by SFM International https://sfmintl.com/
Review by C.J. Sanders
These two games are produced by SFM International, a small company that has staying power and imagination on its side.
What Is The Sentence? (recommended for ages 7+)
The board version of What Is The Sentence consists of 3 sets of different-colored cards: Blue Vowel cards, Green Consonant cards and Red Action cards; 4 “hour-glass” timers, in 15-second, 30-second, 45-second and 60-second denominations and one die.
One player is appointed to be the Card Guard. S/he keeps the Consonant, Vowel and Steal cards shuffled and returns the used Action cards to the bottom of the deck. The Card Guard keeps time and the score.
To Play:
Player 1 rolls the die to see how many Consonant cards s/he will draw. The cards are placed face down on the playing area – a table top is best.
The player draws one Vowel card, placing it face down as well. The number on the die will also determine how much time the player has to create a sentence.
The player draws an Action card and reads the instructions for sentence creation on it aloud and places it face up on the table. The player turns over all of the letter cards and the timer begins when the last card is face up. The player then tries to create a sentence with words that begin with each letter on the cards. All drawn letters must be used and only those letters.
The player says aloud “What is the Sentence?” followed by stating the created sentence before time expires.
The other players determine if the sentence is valid and if so, the sentence creator receives the points that are shown on each Vowel and Consonant card.
Stealing:
Any other player may attempt to steal the active player’s sentence by drawing a Steal card and placing it face up. If the active player fails to create a sentence within the time or the sentence is invalidated, the Stealer may attempt create a sentence within 15 seconds. S/he must say “What is the sentence?” and then state the sentence. If the Steale succeeds, s/he will receive the points. If not successful, the points will be deducted from the Stealer’s score.
Winning:
The first player to reach 100 points is the winner.
A person who possesses a Visual or Auditory Learning Style will be very good at What Is The Sentence?. People who are fast at solving hidden word puzzles and other fast visual games excel at WITS. The game is fun and exciting in that it challenges everyone’s imagination to create valid sentences from just initial letters in a very short amount of time.