Unplugged Games Book

Product Description

Unplug & Play! 50 Games That Don't Need Charging encourages people to come together for a few minutes - or a few hours - for a challenging and fun game that requires virtually nothing more than pens and paper. 50 fun technology-free games which test each player's ability to strategize, bluff, read minds, memorize, think quickly, and solve puzzles.

Top Reviews

Our boys did put down their controllers!
by Mark Michaels (5 out of 5 stars)
January 2, 2015

Super fun
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What a fun collection of games that can be played anywhere... no electricity or gizmos required
by M. Erb (5 out of 5 stars)
February 21, 2014

Unplug & Play is great fun. It's a collection of 50 games and none of them require more than a pad of paper and something to write with. No smartphones, iPads, tablets, computers, electricy or batteries are required.

The "Rules" are more just guidelines. You can bend the rules, change the rules, adapt the rules to your group. There are a minimum number of people suggested for each game... most games ask for 3 or 4 or more players but a few ask for 5-8 players while a couple only require 2 or more players. Each game can easily be adjusted to accomodate any age group from children to seniors.

The instructions for the games are very clear and easy to follow. And the author then gives you an actual example of how the game would play. It makes it fun to learn the games and gives you great ideas how to customize the games to fit your group.

The games are organized by type of game into six different groups:
➀ Matchmaker, Matchmaker: These games generally require you to come up with lists of things. You decide what. For instance each participant would have to come up with a list of "Things that are Green." Then you compare your lists and award points for matches. There are numerous varieties of this type of game in this group. Think "Family Feud" and you'd be on the right track.
➁ Call My Bluff: These are games that ask you to come up with a list describing or otherwise saying something about a person, thing, or object. It could be anything. The statements you create could be true, made-up, or complete nonesense. Then the other players try to guess who said what about the person, thing or object. Another example in this category is a game where everyone draws a picture of the same thing. Then once all the pictures are drawn, they given to a designated player who mixes them up and puts a number at the top of each picture and then they are all placed face down in the middle of the table. Each player then attempts to guess who drew each picture and points are awarded for correct guesses and for how many players you fool.
➂ That's My Plan and I'm Sticking To It: These are games that require a strategy of some sort to give you a better chance at winning the game. For instance the game "Number Code" asks you to place numbers 1-25 in a hat. Player one picks a number out of the hat and does not show anyone the number. That player then must come up with a code as a clue for the rest of the players to figure out what the number was. If the chosen number was "7" the clue might be "Days of the week." Points are awarded or deducted depending on how many people guess what the number was or if everyone guesses what the number was you could actually lose points. The strategy is to come up with a clue this is hard enough but not too hard for some people to get but not everyone. And if noone gets it right, you also lose points.
➃ Ready, Set, Go!: This group of games is based on speed. Whoever is the fastest at coming up with the answer wins. For instance the game "That's Entertainment" goes like this... Player 1 thinks of an Actor and a Movie and gives a three-letter clue. The first two letters are the first letters of the actors first and last names and the third letter is the first letter of the first name of the movie he or she was in. The first person to guess the actor and the movie wins 10 points. Clue: APS Answer: Al Pacino Scarface
➄ Try to Remember: These games are all about memory. In the games in this section you have a fun time trying to remember clues to allow you to be the first to answer correctly.
➅ I'm Puzzled: These are games that require you to solve puzzles... like figure out scrambled words or find words that are placed in a grid with other random letters thrown in around the words.

These are just so much fun. They get people laughing, talking, relating and being human.

The author has a great sense of humor that comes out as you read the pages in the front of the book describing "when to use this book" and "you should use this book with...". I won't give away any spoilers. Let me just simply say this is a fun fun fun book of games and they will appeal to all age groups and provide hours of enjoyment time and time again.

The author provided me with a copy of the book so I could write my review.
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And the Oscar for Imaginative Contribution to Thinking and Gaming...
by Grady Harp (5 out of 5 stars)
February 28, 2014

Thank goodness Brad Berger has faced that frustrating phenomenon we are all seeing - people glued to their iPads, laptops, smartphones - texting or twittering or facebooking or other mindless ways to pass time without even the thought of interacting with family or friends or people at work or play. Yes, Internet technology is here to stay, but it simply cannot replace with video games the pleasures of sitting down with other people and playing games that require interaction.

In this very fine book Brad introduces 50 games that engage the mind, encourage challenge opponents with mindful processes, gives the instructions for playing each game in the book, warns the reader to have pencils and paper to go around and then you are off on your own. The various games are categorized into sections: Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Call My Bluff, That's My Plan and I'm Sticking to It, Ready Set Go, Try to Remember, I'm Puzzled, each section with 7 - 9 games each.

Try this book for your mental health and your socialization restoration. This is a fun way to forget about those etherized devices that have enslaved us and actually interact with others - in person! Grady Harp, February 14
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Some good ideas
by Andrea Polk (3 out of 5 stars)
March 8, 2014

I was contacted by the publisher and given a copy of this book in paperback form, in exchange for my honest review. When it arrived, I was surprised to see the lightweight cover (akin to a comic book) and the retail price of nineteen ninety-five. Way too high for this 100 page book, but I liked the premise so I sat down with my fifteen year old daughter to explore the book and try out a few games.

As we were going through the book my daughter commented that many of the games seemed like slight variations of others that were mentioned. She also said she'd seen several of them on the Internet. (Ironic I thought, as this book is encouraging 'no texting, tweeting or surfing allowed'.)

Much of the book is cute and amusing, with nice illustrations.

The 50 games are organized into (6) groups:
1. Matchmaker, Matchmaker - making lists to compare with others.
2. Call My Bluff - creatively learn more about other players.
3. That's My Plan and I'm Sticking To It - Strategy games designed to make a plan to reach a goal.
4. Ready, Set, Go! - Speed to the answer before others playing the game.
5. Try to Remember - memory games.
6. I'm Puzzled - easy to create puzzles.

Basic Rules:
1. Assign a Game Director and Scorekeeper.
2. Make sure you have plenty of paper and writing insturments.
3. No cheating!

PROS:
+ This book is an admirable attempt by Brad Berger to create fun, thoughtful interaction with others.
+ Ideas in this book Inspire creative game play that can be adapted to small or large groups.
+ Games do no require anything other than paper, pencils and thought to be played.
+ It's free to play these games - no apps, cards, or accessories to buy.

CONS:
- The book is priced way too high for both its content and its magazine-like binding. (Even the Kindle version is overpriced at half the cost of the paperback. A similar book - Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun. - is 516 pages versus 100 and costs about 20 percent less.
- Some of the ideas are readily available - on the Internet for free - and/or are close variations of other games presented in the book.
- Some of the game descriptions are written in such a way that understanding them seemed daunting. I glazed over and stopped reading a few of them because they were unclear and/or somewhat boring. The paragraphs tended to be too long, and sometimes rambling. Those types of directions made it tough to get the simple steps of the game. Breaking it down into a '1,2,3...' step format for each game idea would be more helpful.

I don't think this is a bad book, but I give it 3 out of 5 stars ('just OK') because of the cons I've mentioned - particularly the high price. I would recommend the Kindle version over this paperback version, if it was on sale for half off or more, the list price.

NOTE: The game ideas in this book could be utilized by groups of people ages 10-99, with various numbers of players (3 or more). I could see using the ideas presented in youth groups, nursing homes, family game night, dorm rooms, on car trips and similar.
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And the Oscar for Imaginative Contribution to Thinking and Gaming...
by Grady Harp,Top Contributor: Children's Books (5 out of 5 stars)
February 28, 2014

Thank goodness Brad Berger has faced that frustrating phenomenon we are all seeing - people glued to their iPads, laptops, smartphones - texting or twittering or facebooking or other mindless ways to pass time without even the thought of interacting with family or friends or people at work or play. Yes, Internet technology is here to stay, but it simply cannot replace with video games the pleasures of sitting down with other people and playing games that require interaction.

In this very fine book Brad introduces 50 games that engage the mind, encourage challenge opponents with mindful processes, gives the instructions for playing each game in the book, warns the reader to have pencils and paper to go around and then you are off on your own. The various games are categorized into sections: Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Call My Bluff, That's My Plan and I'm Sticking to It, Ready Set Go, Try to Remember, I'm Puzzled, each section with 7 - 9 games each.

Try this book for your mental health and your socialization restoration. This is a fun way to forget about those etherized devices that have enslaved us and actually interact with others - in person! Grady Harp, February 14
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Resource for teachers, group leaders
by savingsinseconds (3 out of 5 stars)
April 6, 2014

This book is a very thin paperback so it's easy to tuck into your car's glove compartment for road trips. The glossy pages are attractive and have nice graphics throughout the book. It would be ideal to take along on a camping trip as well. Teachers and group leaders, this is a good resource for icebreakers. The games are easily modified to suit a larger audience as well as a smaller group. The materials required for some of the activities can likely be found in your desk area. Pencils, paper, and imagination are the typical supplies needed.

The instructions for most of the games are fairly easy, if not wordy. Even adults would skip over some of the games simply because it's too confusing to read the directions. I'd love to see a shorter, more kid-friendly version of the book written for slumber parties or troop leaders. It would also be helpful if a few topic lists were given as suggestions. The biggest downside of this book is that it's fairly expensive. Ironically, it's most accessible on Kindle. Too bad since we're trying to unplug, right?

I received this book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.
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Old-fashioned Fun
by C. MacPhail (4 out of 5 stars)
February 20, 2014

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This book could make for some inexpensive fun. You might give it 5-stars. Or 2-stars.

PROs:
- Beautifully illustrated and produced. It looks whimsical and fun.
- A nice alternative to board games, which can be mindless and/or too long.
- They seem to be original games you won't find elsewhere.

OKs:
- The games use various mental skills. Many of them are word games, but they may bring out personalities and silliness. They may involve some strategy or bluffing, etc. Each is explained in one page or less. Some of them are pretty clever and the effort to learn the rules is minimal. Some others seem too involved for the amount of fun and thrills coming out the other end.

If you're a good "game director" you'll find some winners and sell them to your family or group. Probably the ones that are explained in 1/2 page or less (there are about 15 of those).
- At $20 ($10 Kindle) it's maybe a little expensive for a 90-page booklet.

CONs:
- You may only find a few winners, depending on the patience and temperament of your group.
- - - More Info - - -

Check out the book with "Look Inside," including "The games are organized into six groups."
- - - Alternatives - - -
- Great Games! 175 Games & Activities for Families, Groups, & Children!
- Internet search for family game ideas.
- - - Disclosure - - -

The publisher gave me this book for review. I believe my review is impartial.
~~~ Comments & questions welcome ~~~
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Games for All Ages
by The Rebecca Review,Top Contributor: Jigsaw Puzzles (4 out of 5 stars)
July 7, 2014

Brad Berger has created a fun little book filled with fifty games that don't require an internet connection or electricity. A pen and paper is all you need for these games. Some games require a knowledge of popular culture and others rely on memory or innate cleverness. I liked the theme puzzles. You simply unscramble words. So there is something for everyone. This would be a good book to have during the holidays when people are gathered together. This book would also be fun to have for parties and game nights.
~The Rebecca Review

I received a free copy of this book for review. This review is my honest opinion.
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Must have in family library!
by Blue Willow Marketplace (5 out of 5 stars)
March 5, 2014

This book is a MUST for all families! These are fun and challenging ways to get our families to unplug!

The ideas the author suggests take thinking. They just aren't your basic games of tic-tac-toe.

One of our favorite is #27! Backwards People! Think of a famous person's name. Pronounce the name backwards! First name then last! Here is an example!

NHOJ/ATLOVART

Know who that is????? Think about it and carefully look at the name.

If you guessed John Travolta you are correct!

As a parent or as someone who loves having game nights with friends, this really is a great book to have on hand!
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A must have for a night with the family away from our phones!!
by Jennifrog6 (5 out of 5 stars)
May 4, 2014

Like so many others in this day and age I had been getting extremely frustrated with family gatherings where everyone is on their phone the whole time!!

I bought this book and used it last night at a family gathering. It was a total hit!! It was perfect for all age groups (We had teenagers to grandparents) and the games were very easy to follow! For over three hours we played about 10 games in the book.

Tons of laughs and everyone can not wait to play again!

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