0
0
Players: 3-4
Playing Time: About 60-90 minutes
I love summer holidays. Not only are they the perfect opportunity to spend time with family, relaxing and enjoying the time off, but they’re also a great opportunity to gather a few guinea pigs and play a new game or two. This time, I gathered my parents and my husband together to try out a strategy game called Who Stole Ed’s Pants?
Since WSEP? is made by the same company as The Nacho Incident (Eight Foot Llama), I was already somewhat familiar with the setup—and I was prepared for a fun challenge. My poor parents, however, had no idea what they were getting themselves into….
As with The Nacho Incident, learning this game takes quite some time. The setup is pretty complex—as are the rules and the different strategies. Overall, though, the goal is simple—to use the facts and plant evidence on your opponents to accuse them for pant-thievery.
During setup, three main facts are placed on the table—a Who fact, a Where fact, and a When fact. These three facts tell when the pants were stolen, where the crime may have taken place, and what kind of person committed the crime. Players play either in teams (if playing with four players) or on their own (if playing with three) to use the five cards in their hand (either Witness cards, Fact cards or Evidence cards) to, among other things, change the facts of the crime to make themselves look innocent or plant evidence on an opponent to make him or her look guilty. The game is played in two rounds, with players collecting points for the incriminating evidence against them. The guiltier your opponents look, the better off you are. And when the game is over, the player with the most points is arrested and taken away—and the player with the least number of points is left to celebrate.
As I said before, this isn’t exactly an easy game to learn—and, for the sake of space, I’ve omitted a few of the more complicated details here. Since I’m somewhat used to this kind of game, the learning curve wasn’t as great for me—but I’m afraid that my poor parents were in over their heads. They eventually caught on—mostly, at least—but they had a frustrating time of it. Fortunately, though, WSEP? is a strategy game with a great sense of humor—so while learning the game was occasionally frustrating, the clues were funny enough to make up for it. This definitely isn’t a game for those who tend to stick with casual family games, but WSEP?, like The Nacho Incident, is a great starter strategy game. When it all comes down to it, it could actually be a lot more complex than it is. Once you figure out all the basics, it’s actually a lot of fun. And the goofy clues make it even more entertaining.
I, for one, really enjoyed playing Who Stole Ed’s Pants? Once I figured out the basics, I found it to be a challenging yet original game that’s high on entertainment value. Mom and Dad, however, can tell you that it’s not a game for everyone. If you’re up for the challenge, give this wacky strategy game a shot—just be prepared for the learning curve.
