Blurt Off! Fun Card Game Review

I recently had the opportunity to play a new card game on the market called Blurt Off! It’s a fun, trivia-based game that can be played with 3-6 players. There are two versions – one for “party animals” ages 16+, and a family-friendly one for ages 8+. I got to try both.

In this review, we’ll talk about where to buy Blurt Off, how to play, and my own experience/review of the game. Let’s get started!

Where to Buy Blurt Off

Blurt Off is available on Amazon for $16.99. Find the Family Edition here, and the Party Animal Edition here.

How to Play Blurt Off

The game comes in a small box filled with cards and an instruction sheet.

Set Up

To set up, shuffle the deck and deal cards. The amount of cards each person gets depends on the number of players, and there’s a chart in the instruction sheet to indicate. Similarly, the number of players also determines how many points you need to win.

Once set up, the game is played in three phases: the Q? Phase, the T! Phase, and the Scoring Phase

The Q? Phase:

Players take turns distributing (clockwise) all of their cards to different players and asking them the questions on their cards.

Here are the steps they provide in the instruction sheet: 

1. (Q? Phase Player) Choose a question card from your hand.

2. Ask a player one seat clockwise (left) from you the question on the card. Read this question out loud so everybody can hear.

3. The responding player answers the question loud enough for everybody to hear the answer. All players should pay attention to the questions and answers as this information will be required to score points later.

4. After a player answers a question, place the asked question card face up on the table in front of them and leave it there until the Trivia Phase. The receiving player does not add it to their hand!

5. Repeat this process, asking and then handing out a single card to the next player, continuing clockwise until you have handed out all of your cards. Skip yourself when necessary.

6. Once your hand is empty, you have completed your Q? Phase. The next player clockwise from you should now begin their Q? Phase.

7. Continue until every player has completed their Q? Phase. At this point everybody should have no cards left in their hand and an equally sized pile of cards should be laying face up in front of each player.

The T! Phase:

Players pick up the cards in front of them from their Q? Phase and take turns reading them aloud. Other players attempt to remember the reading player’s original answer to the question and “blurt it out” the quickest.

Here are the steps they provide in the instruction sheet: 

All players now collect the pie of cards in front of them and hold them in their hands. Players should be careful not to show their cards to other players and can shuffle the order of the cards at any time. The player who went first during the Q? Phase will also be the first player to begin the T! Phase, and complete the following steps. If this is your first time playing read all 3 steps before starting.

1. Select a card from your hand and slowly read it out loud.

2. At any time while you’re reading the card any other player may attempt to BLURT out the answer (You, the card reader, determine which player answered first). To award a point
simply place the answered card face up in front of the winner and leave it there until the Scoring Phase. Award points based on the following rules (ABC).

A. If the first answer you hear is correct, award the point to the player who correctly answered. If a correct and incorrect answer are BLURTED at the same time, award the correct player. A correct answer is any answer that undeniably and directly correlates to the original response.

B. If the first answer you hear is incorrect, award the point to yourself.

C. If there is a tie (Wok more players say the correct answer at the same time) the players break the tie by playing Rock Paper Scissors. The winner is awarded the point.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you have read/awarded all of the cards in your hand. The next player clockwise from you now begins their T! Phase.

The Scoring Phase:

All Players now count the number of cards that they were awarded, earning 1 point for each card. Refer to the Setup Section for the Target Score needed to win. The first player to reach the Target Score at the end of a round wins the game; however, if multiple players reach the Target Score at the end of the same round, the player with the highest score wins. If no one has reached the Target Score at the end of a round, take note of each player’s score and start a new round. Players gain points from each round until someone wins the game.

In the rare case of a tie with identical winning scores, it’s time for a BLURT OFF SHOWDOWN! A player not engaged in the tie randomly picks, reads, and answers aloud 5 cards from the deck. After shuffling, the reader quizzes the tied players in a thrilling overtime Trivia Phase. If a player answers incorrectly, they immediately lose. The highest scorer of this epic duel becomes the BLURT OFF CHAMPION!

Optional Bonus Rules

Team Play: For groups of 4 or 6 players you can form teams of 2 and 3 respectively. Teammates should not sit next to each other. Teammates combine their points during the Scoring Phase. For team play, double the Target Score needed to win.

Harder Punishment for Incorrect Blurts: If a player BLURTS out an incorrect answer and has earned points, the player must discard one of their points by placing an earned point card back into the deck. The player reading the question awards the point to themselves as normal.

Card Examples:

In the “Party Animal” 16+ version:

“In one word, what could you give a lecture on at the local university?”

“Which player do you think got the best grades in school?”

“What is the first thing you would buy if you had $100 by the end of the today?”

In the family friendly 8+ version: 

“Yes or no, have you ever milked a cow?”

“In one word, describe what makes a good friend.”

“Do you prefer rain or snow?”

My Own Experience

I played Blurt Off! with friends during a game night, and it lived up to its name.

Most games that have a family friendly version and a 16+ version, I think, typically have cards in the adult version that are considered “naughty”, or more mature content. This game didn’t quite operate like that. Rather, the adult cards had questions that were simply a little more complex or deep. Thus, I’d argue that the 16+ version is appropriate for ages 10+ – anyone who’s had enough life experience to answer some more profound questions.

I played in a group where I knew some people better than others. It was easier to remember the answers for friends that I knew well because I could anticipate them. On the other hand, it was a really good icebreaker game to learn more about the people there that I didn’t know.

Everyone playing in my group were all college students and, frankly, good at memorizing information, so the game went by quickly, and we had a lot of ties. It was fun to have Rock, Paper, Scissors battles to break them.

Overall, the game was fun, fast-paced, and comradery-building. A great game to start off a game night!