View source for Cranium (board game)

{{italics title}}
{{short description|Party board game}}
{{other uses of|Cranium}}
{{multiple issues|
{{context|date=February 2016}}
{{more footnotes|date=May 2022}}
}}
{{Infobox game
| subject_name= ''Cranium''
| image= Cranium game.jpg
| players= 4+ 
| ages=16+
| setup_time=approx. 2 minutes 
| playing_time=> 35 minutes 
| random_chance= Medium 
| designer = Whit Alexander, Richard Tait
| illustrator = [[Gary Baseman]]
| publisher = [[Hasbro]]
| date = {{start date and age|1998}}
|  skills= [[Creativity]], [[general knowledge]] 
| footnotes =
}}

'''''Cranium''''' is a [[party game]] created by Whit Alexander and [[Richard Tait (executive)|Richard Tait]] in 1998.<ref name=Metz>{{cite web|last=Metz|first=Cade|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/03/business/richard-tait-dead.html|url-access=subscription|title=Richard Tait, Co-Inventor of the Board Game Cranium, Dies at 58|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803212033/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/03/business/richard-tait-dead.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 3, 2022|archive-date=August 3, 2022|accessdate=January 30, 2023}}</ref> Initially, ''Cranium'' was sold through [[Amazon.com]] and the [[Starbucks]] coffee chain, then-novel methods of distribution.<ref name=Metz/> After selling 44 million copies of ''Cranium'' and its sister titles,<ref name=Metz/> the game's manufacturer [[Cranium, Inc.]] was bought by [[Hasbro|Hasbro, Inc.]] for $77.5 million in 2008.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/nice-move-craniums-77-million-sale/#:~:text=1%20of%202%20%7C%20Cranium%2C%20launched,and%20tub%20of%20clay%20stay | title=Nice move: Cranium's $77 million sale | date=5 January 2008 }}</ref> Billed as "The Game for Your Whole Brain", ''Cranium'' includes a wide variety of activities, unlike many other party games. Murray Brand Commuications and brand strategist, Sonali Shah handled packaging and branding for the game, and the artwork is by cartoonist [[Gary Baseman]].

==Gameplay==

To play ''Cranium'', players form teams and start on the beginning spot of a long track that goes around the game board. At the start of a team's turn, the team to their right selects a card and reads the task to them. If the task is completed successfully, the team rolls a colored die, and moves to the next spot that matches the color rolled. 

There are four equally dispersed colors of spaces along the track. Each color corresponds to a question card category that players must pull from on their turn. Red cards are "Data Head" tasks, where the team needs to answer questions. Yellow cards are "Word Worm", where the team has to solve word problems, spell words, or solve anagrams. Blue cards are "Creative Cat" cards that require one player on the team to draw or use purple clay to sculpt answers that the other player must guess. Green cards are "Star Performer" cards, which requires one player to use charades, acting, or whistling so the rest of the team can guess the answer. 

Along the track are four "Planet Cranium" spots, marked as purple. Teams have to stop on these spots, even if their roll would take them further. On their next turn, they select a category of their choosing to complete a task. If they are successful on their first attempt of a "Planet Cranium" task, they move to a "fast track", which has fewer spaces to traverse. If they are unsuccessful, they continue on the "scenic route", which will take longer. 

Some cards in the "Creative Cat" and "Star Performer" decks are marked with "Club Cranium" symbols. If one of these cards is drawn, every team has to attempt the activity, and the winning team gets a bonus move. 

Once a team reaches the center of the board, they are in "Cranium Central." The teams have to go around a circular section and collect one card from each category. Once that is accomplished, they are allowed into the final spot. At this point, on their turn the opposing teams choose a category for the team to complete. Completing the task wins the game, otherwise they have to try again on their next turn.

==Expansions and spinoffs==
*Booster Boxes: boxes of cards (and clay) sold separately from the game that contain a new deck of each type of card. {{As of|2007}}, Booster Boxes 1 and 2 are available, along with a special New York edition pack.
*''Cadoo'': a children's version of the game that has some elements of [[tic-tac-toe]]. Sold between October 2007 and January 2008, ''Cadoo'' units were recalled in January 2008 by the [[U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission]] because "the surface paint on the die contains excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2008/cranium-cadoo-board-games-recalled-due-to-violation-of-lead-paint-standard|title=Cranium Cadoo Board Games Recalled Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard|publisher=[[U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission]]|date=January 17, 2008|accessdate=January 30, 2023}}</ref>
*''Conga'': a version with a slightly older target audience than ''Cadoo''.  Incorporates a musical timer of ''Cranium'', designed for two or more players to play cooperatively.
*''Cranium Hoopla'': A timed version of Cranium, designed for two or more players to play cooperatively.<ref>{{cite web | website=Board Game Geek | url = https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4424/cranium-hoopla | title = Cranium Hoopla | access-date = Jan 12, 2025}}</ref>
*''Cranium Hullabaloo'': a children's dancing game
*''Cranium Kabookii'': a [[video game]] version available on the [[Wii]] platform.  Activities comprise a mixture of some from the original game and new games better suited for a video game environment.
*''Cranium Scribblish'': played very much like the game of [[Chinese whispers|telephone]].  Players start by drawing a caption card from the deck and must draw the caption, then pass to another player who captions what they believe the other person has drawn, then draw said caption.  Winners correctly guess which drawing started as their own.
*''Cranium The Family Fun Game'': a game similar to the original ''Cranium'' with some minor changes.
*''Cranium Turbo Edition'': a version of ''Cranium'' designed for a faster game.
*''Cranium Wow'': a similar game to the original with new cards and activities from ''Cranium Turbo''.
*''Cranium Pop 5'': a pop-culture focused version released in 2006 where one team assigns the point value (ranked from 1–5) the other team will earn depending on how the other team guesses the clue (through acting, drawing, humming, sculpting, or using letter cubes).
*''Cranium Brain Breaks:'' 200 one-minute mini games.
*''Cranium [[SpongeBob SquarePants]] Edition''
*''Cranium Partyland Park'': Is a children's game by [[Vtech]], and [[Vsmile]]
* ''Jam Pack Jam'': a travel-themed twist on Buckaroo
* ''Cariboo'': a children's game
* ''Balloon Lagoon'': a children's game
* ''Bloom Bingo''
* ''Cranium Zigity'' <ref>{{cite web | website=Board Game Geek | url = https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11618/cranium-zigity | title = Cranium Zigity (2004) | access-date = May 12, 2022}}</ref>
* ''Cranium Dark''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cranium Dark Game |url=https://shop.hasbro.com/en-ca/product/cranium-dark-game/04FD7F7B-5056-9047-F576-E2C8EA9431FA |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=shop.hasbro.com}}</ref>

==Reviews==
*''Family Games: The 100 Best''<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/familygames100be0000unse/page/72/mode/2up | isbn=978-1-934547-21-2 | title=Family games : The 100 best | date=2010 | last1=Lowder | first1=James | publisher=Green Ronin }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|https://hasbrogaming.hasbro.com/en-us/product/cranium-dark-game:04FD7F7B-5056-9047-F576-E2C8EA9431FA}}
*{{bgg|891|Cranium}}
* [http://boardgaming.com/games/party-games/cranium Boardgaming.com]

{{Hasbro}}

[[Category:Board games introduced in 1998]]
[[Category:Party board games]]
[[Category:Hasbro franchises]]
[[Category:Hasbro games]]
[[Category:Cross and circle games]]
[[Category:Quiz games]]