Conspiracy Theory
Conspiracy Theory Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 70 black cards
- 468 white cards
- 12 red cards, for the optional rules
- The Truth . . . somewhere. Maybe.
Setup
Shuffle both decks. Each player gets 10 white cards. Nobody starts with any black cards – they will be used to create the questions and "headlines" that the players must finish with their white cards.
Agree on how many rounds you'll play. Ideally, everyone should be Judge the same number of times.
Pick one player as the first Judge.
Gameplay
The Judge takes the top black card from the deck and reads it aloud. It will contain one or two blanks, or perhaps a question. Each other player picks the card(s) from their hand that fill the blanks, or answers the question, in the best way. Or possibly the worst way. The object is to make the other players either nod in agreement or laugh out loud.
Pass the black card to the left. Each player in turn shows their card(s) and repeats the black card, filling in the blanks with the white card(s) they played.
The Judge awards the black card to whoever has, in the Judge's own totally biased opinion, the best response. As Judge, you may take audience reaction into account, or just go with the Truth as you know it. If you can't decide between two good responses, ask the other players to help you decide!
When you win a black card, it does not go into your hand – they are just to keep track of score.
All the used white cards go into the discard pile. In addition, all players now discard any white cards they don't like, and draw enough new white cards to fill their hand to 10.
The player to the Judge's left becomes the Judge for the next round.
Random Rules
- In the unlikely event that you run out of cards, reshuffle the discards.
- If you think this game might be compatible with another one, go right ahead and combine them. We don't mind.
- If you have just a few players, or you have lots of players and just enjoy chaos, you can add an imaginary player named The Tool of the Conspiracy. Each turn, after the other players go, the Judge draws and reads a white card (or cards) from the top of the deck. If the Tool's card, in the opinion of the Judge, gets the most laughs or gasps, it's the winner. Discard the black card for that turn. Each player now draws three random white cards from the hand of the player to their left!
Winning
If you had a good time, you won. If you revealed the Truth about the Conspiracy, you won. If people are turning your plays into #hashtags, you won.
If you like keeping score, count each player's black cards to see who took the most hands.
The Red Cards
These 12 cards provide "themes" that can be used to add a new level to Conspiracy Theory. There are two ways to use them:
(1) At the same time that the Judge turns over a black card, turn over one red card. This gives the preferred "theme" for answers. For instance, if the chosen theme is "Insane," the Judge should pick a really crazy response as the winner.
(2) This version totally changes the play mechanic, making the game a bit slower and even more creative:
Each player draws three black cards and picks one to use with his hand of 10 white cards to create a headline, or answer a question, that fits the theme (red card) drawn by the Judge. Then each player reads their headline, and the Judge, with help from the audience, picks the best one.
When the next hand starts, you may discard as many of your black and white cards as you like, and draw back up to three and 10.
Either way, reshuffle the red cards when they are used up OR when the "Reshuffle" card comes up. If the "Repeat" card comes up, play with the same theme you played last round.