Board games are great escapism and entertainment and have a magical way of bringing people together in a way that online gaming just can’t do. They often lead to hours of fun and laughter, strategic thinking, and sometimes, the silent treatment or hissy fit from the sore loser of the group. Enter Twisted History, which could be described as the loved child of Trivial Pursuit and Horrible Histories, the trivia board game that promises to not only unite friends and family but also to test their knowledge of history’s most macabre and bizarre moments. Fun and education combine for quality entertaining amusement.
Twisted History is an award-winning laugh-out-loud, conversation-starting party trivia game for teens and adults that takes you on a journey through the seven twisted eras of history, where life and death were weird and rather gruesome.
Stay ahead of the executioner while you answer multiple-choice questions on life and (lots of) death as you journey through the world’s seven eras of twisted history.
It’s quirky, gruesome and definitely not what you were taught in school.
Can you outwit mortality while circumnavigating the past few thousand years?
It’s wickedly funny. Frequently fatal. Can you make it out alive? It’s history, but not as you know it.
In the box:
- Themed Game Board
- 350x Question Cards (50 per era)
- 30x Twist Cards
- 7x Execution Devices
- 7x Meeples
- Rules/Instructions Booklet
Twisted History is a party trivia game for teenagers and adults, age 14+. It is suitable for 2-7 players and has a playing time from as little as 30 minutes to as long as 90 minutes. The premise is simple: navigate through seven twisted eras of history, answering questions that range from mildly amusing to downright disturbing. Players need to stay ahead of the executioner while they answer multiple choice questions about bizarre and gory forgotten bits of history. Nine wrong answers, and you’re dead. Twists introduce strategic choices to get ahead or fast-track your opponents on their way to execution. It’s like taking a stroll through a history book, if that history book was written by a group of comedians with a penchant for the gruesome.
Twisted History features seven different eras of history:
- Ancient – Pre 30BC
- Roman – 29BC-475AD
- Medieval – 476-1349
- Renaissance – 1350-1599
- Enlightenment – 1600-1749
- Industrial – 1750-1899
- Modern – 1900-Present
Setting up to play is easy. Place the board in the centre of the table . Shuffle and place the Twist cards in the centre of the board. Place the relevant era question cards in each era (they all have a different colour). Each player takes a different coloured meeple (playing token) and places it on space 1 in the era that matches the colour of their meeple. Finally, each player takes an execution device card (or the nine tiles that make up each card).
With seven different execution devices, each player has a different one; Breaking Wheel, Electric Chair, Brazen Bull, The Rack, The Guillotine, Iron Cage and The Gallows. Each a very different and brutal way to die.
Playing the game is straightforward. The youngest player starts first and the person to their left picks up a question card from the starting players era and reads it out loud along with the three possible answers. For example, a (tame) question from the Medieval era would be:
Many illustrated manuscripts from medieval England have been found to include drawings of knights fighting which unlikely animals?
A Squirrels
B Snails
C Sparrows
Some questions may also have the Twist symbol on them which also must be announced.
The player must then answer the question. If they get the answer correct they move their meeple into position 1 in the NEXT era. Get it wrong, they stay in the same era but move their meeple to position 2. They also start building their execution device, starting with tile 1 (of 9), by placing the tile in front of them, brown side up.
If the question had a Twist symbol and they got they answer correct, they select the top Twist card and follow the instructions (it will either give them an advantage or disadvantage). If it had a Twist symbol and they incorrectly answered the question, they name an opponent who gets to select a Twist card and follow the instructions.
Players can’t progress to the next era until they have answered a question correctly or had all three turns in that era. After 3 incorrect answers in an era they automatically move on to the next era.
Play continues until a player answers a question correctly for all eras and avoiding death. If however, you have answered 9 questions incorrectly and built your execution device, you lose and are out of the game.
Overall, we found Twisted History to be an excellent game; it draws you in with the promise of gruesome, gory and painful death, engages the players, thoroughly entertains and educates players with the worst parts of human history. But it is certainly not a game for the timid or squeamish, and the 14+ age rating is probably spot on.
Unless you are a history scholar, you are not going to know all the answers to the questions but it is lots of fun considering them and some of the bizarre, gruesome and even risqué facts.
As a trivia game it is excellent, but it is also great as a conversation starter and provoking debate. You might find yourself arguing over the most efficient method of medieval torture, the most gruesome and gory, or even discussing the intricacies of ancient political scandals. It’s educational, but not in the way that’ll help you pass your next history exam.
It is an easy game to play, although the answers will prove to be more difficult. And that’s what makes it fun, the shock when the answer is revealed! Some are breath-takingly shocking. It’s an outrageously educational game that really isn’t for the faint of heart or the easily offended, and we loved it!
Just remember, it’s all fun and games until someone ends up on the rack or hanging from the gallows. So make sure to get your answers right!
A twisted rollercoaster ride through the darker side of history that is lots of fun, especially for lovers of the macabre and those that like to learn new things.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £24.99
Available to buy from Amazon here.
