Ever had a game night go from laughs to groans because of one awful board game pick? Trust me, I’ve been there. So when my friends showed up with an unpunched copy of Times, I got ready for either a new favorite or a new doorstop. In this review, I’ll spill the beans on whether Times is a winner you should grab for your next gathering—or just another box to bury in your closet.
How It Plays
Setting Up
Lay out the Times board and shuffle the question cards. Each player grabs a pawn and pops it on the start space. Make sure someone’s got the sand timer (and isn’t just waiting to drop it at the worst moment for laughs).
Gameplay
On your turn, draw a card and read the prompt—usually something like “Name movies with dogs” or “Types of cheese from France.” You start the timer and rattle off as many answers as you can before the sand runs out. If you run dry or time’s up, the next player jumps in and tries to add more answers. Keep going until everyone’s had their shot at the card! Advance forward on the board for each good answer. But if your answer’s wrong or you repeat one—oops!—your turn ends and the laughter begins.
Winning the game
The first player to reach the finish line with their pawn wins—and earns big-time bragging rights for knowing more random stuff than anyone else at the table. No tie-breakers, just pure trivia glory!
Want to know more? Read our extensive strategy guide for Times.
How Game Mechanics and Turns Tick in Times
If you’ve ever tried explaining Times to someone who’s just walked into your living room, be ready for confusion, wild gesturing, and a few blank looks. The game mechanics in Times are a well-oiled chaos machine, but once you get the hang of it, turns zip along faster than my ambitions of eating healthy during game night. Each player starts their turn by grabbing a fresh Times card, which usually contains something like “Name 5 movies with dogs” or “List 7 cities in Italy.” I’ll be honest; the timer is the real boss here. Once that sand starts slipping, my heart starts racing like I’m on a discount game show.
Players race against the clock for each round, throwing answers out faster than popcorn at a kids’ movie. If you get stuck, you can pass, but passing too often will leave you watching everyone else rack up points while you become a trivia spectator in your own home. There are wild Times cards that will let you steal someone else’s category or force them to swap with you. Watching my friend Mark try to name seven types of cheese while panicking was funnier than the box art.
The winner is the first to reach the target score, but how you get there is all about how well you can think under pressure while bickering with the sand timer. Next up, let’s chat about whether you’re actually rewarded for your encyclopedic brain—or if Times lets luck crash the party a bit too often!
Skill vs. Luck: Who Wins in Times?
When my group first played Times, everyone sized each other up like we were entering some sort of board game showdown. Sharon even brought her board game lucky socks, which may or may not have been washed. But as we got rolling, it became pretty clear: this isn’t a game that lets you coast on luck alone. Sure, the timer sometimes throws you a curveball (I’m looking at you, round where my brain forgot what a ‘famous inventor’ looked like), but most rounds reward sharp thinking and quick reflexes.
The main mechanic in Times forces you to think fast and make split-second decisions. If you freeze under pressure, you’ll lose precious seconds and probably finish behind that one friend who treats every round like a high-speed quiz show. But luck does creep in, especially when random topics pop up. Sometimes you get a round that’s squarely in your wheelhouse (thank you, “types of pasta”), and other times you’re stuck with a category like “things that are green” and your mind goes completely blank. I’ll never forget how my friend Dave tried to argue that his “frog-shaped soap” counted. It shouldn’t have, but we were all laughing too hard to protest properly.
Overall, I’d call Times a solid 80% skill and 20% luck. You’ll find strategy in reading players, thinking ahead, and not panicking when the pressure mounts. But a bit of good fortune helps, too, so don’t toss those lucky socks just yet. Next up, let’s find out if Times stays fresh or ends up staler than week-old crackers…
Replay Value and Variety: Will Times Stand the Test of, Uh, Time?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve played plenty of games that lose their charm faster than my attention span at a tax seminar. Times is not one of those games. The replay value here is honestly better than the free bread at a fancy restaurant. Every game feels fresh—not just because you’re never sure if your brain will remember random trivia, but because the prompts and challenges shuffle things up every round.
We got a lot of mileage out of Times at my game night crew’s table. That first run-through was wild, but on the third and fourth games, we were still laughing at the weird answers and sneaky plays. There’s a good range of question cards in the box, so you’re not going to bump into repeats for a while. I even caught my friend Rina trying to “study” Wikipedia before our rematch, hoping to get the upper hand. (Nice try, Rina. Still lost.)
Variety isn’t just about the questions, though. Times has fun little twists with bonus rounds and swappable modes if you want to crank up the challenge or make things silly. Our favorite: speed mode, where you only get five seconds to answer. It’s chaos. The kind of chaos that keeps you coming back. And if you think you’ve mastered it, just shuffle in some house rules. We made a “no shouting” rule—lasted two turns. Impossible.
Short version: Times has more staying power than my New Year’s resolutions, thanks to its clever mix of randomness, game modes, and surprises. Trust me, you won’t shelve it after one night.
But let’s be real, a game’s nothing without its players—so next, let’s see if Times gets everyone involved or just leaves you staring at your phone…
Player Interaction and Engagement: Keeping Everyone in the Game with Times
Let me tell you, Times has a knack for keeping players on their toes—and I’m not just saying that because my friend Keith once flipped the whole table in excitement. You can’t zone out in this game. Every round, everyone is either rattling off answers, snatching at ideas, or laughing at the wild guesses people come up with. There are no long waits while someone overthinks their move. If you blink, you might miss your chance to yell out an answer and claim a point.
The game cleverly encourages even the quietest person to join in. One moment, someone dropping “trousers” as an answer to “Things you find in a school bag” has the whole table howling, and the next, they’re snatching victory with three points in a row. There’s a sense of shared silliness that keeps engagement high. Times doesn’t just reward the trivia masterminds—it hands the spotlight to anyone willing to take a risk. If you clam up, you might be toast, but at least you’ll have a front-row seat to the chaos.
I also love how Times gets a little competitive, but never nasty. Banter flies. People form silly alliances or pretend rivalries, and the mood stays light. It’s one of those games where you spend more time grinning than glancing at the score.
So—do I recommend Times for player interaction and keeping the table engaged? Absolutely. It brings everyone together and keeps everyone awake, which is all I can ever ask of a party game!
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a game that gets everyone shouting answers, laughing at each other’s panic, and making up the weirdest lists imaginable, Times is a solid pick. It shines brightest with the right crowd—those willing to laugh at mistakes and get creative under pressure. My group had a blast, though things did get a bit wild (and noisy). Yes, luck can mess with even the best planner, but the clever questions and fast pace kept everyone hooked. Just don’t expect a calm, silent evening. If you prefer pure strategy over chaos, you might want to look elsewhere. For party nights though, Times brings the energy. That wraps up this review—may your answers be fast and your timer forgiving!
