Apples to Apples has come pretty far since it first got published in 1999. It’s currently the (give or take) third best selling board game on Amazon, and you can’t go to a department store without seeing the red boxes overflowing from the shelves, especially around the holidays. Well, the Apples to Apples empire just grew even larger, because now you can buy it on Xbox Live Arcade, and it’s a pretty nice digital version of the game.
Apples to Apples is definitely a party game, and playing online with strangers or with your friends is the best way to experience the Xbox version. For some reason when I downloaded the game I chose to play the single player version first. It’s an interesting take on the game, but it’s frustrating and is not the main attraction. I would be surprised if a lot of people who end up buying this game even bother playing the single player version. Rather than relying on the player/judge system that Apples to Apples is known for, the single-player version is all about picking the card that is the best match to the “judge’s card” based on the theme of the round you are in. It is a little confusing, and not a whole lot of fun.
But like I said, the main draw here is the multiplayer game. The Xbox Live version plays just like the board game. Each round one of the players is picked as a judge, and everyone plays their red cards and waits for the judge to pick the one that they think fits his or her green card the best. The thing that’s great about Apples to Apples is that it isn’t all about picking the right card. You can try to play to the judge’s sense of humor or playing style and play the card that you think they will pick. The same goes for the Xbox version, and with the voice chat feature it can be just as fun as the board game.
There are a few extra game modes thrown in that I haven’t had time to try yet, but they sound fun. You can play bonus cards that change up the game and keep it exciting. You can get a good idea of the gameplay by watching this video.
Overall, if you’re a fan of Apples to Apples, I think you’d like the Xbox Live version. It’s 800 Microsoft points ($10 or so) right now, and if you’re like me and don’t have a lot of opportunities to play board games with people anymore, the video game version is a great way to still get to play.
