Dubious Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
  • Reference Sheets
    • Victorian England
    • Modern
    • Fantasy
• Game Overview
• Game Setup
• How to Play
  • 1. Choosing Your Occupation and Secret
  • 2. Answering Questions
    • Game Variants
  • 3. Guessing
  • 4. Scoring
• Game End
• Round Example

Game Components

Each of the three settings — Victorian England, Modern, and Fantasy — includes:

• 14 Occupation cards
• 14 Secret cards
• 3 Thematic Question cards
• 6 Reference sheets (with the full lists of Occupations and Secrets for that setting)

Common components:

• 6 screens
• 6 pencils
• 18 General Question cards (12 Assorted Question cards, 6 Appearance Question cards)
• Record sheet pad (100 sheets)
• 12 paper clips
• This rulebook

Reference Sheets

Victorian England

Occupations: 1 Mailman, 2 Tailor, 3 Admiral, 4 Baker, 5 Capitalist, 6 Poet, 7 Mechanic, 8 Constable, 9 Newsboy, 10 Private investigator, 11 Coachman, 12 Chemist, 13 Magician, 14 Explorer.

Secrets: 1 Counterfeiter, 2 Absent-minded, 3 Kleptomaniac, 4 Has an exotic illness, 5 Cheats on their partner, 6 Hides their noble birth, 7 Poisoned their uncle for inheritance, 8 Flea-infested, 9 Constructing a submarine, 10 Has pet snakes, 11 Leads a double life, 12 Was fired from their job, 13 Holds spiritual séances, 14 Teetotaler.

Modern

Occupations: 1 Hairstylist, 2 Taxi driver, 3 Construction worker, 4 Journalist, 5 Animal trainer, 6 Detective, 7 Influencer, 8 Electrician, 9 Movie director, 10 Software developer, 11 Paramedic, 12 Fitness instructor, 13 Graphic designer, 14 Bartender.

Secrets: 1 Has multiple children, 2 Being blackmailed, 3 Believes in conspiracy theories, 4 Has hallucinations, 5 Gang member, 6 Posts cute videos, 7 Visits their relative in prison, 8 Drowning in debt, 9 Shopaholic, 10 Political activist, 11 Allergic to pets, 12 Internet troll, 13 Does illegal graffiti, 14 Confidential informant.

Fantasy

Occupations: 1 Executioner, 2 Bard, 3 Guard, 4 War mage, 5 Dragon rider, 6 Herald, 7 Stableman, 8 Inquisitor, 9 Druid, 10 Innkeeper, 11 Blacksmith, 12 Berserker, 13 Rogue, 14 Necromancer.

Secrets: 1 Came back from the dead, 2 Turned their brother into a sheep, 3 Found a genie's lamp, 4 Hunts werewolves, 5 Convinced that magic doesn't exist, 6 Possessed by a demon, 7 Won a jousting tournament, 8 Came from another world, 9 Convinced that their neighbor is a vampire, 10 Killed a tax collector, 11 Purchased a cursed sword, 12 The Dark Lord's henchman, 13 Likes to sleep in a coffin, 14 Looking for a sacrificial victim.

Game Overview

The game can last one or several rounds. At the beginning of each round, each player gets a pair of an Occupation and a Secret. With this hidden combination, the player creates an original character with a special appearance and characteristics — this is going to be their role for the round. Each player will answer 5 random questions shared by everyone. In their answers, each player will be trying to give the others a hint about their combination of Occupation and Secret.

At the end of the round, all players try to guess their rivals' Occupations and Secrets to score victory points (VP). Each player also scores 1 VP for every other player that gets their Occupation or Secret correct — however, if all other players guess their Occupation or Secret, their answers haven't been dubious enough and they don't score any VP! At the end of the game, whoever scores the most VP, wins.

Game Setup

1. Each player gets a screen, Record sheet, pencil, and 2 paper clips. Everyone places their Record sheets and pencils behind their screens. Write your name down in the character-name line (or leave it blank to come up with a name for your character later). Write the other players' names down in the lines below.

   Note: You'll find printable Record sheets at arcanewonders.com. If you want to take extensive notes on the other players' answers, get a blank sheet of paper.

2. Choose one setting: "Victorian England", "Modern", or "Fantasy". Each player gets a Reference sheet with the full lists of Occupations and Secrets within the chosen setting and attaches it to their screen with 2 paper clips.

3. Take all Occupation cards of the chosen setting and shuffle them into a face-down deck. Do the same with the Secret cards.

4. Take all 3 Thematic Question cards of the chosen setting and add them to all of the General Question cards. Sort them into 2 piles with two different backs (Appearance and Assorted Questions), shuffle them separately, and place them in the middle of the table, face down.

How to Play

The game is played over a number of rounds set by all players. One game round consists of 4 phases:

1. Choosing your Occupation and Secret
2. Answering questions
3. Guessing
4. Scoring

1. Choosing Your Occupation and Secret

Deal 2 Occupation cards and 2 Secret cards to each player.

Each player chooses an Occupation and a Secret card for their character and writes them down in the corresponding section (below the checkmark symbol) of their Record sheet. Each player also writes the Occupation and Secret they do not choose in the corresponding section (below the cross symbol) of their Record Sheet (this information will be useful, since they know for sure that the other players do not have that Occupation or Secret). Each player puts the two cards they chose face-down by their screen and the two they did not choose are discarded back into the corresponding piles, without being shown to the other players.

Important: Don't show or tell anyone about the 4 cards you received.

Spend some time imagining a story for your character: what they look like, what led them to their Occupation, what they like, etc. You may come up with a name for them and list it in your Record sheet. Now you are your character.

2. Answering Questions

Randomly draw 2 cards from the Appearance Question deck and 3 cards from the Assorted Question deck without revealing them. Stack them face down — this is your Question deck for the round. Put all of the remaining Question cards aside, you won't need them in this round.

Note: We recommend stacking the Question deck so that the Appearance Questions go first and third (from top to bottom).

Choose any one player to read the questions for everyone. The chosen player reveals the first card from the Question deck and reads the question out loud. Then, all players (including the one who read the question) simultaneously write their answers down next to the sequential question number at the bottom part of their Record sheets, and each player tries to give the others a hint about their Occupation and/or Secret.

Note: Answer all questions in the first person since you're impersonating your character now. In your answer, try to make the majority of the players get your Occupation or Secret right (or even both!). However, if your answer is too obvious or too vague (everyone gets your card(s) right or no one does), you won't score any VP at the end of the round (see "Scoring").

Tip: There are no limitations to the length of your answer, but one or two sentences should be enough.

When all players are done writing their answers down, they take turns reading them out loud, starting with the one who read the question and going clockwise. During this process, each player may take notes and jot down ideas for the Occupations and Secrets of their opponents in the corresponding columns of their Record sheet. You may take detailed notes on the other players' answers by using additional blank sheets of paper.

Note: Before your first answer, you may introduce your character, letting everyone know their name, gender, etc. While reading your answer, you may spruce it up with insignificant details, read it in a modified voice, add filler words, and use other techniques to bring your character to life, but you may not change the core meaning of your written answer.

Repeat this step until all 5 questions from the Question deck have been answered.

Game Variants

You may change the number of Question cards and use any combination of Appearance and Assorted Questions cards if you wish. In order to shorten a round, answer 4 questions instead of 5. If you want a more difficult game, shuffle the Appearance and Assorted Questions decks together so that you'll play with random questions.

3. Guessing

It's time to leave all doubts behind!

Starting with the player who read the questions and going clockwise, each player reads all of their answers aloud once again. Once a player is done reading, all other players have 30 seconds to think and finalize their guesses on their Occupation and Secret in the guess sections of their Record sheets.

When all players are done reading, they have 2 additional minutes to settle their guesses and get ready to announce them.

4. Scoring

Choose any one player. All other players take turns announcing their guesses regarding that player's Occupation and Secret. Then, the chosen player reveals their cards, and the players tick the score slots in their Record sheets according to the rules listed below (1 tick = 1 VP).

If you are the chosen player:

• Tick a score slot for every correct guess of your Occupation or Secret under the corresponding section.
• If every other player gets your Occupation or Secret right, cross out all of the ticks in the corresponding row — they are not going to score VP.
• If no one gets your Occupation or Secret right, all other players tick the score slots next to their incorrect guesses.

If you are not the chosen player:

Every time you get another player's Occupation or Secret right, tick the score slot next to every correct guess.

Then, choose another player and keep going until all of the players have revealed their cards.

At the end of the phase, each player tallies their uncrossed ticks in all of the score slots and writes the result down in the total slot at the top of their Record sheet.

Game End

If you want to play several rounds in a row, return all of the cards in the corresponding decks, shuffle them separately and set up for the next round. At the end of the last round, each player tallies all of their VP scored in all rounds.

The player with the most VP wins! In case of a tie, the player who scored more VP for other players' Occupations and Secrets (the number of ticks in the score slots next to the guess sections) wins. If still tied, the players share victory.

Round Example

Jane, Peter, and Helen have decided to play in the "Modern" setting. Each of them has 2 Occupation cards and 2 Secret cards. Jane has the hairstylist and software developer Occupation cards and the confidential informant and shopaholic Secret cards. Jane takes some time to think and decides to go for the software developer/shopaholic. She doesn't know what other players will pick but crosses the hairstylist and confidential informant out of this round.

Peter reveals the topmost card of the Question deck. It's an Appearance Question: "What do your hands look like?". After thinking about her character's Occupation, Jane writes down: "My hands show that my job is rather cushy, but at the same time they are not as well-groomed as they could be." She hasn't come up with a good enough hint leading to her Secret, so she decided to wait for the next question. Peter reads his answer out loud: "My hands are nothing more than average, but if you look closer, you will be able to notice some paint near the nails." Jane takes notes: Peter can be a graphic designer or a construction worker, or, maybe, he does illegal graffiti. Helen is short and sweet with her answer: "My hands are delicate, with a neutral manicure." Jane is not sure about Helen and supposes she could be a hairstylist or a paramedic, but she instantly corrects herself as she has the hairstylist crossed out already!

The next card turns out to be from the Assorted Questions category: "What pet do you have?" This time Jane wants to give a clue to both of her cards and writes down: "I have a fancy terrarium with my favorite python living in it. I'm thinking of getting him a friend and maybe a couple more lizards." Mentioning one of the programming languages and talking about impulsive shopping are quite risky, but Jane is willing to take that risk, so she turns her attention to what others have to say. Peter says: "Charlie is a good boy and companion when he doesn't jump on the couch with dirty paws." Helen's answer is: "Oh, my pet is the best, he is the most adorable and funny! We could exhibit together and win a contest." Jane notes the dirty paws in Peter's section, and she thinks that Helen might be posting cute videos.

After resolving three other questions, Jane has a pretty good idea about the other players' Occupations and Secrets. At the end of the round, she says that Peter must be a journalist who does illegal graffiti, while Helen thinks that he is a construction worker and a gang member. Peter reveals his cards and turns out to be a detective who does illegal graffiti. Jane has got Peter's Secret right, so she and Peter score 1 VP each. Peter's Occupation hasn't been guessed, so Jane and Helen score 1 VP each.

Then, Jane says that Helen is a paramedic who posts cute videos. Peter agrees with Jane on Helen's Secret, but he believes that Helen is a journalist. Helen reveals her journalist and posts cute videos cards. Jane scores 1 VP for the Secret she got right. Peter scores 2 VP for both correct guesses. Since all players got Helen's Secret right, she crosses out both ticks in her Secret's section and scores only 1 VP for her Occupation.

It's Jane's turn now. Peter believes she is a graphic designer who is allergic to pets (that's why she has a snake and keeps it in a fancy terrarium). Helen gets both Jane's Occupation and Secret right. Peter doesn't score any VP, while Helen and Jane score 2 VP each.

The players tally up their VP: Jane has 5 VP, Peter — 3 VP, and Helen — 4 VP.

If Helen had got Peter's Occupation right, her score wouldn't have changed but Peter would've scored 1 VP instead of Jane. Thus, there would be a tie since every player would've had 4 VP. In this case, Helen would've won by scoring the most VP for the other players' Occupations and Secrets (3 while Jane and Peter would've scored only 2 each).