a story reaches a natural conclusion
- If a player can’t follow up on a previously played card, the story ends
- Start a new story
- Play until players no longer feel like playing.
The game worked like a charm. The vivid and varied imagery of Dixit‘s card encouraged us to create wild, fantasy-filled stories that had flow and were easy to merge into a fairy-tales-like whole.
Here’s an example from our most detailed play:
A boy brought a huge pearl found in an open giant oyster to his alchemist uncle who created small people with it. These small people were initially worn as earrings but they rebelled and were imprisoned put in a birdcage, guarded by the kingdom’s cat. While apparently dreary, the small people liked their new abodes and played chess in it. That’s until they realized that they were actually trapped in the equivalent of those snow globes so they decided to escape… and succeeded!
As they left the Castle, they awoke the Guardian who was in fact a Dragon! The Dragon’s roar broke the statue of the old king, revealing that he had been stuck in it for ages! In the ensuing rejoicing, the returned monarch freed the small people and made them citizens of the kingdom. A banquet was served in their honour!
So yeah, the game worked perfectly with a 7 year old girl.
I wonder if others would to?
