We love finding a game that is fun and has a sneaky educational benefit for the kids. Well, you better believe we were thrilled when we discovered None of a Kind was not just great for the kids' brains, but also for ours!
None of a Kind is based on the Stroop test, apparently one of the most-cited papers in experimental psychology. The game’s intent? Improving the brain’s processing speed—and we can see how! It’s a brain teaser that requires the player to digest several types of information at once and figure out which cards to avoid and which cards to take. As quickly as they can.
The game design is simple, and it’s super easy to learn. It’s also a very quick game—we completed the five-round game in 20 minutes. On a first look at the rules, we assumed it’d be a frantic dash-for-cards kind of game, but it wasn’t as hectic as we expected!
There aren’t any turns in None of a Kind; players can reach for cards as quickly as they like as they try to complete their anti-pattern. We anticipated flying hands and flying cards, but instead we found that it took so much attention to detail and double checking your anti-pattern that it was very controlled chaos.
9yo: “I liked getting to grab my cards and not having to wait for people to take turns.”
Meric found that by the final round, he’d gotten into a comfortable and almost meditative state, processing the word/colour/number combinations to find the cards he needed easily and without stress.
None of a Kind is a great family game for all ages. We’d love to see how the kids measure up to grandparents at the table. And it’s definitely got a learned-skill component. Even by the end of the first game we were already finding the patterns (and avoiding them) easier! Such a win to play a game that makes us think but is also a blast!
11yo: “I am going to tell my teacher about this game. She should get it for our class!”
If you’re looking for a quick game that gets your brain working, None of a Kind is a clever, accessible, smart game for all ages.
Helpful Hints
- Sit close together! Since this is a reach for cards when you want sort of game, players need to be able to reach all the cards independently.
- Time your games and see if you get faster finding your anti-patterns the more you play!