FTW Staff Picks - Funemployed

The "Apples to Apples genre" has been crowded ever since the it hit the market in 1999. There's been plenty that have managed to find their niche alongside the OG. Cards Against Humanity is certainly the newest and has arguably even surpassed Apples to Apples in popularity now. There are variations like Dixit, which give a lot of creative power to the players. But one of my favourites has always been Snake Oil. It's hit or miss depending on your group, but when it hits, it really hits. Funemployed borrows the general structure of Snake Oil and puts it in, arguably, and even funnier theme. 

The premise of the game is players will take turns as the Employer. The job they are hiring for is randomly pulled from a deck of cards. Each player is dealt four Qualifications they can use to build their resume. They may also swap any Qualifications with the 10 face-up available ones. When applying for the job, each player must use each Qualification to convince the Employer that they're the Applicant for the job.

The vagueness of the Qualification cards is where the game really shines. Just like in Snake Oil, there are a lot of creative liberties that players can take given the cards they've selected for their resume. And each Employer is always a little different. Some players like to play it straight, while others prefer something that will make them laugh. It can get competitive, but at the end of the day it's all done in the name of fun. 

While Cards Against Humanity has further popularized the genre, it's hard to find it charming after even just a few play-throughs. It basically takes Apples to Apples and removes all innuendo, which is part of the fun. Sure Apples to Apples is targeted as a family game, but that doesn't mean it can't provide some good R-rated fun. What games like Funemployed and Snake Oil bring to the table go beyond the cards on the table. They challenge the player's where it should matter most, on the right-side of the brain.