FROM THE CREATORS WHO BROUGHT US EXPLODING KITTENS!!! Oh sorry for shouting. Let’s try that again…From the creators who brought us Exploding Kittens, it is the publishers name after all, we have a game all about disrupting the cultural stigma of librarians being quiet. Really Loud Librarians brings back the classic feeling of shouting during game night.
Really Loud Librarians is a game about quickly calling out nouns related to a specified category using the given letter on the game board. Players are timed using a sand timer as they rush around the board trying to complete list as many words possible with the given letters. First to 12 points wins the game.
Designer insight: Matthew Inman is a cartoonist who post comics on his website The Oatmeal. His creative comics and unique art has turned into books and board games…most notably Exploding Kittens and Throw Throw Burrito.
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Rules Overview
Players divide into two teams. Teams move their Librarian along the track by shouting out words that satisfies the category and uses one of the letters displayed within the rings. Whichever letter was used determines where the Librarian moves giving a new set of letters to choose from. Players continue to shout words until the timer runs out.
The opposing team can contest words. By laying the sand timer on its said and discussing if the word is valid or not. After a conclusion is reached start stand the timer up and continue play.
Whichever team travels furthest during their turn wins the round. The team earns 1 point for winning and 1 extra point for each Bonus Token they collected. Bonus Tokens are randomly selected letters that give bonus points if using that letter.
First Team to 12 points wins the game.
Gameplay
Overall Experience
We played the game with a group of six people putting three people on each team. The game was easy enough to start fresh from opening the shrink wrap without a pre-read of the rules. Though we did have to double check some things.
The players quickly jump in and enjoy the game. Even though the categories are broad and the rules are a bit loose, we still had fun. Players would sometimes yell out ridiculous words just to try get the Bonus Tiles.
We had to challenge words a few times which really slowed down the pace of the game. Mid round the sand timer is laid on it said which then leads into a discussion. Often the team being contested would dispute their own word more then the opposing team. Other times we simply shouted “That doesn’t count” without stopping the game.
The Bonus Tokens (letters with bonus scoring) help speed up the game since teams can only win 1 point per round plus 1 point per bonus, after 3-5 rounds that will be a lot of opportunities to score extra points each round, ramping up the speed of the game. It also creates a challenge for the players to focus on the bonus letter instead of the other options limiting the words they might be able to use.
Game Length
The game only took around 15mins. It never felt too long. Players where all enjoying their time and wanted to play a second round.
With Kids
There was plenty of kids around. We had a couple older children 5 years old try to join in, but mostly just watched the action. The categories are not offensive in anyway. We had no situation were people would shout inappropriate things. Though it isn’t impossible to do so. It was safe to play with young kids running around.
Likes and Dislikes
What Players Like
Noise
This game reminds me of classic shouting games. It definitely brought back some vibes. With recently games like Codenames and The Crew, my party games have gotten quiet. It was refreshing to get some yelling in. Especially with any social deduction games being banned in our house due to my wife and I’s dislike for them.
Ease of Play
I have groups that struggle to even process games like Azul. Having a game that only requires players to yell words in the specified category using the specified letters is simple enough. Even for the most board game challenged.
I really enjoy Word Slam but for some this is also a bit complex and there is a lot more pressure on the clue giver. Really Loud Librarian is a very low-pressure experience.
Works with Any Number
This game can be played at 2+ player count. Even at odd numbers the game still plays fairly well. 6-10 players is probably the sweet spot for this game though.
No Clue Giver/Team Leaders
Everyone on a team plays at the same time. There’s no clue giving, or word checks. Everything is public knowledge for both teams.
What Players Dislike
Word Strictness
The easy categories are way to broad. This leaves room to pretty much say any word that begins with the presented letter, and you’ll likely be ok. The game doesn’t define how strict or what kind of words are permitted or not. There is a way during the game to contest a word leaving it up to the group to decide.
Word Challenges
Every time you challenge a word the sand timer is placed on its side. This interrupts the flow of the game and also feels as though it messes up the timer.
Broad Categories
Some categories tend to be way to broad making it way to easy to through out whatever word comes to your head. For example, “Things in a Purse or Wallet” gives players almost endless options to what they can say. The other team of course can dispute any words but almost anything could be argued as “A thing in a purse.”
It must come down to how loose or tight your group wants to play. And trying to develop a limitation like only being able to list things that you have personally carried in your purse before.
Unbalanced Difficulty
The game has categories organized by difficulty 1-4. The lower categories have the biggest issue with being to broad but it can also happen in more difficult categories. For example one category is “Things in a Purse or Wallet” while another card in at the same difficulty rating is “Words that Contain ‘Q’”.
Art and Theme
The art comes from Matthew Inman, the designer of the game. You can see his unique art style and creative comic mind shine through. He commonly likes to take something and counter with something that doesn’t usually belong like Kittens and Explosions, something cute and safe with some dangerous and scary.
Sadly his art is pretty much only present on the Librarian pieces. It would have been great to have some sort of unique art on the category cards maybe if there is different sets of categories, or to illustrate the difficulty in some humorous way. But sadly we get a pretty sleek board without anything visual connecting the game to Matthew Inman.
Component Quality
The Box & Insert
The game box is appropriately designed to look like a book! From the front its not extremely noticeable but when you take it off the shelf you will notice the book-like design when the “page side” is showing.
The box is cleverly designed to displayed from any side having its name displayed in different ways; book binding, bookmark or papers sticking out of the pages.
The insert is basically a pit but divided into three sections: the large dump all pit, the player pieces pit and the card pit. The card pit holds the cards with enough vertical room to sleeve but the space around the cards might be too tight. I found that instead of putting the sand timer in its designated spot it fits very well right over the card spot holding them securely in place.
Components
The game comes with surprisingly nice components for a party game.
The game board comes with a dual layered. Securing the point markers in place preventing any mishaps from any overzealous players.
The score markers are made from two pieces of cardboard slitted to fit together creating a tall “X”. I don’t love these. I really wish it was a wooden cube.
The player markers are sturdy cardboard with a plastic base that is designed to fit into this 4-ring chain contraption, that works well once you figure it out but is a bit confusing at first.
The remaining cardboard pieces aren’t very thick but thick enough to be sturdy and last long.
Reasons to Buy
- Fans of Exploding Kittens
- Loud fun experience
- Word game
- Low-Pressure gameplay
- Lots of laughter
- If you host parties with non-board gamer friends
- Quick & easy game for casual audiences
Reasons to Not Buy
- Unclear Word restrictions
- Low-Strategy
- Don’t like shouting
- Don’t like word games
Where to Buy?
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Personal Reviewer Score
I generally do not play party games. This game was actually a gift from a family member (not from the publisher). I also don’t love word games or trivia games. I personally found the game un-enjoyable but not to the level I couldn’t play it again. It was more enjoyable then I was expecting it to be. It was fun in the sense that it brought laughter and conversation. Again, that’s something I personally don’t look for in a game over strategy gameplay. It was easy to jump people into the game shouting words. I’m going to give it a 2 out of 5 stars. I do see it fitting into the rotation between Sushi Go & Word Slam with larger non-gamer groups.
