Matter of Fact Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Getting Started
• About the Cards
• Gameplay
• Winning the Game
• Notes on Gameplay

Object of the Game

MATTER OF FACT™ is a challenging trivia game where players progress around the gameboard by correctly answering questions on the cards. Each card contains seven questions for a player to answer around a main theme. The more correct answers are given, the more spaces a player may move on the board. The first player to reach the FINISH space wins the game. (Note: if you don't have much time, play until someone reaches the 'Finish Short Game' space on the board).

Getting Started

(a) The game is best played in a head-to-head format for two players or two teams. So if there are four or more players, just divide into two teams. If there are three players, follow the rules below but see the 'Notes on Gameplay' at the end.

(b) Place the black playing piece on the space marked '0' ('Place Piece Here To Begin') in the Correct Answer Tracker area. If a black piece isn't available, any other color will do. This is called the Tracker Pawn, and is used by every player/team to monitor the number of correct answers during their turn (more below).

(c) Each player/team chooses a game piece and places it on the START space. Then flip a coin to decide who starts off as the Answering Player/Team and the Presenting Player/Team (but if an extra die has been included, highest roll starts as Answering Player/Team - then set die aside). You alternate roles after each card.

About the Cards

The cards have Green Sides and Orange Sides. The Green Sides form the main set you play with (use the Orange Sides - the secondary set - only after you have gone through all the Green Sides). There are 480 card sides or rounds of play in total.

Each card side shows one question along the very top, called the 'Main Question'. Right below, along the left hand side of the card, are the seven items that form the 'Question List'. You will be answering all of these, in order, from 1 to 7. The answer to each item on the Question List appears on the right side of the card after each arrow.

Gameplay

You'll easily get the hang of it. Here's what you do each round:

• The Presenting Player/Team: Take the first card from the card box (remember: Green Sides first) and read the Main Question aloud. For example: 'On average, are these cities colder or warmer than Boston in January?'

  Then read out what's written on Line 1 of the Question List (e.g. 'Chicago'). Wait for the Answering Player's guess and tell them if they are right or wrong. Now read out what is on Line 2 (e.g. 'New York') and wait for a reply, then on to Line 3, etc., until you finish reading everything on the Question List.

  Note: Make sure you don't inadvertently show your opponents the answers on the card until the end of the round!

• The Answering Player/Team: Every time you give a correct answer, move the Tracker Pawn one space in the Correct Answer Tracker area. Do not move the Tracker Pawn when you give a wrong answer.

  After you have answered all seven items on the Question List, look at where the Tracker Pawn ended up. For instance, if it's on the oval space showing √5, it means that you gave 5 correct answers during your turn. According to the 'How Did You Do?' scale directly below the Tracker Pawn, you get to move your own game piece 4 spaces along the board ('Move Ahead 4 Spaces').

  Note: The best you can do is have 7 Correct Answers, which translates into 'Move Ahead 7 Spaces', while 0 Correct Answers (meaning the Tracker Pawn wasn't moved at all) translates into 'Move Back 5 Spaces' (if you're already at the START space - stay where you are).

  After you move your own game piece on the board, your turn ends. Place the Tracker Pawn back on the '0' space for the next player, while the Presenting Player/Team puts the card at the back of the card box (note: make sure you do this so that all Green Sides face the same way, and the Green and Orange sets don't get mixed up). Now switch roles.

Winning the Game

After each card, players/teams alternate Presenting and Answering questions until someone reaches the FINISH space to become the winner of the game.

Notes on Gameplay

• Types of Questions: The cards contain a variety of different 'Main Questions', but the idea is always the same: select among alternatives as you give your answers to the Question List. For example, if you are asked 'Who starred in these movies, Al Pacino or Robert De Niro?', you would say 'Pacino' or 'De Niro' after every movie title is read from the Question List. If you get a 'Claim to Fame' card you may be asked whether the names read from the Question List belong to an 'Artist or Composer', 'Hollywood Director or Athlete', etc. A 'Title Twist' card may ask you to choose whether each title on the Question List belongs to a 'Bruce Springsteen album or Truman Capote novel', a 'Famous Play or TV Sitcom', and so on. In other cases, you would give 'Yes' or 'No' answers as you go down the Question List. There are many other types. Each card will tell you what to do. If you're ever unsure of how you should be giving your answers, just ask the Presenting Player/Team for help.

• Saying 'Pass': Right after the Main Question is read out on a card (i.e. before you start down the Question List), the Answering Player/Team has the option of saying 'Pass' and getting a new card. In this case, the card is placed back in the card box and the next card is taken out by the Presenting Player/Team. You cannot say 'Pass' twice in a row, so you must answer the questions on your new card. Each player/team can say 'Pass' a maximum of two times during a game, so use this option wisely!

• Other Information on the Cards: Right beside the answers written on the cards, you'll often find additional information in parenthesis. These may be the years that people lived, dates that movies were released, percentages, etc. These are provided for your information only and are not meant to be guessed. The Presenting Player/Team should read this information out after telling you whether the answer you have just given is right or wrong.

  Sometimes there is information written at the very bottom of a card beside 'Notes'. The Presenting Player/Team should read this out only at the end, after all 7 items on the Question List have been answered.

• Gameplay for 3 Players: The same rules apply. Just take turns moving in a clockwise direction after every card, with one Presenting Player, one Answering Player and one player sitting out the round.