Casual gaming is on the up-and-up, not only thanks to the accessibility the Wii control system provides, but also due to the simplicity of recent peripherals like the PlayStation Move and Kinect.

We’ve already seen that boardgames can successfully be transferred to gaming platforms, Trivial Pursuit and Uno being cases in point. Even though you don’t get that fresh cardboard smell and you miss out on the process of popping the cards and tokens out of their holders when you first open a new boardgame, you can still enjoy the fun that boardgames have to offer – minus the sticky fingers that inevitably make the cards a little tacky.

Enter Pictionary. To some one of the most quintessential boardgames ever made, argued by most serious boardgame players to not be a ‘proper’ boardgame, much like (take a deep breath) Monopoly and (even worse) 30 Seconds, yet still one of the most fun boardgames that you can whip out when you have a bunch of friends over. Because no matter how old you are, or how much boardgaming experience you have, you’ll be able to draw a quick sketch, and you’ll have fun drawing and guessing other team’s creative attempts too.

But we’re not just talking about any ol’ Pictionary here, we’re talking about Pictionary on the Wii, made possible by THQ’s new uDraw GameTablet. The Wii Remote slots comfortably into the GameTablet and you then control everything from there using the existing buttons and functionality. The GameTablet features an interactive pressure-sensitive stylus that you can use to draw on the drawing area…and draw you will!

You’ll be able to team up and enjoy crazy multiplayer fun with up to four teams, with each team choosing a colour and even being able to create their own unique logos. The guessing will then begin, and with over 3000 clues you’ll be challenged to draw clues ranging from the simple ‘Ant’ or BumbleBee’ to the slightly more difficult ‘Trojan Horse’ or ‘Acupuncture.’ There’s something for everyone with players being able to select between Adult or Junior difficulty levels for each clue. And you can even select to move on to the next clue should you find yours a little daunting, scrolling through clues until you find something that you’re comfortable with. Be warned though, a little sound plays each time you select a new clue so we’ll all know what you’re up to!

Like the boardgame you’ll roll dice to move along the board, except this time you’ll simply flick the stylus to put lady luck to the test. You’ll then be prompted to select a clue depending on which square you land on, this could be an action clue or a person, place or animal clue, an object clue or even a more difficult clue. Once you’re ready to go, with your creative strategy in place, you’ll be given a certain amount of time (either 30, 60, 90 or 120 seconds depending on your choice) to draw clues to help your team members to guess your word.

Drawing on the GameTablet is as simple as it would be using a pencil to draw on a piece of paper. Except once you’re feeling a little more confident you can start to make use of some of the nifty features like draw tools, colours and brushes to help your team guess your clue quicker. For instance, you can quickly change the pen colour to brown to help you draw ‘Brunette’ more accurately, or choose the shape selector to draw a perfect circle then fill it in with yellow to make a sun. It’s very simple to select these different effects and within a few rounds you’ll be drawing like a pro with them. Unfortunately the GameTablet doesn’t magically transform you into a Van Gogh, but in my experience with the game everyone had fun while drawing their own clues, and we all had fun guessing, even more so when the drawing looked a little wacky and we were guessing things like ‘Alien’ because of its inherent weirdness!

I haven’t mentioned that when your artist is selecting their clue the other members of the team must look away. It’s easy enough because you can simply close your eyes for a few moments. Sometimes everyone except the artist will be prompted to look away if you’re currently on an ‘All Play’ square where one person draws but all the teams can guess. If your team guesses your clue correctly your turn will continue and you will select another clue and guess again. If you guess it incorrectly then you’ll pass the GameTablet to the next team. Sometimes you may reach a compulsory ‘Stop’ space on the board which means another team takes over, a clever way of ensuring that each team gets a turn.

This is essentially how the traditional Pictionary game mode works, but there’s also Pictionary Mania mode, which is probably best described as Pictionary with a twist! The game works in a similar way, except you’ll be more challenged with the different squares you may land on which may require you to draw the clues in a different way. For instance, you may only be allowed to draw the clue using the straight line tool, or using the shapes in the Shape drawer. You’ll also discover how ambidextrous you really are when you’re prompted to use the hand you don’t normally use, or how about drawing the clue without looking at the screen? You’ll enjoy the One Line limit when you’re only allowed to use a single line to draw the clue, once you lift the stylus your turn will be over, or how about the limited ink square where you’ll run out of ink, so use it wisely!

Pictionary Mania really adds another layer of fun to the game, and it’s guaranteed to have your friends chortling with laughter. You’ll also be able to enjoy doodling or creating masterpieces (depending on your artistic ability) in the Free Draw mode which you can save and view in a slideshow at anytime.

Pictionary is a fun game that you’ll find yourself enjoying into the wee hours of the morning with a group of mates. It has a simple gameplay mechanic really, but works effectively thanks to the uDraw GameTablet which will no doubt be incorporated into many more games in the future. It’s a worthwhile investment to buy the uDraw GameTablet, and if you do then Pictionary is a must. If only to see how your friends will draw clues like ‘Acupuncture.’

Purchase: