Cinelinx: A Card Game For People Who Love Movies Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Basic Gameplay – Shedding
• Director's Cut
• Challenging a Play
• What are Connections?
• Guidelines

Basic Gameplay – Shedding

Goal: The first person to get rid of their full hand wins.

1. Separate Director's Cut cards from the main deck and set them aside nearby. Then shuffle the main deck and allow each player to draw 10 cards. (see Director's Cut section below for details)

2. An anchor card is needed to start the game. We recommend locating a genre card from the main deck and dropping it in the center of the table to begin. The remaining genre cards should stay in the deck to be drawn randomly during gameplay.

3. Decide amongst yourselves who will go first, and then continue playing clockwise.

4. Players should take turns connecting cards in their hands to cards in play. Players can only play ONE card during their turn, unless instructed otherwise by a Director's Cut card.

Tip: Cards can be dropped vertically or horizontally and connected to any open side of a card in play. The reels that are formed as cards connect should not touch unless a valid connection is made.

5. Connections must be verbally announced to be considered valid. A connection can be defined as the relationship between two cards. (See Connections section below for details)

Example announcement: "Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio can be connected because they were both in 'The Wolf of Wall Street'."

6. During their turn, if a player does not have a playable card in their hand they can DRAW a card and play it immediately, if possible. If they still do not have a playable card in their hand they can draw a second time and play the card immediately, if possible. If they still do not have a playable card then their turn is over.

Instead of drawing, if a player cannot play a card in their hand they can choose to SWAP up to three cards in their hand with three random cards from the main deck. Once a player has swapped cards their turn is immediately over. A player can only SWAP once per game. Cards that are discarded should be placed back into the main deck.

7. A connection can be challenged at any time. Please see CHALLENGING A PLAY below for more details.

8. The first person to shed their full hand wins.

Director's Cut

During gameplay, when someone plays a Directors card from their hand they are allowed to draw from the Director's Cut deck and should follow the instructions on the card they draw. Most Director's Cut cards can be played immediately.

Example: If someone plays the Quentin Tarantino or Christopher Nolan card then they are allowed to draw from the Director's Cut deck.

Our 'You Call It' cards are essentially wild cards and can be played at your discretion. These cards do not count against the total card count in your hand. YOU CALL IT cards can be used as a bridge between a card in play and a card in your hand. Once a YOU CALL IT card is played, additional players can play off of open sides of the card and may use the card as a wild card as well.

Challenging a Play

If a connection is challenged and is proven VALID then the challenger must either draw a card or lose a turn. The player who was challenged can decide which option the challenger should proceed with.

If a connection is challenged and is proven INVALID then the player who was challenged must take their card back and draw an additional card. Their turn ends immediately after they draw.

What are Connections?

A connection is the relationship between two cards that allows them to be played side-by-side. Connections can only be made using the card categories specified in the game. You cannot connect cards by citing producers, writers, etc. For best results, use 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree connections. The degree of connections that are allowed should be specified at the beginning of the game.

Tip: For a more challenging game limit gameplay to 1st and 2nd degree connections.

Example:

Rian Johnson directed Looper Looper starred Bruce Willis Bruce Willis was in Pulp Fiction

Rian Johnson to Looper = 1st degree Rian Johnson to Bruce Willis = 2nd degree Rian Johnson to Pulp Fiction = 3rd degree

1st degree connections are played between cards with an identifiable, direct relationship.

Connecting an ACTOR to a MOVIE they appeared in, a DIRECTOR to a MOVIE they directed, a MOVIE to the correct GENRE, etc.

2nd degree connections can be played by announcing the relationship between two cards that would be considered one step, or degree, removed from a direct connection. 2nd degree connections should be created utilizing verbally announced ACTORS, MOVIES, and DIRECTORS only.

Connecting an ACTOR to another ACTOR by announcing a movie they appeared in together, connecting an ACTOR to a DIRECTOR by announcing a movie they worked on together, connecting a DIRECTOR to a GENRE by announcing a movie they directed that is within the given genre, etc.

3rd degree connections are a little more advanced when considering connection validity, but they add an extra layer of playability and fun to the game. The relationship between two cards would be two steps, or degrees, removed from a direct connection. 3rd degree connections should be created utilizing verbally announced ACTORS, MOVIES, and DIRECTORS only.

Connecting a DIRECTOR to a MOVIE by announcing a Movie Title and Actor Name that would fill in the gaps in the relationship, i.e. Rian Johnson to Pulp Fiction.

Tip: A good rule of thumb is that it would take a maximum of two cards to fill the "gaps" in a connection.

Disputes can be resolved with a quick check on Google, IMDB, etc. You can also choose to follow a majority vote system.

Guidelines

Quote cards can be played as the actor who said them or the movie they are from. Treat these cards as an ACTOR card or MOVIE card.

Character cards should be played as the actor(s) who played them. Treat these cards as an ACTOR card.

Scene cards should be played as the movie they are from. Treat these cards as a MOVIE card.

Double Feature cards share a connection. Cards that connect to a Double Feature can connect to either film that is listed.

Genre Cards can connect to cards in any category as long as a valid connection is announced. Genre cards are restricted to 1st degree connections.

Sequels, Remakes, & Franchises: We love to argue about superior versions as much as anyone, but in most cases a single card will be inclusive of all remakes, sequels, etc. These cards are marked with an infinity symbol.

Identical Titles: Unrelated movies with identical titles can be used as either movie unless a date is specified.

We will continue to update these rules and our website with visual examples.

Cinelinx.com/game