Balderdash is a board game variant of the parlour game Fictionary, also known as the Dictionary Game, created by Laura Robinson and Paul Toyne of Toronto, Ontario, and first released in 1984 by the Canada Games Company. In each round one player, the dasher, reveals an obscure word's genuine dictionary definition to themselves while the other players secretly write invented definitions meant to sound authentic; all definitions, including the real one, are then read aloud and players score points for guessing the true definition or for fooling opponents into picking their invented one. Movement around the game board is used to track and award these points until a player's token reaches the finish line.
Facts
Playing Time Band Playing Time Age Suitability PublisherCanada Games Company Lmt. 2 PublisherWestern Publishing Company 2 Game Category Game Category Game Category Game Mechanic Game Mechanic Minimum Players Maximum Players Sport
Game Type (category) Game Type (category) Classification
Player CountLarge Group or Variable 1 Connections
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Balderdash (Wikipedia)
Lead paragraph, release-year sentence
The game was first released in 1984 by the Canada Games Company
Lead paragraph, genre clause
Balderdash is a board game variant of a classic parlour game known as Fictionary or the Dictionary Game
Lead paragraph, gameplay clause
The game presents rare and unusual words, and players secretly submit definitions for them
Lead paragraph, players clause
players secretly submit definitions for them, hoping that other players will believe their definition is the real one
Infobox: playing_time
60 minutes
Infobox: ages
12+
View the Source2. Balderdash (BoardGameGeek)
- Playing Time: 60
- Designer: Laura Robinson
- Designer: Paul Toyne
- Publisher: (Unknown)
- Publisher: Canada Games Company Lmt.
- Publisher: Casper
- Publisher: Drumond Park Ltd.
- Publisher: Hasbro
- Publisher: Mattel, Inc.
- Publisher: Milton Bradley
- Publisher: Parker Brothers
- Publisher: Schmidt Spiele
- Publisher: Tactic
- Publisher: Target Games
- Publisher: The Game Works, Inc.
- Publisher: The Games Gang, LTD
- Publisher: Ventura Games
- Publisher: Western Publishing Company
- Publisher: Weston Group
- Game Category: Bluffing
- Game Category: Party Game
- Game Category: Word Game
- Game Mechanic: Paper-and-Pencil
- Game Mechanic: Voting
- Minimum Players: 2
- Maximum Players: 6
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.