Let's Talk About: Ladies & Gentlemen

This last weekend we got a chance to play Ladies & Gentlemen. Here's sort of a basic rundown:

The table splits into teams of two, and each team has one husband and one wife. The two sides each have their own games that they play simultaneously, and then at the end of every round you compare and see how things shook out. Note that the two sides don't have a lot to do with each other until scoring, and since I only took the time to learn the Wife side (I was a looker!) I can't comment much on what the husbands were doing.

Anyway, the wives are each trying to get an outfit together for the big ball, and they go shopping every day. They secretly pick which store they want to go to, and then they pick out a range of stuff that they want to buy. While this is going on, the husbands are doing some kind of stock market thing where they're trying to make money.

At the end of the day the wives show their husbands what they want to buy, and the husbands approve the purchases they think they cna afford. There are some other vagaries, like how you assemble the ladies' outfit for the ball, and some multipliers and bonus points.

I'll say this, I've never played anything quite like it. The gender roles would raise eyebrows if they weren't done with such an obvious wink. The funny thing is that it totally had the feeling of stereotypical 19th Century households, where neither side really concerned themselves with what the other was doing. I had no clue what my husband was actually doing at the stock market, I just wanted him to buy the stuff I picked out.

Very interesting game, and always nice to see something that's geared away from princes or orcs. Have any other F:ATties played it?

I've been super interested in this for a while. I haven't gotten it because it sounds like it needs a decent-size group to play, and I hardly ever have that many for games. Still, I'd probably grab it if I could find it for a reasonable price, but it's always out of print when I look.

This sounds brilliant- the conceptual theme here is genius...I didn't realize that it was something like this, with the men doing the stock market thing separately. Sounds like a fun satire.

Sounds cool!

It's definitely geared toward big groups, at least six people I'd say. Four would probably work too.

The downside is that the rules aren't exactly super easy. It's not like it's complicated or anything, but it really is two games in one and that makes it kind of hard to teach. Like I said, I have almost no idea what the husbands were doing aside from making money. And even lighter games get tougher to teach with every person you add.

There are also "rumor" cards that the ladies can play on each other. These represent catty remarks made about the other ladies, and they basically function as whammies. We didn't play with them, but it seems like they would be foundational in the long term.

There is no way I'm ever going to feel comfortable asking a group of guys, "Hey everyone! Who wants to play Ladies and Gentlemen?!"

I can't believe that's the name of a game.

i've played at least half a dozen games of this before i traded it off.

The game is very entertaining if the players buy in to the satire theme, and it does work best when both members of a pair are rather oblivious to what the other one is doing. I liked it a lot, although as a game it lasts as long as the joke does. I recommend it, but its a play once in a while game.

On group size, 4+. It is scales pretty well because most of the game takes place simultaneously. Its worth going through the first turn or two slowly and proceduraly to explain things, but after that both sides of the game can more or less run themselves.

Matt Lees did a great video for Shut Up & Sit Down's 'The Opener';

www.shutupandsitdown.com/videos/v/the-opener-ladies-gentlemen/

I enjoy it quite a bit -- my wife really likes the theme, too.

This would be a game I predict that Barnes and Sax would both enjoy.