Dixit variations to increase replay value?

Question

I recently got Dixit, and it's been a big hit with a couple groups of friends, however we're already finding it's replay value to be declining. I'm sure in a few months it would be very fun again (though never again as good as the first time, marveling at the beautiful artwork), but rather than wait it out I thought it might be nice to try some variations.

We played one game where each player had a second hand of the description cards from Apples to Apples, which we used instead of coming up with our own descriptors, and that worked pretty well. (We played that you kept 4 cards in that hand, and when you played one you could discard up to 2 others for new cards.) Has anyone tried anything else to successfully vary the Dixit gameplay?

Answer 1

Yes! You simply have to fix rules about the sentence you want to use when it's your turn to play. For example: you must say a movie title, or lyrics from a song, or you can only make a grimace of some sort, or just a sound, and so on.

We've tried something else that completely changes the game: first, the other players give you a card of their choosing, and then you choose a title for your card. Note that it's still your card that must be guessed, but knowing what cards will be in the game, you can choose a sentence differently. This works well when all the players know all the cards and know exactly what words they have to use when playing a given card.

Answer 2

We had three variants:

1. for a more casual play, you can discard cards and draw replacements whenever you want. this lifts some of the mental blocks.
2. A player must play the same clue twice in a row, so he has to choose his clue wisely.
3. As a catch-up mechanic - the player with the least points gets to play two cards.

Answer 3

There are also a few expansions out there. Increasing the pool of images helps.

Answer 4

In some cases it helps to force a theme for clues. For example, you must use song lyrics as a clue, or only movie quotes. These, sadly, depend on knowledge of particular medium in reference. But since we know each other, we tend to choose a medium that's suitable for everyone.