There is no doubt about it – party games are important. Over the past few years we have seen a massive boom in the gaming industry, with more and more games of every kind entering the market. Party games have formed a part of that boom since day one, bringing people together and creating a collective experience everyone can enjoy.

This is where Gamely Games comes in. Gamely Games are a company based in Brighton, UK, and who specialise in party games. To date, they are one of the few games to have ever appeared on the business themed TV show, Dragons Den, and they are becoming more prominent in the board game space by the day. The team specialises in party games, having produced games such as Randomise, Soundiculous, and The Pretender.

They have a simple mantra –

Do good. Have fun.

Yesterday afternoon I spent a while on the phone to Hazel, the CEO of Gamely, talking about their games, philosophy, and what they are like as a company. They are a fun-centric, charity minded company, and they make games that are accessible to all.

Jibbergiggle and Randomise – Gamely’s newest and original games side by side.

Enter Jibbergiggle

Jibbergiggle is the latest game by Gamely Games and it too focuses around good, honest, family friendly, awesome fun. The concept is simple, there are nine scenarios on a table. You draw a card that has a nonsense word written on it. Using just the inflection in your voice, the word you have drawn, and facial expressions you have to express one of the scenarios. The rest of the players then take it in turns to guess which one it is.

It’s that simple, and it is that silly.

Jibbergiggle – The Hilarious Game of Spouting Nonsense

Now, we’re just awaiting a big enough group to play Jibbergiggle with but I can tell you what a similar game by Gamely plays like – Soundiculous.

Similar in concept, but totally different, we took Soundiculous to a family gathering. Once everyone had eaten we broke Soundiculous out, with a group of 11 of us – ranging from ages 11 to 58.

It went down an absolute storm. The concept of Soundiculous is that  you draw a card with something on it, and you need to get others to guess what the word (or concept) is by only making noises. No talking, just random, silly, noises.

You know what? It was fantastic. With a varied group, all with different backgrounds, all different ages, it was absolutely hilarious. We played for a good few rounds and everyone have a great time – from myself and Beth (my partner) who are fairly hardcore board gamers, to the non-gamers of the group.

For Fun’s Sake

This is what Gamely specialises in. Unlike other party game companies on the market who are specialising in the “adult” party game, Gamely Games specialise in making games as accessible as possible. They want to bring people together, and this is where Jibbergiggle comes in.

Jibbergiggle is a game that any parents can relate to. The nonsense words you come up with when talking to babies form the backbone of Jibbergiggle (and apparently helped inspire the game) so you find yourself having to say words such as “Awooga”, “Fizzwiggle”, and “Patootie”.

A few of the Jibbergiggle scenarios

Jibbergiggle takes that a step further. You have to use those words, and only those words, to describe a scenario well enough as for others to guess what the scenario is. For instance, you may have to use only the word “Wapahhh” to denote a naughty dog being trained, or use the word “Wibble” to denote you facing your fear of spiders.

It’s a mixture of silly sounds and facial expressions to make something truly unique.

A few of the silly words.

The Gamely Way

Jibbergiggle is actually the fourth game by Gamely. The first was Randomise, the game that was on Dragons Den and Kickstarted, and it starting the ball rolling for Hazel and her team. Next came The Pretender and Soundiculous, before this final game Jibbergiggle. Each is a variation on the same sort of theme – you act or make noises or draw a concept for others to guess. The rules change, and the challenge varies, but the concept is the same – these are games revolving around that word – FUN.

I have to admit that I have a real soft spot for Gamely as a company. Their approach is so refreshing and they are committed to giving as much as possible back to the world (they support of lot of charity work that you can read about here). All in all though, I really like Gamely because they help perpetuate something that is so beautifully evident within this hobby of ours. Gaming is about the people. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old. It doesn’t matter where you are from. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living. Games are about bringing people together and the fact that Gamely Games are a company who are dedicated to making that happen and connecting people is beyond awesome.

In fact, to emphasise this – throughout this article you have seen various pictures of Gamely’s games. You have seen Randomise and Jibbergiggle. We actually own all four; however, we lent The Pretender and Soundiculous to my folks so they could play it on a picnic they were going on with old family friends. Those are the kinds of games they requested playing with complete non-gamers because of how accessible they are.

Anyway, we’ve gone off on a bit of a tangent. Let’s summarise – Jibbergiggle should be an absolute riot to play. Gamely are an awesome company. Games are made to bring people together.

So – what do you think? What’s you’re take on Jibbergiggle, Soundiculous, or any of the other games mentioned in this article? Have you played any Gamely Games? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

To find out more about Gamely Games you can click here.

I would like to thank the Gamely Games team for taking the time to speak with me on the phone and for sending us copies of Jibbergiggle and Randomise.

Published by Luke

Board game nerd, comic book geek, Rubik's Cube solver, Splendor player, and Blogger. View all posts by Luke