Talk:Probe (parlor game)

Introduction date

The game Probe was first released in 1964.

Yeah, at least that early. My ex-stepfather, Ted Leavitt, is the guy who created it. For a number of years afterwards he lived modestly in Spain on the royalities. Since this info is "Original Research" by Wiki definitions, I can't put it into the article. If I can find some outside reference for this, however, I will.... Hayford Peirce 02:11, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

present tense would be more appropriate

The article is written in the past tense, as if nobody plays Probe anymore. But it's my favorite game, and everyone I introduce to it seems to love it too. Makes me wonder why it is discontinued. My guess is that it was widely misunderstood to be a game about having the most difficult word, maybe one that nobody has ever heard of. A player can score some points off his own word, if it survives the final 2 rounds of intense scrutiny. But the game is really about being the best (and luckiest) at getting the other players' letters and words. That's where most (usually all) of your own points come from.

In fact, a pretty good strategy is to use a short word yourself, maybe with a couple of blanks, to minimize the points that you give away to the other players. In terms of points, it doesn't matter whose word is revealed first and whose is revealed last. Nevertheless, nobody likes to be the first revealed, and to that end, short words also work well, because they tend to be passed over. (I'm more likely to find whatever I ask for in a 12-letter word than a 5-letter word.) Several times, in different groups, I have tried the word "pterodactyl", and each time it was the first word revealed, because it attracted all the attention. "vodka" works much better.

Even when you aren't the high point scorer, there is a certain satisfaction in having the last word standing or the word that was most fun for the other players. So I figure there are effectively 3 ways to "win".

The advice I give newcomers at the start of a game is to pick a fun word that everyone is likely to know. ("fun" includes difficult-to-spell.) When your last card is turned over, it's much nicer to hear compliments than groans. We usually don't bother playing with the deck of white cards. And to speed the game along, we keep a public list of what's already been asked of each player. That also greatly increases the chances that the last word will be revealed in the final 2 rounds. So players are more likely to choose fun words than 'killer' words.

--Bob K (talk) 16:19, 12 December 2009 (UTC)