Game Review: Hues and Cues

Who doesn’t love a good party game? The chance to get a good group of people all around the table together can really kick a party into an enjoyable experience. There have been a number of games out in the board game world that seek to do just this for all players involved. Today we are going to take a look at one that tries to just that with a familiar mechanic but a different theme then you may be used to!

Hues and Cues is designed by Scott Brady and published by The OP Games. It plays 3-10 in approximately 30-45 min games.

Overview

In Hues and Cues players will take turns giving clues about a specific color on the game board trying to get other players to guess its location. Players will score points based on their ability to pick the closest color to the correct answer and the clue-giver scores points based on how well the other players do at getting close to the specific color.

Gameplay

The game board is set up in the middle of the table and each player grabs three of the same color pieces to be their color for the game. One will track their score, 2 will be used in game. The stack of 100 cards is placed off to the side of the game board face down. The scoring frame is also set aside. 

In Hues and Cues players will begin their turn when they are the clue giver by drawing a card and choosing one of the four colors on the card to give clues about. The coordinates for that color are on the card so you can see where it lines up. That player will think of a one word clue to give out for the other players to try and guess its location on the board.

When giving clues for your color, you must obey a few simple rules. These include no common color names, no clues that give away the location on the map itself and no clues for anything you can see in the room you are in. Players will then take turns going clockwise from the clue giver taking a guess at the color by placing one of their player pieces on the square they think is the answer. No doubling up on spaces already picked!

Once all players have guessed once, the clue giver has the option to give a second clue, this time as a two word clue that will also allow each player to guess one more time on a new color square. Once all guesses are in, players will score points based on their location the correct answer. The scoring frame helps to determine this by placing the answer in the center square. Anyone who guesses exactly right will score 3 points, any of the other eight spots inside the frame score 2 points each and all pieces played that touch the outside of the frame score 1 point each. 

All pieces are returned and the game moves the clue giver clockwise one spot and is repeated. Based on number of players you can play this with one or two times around the board. After the final round the player with the most points wins!

Impressions

Hues and Cues is the party game I didn’t know I needed. I love the premise of this design and the gameplay that goes with it. It is familiar for those that love party and group games like this-someone gives a clue, everyone tries to do something in relation to the clue. Some party games like this require that you be strong in trivia or general/random knowledge, some require memory or recall, others the ability to read the room or clues involved. But no other game that I have played has been so focused on the colors and vivid recall of items that match them.

This is not a game for the color blind in your group. That is probably the games’ largest limitation and one that I cannot see how you would do a work around for it in any type of gameplay. That being said, it is game you will just need to be considerate of others in your gaming group or around your table with so as to not purposefully exclude others. But if it isn’t an issue with any of your players, you will probably not notice it at all. 

The other area of discussion I wanted to bring up is player count. The game is not one that you would play at a smaller group even though it does allow for play with only a few players. The game really shines with 5+ players, and personally I love it at 8-10 players as the guesses tend to be wide at times and really tight other times. We found that the speed of the game still moves at a good pace even at the higher player count and players tended to stay very engaged regardless of the number of players as the game moves around the board. 

If you are looking for a twist on the party game world that is familiar but still brings something new to what we are accustom to, Hues and Cues might be the choice for you! It continues to be one of the more fun games I have played this year and has proven to be popular with a wide variety of players we have put it in front of. I plan to continue to introduce this one to many players both new and old to gaming and expect it to be a popular game on the table. Hues and Cues is quite possibly the best party game you will play in 2020. Make sure to check this one out if you are looking for a colorful way to spend a good time around the table with family and friends!