Green Room Gaming 3: A Fake Artist Goes to New York
Today on Green Room Gaming, I’m going to discuss a small Japanese game entitled エセ芸術家ニューヨークへ行く, or “A Fake Artist Goes to New York” (hereinafter “Fake Artist”). Fake Artist is a party game for 5 to 10 players, designed by Jun Sasaki and published by Oink Games. Oink Games puts out a series of games in small packages that are ideal for the gamer (or taiko player) on the go. Other notable Oink Games that I particularly enjoy (and might review later) are "Deep Sea Adventure" and "In a Grove."
The rules are simple. Players take turns being the Question Master, who sets a category (person, place, thing, or idea) and selects a word based on that category. The Question Master then writes that word on dry erase cards and randomly distributes these cards to the other players, who are “artists.” However, one player’s dry erase card will only have an “X” written on the card, designating him as the “fake artist.”
From here, the artists (including the fake artist) go around the table twice, each drawing one contiguous stroke on a piece of paper to draw the word established by the Question Master. Then, the artists vote on who the fake artist is. If the fake artist is not caught, then the fake artist wins. If the fake artist is caught, then the fake artist will have the opportunity to guess what the word is. If he guesses correctly, the fake artist wins. If he guesses incorrectly, then the artists win.
The game is simple, but it is a lot tougher than it first sounds. Being good at drawing is actually a liability as the artists try to disguise the word while subtly signalling to their fellow artists that they are not the fake. As the fake artist, you are frantically trying to figure out what is being drawn while making your own additions vague enough to be passable.
Here are a couple of drawings that Prota has produced in its sessions with this game.
Fake Artist is an elegant game that works well with even the most artistically-disinclined and gaming-inexperienced. The components and box are all very small and easy to pack up, and it plays well with larger group sizes, which makes it perfect for including the whole group. Unfortunately, Oink Games are notoriously difficult to find in America due to their limited print run and Japanese origin. However, if you’re willing to pay a bit extra for shipping (or have a good friend willing to explore the Akihabara hobby game stores on their trip to Japan), I’d recommend giving Fake Artist a try.
