(May Cause) Side Effects
(May Cause) Side Effects Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Gather into teams of 2 players. If playing with an odd number, there will be one team with 3 players.
Each team picks 5 Blue Pills and 5 Red Pills. Shuffle together each team's selection, separated by color, then place face down in two piles.
Choose a color from the 5 available on the Trial cards. This will be the only colored word used on the Trial cards for the duration of the game.
Notice: For groups of 10 players or more, see the Larger Groups section.
Playing the Game
The player who most recently went to a doctor goes first and becomes the first Patient (clue-giver).
The Patient takes 1 Blue Pill and 1 Red Pill and reads them aloud, then places the cards face up in front of them.
The Red Pills affect the way players move, and the Blue Pills affect speech.
- Red Pill — Gagged: Talk with your hands on your mouth.
- Blue Pill — Babbling: Constantly hit your lips with your index finger.
To start the turn, another player sets a timer for 40 seconds — we suggest using a cell phone. When the timer starts, the Patient draws a Trial card and looks discreetly at the word with the chosen color.
The Patient must try to get their teammate to guess the word on the card corresponding to the chosen color while acting out the side effects! Speaking, miming, funny sounds — anything goes. The only rules are that the Patient can't say any part of the current word and they can't skip a card.
During the turn, the opposing teams kindly remind the active team of their side effects if they forget to act them out while giving clues and guessing.
If the team guesses the word correctly, the Patient quickly sets the card aside and draws a new Trial card — guess as many Trial cards as possible before the timer ends. When the turn is over, keep all cards that are guessed correctly. The Patient from that round keeps their Blue and Red Pills in front of them, and continues to act out the effects as their teammates take turns becoming Patients.
Continue alternating teams, while switching teammates each round to play as the Patient. Each time a player becomes the Patient, they get rid of their old Red and Blue pills.
Winning the Game
When all the Red and Blue Pills are gone, the game is over. Whichever team has collected the most Trial cards wins the game!
Larger Groups
For large groups, you may optionally split into 2 large groups instead of pairs. When playing this way, split the Red and Blue Pills evenly between both teams and draw from the respective piles. Only the Patient draws a Red and Blue Pill while the rest of their team guesses the words. Each round, alternate which player will be the Patient in the team. Continue the rest of the game normally. The game ends when every player has been the Patient at least once, and whichever team has collected the most Trial cards wins!