First, there was Apples to Apples, the game of absurd comparisons. Next, there was Cards Against Humanity, the R-rated Apples reboot for basics. And now, there’s Punderdome, a card game created by Fred and Jo Firestone.
That’s the same Fred and Jo Firestone you know and love, who host the everyone’s favorite pun tournament in Brooklyn, the Punderdome 3000. It comes out June 21, but you can pre-order a copy now. There may not be a human clap-o-meter, and the game may have a little more downtime than you’re used to at the live event, but make no mistake about it: this is a pun competition.
“I think it’s pretty playable regardless of your pun skills,” Jo Firestone, 29, told us. “But it’s really good for dads, probably fun for kids, and people our age coming to terms with their nerdy selves.”
The card game functions similarly to the live Punderdome (which happens monthly at Littlefield, the next one on March 1) with players being given 90 seconds to come up with puns based on a given topic. Instead of rattling off multiple puns on a single topic, however, this game has the prompter pick two prompt cards — a noun, and an action phrase — which have to be combined into a single, epic pun.
For example, if the topics are “fire” and “making money,” you might write down, This paycheck is really burning a hole in my pocket, or, I can’t wait to get paid so I can get blazed. The prompter awards the prompt card to the player whose pun he or she likes best, and the prompter rotates. The first player to 10 cards wins, with opportunities in the game for bonus points and extra time.
And it wouldn’t be the Punderdome® without two mystery boxes for the winner and runner-up: the person who initially suggested playing the game (presumably the host of a gathering) has to furnish two winning mystery envelopes with things from their own home.
So, there you have it. It’s take-home Punderdome (it costs $20, but pre-sale is $15.73) for all ages that you can send to anyone in your family and play anytime. In fact, Firestone was so confident that you “could play the game anywhere,” that we asked her if it was the kind of game you should carry around in your purse.
“It’s a little big for a purse, but if you had it in your purse I’d respect you,” she said. “It’s the size of two oranges.”
[Full disclosure: Several members of this website’s staff are noted Punderdome competitors, which is why we couldn’t let a good story slip bias.]
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I’m really disappointed by the lack of puns in this article. It was in the cards. You should have thought outside the box.
Your puns snuffed out their examples-they were on the money!
The deck was stacked against them. Too many readers who might not understand.
Slipped bias can also be read as slipped by us. So one might say they punished your insolence.
Agreed … At this rate, you’ll never play to a full house, since readers will throw you in the commode and give you a royal flush.
One needs to be a card to play this game. Not too funny though. Jokers aren’t playing with full decks.
Load up on puns, bring your friends, it’s fun to lose and to pretend.
I cannot believe how brutal these posts are. My guess it’s probably with buying and then post your actual thoughts.