Playtesters, THANK YOU!
what you have, what you need
You have:
Phrase cards with a well-known but unusually worded phrase, its origin and a fun fact about its history, and Chaos cards, wild twists that shake up the round - swap roles, steal points or change how stories are told.
All players need:
Scratch sheets or sticky notes (must be the same color) and something to write with.
Feedback:
This is the most exciting part for us. Feedback! Answer a few questions so we can make this a game that people will love playing, again and again. We really appreciate you!
rules & ways to play (v3)
Download a PDF of these rules
Objective
Win points by writing the best origin story. It can be funny, fantastical or totally accurate - whatever you want! First to 15 points wins.
Setup
Choose an initial dealer and shuffle the deck. Give each player paper or sticky notes (make sure they're all the same color) and something to write with.
Round
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Draw – dealer reads the phrase out loud.
- Write – all others write a 1 – 2 sentence origin, real or made up, and put their answer face-down in the middle of the table.
- Read & Choose – dealer shuffles the, reads them aloud, and selects the best one. This is totally subjective! Any reason can win the round, so consider who's awarding the points when you write yours.
- Score & Reveal – the best answer gets +1 point, plus a bonus point if it's actually correct. Dealer shares the real origin, and play moves clockwise to the next dealer.
Optional: Chaos Cards
Chaos cards change how the round is played and scored. If one is drawn, the dealer follows instructions on the card and draws again to begin the round. You can choose not to use these if you prefer. We've gotten conflicting feedback, so let us know what you decide!
Objective
Win points by knowing where phrases came from, or go for the best wrong answer. First to 20 points wins.
Setup
Choose an initial dealer and shuffle the deck. Give each player paper or sticky notes (make sure they're all the same color) and something to write with.
Round
-
Draw – dealer reads the phrase out loud.
- Write – all others write a 1 – 2 sentence origin, real or made up.
- Read – each player reads their answer aloud.
- Reveal & Score – dealer shares the real origin, chooses the best wrong answer and scores. Correct answers get +2 points, best wrong answer gets +1 point.
- Sabotage (optional) – player(s) electing to sabotage make their announcement and the dealer recalculates scores. Play moves clockwise to the next dealer.
Chaos Cards
Chaos cards change how the round is played and scored. If one is drawn, the dealer follows instructions on the card and draws again to begin the round.
Sabotage! Tag along / Drag along / Swap
Play gets interesting when you can sneak up on people. Once per game, improve your score by tagging along on someone else's, bring them down by forcing them to copy your score, or simply swap scores. Your must write your sabotage target's name and the method you're using on your answer sheet before anything is read aloud or your opportunity is lost forever. See Optional Cheats and One-Ups for more details.
Objective
Win points by knowing where phrases came from and strategically betting your position. Choose conviction if you're sure, play it safe if you aren't, or put your own spin on it and go for best wrong answer. First to 20 points wins.
Setup
Choose an initial dealer and shuffle the deck. Give each player paper or sticky notes (make sure they're all the same color) and something to write with.
Round
-
Draw – dealer reads the phrase out loud.
- Write – all others write a 1 – 2 sentence origin and mark your position with C, S or Sp:
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(C) Conviction - "I know I'm right and I'm willing to bet"
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(S) Safe - "I think I know but I'm not sure"
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(Sp) Spin - "Doesn't matter if I know or not - I'm here for entertainment value"
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- Read – each player reads their stance and their answer aloud.
- Reveal – dealer shares the real origin.
- Score – C and S answers are scored; dealer chooses the best Spin answer.
- Conviction: 2 points if right; -2 points if wrong
- Safe: 1 point if right; 0 points if wrong
- Spin: 2 points for the best one
- Note: there must be at least two spin answers, or no points are awarded
- Sabotage (optional) – player(s) electing to sabotage make their announcement and the dealer recalculates scores. Play moves clockwise to the next dealer.
Chaos Cards
Chaos cards change how the round is played and scored. If one is drawn, the dealer follows instructions on the card and draws again to begin the round.
Sabotage! Tag along / Drag along / Swap
Play gets interesting when you can sneak up on people. Once per game, improve your score by tagging along on someone else's, bring them down by forcing them to copy your score, or simply swap scores. Your must write your sabotage target's name and the method you're using on your answer sheet before anything is read aloud or your opportunity is lost forever. See Optional Cheats and One-Ups for more details.
Because sabotage is super-fun! Spice your game up by adding tag-along, drag-along and swap rights. Help yourself, take someone down, or just add suspense for your own devilish enjoyment!
How to Use
Once per game, each player can choose one of the following:
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Tag along with another player and copy their score for that round.
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Drag along another player and force them to copy your score.
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Swap scores with another player.
Note in your answer which method you're using and who it's aimed at. Once scoring has been complete, announce your sabotage! Dealer updates scores and you can revel in your sneakiness.
NOTE: To use this, it must be written down before the origin or answers are shared. If you fail to do this, it won't count and you'll lose the opportunity forever!
Feel free to limit which of these options can be used if it makes play easier - if you do, please share that in your feedback.
variants
If these look good, please try them and share your feedback!
- Flip It! be the first to call out an "opposite" phrase.
- Dealer turns over a card, players shout out their answer. Fastest right answer wins the round.
- Example: Scot-free, meaning free from paying tax
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Answer 1: "The only certain things are death and taxes"
- Answer 2: "Jeremy in jail" (i.e., Scott is free, but Jeremy's in jail)
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- Play for points or winner gets the card.
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Daisy Chain: create a story with phrases that pass on to the next player.
- Dealer draws a card and picks one from his hand or from cards placed face-down by other players (either before or after they know the starting phrase).
- Dealer has to start a story with the first phrase, and stop with the second one.
- The next player has to pick up the story at the phrase where the dealer left off, and incorporate the second phrase into the end of their turn.
- Points are scored for correct usage and deducted for wrong usage.
- Play continues for a set number of rounds or points.
- Potluck: bet how many phrases you can use from a blind pick! Choose two or more phrases from cards other players set out face-down and weave them together in a story.
- Use them in any order, or in the order they're selected
- Scoring:
- If selected up front, points for every phrase used correctly, minus point for any used incorrectly or not at all.
- If selected along the way (i.e., start with one, then pick another, use it and keep going until you've picked up every card that was laid down), get a point per correctly used phrase. Turn ends at the first incorrect usage.