Incognito
Incognito Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 6 slates
- 6 washable pens
- 36 Vote cards (6 per player, one colour per player)
- 100 Word cards
- 50 Location cards
- 6 Number tiles (1 to 6)
NOTE: The small drawings on the back of the Location cards can inspire you to represent your location and find out how to hide your word.
Setup
- Each player takes a slate, a washable pen and 6 Vote cards of the same colour.
- Place the 6 Number tiles in the middle of the table following an ascending order.
- Shuffle the Word cards and give one face down to each player. Each player can secretly look at their Word card.
- Shuffle the Location cards and give one to each player. Each player places their card face up in front of them for all other players to see.
How to Play
Incognito is played in 3 rounds, each divided into 4 phases:
- Hide the Words
- Find the Hidden Words
- Score Points
- Prepare for the Next Round
1. Hide the Words
During this phase, players must draw the word they received and conceal it in the given location.
However, be careful. If no one or everyone finds the word, the player won't receive any points!
NOTE: You are free to imagine anything you want to hide your word. You are even encouraged to play with words, since many of them can have more than one meaning.
Example: The player received the Word card Sock and the Location card In a prehistoric valley, so they have to hide a sock in a prehistoric setting.
TIP: It is easier to start drawing what the word represents and then try to integrate it into the location. You can also start by drawing the location and then integrate the word, but that is usually more difficult.
Players that finished drawing place their slates face down.
Once all players except one have finished their drawings, do a countdown from 5 to 0. After the countdown finishes the player must stop drawing. We are not here to create a piece of art, go, go, go!
Now it is time to find those hidden words.
2. Find the Hidden Words
Gather the Word cards face down and, if needed, add cards from the deck in order to have 6 Word cards in total. Shuffle and place them, face up, beside every Number tile.
Then, players take their 6 Vote cards and flip their slates to show their work.
Now, players must find which word was hidden in each drawing (except for their own, of course). When a player thinks they found a word in a drawing, they place the Vote card with the associated number face down in front of the corresponding slate.
Example: Marjolaine believes she has found a carrot in Romeo's drawing. Since the Carrot card is beside number 3, Marjolaine places her Vote card 3 face down next to Romeo's slate.
Once all players but one have finished voting, do a countdown from 5 to 0. After the countdown finishes, if the player hasn't assigned all their Vote cards, they must place the remaining ones at random. Now it's time to score points.
3. Score Points
Reveal all the Vote cards and, for each drawing:
- Each player that found the correct word scores 1 point.
- The author of the drawing scores 2 points if at least one player didn't find the word AND at least one player found their word (in other words, the author doesn't score any points if everyone found the word OR no one found it).
NOTE: Write down your points in the upper left corner of your slate.
Example: Marjolaine was right, Romeo did hide a carrot! She scores 1 point for the carrot and 1 point because she found another player's word. She also scores 2 additional points because 3 out of the 5 players in the game found the word she hid in her drawing. This makes a total of 4 points for this round. She adds them to the points she already won during the previous round and writes down the total on the upper left corner of her slate.
4. Prepare for the Next Round
Each player takes back their Vote cards. The Location cards and the 6 Word cards beside the Number tiles are discarded. Each player erases their drawing, draws a new Word card and a new Location card.
End of the Game
The game ends after three rounds. The player with the most points is the winner! In case of a tie, tied players share the victory.