Hasbro Electronic Catch Phrase Game - Second Edition

The premise of the game is simple: After setting the timer, your team has to guess what word or phrase is visible on the screen. The unit cannot be passed until someone says exactly what is on the screen. When someone does guess correctly, you pass it on to a member of the other team.

For example, if the word was "pumpkin," you could say something along the lines of, "Okay, guys, Peter-Peter-blank-eater!" If someone has been keeping up on their nursery rhymes, he or she will know that the word in place of "blank" is "pumpkin." Make sense?

This game is a blast when you get a huge amount of people to play. About a month ago, around 20 of us were playing it at the same time. Good times there, folks!

Fun: Fun, fun, FUN. I can't reiterate it enough. It's interesting to see how nervous people get when the timer starts beeping faster; hence, the buzzer is about to go off. For some reason, people get really panicky when the pressure starts to build. It's only a game, people! Of course, you don't realize that at the time. Everyone is yelling out answers, and with all the excitement going on, your heartbeat can rise in a hurry.

Educational Value: This is a thinking game. That's the only way I know how to put it. You have to think about what it is your teammate is trying to say without he or she actually coming out and saying it. And they're not all as easy as "pumpkin." There are some real stumpers in this game, and that only adds to the fun (or frustration depending upon what side you're on).

Durability: This game is very durable. Just don't drop it! It probably wouldn't hold up very well since this is the electronic version.

In short, "Catch Phrase" is a very cool game. It's great to play with a lot of people, and it never gets boring. I've played this numerous times, and I always have interesting stories to tell the next day.


One of my favorite games!   August 16, 2001
 32 out of 32 found this review helpful

Catch Phrase may not be a popular game, and few have heard of it, but in reality, it is extremely fun for all ages. I've played with a 9 year-old and a 40-year-old before, and no one got bored! And not only is it fun and entertaining, but it improves vocabulary skills. One of the best parts of this game is, once you've had it for a week, your kids will still be playing it. It never loses its fun. So I recomend you try this game. If you liked this game, you should also try Cranium. A game that focuses on many different talents and is fun for everyone.


Good game overall   October 28, 2002
 22 out of 22 found this review helpful

This game is like $25,000 pyramid on tv. You have a word and you try to get others on your team to guess the word.

Minor problems are:
1. If you make a mistake with the electronic scoring you have to go all the way through to the beginning. There is no "undo" button.
2. The buzzer is hard to hear if people are yelling too loudly.
3. There is no "off" switch. The game turns itself off after no one plays with it for awhile. But, it also turns itself on when a button is pressed. So when you're on your way to grandma's, and something in the luggage starts ticking, sometimes people get a little nervous. Then you realize it's just Catch Phrase, having a nice joke on everyone.
4. Some of the topics are a bit risque for younger kids. They probably won't even know what the word is and will skip it, but still...

Good things:
1. This is a great game to play with people of mixed ages, such as at a reunion or wedding shower, because you don't have to share similar interests, even know each other, or be a trivia wizard to play.

2. Any number of people can play. We played at a reunion and had about 30. That was nice because it was something that Gen X-ers, Gen Ys, and Baby Boomers could all do together. You just have to have two teams (so atleast 4) and even numbers. You sit in a circle and every other person is on a team. For odd numbers we have two people who are alternates.

3. Everyone ends up laughing a lot, especially if you have some funny personalities involved. Sometimes people say really dumb (and therefore funny) things when trying to get you to guess an answer. "It's something red...," and that's the only clue they give, while waving their arms and shouting, "...something red!"

K, I've said enough. Great game!


catch phrase fun   July 20, 2001
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

we love this game. I have four girls from 6-13 and we all play together. The little one needs some help reading. It's also great fun for adults. We played it as an ice breaker before a workshop. It's a sleeper. No one's ever heard of it but when they play it they all go buy it.


A laugh a minute!   November 18, 2002
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

This is the best game we own, by far! We love it. It's portable, it's hassle free, it's hysterical! The timer is both annoying AND the reason we laugh so hard - people are trying to get their teammates to guess what the word or phrase is and that timer is going crazy and the noise is increasing and the people are yelling... it's fun, fun, fun. I've read the reviews for this game and some people have mentioned you cannot clear the scores or start over... well they just didn't read the instructions - you CAN start the scoring over and reset the game by holding both score buttons down at the same time. The computer is easy to learn and easy to use, at any level of "computer literacy" and the rules are easy to follow. There are only 3! Of course the one thing we find starts a few heated discussions is how to interpret the rules and you'll find it necessary to have "house rules" to settle them as fairly as possible. It's an awesome game! Now we just wonder... what will we do if we use all 10,000 words?!