Brain Freeze
Brain Freeze Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Players race to quickly answer personal prompts.
The first to respond takes their opponent's card. When the deck is gone, the player with the most cards wins.
Setup
With players sitting in a circle, put the cards within reach of everyone.
Gameplay
Start: The player with the tiniest hands starts by drawing a card from the Draw Pile. They flip the card face-up in front of themselves, creating their Play Pile.
Note: It's important to quickly flip the card toward oneself without blocking any other players' view. All players should see the card at the same time.
Next Up: The player to the left continues by drawing a card from the Draw Pile. He or she flips the card and places it in front of themself. Play continues in this manner until the symbols on the top card in two players' Play Piles match.
Note: Players stack cards in their own Play Piles. Only the top card in a players' Play Pile should be visible.
Diagram note: The sheet shows a 4-player game layout (Player 1 to Player 4 around the table, each with a Win Pile (face down), Play Pile and the central Draw Pile). It notes that the matching symbols between Player 2 and Player 3 create a Duel.
Duel
Duel: When the symbols on two players' cards match, they Duel with one another. Duelling players race to answer the prompt on their opponent's card. The player who finishes saying their answer first wins the Duel and takes their opponent's card and places it, face down, in their Win Pile.
Players must answer the prompt on their opponent's card about themselves. Answers must be truthful. After an answer, any player can challenge the validity of that answer. If the answer is determined a lie or irrelevant, the answer isn't allowed and the duel continues.
Note: In the case of a tie, consult the other players for a tiebreaker judgement. If no one can decide a winner, flip a coin. It's a party game, not a major life decision.
Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction: Once the top card is removed and placed in a player's Win Pile, the Duel loser's Play Pile may now reveal a new top card. This potentially creates a new Duel, and those matching players must again race to answer the prompt on their opponent's card.
Drawing does not continue until all possible Duels have been played. There can never be more than one Duel at a time. However, there can be multiple Duels sequentially, creating a Chain Reaction.
Continue: If no Chain Reaction occurs, game play continues as it was prior to the duel. The next player in the draw order draws a new card from the Draw Pile and continues to play.
Note: The draw order should remain the same for the entire game.
Winning
When there are no more cards in the Draw Pile, the player with the most cards in their Win Pile wins. In the case of a tie, have the tied players draw a random card and flip simultaneously for a final, winner-takes-all Duel.
House Rules (Optional)
No Repeats: Duplicate answers are not allowed and result in an immediate loss-of-duel.
Stealsies: If matching players don't notice a Duel, you may answer either of the matching prompts and win that card.
Tag Team: Got a ton of people? Players can team up and share a Play Pile. Teammates must both answer the topic.
Truth Serum: The winner of the game gets to pick one card from their Win Pile and make all the losers truthfully answer it.
Called Out: For the entire game, answer the topic cards from the perspective of your opponent.
Personas: At the beginning of the game, all players pick a persona (i.e. Elvis, Mickey Mouse, etc). Players answer the prompts pretending to be that persona.