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Portrayal |
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Availability:
Out of stock
List Price:
$29.99
Our Price:
$23.95
You Save:
$6.04 (20%)
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Description:
Portrayal is a funny, fast-paced, family/party game that tests each player's ability to describe, draw, & evaluate wacky images.
In each hilarious round of Portrayal, one player (the Portrayer) describes a unique and utterly bizarre image while the other players (the Artists) attempt to draw the image based solely on the Portrayer’s description.
Once time is up, Artists trade drawings and the ten hidden criteria for the image are uncovered. It’s up to each Artist to decide whether the drawing he or she is judging meets the criteria and receives points.
Everyone plays during every round. Be Portrayer one round, be an Artist the next. No one sits on the sidelines — Ever!
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 | | Portrayal Images: | | | | | |  | | Our Rating:
Our Review:
Portrayal is a drawing game that everyone can enjoy, whether you consider yourself and artist or not. Every player leads one round in the game, in the role of the "portrayer." This person looks at a wacky picture at the top of a card and tries to describe it with enough detail so that the other players (the "artists") can draw essential elements of the picture on their drawing pads, all within a short time limit. The results are some hilarious descriptions ("He's holding onto a kind of bra-like parachute thingy...") that result in some hilarious drawings. And the fact that every player is participating fully during every round makes the game continuously interesting and fun.
Each picture has ten particular criteria that are listed at the bottom of the picture card. These criteria are hidden in a sleeve during the describing/drawing process, without the "portrayer" or the "artists" knowing what they are. When the describing/drawing time expires, "artists" pass their drawings around to be graded by other "artists." Then the "portrayer" pulls the picture card out of the sleeve and reads the ten picture criteria, one at a time. The "portrayer" earns one point for each of the criteria that at least one "artist" included in a drawing. For example, "The man's arms are stretched out above his head." Each "artist" earns a point for each criteria included in his/her drawing. The game ends after each player has had a turn being the "portrayer," and then points are totalled and a winner is declared.
You will quickly discover that drawing skill only gets you so far, and in some cases, can be a hinderance. What really counts is attention to detail and the ability to describe and draw precisely and quickly. Portrayal exercises different brain muscles than most of us are used to, and is quite a lot of fun.
Since the scoring isn't fair unless every player takes a turn being the "portrayer," Portrayal takes longer the more people play. In our play testing during the review process, we found that playing five or six rounds is ideal, which would lend itself to playing with five or six players, or playing two rounds with three players.
There is a minor issue with the "portrayer" remembering to announce the title of the picture, since the title is covered up when the card is inserted fully into the picture sleeve. We're not sure why the title doesn't show. However, the title isn't essential to describing or drawing the scene, so this isn't a big deal.
Also, since you use one of the 120 "Wacky Scene Cards" during each round, if you averaged six players per game, you will only be able to play 20 games before repeating the cards. We doubt that playing with repeat cards would work too well if you play the game often, especially for visually-minded people. Of course, if you play infrequently, it would take long enough to work through the cards that remembering past pictures shouldn't be a problem. We hope that Braincog will produce an expansion pack of additional cards to address this deficiency in the game, as well as providing refills for the fairly customized drawing pads.
But these minor issues aside, Portrayal is a great game. The funny artwork, the unique, non-artistic skills required to play, the brain-bending and communicative aspects, and the game mechanics that allow every player to participate fully during every turn, make Portrayal a great family or party game that will keep you coming back for more. We give a strong recommendation for Portrayal here at BoardGameRatings.com.
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User Reviews:
|  Awesome Game!
This is an awesome game! I recommend it to anyone who is looking for the trifecta for board games: fast, easy, and fun! The best part is laughing at everyone else's drawings at the end of each round.
by Jim (Dec 23 2010)
| Great group game
I bought this game based on reviews found here, and it has been a hit with everyone! It keeps everyone constantly engaged, which is great when playing with anyone easily distracted. I love strategy games while my wife prefers party games, and Portrayal is a great compromise. I highly recommend this game to anyone.
With regards to the minor concern noted in BGR's review, the 120 cards concerned me at first, but after going through half the deck, I strongly doubt I will remember the important aspects of these absurd pictures. Thus, unless you play this play constantly, using the same card again should not be a problem.
by Michael (Sep 13 2010)
| My favorite game!
Portrayal is my favorite party game. It's easy to play and it involves everyone, so no one gets bored while waiting for their turn.
Best of all, it is so funny to see the pictures people draw and the different ways people can interperet the same discription.
by Jeannie (Dec 01 2009)
| Fun for non-artists
I recommend this game since you can be a terrible artist (like me) and still do a good job (I even won). You also have to be good at describing and listening, not just drawing.
by oldtimer (Jul 24 2009)
|  Fun!
I got a copy of Portrayal after reading the reviews here and on boardgamegeek.com. I am glad I got it. It is a favorite at our gaming parties. I hope they do an expansion pack soon. It's a good game for the analytical folks (you have to be precise and speak well) and for the creative folks (you get to draw funny pictures).
by John (Apr 29 2009)
| Great for kids
I played this game with a group of 6 kids. It was very fun and the kids each loved it. One of the best "educational games that doesn't seem like an educational game" that I've ever played. I also played it with a group of adults and people liked it more than Cranium or Taboo (which we also played). My only criticism is that the timer is a bit flaky, but we always had a watch or extra sand timer so it's no big deal.
by Sarah (Nov 25 2008)
| Great Party Game
Portrayal is a great game with a variety of skills involved like speaking, drawing, debating, listening, observing. But more importantly, it's FUNNY, action-packed, and keeps everyone playing and interacting. The best game for adults and older kids I've played since Cranium first came out, and this one is much better.
by Marcus (May 26 2008)
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