Smug Owls

Designers / Publisher / Year: Mike Belsole, Grace Kendall / Runaway Parade Games LLC / 2023

Player Count / Playtime: 3-15 Players / 15 mins

Genre / Type / Mechanics: Party Game, Riddles, Card Game, Player Judge

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Ever since the success of Cards Against Humanity, a wave of party games built around player judges and subjective answers has flooded the market. Some of these games are genuinely hilarious, some are decent enough for a casual gathering, and others simply fail to connect with the people around the table. Unfortunately, Smug Owls falls into that last category for me.

The premise is straightforward. Players attempt to solve or answer strange riddles and prompts, with another player judging which response is best. In theory, this should create funny conversations and memorable moments. The game clearly aims to capture the unpredictable humor that has made similar party games successful.

In practice, however, I found many of the riddles confusing rather than entertaining. A large number of the prompts felt so random that it was difficult to understand what kind of answer the game was looking for. While some players may enjoy that level of absurdity, it often left our group scratching our heads instead of laughing.

The biggest indicator that a game has missed the mark for me is when non-gamers lose interest quickly. I played Smug Owls with several people who do not regularly play board games, and throughout much of the session they looked more confused than engaged. By the end of the first game, nobody was interested in playing another. That’s usually a pretty strong sign that the game failed to land with the audience.

To be fair, I can understand the appeal. There is certainly a group of players who enjoy highly abstract humor, bizarre wordplay, and riddles that don’t follow conventional logic. If that describes your gaming group, you may find something here to enjoy. The artwork and concept have personality, and I can see what the designers were aiming for.

For my group, though, the experience never came together. The humor felt forced, the riddles rarely made sense, and the game struggled to generate the laughs that party games depend on.

Verdict: Smug Owls is one of those games that will either click with your group’s sense of humor or completely miss the mark. I understand what it is trying to do, but it simply wasn’t for me or the people I played with.

Reviewed on 06/24/2026

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Score Breakdown

Category	Description	Score (1–10)
1. Aesthetics & Components	Visual design, artwork, tactile quality, and overall presentation.	7
2. Rules Clarity & Accessibility	Ease of learning, clarity of rulebook, setup time, and iconography.	7
3. Strategic Depth	Amount of meaningful decision-making and long-term planning.	3
4. Luck vs. Skill Balance	How fairly chance and skill coexist.	4
5. Player Interaction	Engagement and social dynamics between players.	5
6. Pacing & Downtime	Flow, engagement, and smoothness of play.	8
7. Replayability	Longevity, variability, and continued appeal.	6
8. Theme Integration	How well the mechanics and story fit the theme.	5
9. Enjoyment & Emotional Impact	Pure fun factor—excitement, tension, satisfaction.	4
10. Innovation & Uniqueness	Creativity, originality, and distinctiveness from other games.	6
Overall Mean Score		5.5 / 10