I grew up in a household where exclamations like “oh my god!” were considered blasphemy by my parents, and as a result, the word “DUDE!” ended up being my go-to expression of surprise, boredom, indignation, sympathy, anger, excitement, and just about every other emotion across the spectrum. It’s funny how a single word can be loaded with so much meaning, and how context, tone, and body language impact the interpretation.
Two party games, Dude and More Dude (exclusively available at Target and Target.com) explores just that, but in a way is far more silly and fun than it is methodical. The premise is simple: you get a deck of twelve cards, with one of six versions of the word “Dude” written on each card. The other players have the same decks, but with different coloured backs. You shuffle your deck, and at the same time as other players, you hold the deck face up in your hand and say the word as it is written on the card. You might be saying dude like a surfer, you might be using the word dude as a question, you might be, in fact, not saying dude but instead saying dooode.
The objective is to find someone saying dude the same way you are around the table. To confirm you are both holding the same dude card, you need to lock eyes with the other player who is holding a matching card based on how they’re saying dude, say dude back and forth to confirm and if you’re sure, you say “sweet”. If the other player agrees you’re saying dude the same way they are, they’ll reply with a “sweet” back. Cards are revealed to confirm. If you’re wrong, you and your opponent discard your cards, if you’re right, you keep the card facedown in front of you. When one person has run through their entire deck, they say “chill”, gameplay stops, and players count the number of successful dude matches they have in front of them. The winner is the player with the most matched cards.
(Yes, the headline of this article is totally misleading, since Dude and More Dude are technically party games of three words, but dude, chill.)
You can see how it all comes together, with every bit of nuance in this episode of Game the Game:
In case you were wondering, the difference between Dude and More Dude is simply what kind of dudes are included in each box. While each box supports up to six people, there’s no upper limit if you add more boxes into the mix – you could conceivably grab three copies of Dude or More Dude and have eighteen people around a table playing dude together, saying Dude to each other in a variety of ways (which sounds like a boatload of fun). It’s the kind of silly, light and a fantastic party game for all sorts of gamers that can help us all collectively chill together.
If you want to get your hands on the game, take a stroll over to your nearest Target or pick up your copy of Dude and More Dude online.
This post is sponsored by North Star Games.