Nookii

Nookii, "the grown up game for playful couples," is basically a game intended to get you to try spending more time on foreplay (and explore new actions, depending on what you do already) instead of hopping right into penetrative sex. It's a game that would be easy to use with any of your other sex toys, whether you'd like to try incorporating a vibrator, a massage oil, or edible body chocolate while playing. Inside the box are eight compartments, containing the cards, a sheer purple scarf, two 6-sided dice, a do-not-disturb sign, instructions, and a timer. The color scheme for everything is dark purple and pink, giving it a romantic-sexy look without straying too far into stereotypically girly.

The purple matches my bed sheets! Yay!

Nookii comes packaged in a sturdy cardboard box, one that will definitely last for long term storage - you don't have to worry about smashing it if you toss it under the bed or under a pile of books. Everything is plastic wrapped, so bring a safety pin or something to easily peel open the cards. The only thing disappointing right off the bat is the timer, as mine seems to be broken. Setting the knob to the big 2 lets it count down for 8 minutes (I'm not sure how that denomination was chosen... I would have expected it to be either 2 minutes or 10 minutes), but the bell to signal the end of the time only goes off about half the time. If you're not paying attention (or are busy paying close attention to your partner, I should say), you likely won't notice the time's up. Bring your own egg timer, or watch the clock. The dice are six-sided, but they aren't numbered in the standard way; each has one side marked one, two sides marked two, two sides marked three, and one side marked four. I believe this is mostly just to keep the game from running too long (you don't always want to roll 12 minutes for every action, hmm?).

As for the cards, they are about the same size as playing cards but feel a little bit thinner and more bendy even though they are laminated. There are ninety cards total, separated into forty five for each person, and divided again into three piles of fifteen. The three piles are titled Mmm, Ooh, and Aah and each pile contains progressively more intense actions. Of course, the cards are separated into the woman's pile (with a purple silk motif on back) and the man's pile (which are just plain dark purple), so if you've got any other combination of body parts going on or have a bigger group, you'll have to ignore the specific directives and improvise a bit. I don't think it would be too hard to make it work in either of those cases, though the cards are mostly "do X to your partner," so you'd have to either work pairings into the group, or maybe assign numbers and roll the dice to choose who gets what.

Subtlety? Who needs subtlety when you're staying at a hotel!

The directions are really simple: Each player shuffles their three separate decks of cards, and the draws the top card from each pile (one Mmm, one Ooh, one Aah, played in that order). Roll the dice, and whoever gets the higher number gets to go first. That person then rolls again to determine the length of time they get for their Mmm card (i.e. you roll a 6, you get 6 minutes of whatever action). You then read the card: sections written in italics are to yourself, sections in regular print with a big " next to them you read aloud to your partner. You then set your timer and try to complete all the actions within your time limit. Once the bell rings, you stop, and your partner roll the dice for their Mmm card. You continue in the same manner for the Oohs and Aahs.

None of the actions on the cards are really "out there" in terms of kinkiness nor do they cause "I never would have thought of that!" type epiphanies. The only thing that struck me as strange was the (repeated) suggestion to try pulling your partners pubic hair. I don't know about anyone else, but in my mind that's a one way ticket to a slap in the face (and not in the good way, either!), though of course that response will vary. Other than that, most of the cards are focused on some sort of massage, kissing/biting/licking your partner on a specific body part, or an action focused around the scarf (tying hands/legs in position, blindfolding, oral ministrations through the scarf).

Though the actions aren't out there, some of the wording is really... strange. Borderline cheesy, on some of the cards (mostly their suggestions for phrases during roleplay...). You want examples? You get examples!

Wearing just your panties wrap the scarf

around your body as if it were a towel.

" Knock on my door and say "Pizza."

"You're early and this is not the pizza I ordered. If you want your tip

you'll have to do as I say to make it up to me."

Kneel down with your bottom in the air and let the scarf fall open.

" Get down on your knees and knead my buttocks as if they are pizza dough.

Play with my breasts and enjoy my mouth, kissing me deeply.

"OOOOOOHHHH you can deliver my pizza any time!"

Nookie card 29, female Ooh pile

 I don't know about all of you, but that card has me laughing too hard to really manage to do anything. There are a few like that, but I can't say I really mind - I'd guess they're meant to help people learn it's okay to laugh a be a little silly during sex instead of thinking it needs to be so somber and structured. ...another example, you say? Certainly!

" "Welcome to my medical practice, what is your problem?"

Pass the card.

" "Well doctor, I'm constantly horny."

Pass the card.

" "Let me examine you, strip to your underwear and lie down."

Place your ear over different parts of her body as though you were

listening for something. Massage her breasts and

take a peek at her through the top of her panties.

" "May I suggest a natural medicine?"

Fondle her over her underwear.

Nookie card 73, male Ooh pile

 Out of all ninety cards, there are six or so that are silly like that. The others are really just simple directions of where and how to pleasure your partner. Some are rather wordy, running 2-3 solid paragraphs and covering the entire card, and others are just a sentence or two. The variance in length and specificity are nice, and keep the game from being the exact same thing every time (most games did end up running about 30 minutes in length).

In all, Nookii is a nice game. If you feel like you're stuck in a bit of a rut, or that you don't spend enough time playing together before your sex play is finished, I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up. Just don't expect it to teach you crazy new moves, or get your partner to confess a secret desire (though I'm sure there's a game out there that would!).

Thanks, My Pleasure!