The What’s That Smell? Game Review

As a family we love a good board game and have a really good collection going on now. This week we have been sent The What’s that smell? game and we couldn’t wait to give it a try. Actually that’s a lie, the boys couldn’t wait, I was a bit more reluctant!

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What is What’s that smell? 

What’s that smell? is a party game for ages 14 and over and as you would imagine it involves a lot of different smells. In fact it actually comes with 50 mystery smells and the idea is that you race against the clock to correctly identify as many smells as possible bagging different amounts of points depending on how accurate you are. You are also asked to write down what the smell reminds you of and there are bonus points available for these answers to, so even if your sense of smell is rubbish you can still grab some points.

On the surface What’s that smell? sounds simple but trust me some of these scents are hard to guess and although you will feel you know what it is actually being able to name it quickly can be impossible. There are also horrendous smells including B.O, sick, and cheesy feet, as well as some much more pleasant ones like pineapple. It might seem easier to just pass and move on instead of risking breathing in all the rotten stenches for a couple of points, especially if you have the mindset  that “if I lose, I lose”  but that’s not the case either as there is a twist at the end that I think you need to be aware of.

SPOILER ALERT -If you are the looser of this game then the winner gets to pick from one of the whiff of shame cards and you have to take 3 big sniffs from it! Bleurgh.

so you best get your competitive pants on and make sure you win!

what's that smell game review

What’s that smell? game review

This is the first game I can remember not really wanting to play. I was so put off by the lingering smells that we actually took it on holiday to a log cabin and played it there first in case it stunk the house out. Awful I know. Luckily the smells don’t linger and once you have put it away you can no longer smell it.

The game itself is okay. It is easy to play and doesn’t take too long to complete and is a good mix of competitiveness and laughter.  It is not one of our favourites but we did have a good laugh playing it, however, I wouldn’t be in a rush to get it out again as some of the smells are horrific.

What’s that smell? is aimed at those over 14 although I personally think younger children could enjoy it too.  It is ideal for groups of 2-6, although you could always create teams and take it in turns if you have more players and although the rounds don’t take to long initially you could always add in extras and play this for as long as your nose and stomach will let you!

Overall thoughts

The fear of a rotten smell mixed with the competitiveness of a family games night means this particular game is bound to have you laughing and gagging in equal measures and is definitely not one for the faint hearted.

What’s that smell is available form amazon for £17.99 

(We were sent a copy of what’s that smell? game to review but all opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links)