MooT (1998)

Moot bills itself as the 'toughest word game ever'. Self-published, it has come in various boxes over the years, from cigar boxes to blue and silver cardboard.

Each team (or individual player when playing with a smaller group) rolls a 12-sided die. For 1-3, a Red question is asked, for 4-6 a Green one, for 7-9 a Yellow one, and for 10-12 a Blue one. Each question is worth the number rolled on the die.

The questions are devilishly hard and sometimes feature trick questions. Examples: Which part, the bowl or the grinder, is the mortar? In medieval times, the first hay cut in the season was called the Math. What was the second cut called? (Answer: Aftermath) Most deal with word origins and obscure knowledge. Each card also features a small tidbit of information about the answer.

The first player or team to get to 31 points is the winner. Replay value of the game is somewhat limited since only a single question set was ever produced, but the game is well worth picking up. A nice cerebral change from the usual Trivial Pursuit-type games.