Reviewed by Herb Levy
BLANK SLATE (USAopoly, 3 to 8 players, ages 8 and up, 20-35 minutes; $24.99)
What do you do when you have more than the customary four or five players at the table and want to share a gaming experience with everyone? Several quality games have appeared over the last few years to answer that call including Just One (Winter 2019 Gamers Alliance Report) and Codenames (Fall 2015 GAR). But, of course, just one game of that type is never enough for gamers like us. So what else is there? Drawing a blank? Not anymore. Although it’s been around for awhile, this game has only recently filled in that blank at our gaming table: Blank Slate. 
In Blank Slate, all players are given their own individual slate board and dry-erase marker. Each board is of a different color matching the colors on the central score board (which also has room for player names). There is a box of 250 “Word Cue” cards and one of these is drawn.
Word Cue cards display a word and either a blank before or after it. It is the players’ job to complete that word of phrase by adding a word or even a syllable. (Adding a single letter such as an “s” is not a legal play and, unlike many other word games, proper nouns ARE acceptable.) After writing down answers on their slates, all answers are revealed simultaneously and scored.
Match ONE player with your answer and you score 3 points. Match more than one, and only 1 point is scored. Be too clever and not match anyone and no points are gained for that effort. (In the example below, the players who wrote “Full” to complete the phrase “Full House” will score 3 points each. The other players, despite their acceptable answers, have failed to find a match and will score nothing this time around.) Points scored are charted on the central score board. The first player to hit 25 points will win!
Card quality of the game is good and each card has a white and gray side so that you can easy avoid reusing cards already done. The slates are thick and the dry erase markers actually work! (So often, markers that come with games tend to dry out or not work right from the time you open the box.) Although each marker has an eraser on its end for removing your answers, the slate do tend to not clean completely, causing the white slates to turn to gray fairly quickly. And, with 8 colors, it can be sometimes a bit hard to distinguish between them. This can be a problem with the gray and black slates. (We suggest adding a sticker to one of them to make them easy to tell apart.)
Blank Slate is a word/party game where you are trying to make a match. But this is a game where you have to have a good understanding of your fellow players so you are able to “feel” which possible answers will find a mate. You can’t be too obvious; otherwise, you’ll have to settle for just a single point. You can’t be too clever or you’ll outsmart yourself and find your answer a lonely orphan that won’t score anything at all! It’s striving for the right balance that makes this game a delightful opener (or closer, for that matter) when you have more than a full table of friends and want them all in on the action. – – – – – – – – – – – – – Herb Levy
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