Pictureka

From LoveToKnow BoardGames

If you are looking for a family game of hide and seek that you can play around the table, then Pictureka! is your game.

Pictureka: An Award-Winning Belgian Design

The game was designed in 2006 by Belgian game designer Arne Lauwers who has been designing games since 2002. His company, Lauwers Games, licensed Pictureka! to Hasbro which is now publishing this wildly popular game.

Pictureaka! has received several notable international game awards including:

"Game of the Year" in Australia (2008), France (2008) and the Russian Federation (2007)
"Miglior Concept Artistico" (Best Artistic Concept), Lucca - Italy (2006)
"Game of the Year" nomination for the 2009 TOTY (Toy of the Year), New York

Family and Party Fun

The game encourages the players to be very observant and to keep thinking. Players have to quickly scan small pictures across the board looking for a specific picture. Even non-playing spectators of all ages will enjoy the excitement of the game as players challenge each other to find objects on the game board.

The game is as equally fun for two younger players as it is for nine players. As the number of players increase, the fun seems to increase as all the players pay attention to the outcome of every player's action.

Hasbro recommends the game for kids as young as six and adults of all ages. The hunt and seek aspect of the game makes it fun for the younger players while the older players get excited about the competitive nature of the game. This broad range of players' ages makes this a great game for a family gathering or any game party.

Game Pieces

The game includes:

A game board that is assembled from nine, two-sided game tiles
100 cards in three colors – red, blue and green
A six-sided die
Timer
Game instructions
Four game instruction reference cards

Easy Set Up

This is a very easy game to learn and set up. There are not a lot of instructions or game pieces. You can unpack the game and be up and playing in less than five minutes.

Players assemble the game board by arranging the nine two-sided game tiles into a three-by-three grid. The three decks of colored cards each need to be shuffled and placed near the game board.

Playing the Game

One player is chosen to go first and starts the game by rolling the die. Players take turns rolling the die to determine whether they will pick from the red, blue or green pile of cards. After selecting a card with the correct color, the player reviews the symbol on the back of the card to determine if his task is to one of the following:

Flip a tile on the board
Rotate a board tile
Switch the location of two board tiles

The player then takes a specific action based on the color of the card selected:

Pick a green card – The player rolls the die to see how many times he must be able to find a specific object on the game board in thirty seconds. If he is successful, he wins the card. If not, he must discard the card.
Pick a blue card – The specific object on the card is searched for by all players. Whoever finds the particular item on the game board shouts "Pictureka" and wins that particular card.
Pick a red card – The player announces how many times a specific object on the card must be found. Players bid on how many times they think they will be able to find the item. The winning bidder has thirty seconds to find the objects. If he finds the number of objects he bid, he wins the card. If not, the card is discarded.

Goal

The object of the game is collect six cards. The game is relatively quick to play. With four players, the game takes about twenty to thirty minutes to play. Players can decide to shorten the length of the game before they start playing by only requiring the winner to collect four cards. Or, players can extend the length of the game by deciding that the object is to collect nine or twelve cards.

Winning the Game

The player that is first to collect the required number of cards wins the game.

Hazards for Small Children

The game should be kept away from children due to potential choking hazards. The game contains a marble, a small ball and other small parts that can be a chocking hazard to children under three years old. Children under eight years old can choke on the balloons contained in the game. Broken balloons should be discarded and children should be closely supervised while the game is being played.

Other Versions

Pictureka! has expanded into several versions of the game both in board game and electronic game formats. If you love the basic Pictureka! game, you might want to check out these other versions of this popular game: