Cranium Kabookii

The Cranium series of board games has been going strong since 1998. The games emphasize creativity and knowledge, and as such, have been a favorite of families looking for something fun that still challenges your mind. As the Nintendo Wii is reaching many of those same homes, it makes perfect sense for Cranium to release a video-game version, which they’ve done with Cranium: Kabookii.

The first thing you need to know about Kabookii is that it’s exclusively multiplayer. There’s no single-player mode whatsoever, or even a two- or three-player mode; you need two teams of two people each, at the very least, for the game to work. Fortunately, you need only one Wii Remote that gets passed back and forth, no matter how many players you’ve got. After dividing into teams, play passes from team to team, with each team spinning a giant wheel to determine which of the available 15 mini-games you’ll play. Some of the mini-games are taken directly from the board game, and others are completely original, with activities ranging from a Pictionary-esque “guess the drawing” game, to music-based challenges, to replicating on-screen motions with the Wii remote.

When the game works, it works really well. The drawing challenges (called “Cloodle”) are tons of fun. Packaged with the game are a set of red-tinted glasses, and when the game tells you what you’re supposed to draw, it’s only viewable through the glasses, ensuring that the artist is the only one with the answer. It’s a fun and interesting way to keep the game fair, and it works well. On the other hand, when the game doesn’t work, it can go from “fun” to “frustrating” in two seconds flat. Most of the time, the frustration can be attributed to the controls, which are extremely finicky. The game where you must act out actions pictured on-screen, Cameo, is incredibly picky when it comes to whether or not it will accept your motion, even if what you’re doing is identical to what’s being show on screen. These sorts of control issues don’t affect that many of the mini-games, maybe three or four, but when there are only 15 games total, that becomes an unreasonable percentage.

Visually, the game matches the design of the cardboard version well. 3D polygonal graphics manage to completely capture the look and style of Gary Baseman’s art used in the home version, and Cranium fans will be happy to see all of their favorite characters in 3D, from Word Worm to Creative Cat. The game’s audio is also pretty strong, with some fun music playing throughout, and an announcer who actually commentates the game much like a sporting event (“The Red Team has won the last three challenges…can you keep it up?”), which adds to the fun, competitive atmosphere. If there’s one flaw on the presentation end of things, it’s the load times, which are easily five to 10 seconds every time you play a new game. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but with games that last a minute or less, it adds up quick. This down-time between games makes it hard to keep a sense of momentum, and for families with younger children, it could be hard to keep their attention long enough for their turn to come back around.

Cranium: Kabookii is by no means a bad game, even considering that it’s yet another party game collection on a system crowded with party game collections; in fact, outside of Mario Party 8, it’s one of the better titles in the genre. That said, it’s definitely a flawed experience. Between the control issues, the lack of any kind of single-player modes, and an overall low amount of actual content, it’s hard to recommend at full price. For anyone unfamiliar with Cranium in general, the original board game would be a better investment — it provides a similar (and in some ways, superior) experience, for a fraction of the price.

Gameplay: 6.7
Some very fun mini-games are counterbalanced by some incredibly frustrating ones. When the games work, they provide the kind of crazy family fun the board game has long been known for. When they don’t work, it can be exasperating — especially for younger kids.

Graphics: 7.6
The game doesn’t attempt anything super-ambitious graphically, but it does replicate the look of the board game in 3D very well.  The cartoons of Gary Baseman (Teacher’s Pet) stick close to his visual style, and create a fun atmosphere for the game.

Sound:  7.1
The music is pretty good, although it will be a bit too cutesy for some. The announcer helps to keep the game exciting, with comments on each team’s performance, and the wacky sound effects will help keep young kids entertained.

Difficulty: Medium
For much of the game, (outside of the frustrating controls), it’s as difficult or as easy as you make it — for instance, Cloodle is only as easy as your team’s most talented artist can make it. Other challenges, like finding specific countries on a 3D globe, are tough, but reasonable.

Concept: 8.5
With the family appeal of the Wii, Cranium is a perfect fit. While there are definitely some problems in the execution, conceptually the game is a natural.

Overall: 7.0
This is a fun family game that’s burdened with some unfortunate technical issues. Beyond that, Kabookii’s only flaw is that it’s essentially a digital board game at video-game prices. If it comes down in price, it will be a much easier recommendation, but as it stands, there’s just not enough game here for the money. Try the board game version first.