Smug Owls review – Someone in this room knows the answer to an owl riddle…Who?

What walks then shelters? What fails and always flows? What is silent as soon as it connects? Think you know the answer? Then check out Smug Owls. Smug Owls is a 2023 release from Runaway Parade Games and designers Grace Kendall & Mike Belsole. In Smug Owls, players will race to complete riddles that are randomly created from a deck of cards.

The components of the game are fairly simple:

• Conjunction Cards: a deck of 17 cards that help join two riddle cards together.
• Riddle Cards: a deck of 89 cards featuring adjectives and verbs
• Other Cards: permanent “What” and “?” cards and a few blank cards to create your own conjunction and riddle cards.

The game is simple to set up. Players will shuffle the red conjunction card deck and create a face down deck of 8 cards. Players will then shuffle the blue riddle cards and divide the deck into two facedown piles on either side of the conjunction deck. Finally, permanent cards bearing  “What” and “?” are placed on the table and the Smug Owl standee is placed on the table.

Each round, players will flip a card from each of the three decks creating a riddle using the format of “What – riddle card – conjunction card – riddle card – ?.” The new riddle is read out and players will try to come up with their best answer. When they have an answer, a player will slap their hands on the table. The last player to have their hand off the table becomes the Smug Owl for the round and will judge the answers. Starting with the first player to slap their hand, players will go around the table in clockwise order revealing their answers. The Smug Owl will then distribute the two riddle cards and the one conjunction card to their favorite answers in any combination. For example, all three cards can go to one player or three players can each get one. After this step, the round ends. At the end of 8 rounds, the player with the most cards will be declared the winner of the game.

This game is simple and straightforward but adds a new twist on the plethora of party games out there. The artwork is quirky and inviting. More than a game, Smug Owls is really a thought exercise that could transcend the game space. As an educator, this would be a fun warm-up exercise in English-Language Arts classrooms. My family of readers and educators thought it was a great start to our afternoon game session. Our game sessions were full of laughs and some unique riddles and responses. However, as with most party games, our sessions with this game were done after a game or two. As a deeper strategy gamer, this is probably not one I will reach for first to appease my brain burn needs, but this will definitely go into my bag when heading to a party or family gathering.

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