Have you ever felt like you were on the same wavelength as someone that you would say the two of you were...in SYNK? 

SYNK!
Designer(s)	Camila Gonzalez	Artist(s)	n/a	Publisher	Silly Giraffe Games
	3-10+		14+		30-90m

Party games have a lot in common.

• Box with a single primary color: CHECK
• Big Pile of Cards: CHECK
• Simple Rules: CHECK

SYNK is a party games that checks all of these blocks, but does it check this block:

• Ends usually with the same types of inappropriate jokes and uncomfortable feelings: ...not necessarily

SYNK is actually an intelligent party game. While it certainly has the ability to breakdown to the traditional party game jokes and comments in the right group with the right cards/letters, it doesn't need to nor does the game necessarily promote it like other party games. SYNK reminds me more of Scrabble if it were converted into a party game. You are given the initial letter(s) of a word, and you are trying to figure out what that word is. However, the way you get additional letters is by coming up with your own words that follow the same initial letter patterns...it is very clever and certainly not like your traditional party game.

Box and Components

While this is an early copy of SYNK, it does appear to be of the level of quality I would expect the final product to be. The box is very similarly built like many other party games like Cards Against Humanity and Superfight but smaller to hold a little more than 300 hundred cards. So the quality is very good and looks good for a party style game. 

The game comes with the following components:

• 300 Game Cards: The cards will have a Secret word and its definition. Five of the cards are blank so you can create your own word and definition. 
• Small Paper Rulebook: The rules are very short and take about 2-3 minutes to read through. 

The cards are actually pretty sturdy and didn't not bend too easily. They are not a linen finish and can be seen through it held against brighter light at the right angle, but it shouldn't be much of an issue. Players probably should cover the back with their hand when looking at them just in case; perhaps card quality can be an upgrade during the Kickstarter to give them grey or black core. 

The rules are fairly straight forward, and once you learn the game, you will rarely need to reference the rules. I do see a few minor issues with the rules in terms of formatting. The font is pretty small; they probably could have increase the font size a size or two and used some of the space on the back of the rules sheet. They use some yellow font in a small section in the rules (not important rules just pointing people to their website for an online tutorial) that is hard to read; it should be bold or slightly different color to stand against the white better. Beyond those few minor tweaks, it is pretty good. 

Mechanics

As with many party games, the mechanics have a similar feel where there will be one leading player with other players doing the guessing/work. The goal is for a single player to collect three cards to win. You earn cards by correctly guessing the word that is listed on the cards, but it won't be that simple. You are using your brain to come up with words based on a subset of letters revealed letter by letter as the games goes on; you goal is to figure out the secret word before the other players. 

Setup

Either play cards from the box or shuffle the cards creating a deck. Select a first player (whoever really wants to be first player or by your preferred means); I will refer to this player at the lead player. 

Rounds

1. The Lead player draws a card and says the first letter of the Secret word shown on the card. 
2. The other players will think of a word that that starts with that letter and that they can describe in such a way that the lead player will not get it, but one of the other players will. Once a player has such a word, they will shout, "I've Got One!" I will refer to them as the "Shouter."
3. The Shouter will begin describing their word without saying it. Once another player (not the lead player) feels they know the word, they will shout "SYNK!" Let's refer to them as the "SYNKer".
4. The Shouter and SYNKer will count down and say their word at the same time....3...2...1...WORD. However, the Lead player can also shout a word out (though not the Card's Secret word if they believe that will be the SYNK word). Here is the potential outcomes:
   • If the Shouter and SYNKer SYNK with the correct Secret word, the Shouter receives the card and ends the round. The Shouter becomes the new Lead player for the next round. 
     • The current Lead player cannot shout out the Secret word even if the other players are going to SYNK with it. 
   • If the Shouter and SYNKer don't SYNK but the Shouter used the correct Secret word, the Lead player wins the round and keeps the card.
     • The rules don't state if this player remains lead for the next round, so the players can decide how to proceed. 
   • If the Shouter and SYNKer SYNK correctly with a non-Secret word without the Lead player guessing correctly, the round continues forward with the Lead player revealing the next letter in the word. Return to Step 2 with all of the revealed letters and come up with a word that starts with that pattern of letters. 
     • So if you started with A, and were given M...your works could be Amp, Amen, Amiga, Amuse, etc.
     • Maybe you were told AMB so now it could be Amber, Ambush, Ambient, Ambivalent. 
   • If the Shouter and SYNKer don't SYNK OR the two players SYNK with a non-Secret word along with the Lead player, the round doesn't not proceed and will require another player to come up with a new word by continue from Step 2 above with the same letters known.
     • The same Shouter cannot be the Shouter twice in a row. 

Other Rules

• There are no restrictions on words as long as they are real words that can be spelled and are widely known. So nouns, verbs, proper nouns, band, etc. 
• If by some chance, the game hits a stand still for trying to figure out the secret word, the Lead player should read off the definition allowing each player one opportunity to shout out an answer; the first correct answer wins the card and becomes the next Lead player. 
• If no one is able to think of the word the Shouter is trying to describe (no one is able to shout SYNK) after roughly 30 seconds, another player can shouter "I've Got One" to start a new word attempt. 
• Tenses don't matter as long as the word base word is the same. 
• Words may not be reused for a card. So if a word is used on the first letter of a card by ANY player, that word may not be used until a new card is drawn that also follows that letter pattern. This includes any words shouted out during a SYNK. 

Game End

Once a player has collected three cards, that player is the winner!

Final Thoughts

A lot of party games tend to follow the same type of mold, and while this game certainly has the same appearance of the traditional party card game, it is a clever party game that is really using your brains. This feels like the scrabble of party card games because you need to have a large vocabulary and need to be able to sneakily describe words in such a way that the Lead player won't catch on. I really like that this game takes this unique approach that changes the party game dynamic. That said, I do enjoy traditional party games as well, but I do like when I see a game challenging that mold with something different while still being familiar. 

I would have liked to have seen some perk for players who SYNKed with another players. As it is now, if the player who comes up the word comes up with the secret work and finds a player who SYNKs with them, the one player gets a card but the other player gets nothing. I don't have a solution for what that player should get, but I would have liked to have seen something for that player though. As mentioned earlier, the font in the rules are a little small and a little light with some of the yellow/orange thin fonts, but this is very minor and can be easily addressed with a quick rules update prior to production. Additionally, I suspect in games with larger player counts, you may need to tweak the end game rules to avoid the game "over staying its welcome" so feel free to house rule something like playing 10-15 cards and who has the most cards wins!

Overall, I think this game offers a different experience that will certainly have an audience with those who enjoy party games but are tired of Cards Against Humanity clones. I think people who enjoy Scrabble and may have never even played a party game may even really take to this game very well because it is really easy to learn. It should be very easy to take home with you during holiday and teach to your families during gathers and keep the adults in your families entertained. I am certain if this game is funded during its Kickstarter, there will be expansions and other variants.

If this seems like a  game you and your friends could enjoy, be sure to check out SYNK! when it hits Kickstarter in mid-June 2021. 

Links/Media

SYNK Kickstarter Page

Publisher Product Page

Disclosure

We received the product in order to write an honest review; all reviews reflect the honest opinions of the writer.