Yes But No: Race for a Word But Be Sure to Use the Right Letters

Can you think of something smaller than a cat that has the letter M in it but not the letter O? And can you shout it out before another player does?

Yes But No is a party game from Little Rocket Games, designed for 2-8 players.

Gameplay

At the start of the game, each player takes an answer token and places it on the red X side. Each round, a category card is drawn and placed in the center of the table. A letter card is also drawn for the yes side, and a letter card is drawn for the no side. Each player then races to think of something that fits the category that does contain the yes letter but does not contain the no letter. When a player says one that fits these criteria, he flips his answer token over to the green check side.

In order to end the round, the category card must be won. A player must think of a word that fits the criteria, while his answer token is flipped to the green side in order to win the category card. This can mean that a player came up with two words that round, or he might have thought of a word on the previous round, as answer tokens stay flipped until the player wins a category card.

When a player wins a category card, he takes the card and puts it in his score pile and flips his answer token back to its red side. New category and letter cards are then drawn, and a new round begins.

Each category card shows how many points it is worth. The first player to 20 points wins the game.

Review

Yes But No is a very easy game to explain, set up, and start playing, making this an accessible party game that’s great for lots of different groups and situations. Rules for acceptable words aren’t convoluted, and in general, the rules to this game are straightforward.

It’s quite small, making this a good portable option to play at restaurants, outside, or in situations where you just need to pass the time. Yes, there is a scoring mechanic, but it would be easy to make it a game that people just dip in and out of. It’s also got a nice player count range and works well across that range, although at the higher player counts the game might run a little long with the standard end-game condition.

There’s a nice wide range of category cards and we really enjoyed the categories included, such as ‘Things to put in a sandwich’ or ‘giant things’. The categories are broad enough that there’s usually something you can think of, but it can also take you a surprising amount of time to think of them. It’s fun when you end up with a tricky collection of letters.

There are other party games out there with similar mechanics, so you might already have something like it in your collection. But if you are looking for a nice little portable party game that is flexible in the situations it can be brought out in, Yes But No is a nice, fun fit.

Pros: Portable, lots of people can play at a time, fun categories

Cons: Game could run long at the higher player counts

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.