Guesswork
Guesswork Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
18 prompt cards.
Setup
- Shuffle all 18 cards into a face-down deck.
- Remove the top 5 cards of the deck from the game without revealing them.
- Draw 1 card and place it face up in view of all players. This card starts the line and will be the first prompt.
- Note: If you drew card #1 or #18, shuffle and draw a new card.
- The player who last gave a thumbs up gives the first clue.
Set up two empty piles next to the card line: the Exact Guesses Pile and the Bad Guesses Pile.
Gameplay
Each round, one player gives a clue based on a prompt and a secret number, and the other players try to guess that number.
Give a Clue
The active player draws a secret number card. They will use the last placed card as the prompt. This card may be in the line, exact guesses pile, or bad guesses pile. They will read it out loud, using their secret card to help them fill in any blanks or complete any tasks on the prompt card.
Guess a Number
The other players work together to discuss and then eventually state a number out loud as a group. They are ideally trying to guess the exact secret number, or at least a number in the same zone as the secret number.
About zones: The line of cards can go from 1 to 18, with each face up card creating smaller zones. If the 11 is the only card in the line, there is a zone that is from 1-10 and a zone that is from 12-18. If the next card placed in the line is the 6, there are now 3 zones - 1-5, 7-10, and 12-18.
As more cards are added to the number line, the difficulty increases because valid zones become narrower.
Important: When a prompt uses a scale of numbers, 1 is the lowest or worst possible number, and 18 is the highest or best possible number.
Check the Guess
The active player reveals their card and compares it to the group's guessed number. The guess can be exact, good, or bad.
- Exact: If the guess exactly matches the secret number, the secret number card is placed face up in the exact guesses pile. These cards are worth 2 points each at the end of the game.
- Good: If the guess is in the same zone as the secret number, the secret number card is placed face up in the appropriate place in the line. These cards are worth 1 point each at the end of the game.
- Bad: If the guess is not exact or in the same zone as the secret number, the secret number card is placed face up in the bad pile. These cards are worth -1 point each at the end of the game.
Subsequent Rounds
After checking each guess, the player to the active player's left begins the next round. Each active player uses the prompt on the previous secret card to form their clue.
When the last card in the deck is drawn, play one final turn. Then the game ends.
End of the Game
The group totals up their score:
- 1 point for each card in the card line.
- 2 points for each card in the exact pile.
- -1 point for each card in the bad pile.
Example: In this game, the final score is 13 points.
- 6 cards in the exact pile: 12 points
- 4 cards in the card line: 4 points
- 3 cards in the bad pile: -3 points
Scoring
Compare the final score to the table below to see how the group fared:
| Score | Rank |
|---|---|
| 25 | Absolute Perfection |
| 20 - 24 | Unbelievable |
| 15 - 19 | Excellent |
| 10 - 14 | Nice |
| 5 - 9 | Meh |
| 0 - 4 | Oops |
| Less than 0 | Ouch |