Weird Little Elf

“The Imp is missing, bless my beard!”

“Look! That Elf is acting weird!”

So begins each round of Weird Little Elf. That is not, however, where I really want to start this review. I want to start by setting the scene if you will. I want to give you some context. You know that thing where you have to read a food blogger’s life story before the recipe? Ya, I want to do that but be less insipid.

Recently I had a conversation with other tabletop gaming media types over whether or not non-sequiturs or rambling on about your opinion on a particular game mechanic, or particular style of game, or the IP that a game is based on, is necessary or desirable. Or if we should stick to the game in front of us. The fact that I’m writing this before the meat of this review should tell you what camp I’m in on that one. To me, lending that sort of personal touch to a review adds important context as well as helps to connect to you, our dear readers. When I tell potential guest reviewers my expectations, I tell them to be themselves. I’ve had readers pull up a review and know exactly who wrote it before ever getting to the signature at the end. I personally think it’s important for me to say that I don’t really enjoy most social deduction and hidden role games. They aren’t “bad” games but they aren’t what I love. It’s important and adds some gravity to my saying that Weird Little Elf is a social deduction and hidden roll game that I actually enjoy! A lot!! 

I probably failed at the insipidness thing so thanks for still being here. 

 I was hesitant the first time I opened Weird Little Elf up, given my opinion on this style of game, but every time I’ve played, in every group I’ve played it in, it has been an absolute hoot. That’s a cheesy way you put it, I know. But the game is a bit goofy all around. The very basic rules are that everyone but Santa gets either an Elf card or an Imp card. Santa asks a question, and everyone answers. Santa gets to guess who they think is the Imp. If they guess wrong, the accused Elf gets to guess, if they also get it wrong, the newly accused Elf gets to guess, and so on until the Imp is found.

How is Santa to find the Imp, you ask? When the Imp gets their card, it has a unique rule on it. A quirk. A ‘tell”. A thing that the player must do during that round. Something that would ordinarily seem out of place. But remember what I said happens if Santa gets the answer wrong? That accused Elf gets to guess. Well, if the Imp is doing something weird, and the Elves want Santa to guess wrong. What’s an Elf to do, but also act weird. The game isn’t called Weird Little Imp, is it? No, it’s called Weird Little Elf so be weird for goodness sake!

One of the most shocking things about the game is its physical size. It’s a tiny cube packed solid with small square cards and a folded page of rules. I have games with fewer cards that are bigger than a retailer’s display of the game. It’s impressively small and would easily fit in someone’s stocking. Another nice touch is that Santa question cards are double-sided, with one side having a distinctly Christmas question and the flip side having a generic question allowing it to be played at any time of the year. Between the two options, it’s unlikely to the point of impossible that the game will ever not a unique experience. No group is going to burn through all the cards in a single sitting, and if someone wants to take it as a challenge I hope they record/stream it! There’s also no real need to use either question and Santa could just make something up, so go hard. I want to see a 24-hour stream of Weird Little Elf in support of Santa’s Anonymous*, your own local holiday charity, or a food bank. 

[*Editor’s PSA: Santa’s Anonymous is an amazing charity in Edmonton, Alberta. For Dave, it doesn’t really feel like Christmas until this story airs on TV or the radio. Please enjoy it in the spirit it is intended, and if you have something extra to spare this year, consider making a donation in your community. This is a hard season for many, and if you are having a hard time emotionally, physically, or financially, please reach out for support. Most importantly, remember to be kind.]

To wrap back around to the beginning of this review. I love Weird Little Elf and I’m already bringing it along to a bunch of my holiday parties this year.