People sometimes ask me, “Do you have a cape?” or, “Are you named after a Nordic god?”
Although I have been known to tie a towel around my neck as a cape a few times and I’m of Swedish descent with an uncle whose middle name is Thor, these questions are usually only directed at me while playing Guess Who? Marvel Edition, from Hasbro.
A spin on the classic 1980s game, Guess Who? Marvel Edition is great for young superhero enthusiasts. Like the original, players must choose a character before the game. This edition has a slide on the side for kids to select with. Instead of putting individual cards into the slots, the game comes with two double-sided character cards and each player must choose the same side before sliding it into their game tray.
From there, players take turns asking yes or no questions to narrow down the mystery and take a guess at who it could be. In my house, when we played Guess Who?, we always had to ask our questions in the second tense as if our opponent were actually the character they chose. As long as they were yes or no questions, we were still following the rules.
Each side to the character cards has 15 characters on them, less than the usual 24 in the original Guess Who?, so some rounds have the potential to be quick. But, depending on the type of questions asked—and who’s asking them—the Marvel spin could also make the game more challenging.
The character options include everyone’s favorites from Marvel, such as Spider-Man and Black Widow, as well as all their super villain foes. The characters are numbered so kids don’t necessarily have to memorize the entire Marvel universe, but if they want to then I am fully supportive.
The perks of knowing all the characters would be that they could ask more questions beyond the appearance, like knowing if the characters are from The Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy, or knowing who’s a hero and who’s a villain. This game could easily be used test the knowledge of older comic book lovers who want to only allow questions specific to the characters and not necessarily just their appearance.
Regardless of how knowledgeable the players, any game is always more fun while wearing a cape.
