Apples to Apples

An English learning activity.

In the video-based English activity below, Scott Nicholson from Board Games with Scott describes how to play two popular board games called "Apples to Apples" and "Attribute," the first of which is probably played by 100s of thousands of people in the United States and England.

  

Scott Nicholson is currently working for Syracuse University as the Program Director of the Masters of Science in Library and Information Science program.

Part 1 - Apples to Apples

If you are a student, do these activities in this order: Apples to Apples Websequitur, Apples to Apples Matching, Apples to Apples Simple Cloze, Apples to Apples Difficult Cloze, Apples to Apples Quiz, Apples to Apples WebRhubarb, Or, if you prefer, listen as you read the text below. (Activities and vocabulary definitions by Steven Starry.)

Listen to Scott Nicholson:       It is better to download the MP3 file and open it in an external program: MP3.
Listen to Steven speaking much more slowly:       It is better to download the MP3 file and open it in an external program:  MP3.

Click on the image on the right to open the Quicktime video in another window or download the 30 megabyte .mov file and open it in an external program: Apples to Apples Movie.

"Apples to Apples" and "Attribute"
         by Scott Nicholson

(Video text: Upstate Gamers, Weekly Game and Hot Dish Potluck. Tonight: Apples to Apples.)

Oh, come on, you want to play “Apples to Apples” again! We just played that last week. Are we going to play that every time we get together? Ever find yourself thinking this? Have you never heard of “Apples to Apples?” Either way this episode is for you.

“Apples to Apples” is a party game that came out a few years ago from “Out of the Box.” It’s a very popular game. A lot of people like it. A lot of people like it a lot, to the point of playing it a lot. And so a number of folks have gotten tired of “Apples to Apples.” But, in this episode I’m going to talk about this game, “Apples to Apples,” and I’m going to talk about another choice you’ve got called “Attribute.”

“Attribute” came out in Germany and now there’s an English version available and it shares some of the same characteristics of “Apples to Apples,” but it’s a bit more of a, well, gamers’ game, if you would. So, if you’ve been playing with a group that has “Apples to Apples” and likes it a lot, I would suggest going out and getting “Attribute” and giving it a shot, if you want something to, well, take it up, oh, a notch or so, one "bam" more.

Coming up, I’m going to talk about “Apples to Apples” and “Attribute” this week on “Board Games with Scott.”

Hi There. Welcome to “Board Games with Scott.” This is a regular video series where I take a board game, explain it, describe it and briefly review it to give you an idea if it’s something you might want to purchase. This week I’m actually going to be talking about two different games that are fairly similar. I’m talking about “Apples to Apples” and talking about “Attribute.”

First, I’ll talk about “Apples to Apples.” “Apples to Apples” is a game for 4 to 10 players on the box, although you could play it with more if you want to. It’s a popular party game. There’s lots of expansions out for it. You can even print out some of your own cards if you want to do that. It’s made by “Out of the Box Publishing.” And they’ve got small boxes. They’ve got versions for kids. They have big crates. There’s all sorts of flavors of this game.

The game comes with two types of cards: green cards and red cards. The green cards have attributes on them. They’re things like “sappy” and “creative” and “idiotic” and “boisterous.” So they are descriptive words on the green cards. The red cards, on the other hand, have nouns or proper nouns: people, places, things, events, so things like “New Orleans,” “Attack on Pearl Harbor,” “Rappers,” “the San Andreas Fault.” Things like that.

And what will happen is one player will be the judge. And the judge will pick a green card. They’ll just take the top one, so they might pull, for example, “filthy.” Now, everyone as fast as they can looks through their hand of red cards and picks the one that’s closest to "filthy" and throws it in the middle of the table. The judge then collects all the red cards and reads them out loud. So we might say alright “filthy” is the word you’re trying to match, so our choices are: “remote controls.” Yes they are kind of “filthy” - and it can be fun, by the way, when you’re the judge, to kind of chat about the things - “filthy” “remote controls.” We have “filthy” “Dennis Rodman,” well, ok, that’s kind of the image he likes to present, we have those “filthy” “piranha” - not that good, sometimes you’re stuck just throwing out something junky because, well, it’s in your hand and you want to get rid of it. - We have “filthy” lawyers. And we have, hey, “filthy” “my hair.” - My hair’s not “filthy.” I just showered this morning.

So, the judge then will take up the red cards and decide which one that the judge likes the best. So, I might say if I’m the judge. So what is the most filthy? Well, I’m going to say, that, well I’m going to say remote controls are the most filthy. I mean all those people grabbing at them and bleeping and blopping. Eww!

So anyway, the person who put in “remote controls” then gets the green card and that counts as a point. And the object of the game is to get a certain number of these green cards based upon how many players there are. So that’s the basic way it goes. After you take your turn as judge, you then pass the deck of cards to the player on your left. And that player will then be the judge, pull the next green card, everyone will pull a red card and it’ll go on.

Now, there’s a couple other twists that make it kind of exciting. First, if you have a bunch of people, 6 or more players, then the last person to play their card does not get to play their card. So, that adds kind of a speed element. Now, what I find is that with new people I tend to not use that rule the first time just because it freaks them out. So everyone gets to play their card, but once we’ve played it a few times, then you go ahead and introduce that. So everyone as quickly as they can, throws their card down, and that’s another role of the judge, is that the judge has to watch to see who is the last person to play their card out in the middle of the table. That person has to take their card back and it doesn’t count.

With 4 or 5 players then the way it works is people can play one or two cards each and then only the first 4 red cards that hit the table count. Now, if you’re playing two cards you have to play them one at a time. And again the judge has to watch and once there’s four cards in the stack, then that’s it.

Now again I find that I don’t tend to play with that rule. It just makes it a little more complex. I play it just like with the bigger groups. Everyone throws out one card, the last card is out. Some people play with the variant where they actually add in one card from the deck just to make things a little wacky and to see how often that the deck beats all the other players. But again, just makes it a little more convoluted.

So, that’s the basic game. The judge calls out a green card, everyone throws down a red card, the judge picks which ones they like the best, that person gets a point and you continue.

So, one of the tricks with the game is you want to figure out what the judge likes because you want to make them pick yours. So some people, like I know one judge that anything related to the Beatles they will pick over anything else so any time you get a card related to the Beatles you hang on to it and when that judge goes you throw out the Beatles. No matter what the word is, they’re going to pick it. Other people like me tend to pick weird things. Some people like the most logical answer. Other people will choose a pun and so part of this game is reading what other people are going to like and throwing out the cards that they will be the most interested in but you are limited with the cards you got in your hand and sometimes, you know, when you have a hand that’s “the mafia,” “Antarctica,” “funerals” and “New Orleans,” you know it’s, it might not be too easy to match “fluffy” if that’s the word, for example.

So, that’s the basics of “Apples to Apples.”

Part 2 - Attribute

If you are a student, do these activities in this order: Attribute Websequitur, Attribute Matching, Attribute Simple Cloze, Attribute Difficult Cloze, Attribute Quiz, Attribute WebRhubarb. Or, if you prefer, listen as you read the text below. (Activities and vocabulary definitions by Steven Starry.)

Listen to Scott Nicholson:       It is better to download the MP3 file and open it in an external program: MP3.
Listen to Steven speaking much more slowly:       It is better to download the MP3 file and open it in an external program:  MP3.

Or download the Quicktime video and open it in an external program: Apples to Apples Movie.

So, now let’s talk about “Attribute.” Now “Attribute” shares some things in common with “Apples to Apples” but it’s different enough of a game. It’s a little more complex. And it may be something, if you’re group is already playing “Apples to Apples” on a regular basis, and you want, and if you’re interested in something a little more complex, “Attribute” would be the way to go. Now, the first thing that’s different in “Attribute” is that they only have one type of card(s). So they only have description cards, attribute cards, so, “improvable,” and “wrinkle-free,” and “machine-washable,” and “low-calorie.”

The other thing that’s different in this one is there are sheep cards. There are these cute little sheep cards. There’s red sheep cards and green sheep cards and so that’s what comes in your “Attribute” box.

Now, the way this one works is that first everyone is given one sheep card and they’re going to be given it face down. And you look at it secretly. And so the sheep cards again are green and red. If you have a green sheep card, that means “match the topic.” If you have a red sheep card that means “don’t match the topic.” Now one player is chosen and that player will come up with a topic from their head, so unlike “Apples to Apples” where you pick the topic off the deck, in this one you come up with a topic from your head and then each player plays one of these attribute cards from their hand in front of them.

Now, again they’re not always going to play a card that matches the topic. If they have a green card, they DO want to match the topic. If they have a red card, they want to play the opposite of a topic. So they want to NOT match the topic. So everyone picks a card, holds it out in front of them and on the count of three, you flip it up. Unlike “Apples to Apples” there isn’t a judge who’s going to tell you which word is the best match. The goal of this game is to try and figure out who had a green card in front of them and avoid people that had a red card in front of them.

So the way it works is everyone picks their card, puts it out in front of them and on the count of three you flip it up. Then everyone looks very quickly at all the cards on the table and if they see a card that they think came from a person trying to match the topic, they slap the card, and so it’s a bit of a speed game. So you have to quickly look, you see what’s out there, you put your hand on top of a card that you think comes from a green sheep. Everyone does that. You can do that with one card. Everyone puts covers up one card. Each person can only cover up one and once someone’s got a card, other people can’t have it.

So you may look around and you may see no uncovered cards that you think belong to people who have green sheep in which case you don’t have to take anything. So then, everyone at this point, some people are reaching across the table and grabbing the cards of others, other people aren’t grabbing any cards. You grab the card if you think that player has a green card in front of them, and then you reveal, everyone flips over their card.

Now, if the person has a green card, then you put your hand on their card. Then you just slide your hand back taking the card. That card on the back of it is going to have a coin which represents a point. (Video text: Claiming an Attribute card from a Green sheep player = +1 point.)

So again, everyone flips their card. If it’s green and you have your hand on it, you take it back, you get a point. If it’s red and you have your hand on it, then you don’t get a point, and in fact you lose a point. You have to give up one of your points that you won earlier in the game. (Video text: Claiming an Attribute card from a Red sheep player = - 1 point.)

So if you grab a red card, then you lose a point. If you grab a green card, you gain a point. If you don’t grab anything, then your score doesn’t change.

Now, the other thing you look at is once all the cards have been taken, anyone with a red card that still has their attribute card in front of them – no-one grabbed it – they keep the attribute card. That’s worth a point. (Video text: If nobody takes Attribute card, Red sheep player = +1 point.) So you get a point if no-one takes your red-carded word. If someone has a green card in front of them and still has a card, they lose a point because no-one took their green-carded word. (Video text: If nobody takes Attribute card, Green sheep player = -1 point.)

So it’s a little convoluted. Again I’ll go through four ways to score. First, based upon the card you grab. If you grab a card with someone who has a green sheep in front of them, you get a point. (Video text: For taking an Attribute card from another player: +1 if that player had a Green sheep, -1 if that player had a Red sheep.) If you grab a card from someone who has a red sheep in front of them, you lose a point.

Then after all the cards that have been grabbed are taken, you then look. Anyone who had a red sheep who still has their card - no-one took it - gets a point, gets to keep the card, because that was good. You wanted people to not take your card. (Video text: If nobody takes your Attribute card: +1 if you have a Red sheep, -1 if you have a Green sheep.) Anyone that has a green sheep, but still has the card in front of them, loses a point. That’s bad. You want people to take your card if you have a green sheep. And so that’s the way the game goes. And the next player comes up with a topic from their head and names it.

So it’s a bit more complex. Everyone’s playing all the time. You don’t have this issue of one person being the uberjudge and deciding who gets the point. Instead, everyone’s got a chance to win up to two points and lose up to two points each round based upon what they grab and based upon if anyone takes theirs. It is more complex, but I do like this game quite a bit more. I like “Attribute” quite a bit more. It gets you more involved. It gets you thinking a lot more about the game rather than just tossing out a red card because you might find people who’ve played “Apples to Apples” for a while they might go into random card syndrome, where they just take the top card and throw it out every time and just wait to see what happens. So with “Attribute” you’re engaged a lot more.

So, I guess that’s about it. That’s “Apples to Apples” and “Attribute.” Both of these games are inexpensive. They’re games that can be played really as long as you want to play until you’re ready to move on to something else. They’ll both play with big groups. So the main difference is: Do you like a simple game, simpler rules set, where one player’s the judge and picks the player with the best answer? – or - Do you like a game with a more complex rules set where everyone’s involved and you have a chance to win points and lose points every round? It’s up to you. Both are good games. Both start with the letter “A.” So it should be easy to find at your local friendly local game store.

So, with that, oh, rankings, well, you know, they’re both party games. Party games can be hard to rate because they really come down to the people that you’re playing with. If you’re playing with people that you like, both of these games can give you an “A” gaming experience. If you’re playing with people that you don’t like, this game (holding up "Attribute" in the video) tends to hold up a little bit more because it’s got more mechanic to it. This game (holding up "Apples to Apples" in the video) feels kind of flat if you’re not laughing and joking and getting to know each other and having a good time. So I give this one a nod of these two. I would give “Attribute” an “A” and “Apples to Apples” an “A-.“ (Video text: Apples to Apples: A-, Attribute: "A.")

So with that, I will thank you for watching “Board Games with Scott.” I invite you to go to boardgameswithscott.com and see more episodes. In future episodes I’ll be looking at some games that are more complex. I might be looking at some games that are easier. Probably not. This is about as easy as they get. Thank you very much and I will talk to you in a future week. Bye, Bye.

(Video text: Board Games with Scott: http://boardgameswithscott.com featuring Scott Nicholson scott@scottnicholson.com . Some Rights Reserved CC, Attribution, NonCommercial, ShareAlike. Support the Creative Commons. Thanks to the BGWS Beta Testers, Scotty Dickey, Rich Pardoe, Kent Reuber)

Vocabulary

(All of the vocabulary words below have more meanings. Only the meanings in the context above are given below.)

Attribute - a characteristic describing someone or something. - Atributo.
Upstate - In the north part of the state. - En la parte norte del estado.
Gamer - A gamer is a person who plays board games a lot. - Jugador de juegos de mesa. "Gamers' game" - a game which gamers like a lot. - Un juego que gusta mucho a los jugadores de juegos de mesa.
Hot dish potluck - A meal with hot foods on the menu at which each guest brings food which is then shared by everyone. - Una comida en la que cada invitado aporta un plato.
Tonight - On this day in the evening or at night. - Esta noche.
Come on! - An imperative that you say to stop an inappropriate behavior. - ¡Vamos!
Just, "We just played," "I just showered" - immediately before now. - Acabamos de jugar. Acabo de ducharme.
Just, "just tossing," "just wait" - simplemente tirando, simplemente espera.
Get together - to meet. - Reunirse.
Ever - at some time in the past. - Alguna vez.
Either way - one way and the other. - De cualquiera manera o en cualquier caso.
Come out, "a party game that came out" - appear on the market. - Salir (al mercado).
Folks - people. - Gente.
Available - accessible, obtainable. - Disponible.
Share - to give or have equal parts. - Compartir.
If you would - if you will permit me to say. - Si se me permite decir.
Give it a shot - try something. - Probar algo.
Take it up a notch - to make something a little more challenging; a notch is a level. - Subirlo de nivel.
One "bam" more - That's a cultural joke. There's a very popular cooking show in the U.S. hosted by Emeril Lagasse, and he uses the word "Bam!" throughout this show as a way of kicking his food up a notch. So, if you take your ice cream and add red pepper flakes, he would say "Bam!" as he is "taking his food up a notch." So, the word is "Bam" used as a joke. (by Scott Nicholson) - Subirlo de nivel.
Coming up - Next on the agenda. - Proximamente.
Hi there - Hello, hi. - Hola. (This is more colloquial and friendly sounding than either hello or hi.)
Purchase - buy. - Comprar o compra.
Actually - in realty. - En realidad.
Fairly similar - moderately similar. - bastante similar.
Although - despite the fact that. - Aunque.
Expansions - a product which adds a new part to the original product. - Expansiones.
"There are expansions out for it" - There are new expansions on the market for it. - Hay nuevas expansiones en el mercado para él.
Even - moreover. - Incluso.
Crate - Big wooden box for moving things in heavy transport. Cajón de embalaje.
Flavors - varieties. - Variedades. In this context "flavors" refers to games that are very similar to each other.
Sappy - excessively sentimental. - Bobo, ñoño.
Idiotic - stupid, in a stupid way. - Idiota.
Boisterous - referring to a rough, loud, rude, noisy and out of control group of people. - Escandaloso.
Noun - a grammatical term referring to a person, place, thing or event. - Sustantivo. Proper noun - a name. - Nombre propio.
Happen - Occur. - Ocurrir.
Judge - A public official who tries cases in a court of law. - Juez. Uberjudge (Or überjudge) - The term "uber" means "absurdly powerful."
Pick, "pick a card" - to select and take (a card). - Coger (una carta). Synonym: draw, pull, take.
Top, "take the top card" - the uppermost. - la carta de encima (del montón).
Pull, "pull a card" - Coger (una carta). Synonym: draw, pull, take.
Filthy - Extremely dirty. - Mugriento o roñoso.
Throw - to launch or propel through the air. - Tirar. Throw a card - to play a card. - Tirar una carta.
Look through, "look through your hand" - to look at each and every one of the cards in your group of cards that you have in your hand. - Mira a tus cartas. (You can "look through your hand" and "look through it", but you can't "look your hand through" or "look it through.")
Closest - nearest. - El más cercano. "Pick the one that's closest to filthy" - Choose the word that is most similar to the word "filthy."
Out loud - Aloud, speaking in a way that everyone can hear you. - En voz alta.
By the way - Incidentally. - A propósito.
Chat - to talk in an informal way. - Charlar.
Stuck ("you're stuck just throwing out something") - forced or obliged. - Forzado o obligado.
Junky - Not very good, garbage, trashy. - Basura. "you’re stuck just throwing out something junky" - estas pillado jugando una carta mala.
Get rid of something - to eliminate something. - Deshacerte de algo.
Take up, "take up the cards" - to collect (the cards). - Recoger las cartas.
Grab - to take suddenly. - Agarrar rapidamente.
Bleeping and blopping - two words with no other meaning that refer to the sounds that remote controls make when they are used. - Dos palabras que simplemente se refieren a los sonidos que hacen los mandos a distancia cuando se usan.
Pass the cards - to transfer the cards from one person to another. - Pasar las cartas.
Twists - An unexpected change in the normal way something is done. - Giros inesperados.
Bunch, "a bunch of people" - a group. - Un grupo.
Get to do something, "get to play your card," - To be permitted or to have the chance or opportunity to do something. - Poder hacer algo.
What I find, ("what I find is that" - this is not a question) - The thing that normally happens is ... . - Lo que encuentro.
Tend - to have a tendency, to be disposed or inclined. - Tender. "I tend not to use this rule" - I am inclined not to use this rule. - Tiendo a no usar esta regla.
Freak someone out - to cause someone to get very upset or nervous. - Hacer que alguien le de un ataque de nervios. (You can "freak him out," but you can't "freak out him." However, you can "freak Michael out" and you can "freak out Michael." I.e. You can't end the phrasal verb with a pronoun.)
Once - as soon as. - Una vez. "Once you've played something" - Una vez que has jugado algo.
Go ahead - Proceed. - Adelante, proceder.
Role - An expected social behavior of the person. - Papel.
Play a card, ("play a card out in the middle of the table") - to put your card on the table in order to take your turn in the game. - Tirar una carta.
Take your card back - to recover and return your card to your hand. - Volver a coger tu carta. (You can "take it back," but you can't "take back it." However, you can "take your card back" and you can "take back your card." I.e. You can't end the phrasal verb with a pronoun.)
It doesn't count - It's not a valid play or move and you can't add points to your score. - No vale.
One at a time - one after the other, not both at the same time. - Una tras otra.
Stack - a pile of cards. - Montón, taco (de cartas). Synonym: deck, pile.
The last card is out - the final card can't be played. - La última carta se queda fuera y no cuenta.
Variant - a different way of playing the game. - Una variante o forma distinta de jugar el juego.
Wacky - Eccentric or irrational. - Escéntrico, extravagante.
Convoluted - intricate, complicated. - Complicado, enrevesado.
Call out - to say something in a loud voice so that everyone can hear it. - Decir en voz alta.
Trick - a special skill or ability. - Una habilidad especial. "One of the tricks of the game is" - "Uno de los trucos del juego es".
Figure out - to solve or discover the solution to a problem. - Averiguar. (You can "figure it out," but you can't "figure out it." However, you can "figure the problem out" and you can "figure out the problem." I.e. You can't end the phrasal verb with a pronoun.)
Pick over, "they will pick the Beatles over anything else " - they will choose something first before anything else. - Eligir algo antes que cualquier otra cosa. (This isn't a phrasal verb. It's a verb plus a preposition. You can't usually "pick it over," you can't "pick over it," and you can't "pick over the Beatles." However, you can "pick the Beatles over anything else.")
Hang on, "hang on to a card" - to keep a card in your hand. - Conservar una carta.
No matter what the word is - Regardless of what the word is. - No importa la palabra que sea.
Weird - strange. - raro, extraño.
Pun - a humorous play on words usually with a double meaning. - Juego de palabras con un doble sentido.
Fluffy - soft like a bunch of feathers or a pillow. - Suave y esponjoso.
Share some things in common - to have some similarities. - Tener algunas cosas en común.
Different enough, "it's different enough of a game" - different in the right, sufficient and appropriate way. - Lo bastante diferente.
On a regular basis - Periodically. - De forma regular o periódica.
The way to go - the best choice. - El camino a seguir.
Sheep - little white farm animals used to produce wool. - Ovejas.
Face down - with the front part facing downwards. - Boca abajo.
Mean - a method, a way or a tool with which you can do something. - Medio. Also, signify. - Significa.
Come up with, "to come up with an idea" - to occur in the mind. - Ocurrírsete una idea.
Unlike - not like or similar. - A diferencia de.
Deck (deck of cards) - the pile of cards. - Montón, taco, montón (de cartas). Synonym: stack, pile.
From their hand - from their personal group of cards. - De las cartas que tiene.
On the count of three - to do something when you hear the number "three." - A la de tres.
Flip it up - to turn a card over with the face up when it is face down. - volver la carta boca arriba.
Try - to attempt, to make an effort to do something. - Probar.
Avoid - to keep from happening. - Evitar.
Slap - to hit with the palm of your open hand. - Dar con la palma de la mano.
Speed game - a game where velocity is very important. - Juego de velocidad.
Cover up - to put your hand on something so that it cannot be seen; this is the same as "cover completely;" I.e. "up" adds the meaning of "completely" to the verb "cover." - Cubrir.
Uncovered - not covered. - Descubierto.
Belong to - to be the property of . . . - Pertenecer a.
In which case - The sentence "So you may look around and you may see no uncovered cards that you think belong to people who have green sheep in which case you don’t have to take anything," means the same thing as "You don’t have to take anything if you look around and see no uncovered cards that you think belong to people who have green sheep." It's another way of saying or writing this type of conditional sentence.
At this point - when you reach this moment in the game. - En este punto del juego.
Reach - to put out your arm to get something. - Extender el brazo. Reaching across the table - Extendiendo el brazo al otro lado de la mesa (para coger algo).
Reveal - to uncover something for everyone to see it. - Revelar.
Flip over- to turn a card over with the face up when it is face down or to turn a card over with the face down when it is face up. - darle la vuelta a la carta.
Slide your hand back taking the card - to move or transfer a card towards yourself so that it is always in contact with the table, and then to take it. - Coger la carta con la mano deslizándola hacia ti.
Coin - a round piece of metal that is a unit of money such as a euro. - Una moneda.
Give up - renounce. - Renunciar. "You have to give up one of your points." - Pierdes uno de tus puntos.
Score - Mark. - Marcar (un punto).
Go through - to explain something point by point. - Explicar algo punto por punto. "I’ll go through four ways to score." - Explicaré, una por una, cuatro formas de ganar puntos.
That's the way the game goes - that's the way the game works or funtions. - Así es como funciona el juego.
Issue - Problem. - Problemas.
Have a chance, "everyone's got a chance" - to have an opportunity or possibility. - Tener la oportunidad.
To win up to two points - to win 1 or 2 points. - Ganar hasta 2 puntos. (NOT win until 2 points.)
I do like this game - "do" in the affirmative expresses emphasis. - Comparar "me gusta este juego" y por ejemplo "sí, me gusta este juego." (Compare this dialog: A: I like this game. B: No, you don't. A: Yes, I do. I do like this game.)
It gets you more involved. - It makes or causes you to think more or to be more involved. - Hace que participes más. It gets you thinking. - Te hace pensar.
Toss a card - play a card (throw it in a light, soft way.) - Tirar una carta (de forma suave).
Engage - succeeds in attracting and keeping your attention. - Engancha.
That's about it - that is more or less everything. - Eso es más o menos todo.
They’re games that can be played really as long as you want to play. - They're games that can be played if and while you want to play. - Son juegos a los que puedes jugar tanto como quieras.
Until - Up to the point in time. - Hasta.
Move on - continue. - Continuar. Move on to something else. - Continuar con otra cosa. (The preposition "on" often adds the meaning "continue" to the verb. I.e. go on.)
Rankings - the position of the game on a scale that shows how good it is in comparison to other games. - Clasificación.
Rate - to measure or rank. - Medir, puntuar, valorar o clasificar. "It can be hard to rate" - Puede ser difícil de valorar o puntuar.
It comes down to the people who play a game. - It essentially depends on the people who play a game. - Es cuestión de las personas que juegan. (You can't separate the prepositions in the phrase "come down to" without changing the meaning.)
Hold up - to continue to function without losing force or effectiveness. - Resistir o mantenerse firme frente a otras cosas. "Attribute tends to hold up a little better with people you don't like" - Attribute suele aguantar un poco mejor con personas que no te caen bien.
Mechanic - the way the game works; its flow. - mecánica (del juego).
Feels kind of flat - it's a little boring. - Aburre un poco, es monótono o soso.
Laugh - to produce sounds from your mouth that communicates that you think something is funny. - Reir.
Joke - to speak in fun and tell jokes. - Bromear, broma.
Get to know each other - to go through a process of meeting and learning more about the others in a pair or group, while they get to meet and learn more about you in turn. - Conocerse unos a otros.
Give a nod - the act of moving the head down and up in a sign of approval (positive acceptance). - Aprobarlo. "I give this one a nod" - I approve this one.
This one is about as easy as they get - This is one of the easiest. - Este es uno de los más fáciles.

More related vocabulary:

Shuffle - to mix the cards. - Barajar.
Deal - to pass or hand out the cards to the players. - Repartir (las cartas). Synonym: Pass out, hand out.
Take a turn - play your turn, to do all of the things a player must do after the player before him and before the player after him. - Jugar tu turno.
Discard pile - The place you put the cards that have been used in the game. - El taco de cartas que ya han sido utilizadas.

Webmaster's Comments:

This is a great game for English students which I have used for years in my classes. I use the variant of the game where each player has only adjectives (attributes) or green cards instead of nouns or red cards. I have also bought many of the expansion sets so that I have a wider choice of adjectives for my students and so that I can give them only the adjectives that are adequate for their level. In the same way, if I think my Spanish students won't know the person (i.e. "Oprah Winfrey"), place, thing or event, I remove the card from the deck. All in all, I give the game an "A+" for English teachers.

By the way, I've used many games with students which I recommend such as Apples to Apples (adjectives), Fluxx (first conditional), Chrononauts (third conditional), Modern Art ("will" for offers, etc. - it's a bidding game) and Once Upon a Time (narrative tenses).

Other resources:

Out of the Box Publishing: There's a flash demo of this game on the site. It's a fantastic complementary video to the activity above.

Timbuktu Board Game Video: This is one of Scott Nicholson's videos with subtitles in Spanish.

Download More Subtitled Game Videos: There are more of his videos listed on this site.

Board Game Geek: The number one board games site in the world.

Funagain.com - An online games company that I've bought games from on several occasions.

Games Make Learning Fun at Alexandria School - Article about using games in education by Vicky Hallett.

On Board Games: Site with podcasts about games.

Booksellers - I saw "Apples to Apples" at this book shop in Madrid the last time I dropped by for some books on July 17, 2007. I suggest you call before you actually go there to see if they still have it.

Generación X - Game store in Madrid which usually has a lot of board games in stock in the shop at Calle Puebla. It also seems to me to be about 40% more expensive than Funagain.com, but with postage, handling and customs, it's about a third of the price in the end.

Online Reference Dictionary, Encyclopedia & more Word: by: WordStarts withEnds withMentions Wordreference Spanish / English Dictionary.