Described as "The Game that Gets Everyone Talking," this game comes in a little 4 x 4-inch box and contains 119 Category Cards and 6 Voting Cards. Each Category Card lists a discussion topic in English, French, Spanish, and German. The instructions describe four ways to play. Players can simply go around and pick a card, sharing a personal anecdote that fits the topic, or all players can share about the same topic. Another version allows some choice of topics: players are dealt five cards with the option of exchanging them and then sharing stories to match their five cards. Finally, players may take turns drawing a card and, without revealing the topic, share a story, true or false, on the topic. The other players use the Voting Cards to state whether or not they believe the story to be true or false and receive a point if their vote is correct.

Are you curious about the categories? They include worst gift, people problem, memory, and greatest strength. There are several cards that may not align with some families' values: lie, vomit story, secret, passing gas story, bathroom story, and kissing story, for example. So parents will want to go through the Category Cards before playing.

The game is for ages ten and up, but I'm sure some younger children would also enjoy playing. It is primarily a non-competitive game, except for the last variation listed above.

Chronicles of the Mind fosters good communication skills and confidence. Due to its compact size, it would be a great game to take on vacation.

Product review by Kathy Gelzer, The Old Schoolhouse^® Magazine, LLC, October 2010