Here’s the good news: Thanks to Games Australia (Aust) and Dixit, I have a GIVEAWAY!! Don’t pinch yourself–I promise you’re not dreaming. It’s the ideal Mothers’ Day gift, and we have the opportunity to share it with you. The bad news: You will need to dive into the mind of EG Mum. Bring a ball of string and some bread crumbs. It’s a bit abstract, way too colourful without sunglasses, and comes with direction signs saying “<— This Way Out —>”. Your only clue is one of five Dixit cards. You’ve never played? Now is a great time to learn. 

Life on the EG Mum blog has been quiet for some time. Lots of stuff happening–It’s a mum-life… In that way that every parent and carer can understand. We had not one but TWO occasions of Chronic Appendicitis in the family. We had COVID (‘nuff said’). We had Asthma complications from the 2019 Bushfires. We had an amazing trip to Denmark and Norway (thanks to EG Nefarious taking his dear ol’ EG Mum with him on the dream holiday). We had PAX Aust. And during all of these special events (plus more), I also had General Mum Life because life goes on. 

One of the few things to help over the last few years has been gaming with the family. We are clearly not alone on this: Gaming, both video and tabletop, had a massive surge in popularity during the COVID Lockdowns, and the love just keeps on going! Most of our readers know how much we love gaming here at EG Inc. It’s perfect for socialising with family and friends. It’s great for managing your mental/physical health on your own. It’s another useful tool with gameschooling. And for games like Dixit, it brings a fantastic opportunity to dive into the minds of others (and sometimes yourself). 

How Can Gaming Save Mothers’ Day?

Now, I’m not sure if you heard, but apparently, Mothers’ Day is coming up. Second Sunday of May–that’s 14 May in 2023. And to be fair, this one is a bit of a mixed bag. For some, it can be a big celebration where you have one day of the year to remind people how ungrateful they are for the work mums have done. On the other hand, it has been blown up into a huge capitalistic venture in consumerism where young children are guilted into buying absolute crap from the School Mothers’ Day stall; usually, with money provided BY THEIR MOTHERS. All it does is teach kids to buy anything that assuages the guilt of their mother’s love, without any intimate interest in the person beyond the job title ‘mum’.

Newsflash: This is not a gift guide. It’s a giveaway. I’m not about to tell you how Dixit is the ideal gift for every Mum. To be fair, I have no idea what your Mum wants. Mums are people too. We often lose our identity once we have kids because of the frustration of balancing family and Life in all its varieties. Please, please, please don’t remind us of the “loss of identity” by giving us an impersonal Mother’s Day gift.

Instead, what I AM going to suggest is how you can use Dixit to dive deep into the mind of your Mum and figure it out yourself. Or even better, reveal a little bit of your mind to the kids and, once they have recovered, they might have a better idea of how to celebrate YOUR Mothers’ Day. You too can receive a Deadpool v Gambit TP comic book from your 15yo son who is finally paying attention to his mother’s real interests. *smile*

How Does Dixit Work?

This game is one of the most beautiful tabletop games you will ever play. The mesmerising artwork is by Marie Cardouat, and it is key to the entire game. Everything builds from visual cues. Players take turns being the Storyteller, choosing one of the cards in their hand to represent their story. The Storyteller creates a word or sentence relating to the card but does not show the card to the other players. Each of the other players must select a card from their own hand which best matches what the storyteller said. They each give their card to the Storyteller, who shuffles all of the players’ cards together and then displays them face up. 

Now the psychoanalysis begins. With five (5) cards presented, each player needs to guess and bet upon whichever card they think belongs to the Storyteller. You score points if you guess the Storytellers card. However, you also score points if others guess your card–it pays to try to match the Storyteller’s word or sentence genuinely. 

Playing this game with the kids revealed some interesting elements of how they think. For example, Sinister (now 16yo), tends to think more abstractly, like myself. He is also revelling in his teen years and enjoys trying to be tricky with his cards. If there is a distraction in the set, it is almost always him. Nefarious (now 14yo) is a bit more direct and literal in his interpretations. Zaltu (now 9yo) will spot a tiny feature and apply laser focus to it. For example, she might give the clue of Alice in Wonderland with a card that simply has a white rabbit. That’s it. That’s her clue. 

If you’re looking for ideas for Mothers’ Day, play a few rounds of Dixit to get the creative juices going. You might discover Mum is a really abstract out-there art-lover (Art Gallery tickets?). Or perhaps she loves spotting the ‘easter egg’ clues (Escape Rooms are perfect). And then there are those Mums who simply love to sit and watch the kids play; in which case, you can get off light with a picnic lunch in the park next door. Cleaning up afterwards is mandatory. 

The Giveaway

Here’s the prize: your very own copy of Dixit, to either play yourself or gift to another worthy mum. Big THANKS to Games Australia–without them, we wouldn’t have access to a range of awesome tabletop games in Australia and New Zealand. Games like Exploding Kittens, Exit: The Game, and StoryTime Chess. All you need to do is:

1. Choose which of the cards below you think matches the clue “EVIL GENIUS MUM”, (Numbers 1 to 5, left to right)
2. Leave a comment below, telling me which card you have chosen (email is required for your comment, so I can contact you if you win).
3. For a Bonus Entry: Head to my Instagram account here and again, comment with your chosen card
4. For ANOTHER Bonus Entry: Follow Games Australia on Instagram here – I’ll be cross-checking their new followers with both my blog and my IG account. 

This giveaway is open to Australian and New Zealand residents only. Entries open NOW and close Sunday, 7 May 2023, at 11:59pm. The winner will be selected at random from the entries submitted as above. I will contact you via email or Instagram direct message. The prize will be sent directly from Games Australia to your address subsequently provided. All conditions comply with the NSW Fair Trading for Promotion Gaming Activity. 

Good luck trying to figure out what makes an Evil Genius Mum!

UPDATE: This giveaway has now closed!! Thanks to everyone who entered, here and on Instagram. Our randomly generated winner is… KYRA MILES. And while I am flattered to be considered akin to a alchemist, I am also feeling a little personally attacked about my handbag (out of line… but you’re right). Also, thanks for the vote of confidence in my chick-herding abilities. Heavily exaggerated but thanks. 😛

Categories: Evil Genius Tools

Tagged as: Dixit giveaway mother parenting tabletop VR Distribution

Evil Genius Mum

Evil Genius Mum
- Taking over the world, one blog post at a time