That's Not a Hat Board Game Review

Year Published: 2023

Players: 3-8

Playing Time: 15 minutes

There are a bunch of quick, silly party-style games. What makes one stand out and another falter?

There isn’t a single answer to this question, but many possible answers. That’s Not a Hat, a goofy memory and bluffing game, posits a couple possible answers to that question. Except, it answers it in both ways, revealing why some games falter and others succeed.

Here, it just happens to be the same game for both.

That should set the mood for this review, which is neither entirely positive or entirely negative. I own and enjoy That’s Not a Hat, but it’s one that I came precariously close to selling before it won me back over, and I still see the qualities that caused me to hedge on it initially. Below, we’ll look at both sides of this equation.

That’s Not a Hat – Gameplay

Your memory is worse than you think. Or maybe you’re like me and have just pipped 40, and so you know how fallible your memory can be at times.

The game will make this fact clear, though, in hilarious fashion.

See, you’re gifting face-down cards around a table after everyone initially looks at them. For the first few turns, this should be easy. But then the same cards loop around the group an entire trip, and you can’t quite remember if the card you just received is a lamp or a book.

The downward spiral has begun, and it only gets worse from there.

So it’s a memory game, until you inevitably forget many of the exact locations of cards. Then it becomes a bluffing game. Can you convince the player you’re gifting to that you’re confident in what’s on the card you just handed them? Because getting called out – or doing the calling – is how you march toward the game’s end and crown a winner (or multiple winners; ties are friendly if you have the fewest mistakes).

Memory as a Map

Some people are better at this game than others, and are able to come up with quick heuristics for remembering cards better than others. But no one is immune to forgetting multiple cards; rest assured that if you think the game will be easy, it won’t be.

This actually makes it a great game to play with children as well. The rules are vanishingly few, and many kids have memories every bit as good as their parents, or better. There’s nothing like being humbled by your 10-year-old when you confidently claim to be presenting a gift that isn’t even in this session, but was actually in the session you played just prior to this one.

So you’ll have your fuzzy mind map of the table, and will deduce or BS your way through as much as you can. Small groups or large alike can enjoy this dynamic.

The Tyranny of Effort

It was my niece who helped crystallize why this game falls flat sometimes when we were playing, stating bluntly, “I don’t want to have to think this much.”

Make no mistake, my niece is a bright young woman. But this was after Christmas dinner and we were all a bit tired, and lazily enjoying the holiday atmosphere. I erroneously assumed That’s Not a Hat would be a good game for this situation. I shared her exact frustration; she just had the courage to state it out loud, whereas I was wondering why the mood seemed a bit low.

There are party-style games where you can sort of just turn off your brain and play on “vibes,” for lack of a better term. And in fact, many are made better by this approach and are at their best in sort of a jovial, nonchalant setting.

That’s Not a Hat seems like it should fit this mold, but it doesn’t work like this. You can literally forget what was on the card you just looked at a few seconds ago if you aren’t paying close attention. In a social atmosphere where you’re not expected to be paying attention to a game each and every second, such lapses can happen easily.

So you have to be alert, and paying attention constantly, and reinforcing your mental model regularly.

And that’s a lot of work for a silly memory game, which in some situations will become onerous. I wanted to talk with my family in the same room, or have conversations with my niece and nephew about their latest interests, or get up and make a mug of tea between turns and grab a cookie, all while still being able to play. And many fine games allow for this, without sacrificing gameplay. But not this game.

Now, you could say that messing up guesses is part of the fun, and it is. But the effort to compete has to be there for this hilarity to properly manifest. Otherwise it’s just annoyance at realizing you could be doing better but don’t feel emotionally up to it.

Sometimes when I game it’s to suss out complicated strategies and bounce off of the machinations of my opponents, but other times it’s just to screw around with friends. If I’m in the latter state, the mental effort required in That’s Not a Hat can be actively off-putting. And since it will never feel like an intense strategy game, it can be hard for some people to ever be in the right mood to elicit the most from it.

That’s Not a Hat – Conclusions

The examples above are not individual incidents. They’re indicative of broader patterns in what I’ve seen as I’ve played this with more and more people.

Any game has a range of outcomes depending on who you play it with, and in what situation. But rarely do I personally feel that whiplash; either I like a game or I don’t.

I have both been annoyed at That’s Not a Hat and I’ve loved it, independent of the situation I introduced it in. Not only do I understand those who have bounced off of it, I share their indifference…sometimes.

Knowing, as they say, is half the battle, though. And so this has helped me to curate when and with whom I play the game, and to monitor my own mood as well before doing so. It’s a game that’s remained in my collection for its ability to quickly and effortlessly induce a lot of laughter and groans. I can’t unreservedly recommend it, but given its length and low cost, it will bring a lot of joy to the shelves of gamers who appreciate its diabolical format.