Call me a nerd, but I don't think you ever grow out of board games. Sometimes it's fun to skip getting turnt at the club and invite some friends over for a boozy round of Trivial Pursuit, Taboo, Cards Against Humanity, whatever's your bag. Over the years, board games have evolved, using DVD's and apps to create new interactive experiences. And there have been roughly one million versions of Monopoly - including a version for cheaters, a version for millennials and a version where you buy dogs instead of property.
Now there's a board game that delivers a real sensory experience, as losing players have to smell incredibly disgusting fragrances. We all remember playing with Scratch and Sniff stickers as kids; it's basically that concept mixed with the random horror of eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans. WowWee's What's That Smell? utilizes the latest in 'scent technology' to create 50 different aromas.
These smells range from the sweet (pineapple, roses, bacon) to the absolutely revolting (cat butt, rotting garbage, manure). I'm glad I wasn't in the focus group when the company was creating these scents. ("Yes! This smells exactly like cat butt! Nope, this doesn't smell enough like manure!")
Here's how it works: Every player is given a card with a scent on it, which they are asked to identify. Then they pass their cards around in a circle, and see who correctly identified the most odours.
Then the winner, aka the 'Nose-It-All (nothing stinks more than that pun) selects a player of his choice to suffer the Whiff of Shame: Three huffs of 'four outrageously pungent Stank Cards,' including 'Extra Old Toe Cheese, Diaper Blowout, Hot Chunky Vomit and Smothered in B.O.!" (Yeah, I'm definitely sticking with Scrabble.)
This scratch and sniff party game retails for £19.99, which is about $25. Currently it's only available in the UK, but if it becomes popular, maybe one day it will be stinking up the United States. Just think of the potential if WowWee could get celebrities to donate scents.
A "Hollywood" edition could include such intoxicating aromas as Post Malone's armpit, Snoop Dogg's dressing room, and Ariana Grande's hair. Actually, Snoop Dogg's dressing room isn't a great idea for a scent, because the marijuana stench is so strong it would get players second-hand high, and that isn't legal in every state.
The game also coordinates with an app, so you can take photos of other player's disgusted faces and share them online for maximum embarrassment. I'm not sure how much replay value this game has, but it would probably be fun to play once, just for the curiosity factor. The age suitability is 14 and up, so the tweens and teens might enjoy it as well. It's only a matter of time until Monopoly makes a "Scratch N' Sniff" version - I can't wait to get a whiff of jail.