Hey folks, I’m back again with a very important question. It’s really important, so please pay attention. One lump or two? See, we’re at a tea party and we need to be on our best behavior. Make sure to know the order of silverware and what that tiny fork is actually used for, because this is the most sought after event to attend. Oh, did I mention that we’re dinosaurs? And even though we’re attending this event, we don’t know the other dinosaurs names? This game is Dinosaur Tea Part by Restoration Games. It’s for 3-5 players and plays in about 30 minutes. This is a deduction game.
A quick note on Restoration Games. I really like this company. This is the first game I own by them, but I can’t wait to see what else the come up with. The whole idea behind this company is to take old games since forgotten and revamp them to the modern standard. They’ve done Stop Thief and most recently Fireball Island. Dinosaur Tea Party is the revamped version of Whosit? A game that came out in 1976 by Parker Brothers. Whosit? was a deduction game that used what looked like different head shots from actors.
This game comes with 20 dinosaur tiles, 20 dinosaur cards, 15 trait tokens for each player, 14 sugar cubes, 5 reference cards, and 3 quirk tokens.
The dinosaur tiles are tarot card size and each one has a different dinosaur picture on it. Each dinosaur has different combination of traits unique only to that dinosaur. Some are wearing glasses, some are in green rooms, some are drinking tea, some are eating, some have pets, and so on. Each tile will tell you what traits they have. The dinosaur cards are copies of the tiles and will let the players know what dinosaur they are during the game. The trait tokens are tea bag shaped and have the traits on one side and the trait with an X on the other. This will be used to help keep track of the answers for each player. There are three quirks for the game and they change how the dinosaur it’s attached to answers questions. There’s “Always lies”, “Switches answers”, and “Always says NO”.
To set up the game, lay out all 20 dinosaur tiles face up on the table. Shuffle the dinosaur cards, pick a quirk and draw a card, that quirk goes on that dinosaur. Do this for all the quirks. Then put all the cards back into the deck, give it another shuffle, and the deal one card to each player. Give each player a set of trait tokens. Place the sugar cubes in the center and make it easy for each player to reach them. The goal of the game is to guess the identity correctly for 3 dinosaurs.
The game is like a mash up of Guess Who and Go Fish. On a players turn, they can do two things. They can ask a yes or no question based on traits to any player or they can guess the identity of another player. When you ask a question to a player and get a yes answer, then you get to go again. Your turn ends when you get a no answer. Your questions don’t need to be directed towards the same player either. When answering questions, place your trait tokens in front of you in the question order. This will help other players determine the quirks. If a player guesses the identity correctly, they get a sugar cube. Then, the players who identity was guessed, flip over the corresponding dinosaur tile, and draws a new identity. Game play goes on until someone has 3 sugar cubes.
This is a simple game with great art. I actually like this better than Guess Who. It’s a great game to teach deduction to kids. My son and daughter both enjoy this game. It’s got what little girls like and mixes it with what boys like. It’s quick to set up and quick to play. It doesn’t take a long time to explain to rules, which is nice when it comes to playing a game with kids. The components are really well done. The sugar cubes are small plastic components, I only wish they were slightly bigger and mimicked a real sugar cube in size. The art on each card is fantastic. Some of my favorite cards are these hulking dinosaurs dressed up drinking some tea. Yorick and Xavier look like they’re up to something. Now, I can see playing this with just adults too. It’s similar to that game in a way, but adds some nice changes with quirks. The rule book even has recipes for Tea Sandwiches and Oatmeal Shortbread to serve with the game. It’s a clever game with the art style and theme and one that I’ll keep playing with my kids. I recommend this as a replacement for Guess Who and a good intro to deduction game for kids.
Everyone and their Grandmother Games 
Still one of my favorites! Even though the grand kids beat me every time!😅
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