If you ever played with these word fridge magnets back in the day, Ransom notes will give you an instant shot of nostalgia. It also has what I consider to be the most important quality of a party game: no complicated rules, setup, or explanation required. Each round begins with an open-ended question card, such as “Describe a scary health condition.” Players are given a handful of magnetic word tiles, which they then arrange into a (usually somewhat nonsensical) answer to that round’s prompt. Each “ransom note” can be as detailed (or not) as you like. You may have the perfect words to formulate a plausible answer, but more often you’ll need to get a little creative with your answer. Sometimes a word or two is enough.
However, the mix of word tiles, which leans a little on the PG-13 side but isn’t as foul-mouthed as more “adult” party games like Cards Against Humanity, is such that hilarity is almost certain to ensue. Officially, there is supposed to be a “winner” in each round, with the game ending after a predetermined number of rounds have been completed. But it’s just as fun if you forget about keeping score and just let everyone try to think of the funniest, most random notes they can think of. — Karissa Bell, senior reporter
