Electronic Catch Phrase Game (Amazon Exclusive)

I bought this on Amazon because I couldn't find this in stores ANYWHERE. I called and drove to I don't know how many places to try and find it, the only game they carry at this time in stores is a version called "Catchphrase: Decades" which I understand is more a pop-culture oriented game. I haven't played it but I was only interested in this unit as I had played at a friend's house a few times. This game is so much fun! It's like a mash-up of Taboo and Hot Potato. I disliked it at first, as it doesn't really reward skill- you could be very good at describing your word, but if the timing is against you, there's nothing you can do. I love the game Taboo and I'm quite good at it so playing this game was frustrating at first...but after playing a few times with friends I realized it's really not so much about winning or scoring points, but the gameplay itself is wild and hilarious. I'd rather lose and have a blast; laughing so hard till I'm crying and/or peeing my pants- than win at an intense, competitive game. The categories are Entertainment, Everyday Life, Fun & Games, The World, and Variety- which is really the only category we ever play on since it draws content from all the other categories. Once in a while you'll get a phrase, person, place or thing that's a bit obscure, but overall most everyone can play on anything that comes up. (We are pretty hard-core about our "skip" policy- one per person per round, and someone on the opposing team has to "approve" your skip.) I love that you don't have to set up any boards, game pieces, shuffle any cards or pass out fake money- this game is so easy to just pick up and go. Easy to bring to a party or to travel with- it will fit in a normal-sized purse. The gameplay and rules are easy to explain, if you've never played before all you really have to do is watch one or two people go before you and you'll know what to do. The only thing I would change about this game is adding an on/off switch to the unit. If it's idle for a while it turns itself off, but, if this is in your bag and something jostles one of the buttons, it starts the countdown sound and won't go off until you hit the "stop" button at the top. Slightly annoying when you're toting this game around, but not the worse thing ever. Just don't bring it into a funeral or something. Overall, awesome fun game, don't hesitate to pick this up! Grab a beer and let's play!

I first saw this game on Jimmy Fallon's Late Night Show and thought it'd be a fun one to get for my dinner parties. I decided on the newer version with 5,000 catch phrases due to people complaining that the old version ran out of phrases after 2 hours. I tested it with a group of my friends who's English is their second language, and it was a riot! It's interesting to find out who's more competitive than others, how couples communicate with each other, and how people extract information and communicate their thoughts. One party, we played with 14 people until 2AM! I had this game for a couple of months now, and have played it at home with my boyfriend and in groups approximately 20 times, and I have yet to come across the same word or catch phrase. The only complaint I have about this product, is that when in large groups and it's loud, it's very difficult for everyone to hear the buzzer go off. If it vibrated, that would be fantastic! I would definitely get this game if you're looking for fun easy games for parties, friends, and even couples. I actually think it'd also be great for people that are trying to practice their English because it makes you explain catch phrases that you might not even know the meaning of or ever heard. All in all, a fun great product.

This is a great game for groups. We use Catchphrase almost daily in our office - typically with 6-12 people. It's a fun game to play in other settings as well, but we use it as a team-building activity and our employees absolutely love it. I did a survey on our office culture recently and one of the most popular responses was that people love playing this game. Our employees shared that this game is a good way to increase positivity and energy (especially during late afternoon slumps), it helps provide a distraction but gets their creativity and productivity flowing, and it's good for team-bonding and getting to know each other. Usually they will take a 10-15 minute break while playing this game and come back refreshed and ready to get back to the grind. We have several of these around our office and the battery lasts for a long time - this edition has a huge bank of phrases so it stays fresh and exciting for a long time.

I last purchased this in December of 2014 and paid $10.63. I did not own the original Catchphrase and as such have no complaints about repetition between the two versions as some reviewers have observed. My buddies and I have had a lot of fun with this game. Most people probably don't know that you can no longer send electronics containing lithium batteries to military APO/FPO addresses. That's not a special military requirement, it's a USPS requirement as lithium batteries are apparently potentially dangerous when being transported in airplane cargo holds. The down side to that is that it limits your choices in electronics you can send to soldiers as most newer products have rechargeable lithium batteries inside. This handheld gaming device runs on alkaline batteries, can be sent to military addresses and this is about as good as it gets for handheld electronic games that run on alkaline batteries. It has a large color LCD screen, the games are entertaining and it has decent battery life even running on alkaline batteries, but I suggest you include a package of alkaline batteries in your order for uninterrupted game play. This game is very popular and a great distraction. I recommend this as a terrific gift option for your to send to your soldier.

I had asked for this game for Christmas from my husband & was very happy to see it Xmas am. Although I've only had opportunity to play it twice since I received it, both times we all had a really fun night playing it. It is a group type game so does call for, I believe at least 4 players(2 teams of 2 players on each team minimum). I saw it on TV b4 Xmas 2012 & thought it looked like a GREAT group game & whenever my family gets together we ALWAYS play some sort of game we could all play that's fast paced & don't have to really concentrate but have fun more than anything & saw as a game that we'd all enjoy, but then Xmas past & when we'd all b together playing same games we'd been playing for awhile now, would pop into my head again,so as this Xmas(2013) was coming up, thought of it again & left a bunch of notes around(hinting or more like saying I want this game for xmas!! Haha). When we all were together during the week after Xmas we played & I was right, we all loved the game itself, Catch Phrase with ages ranging from 14 to 73 & had a LOT of laughs & nite filled w/tons of fun!!! I would most definitely recommend to anyone who likes to play games of all ages, starting with young teens & up, especially if u are the type of family or group of friends that enjoy playing games like this type..its a times game where each team takes its turn & one player on the team in that particular round, taking turns though, will b the one giving the clues, words, hand motions, etc, to try to have ur team guess the "Phrase" written in the screen on the handheld unit and once they guess or u pass a new word comes up & keeps going until ur time runs out. U do have categories to choose from b4 u begin as well, which is nice too. Then it's the next teams turn to pick player to give out the clues, etc until there time runs out and then goes back to team1 where a new player gives the clues and so on...it keeps u on ur toes and any other of ur teammates can just yell out what they think it might b until they uses it or u or them decide to pass..the nights we played we had about 3-4 players on each team & as I said above had a lot of laughs and fun & everyone agreed was a great game & would love to play again as soon as we get together again. So for those reasons I gave it the 4 stars, my one & only reason for ONLY 4 stars instead of 5 stars is because of the way the game is designed with its scoring..although there is a "Score" button on game unit, and as I remember either on box or in description under game on here it said in some type of wording, it "keeps score" so u would assume the game as ur playing.& u hit that team got it right etc, that it would keep track and have it marked at end of round how many u did get right, luckily I quickly read the instructions b4 we played or wouldn't have known how many we got correct on my team, who went first, because it actually DOES NOT keep ur score in the way u would expect, u actually have to keep track of ur own score during the particular round by jotting it down (as timer still going) or have a trustworthy member of the opposing team keep ur score for u on sheet of paper as ur team is going.., then after ur teams time is up, u then put ur teams points it received for that particular round,by hitting the "score" button & keep hitting it for the amount u got correct, so if ur team got 5 correct, u hit the score button 5 times and then I forget exactly what u do to let it know ur finished but only after doing that, is the 1st teams score set in & now it becomes the next teams turn & after each round have to do same thing w/scoring..someone keeps track on paper. It does however, then keep track/remember ur scores as the game progresses, but ONLY after u put the points/scores in manually after each teams turn, but u still have to jot down ur points while playing to know what score/points to put in at end of each & every round & there's no way to know that it works that way, until u've opened the box, put in batteries & then start playing only to see its not keeping ur score as u went on, unless u read the instructions..which many, feeling its a pretty straight forward game, wouldn't bother doing(as it was, while I was reading instructions my family members were saying, not 2 bother, we get It, we think we could figure it out,etc) & then wouldn't know until after the first round when it would show up being zero as first teams score & no one knowing 2 keep track on paper.. & w/ a lot going on, with different voices guessing & person trying 2 quickly get team 2 guess, without saying any word in the phrase on screen, trying 2 describe & at times the game could get loud.depending on group ur playing w/& how many people on each team, etc, so, needless to say, the last thing ur team is thinking of while going is the score, main thing is trying to guess & also thinking of timer running out... My point is, why bother having a scoring function if u still need someone to keep track of the score with pen and paper, while going instead of when the person gets the answer correct or incorrect & moving to next word/phrase for them to guess, u would think it could just see u hit ur team got phrase correct & just score a point then...that was the only part that really bothered me because felt mislead when saw online & read that it kept the score & only to see after each round that I had to hit the score button the amount of times my team answered one correct till u get to correct number then hit enter or something & it holds it & next teams turn to go, they did have a few different versions, but this was supposed to b newest best version, first version not being electronic was just cards. That was my only problem with the game...and I guess if they just left the score button off, would have kept score w/paper no problem, but seeing it"kept score" but yet,mu still needed to keep score also...just didnt make much sense to me or anyone else there while we played..but honestly, it still is a VERY fun game & we had a LOT of laughs/fun & wound up playing for hours!!! Both times and only stopped because it was getting pretty late. Regardless of whole scoring issue will most DEFINITELY continue to play CATCH PHRASE & everyone who played(about 8 of us) also thought the game was great but agreed about the scoring issue & felt why did they bother, if marking it down, we will just keep marking it on paper throughout, just seems like an extra step for scoring.. Maybe they will eventually upgrade once again to correct the scoring issues, so as u get answers correct will give u a point then, not expect you to put ur teams score in hitting button over & over till get to correct number only having to keep track during the game as being timed & taking the time after stopping game basically while other team waiting to go, while u put in manually the score into handheld unit. Guess we just didnt/don't understand. But without a doubt, I would still recommend, just have pen/paper handy & someone from ur team or trustworthy player from other team to keep track of ur score as the fast paced timed game is going...lots of laughs & night full of fun with family or friends that enjoy playing games easy enough where its fun & fast paced without tooo much thinking. Also, It is a nice size handheld unit that does fit comfy ably in hands,& easy to read the screen. If ur looking for a fun game with group, this is DEFINITELY THE GAME. Catch Phrase itself did not disappoint!!!! Go for it as the time flies by & next thing u know hours have gone by..good categories also to choose from...just b prepared to keep track of points during rounds. I'm sure we will get used to it, was just disappointed I suppose, but scoring issue definitely will not stop us from playing whenever we have at least 4 of us together!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND as party game or family get together(bdays, holidays, or just a nite together). Had GREAT TIME PLAYING!!!!

My daughter bought this toy for her boyfriend's little brother - he absolutely loves it. In search of something other than video games and overly addictive electronics, she decided on a physical toy and decided that this was perfect. Catchphrase is basically another version of Taboo or Heads Up. It is a multi-player word guessing game that becomes very exciting and intense as the timer ticks faster and faster. There are a couple different categories of words to choose from, and the words in the system are up-to-date. This game is easy to learn and continues to be fun for hours. The box says that it is for kids aged 12 or older, but realistically kids around 9 or older can play it. It is not too difficult as long as the kid can proficiently speak and understand English. Adults can enjoy this game too - my daughter actually discovered this game in college and wanted to share the fun with her friends and family.

This is a really fun game that keeps you on your toes. We absolutely do not regret this purchase. We host a lot of family and friends game nights at our place and we wanted something new. We purchased this game a few months back and decided to try it out just us two. Oh Boy! We actually lost track of the time! We had a ball. The game its self is small and easy to hold, it has multiple categories that i'm sure would interest individuals of all ages. The week after our purchase we hosted game night at our place. Some of our friends were familiar with the game while some of our other friends experienced the game for the first time. Needless to say it was a hit and is featured every other game night. Since our purchase my brother and a friend of ours also purchased this item, just not on amazon. I recommend this game!

This game is a LOT of fun! It's fairly small and travels well without losing parts/cards/etc. One difference - We don't play by the rules. Per the rules, you go back and forth between teams until the time runs out, then the last team with the game loses a point. Much more fun to have one team keep the game and score as many points as they can without the annoying "no fair, you took too long to pass me the game!" WAY better to let each team score what they can on their own. You can't use the game's internal scoring that way, but it's pretty easy to keep count.

Questions a little too American. Needs to be more International.

This is the best game. A friend brought it over one night and we had a blast. After that evening I went and purchased one. I purchased one for myself and another for a Christmas present. We have played the one I got. It's got 5000 words which great. We don't use the team counter. We just use a piece of paper to keep tract. You can play as many teams as you want. We also switch partners every game. When you order make sure you get the one that has the different categories.

Great product still didn’t catch and fish though.

Love this game!! Always a hit at parties and we always end up loling and occasionally have to stop playing for a couple of minutes just to get our breath back after laughing.

We love playing this game. It's fast-paced and we have a lot of laughs. The seller was very responsive when I mistakenly ordered 2 instead of 1.