If you’ve ever wanted to stare at faces for a good laugh and a bit of wild guessing, then this review is for you. I’ve played Faces with friends who run the full range from poker-faced to giggle machines, and boy, did it lead to some surprises. In this review, I’ll share what’s a hit, what’s a miss, and whether this game belongs on your shelf (or in your closet). Grab your best game night crew—let’s see what kind of faces you’ll be pulling by the end of this review!
How It Plays
Setting up
To start, everyone gets a little voting board and a set of number cards. Grab a pile of face cards and place them in the middle. Each face card shows a random photo—some are grumpy, some are goofy, all are weird. Shuffle up the prompt deck (these are the funny questions!) and you’re ready.
Gameplay
Each round, one player reads a prompt, like, “Who just ate an entire pizza by themselves?” Lay out several face cards. Everyone studies the faces and picks the one they think best fits the prompt by secretly using their number cards. Once everyone chooses, reveal your picks and get ready to defend your choice. This is where the game gets silly and loud. Some people take this part way too serious—like my friend Dave, who insists every mustache means ‘pizza lover.’
Winning the game
You score a point every time your choice matches another player’s guess. The more you read your friends’ minds (or just randomly agree), the better you do. Play until someone hits the winning score, or until you’re too busy laughing to care who won (which is usually what happens at my place).
Want to know more? Read our extensive strategy guide for Faces.
Faces: Where Expressions Meet Hilarious Guesswork
Okay, so the game is called Faces, right? You’d expect it to really lean into the whole face theme, and let me tell you, it does. Every round, we stared at a bunch of faces, which ranged from grandma who bakes cookies to a guy who clearly just ate a lemon. These faces aren’t just art on the cards; they come alive once players start linking them with weird descriptions. I will never forget the round someone picked the face that looked like my grumpy math teacher and matched it with ‘probably believes in aliens’. Thanks, Steve.
The gameplay feels like a party where everyone gets to be a detective and a comedian at the same time. You take turns picking a description card and secretly choosing which face best fits. The rest of the group desperately tries to read your mind. The best part? Unlike some games that slap a theme on and call it a day, Faces makes sure every turn is about, well, faces. It’s not like we’re counting sheep and pretending they’re dragons here.
There’s something about seeing your aunt try to decide whether the dude with a mullet or the lady with a parrot on her shoulder looks more ‘likely to steal a sandwich’ that just makes the theme sing. The artwork plays into this perfectly—every face tells a story, and not always the one the game intended!
But do you want to know if all these faces bring people closer, or just make them laugh until soda squirts out their noses? Buckle up, because the next section is all about Player interaction and laughter level!
Player Interaction and How Much You’ll Laugh in Faces
If you’re like me, you buy party games for two reasons: you want to have fun and you want to laugh so hard you question your life choices. Faces scores big in both. The whole game is about reading your friends, trying to figure out if someone thinks a picture of a man with wild eyebrows looks like your aunt Mildred or a confused llama. There’s no sitting in silence thinking about strategy, because every round you’re either defending your weird pick or convincing everyone you’re not a total psycho for matching a face to the prompt “most likely to own a boat.”
Interaction in Faces feels almost like a schoolyard. You point, you laugh, you groan in disbelief. I once played Faces with a group of very quiet work friends. By the third round, we were all roaring with laughter and accusing each other of crimes against common sense. The best part is you never know who’s going to stand out each game, because everyone has that one oddball moment that sparks a group meltdown. I’d say it brings out the best (and sometimes the weirdest) in people.
Compared to other party games, Faces is all about the group sitting together and sharing a moment. You can’t zone out. Even the shiest player gets sucked into the crossfire of giggles and “what were you thinking?!” accusations. If you want a game that bonds folks in a haze of silliness, Faces gets my vote.
Next up, I’ll break down how replayable Faces is, especially when you mix up the people—so prepare yourself for tales of chaos and truly weird combos!
How Replayable Is Faces With Different People?
One thing I’ve learned after a dozen wild nights is that Faces is a board game that shines brightest when you mix up your group. The game asks you to match funny faces to random prompts, and let me tell you, the results explode with new jokes every time you change the people around the table. Your Aunt Linda will pick totally different faces than your grumpy coworker Jeff. Kids play it way more literally, while adults try (and fail) to outwit each other.
The cards never really get old, because it’s the group that makes the game feel new. Play it with the family at a reunion and prepare for some PG silliness. Bring it out at a friend’s party, and suddenly the game leans into weird inside jokes and epic story callbacks. Some faces become iconic—like “that one guy who could be anyone’s uncle and serial killer at once”—and you’ll find yourselves referencing them long after the game ends.
I also like that Faces doesn’t punish new players. There’s zero learning curve and no strategy gatekeeping. Everyone can play, and seriously, nobody feels left out or bored between turns. Even after playing with five totally different groups, I found that laughter and engagement were always high, and it never felt repetitive.
If you’re wondering whether Faces is all luck or if you can actually use some skill, you’re in for a treat in the next section: we’re talking balance, baby!
Skill vs Luck: Is Faces a Game of Wits or Whim?
If you’ve ever looked at a face and thought, “Yeah, that guy definitely got banned from a petting zoo,” you’ll know the odd magic at play in Faces. But let’s talk turkey: is this game about clever strategy, or is it all just blind luck?
Here’s how it works: one player reads a quirky prompt, like “Who would get caught sneezing in church?” and everyone picks a face picture they think matches. The reader picks the face they think fits the prompt best. The others try to guess what the reader will pick—so knowing your friends’ brains really helps you win. But sometimes, you just wildly guess and pray. Either way, it’s chaos.
Now, does skill matter here? Well, yes and no. If you know your friends well, you can score more points. But the truth is, sometimes someone picks a face that makes zero sense—like my friend Stan who always votes for the face with the biggest mustache, no matter the question. (Stan, if you’re reading this, we’ve noticed!) And sometimes, winning feels like guessing which cloud looks most like a sandwich. Luck plays a HUGE role.
If you crave deep strategy, Faces might drive you nuts. But if you want laughs and light-hearted play, it’s a real winner. I can’t say it’s skill-heavy, so I gotta give it 3 stars out of 5. Still, I recommend it for game nights when you just want to giggle, not compete for glory.
Conclusion
So, that’s Faces in a nutshell. If you want a game that gets folks laughing quick and doesn’t need much brain power, this is a solid pick. It shines most with goofy friends who aren’t scared to point fingers and invent wild stories. Just know, Faces is a party game and not one for serious strategy. If luck-based wins grind your gears, you might feel salty fast. For me, it’s a fun hit once in a while, especially when the group is full of characters. Thanks for reading, and that wraps up my review—may your faces be weird and your guesses even weirder!
