Are you clever enough to claim the title of Deer Lord? We got a chance to try this new game out last week and the answer in one round was YES I was clever enough - but I got bested often. Win or lose though, the four of us had a blast and the game is really unlike others that I've tried since it is great for a mixed group of people without being offensive or risque like other similar games out there. Instead, challenges included "Duels" such as who can stuff many objects into their mouth as well as who can do the best dance move, while "Dupes" asked us to secretly laugh at something or open a door - without other players catching us!
The Deer Lord! game itself is fundamentally very simple and while no alcohol was involved in our testing of the game, I can see it getting even more crazy after a few drinks.
Each player is dealt five cards that are a mixture of "Duels" and "Dupes", you then go around the table and act on those cards. If you choose to act on a "Duel" card, you must pick another player and challenge them, with the winner being able to remove the card from the player's hand and reap the reward action printed below the challenge. For "Dupes" on the other hand, the action takes place any time during the game and so you need to be a bit suspicious of any odd actions by other players and extremely clever so that you can pull things off.
If you think something funny is going on, simply shout Deer Lord! and point at the person declaring what you think they are doing. Watch out though, if you are wrong you must face the penalty. If you are right though, that player fails and must swap that card with a fresh one from the deck.
Ultimately, the winner is the first player to get rid of all of his / her cards.
Along the way, you'll have a variety of fun challenges such as this "Dance Off" to determine who has the best dance moves.
Other Deer Lord! "Duels" include:
- Who can open their mouth widest?
- Who can cry the most convincingly?
- Who can tell the best yo mama joke?
- Who can keep gargling the longest?
- Who can demonstrate the best figure-skating skills?
Example "Dupes" include:
- untie another player's shoelaces
- ask another player about one of their family members
- use outdated slang
- laugh at something that is not funny
- fall off your chair
Deer Lord! has existed as an independent game prior to now, but is now available through Target stores and includes the core card set as well as a "Broadway" and "Gangsta" expansion sets. Each of those includes challenges such as entertainment related actions as well as challenges like telling the best "yo mama joke" or best "pimp walk". Don't worry though, these are very tame though the makers recommend that players should be 14+ and I agree since some of these cards can have a certain level of innuendo that is best kept in adult company.
One of the things that I liked about the game is that each round is pretty short so it's something that you can whip out after a dinner and player for only an hour and still have fun.
Plus, since the only parts are the deck of cards, it is easy to set up and take down. This allows for flexibility to play it at the dinner table or potentially even on the couch with the card stack on the coffee table.
Deer Lord! is available now at Target for $19.99.
