Mimic Octopus
Mimic Octopus Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Take the two info cards out of the deck. All the other cards are pre-sorted and must not be shuffled!
Take out the larger of the two decks. (In the first game, both decks are the same size, and it doesn't matter which one you take).
For a 4–6 player game, count out 15 sets of 3 cards from this deck. In this way, you form face down mini stacks (each consisting of three identical cards) in the center of the table. For a 7–8 player game, you will need 16 mini stacks. Any remaining cards are placed on top of the other deck in the box.
Each mini stack represents a situation (how a player acts, how they feel, where they are, etc.) the player is in, consisting of 3 identical cards.
New Round
With 4–6 players, you need 3 mini stacks for each round. With 7–8 players, you need 4 mini stacks.
Now select 3 or 4 random mini stacks and combine them into a deck. Shuffle this deck and deal one face-down card to each player. The remaining cards form a face-down discard pile, which is placed on the table.
Game Round
Everyone reads through their card in secret. There are two roles: You're a team player if the same card as yours is in the hands of other players, and you're a Mimic Octopus if nobody else has the same card.
But the catch is that nobody knows their role at the beginning of a round. You have to find out your role by talking to the group. So let's get the conversation going! There's no turn order and everything is allowed, EXCEPT you're not allowed to say the text (or number) on your card out loud.
Team: Players with the same card are a team and have to find each other. A team can have 2 or 3 members. The more openly you present your card (situation), the easier it will be for you to recognize each other. But be careful: don't give away too much information about your card, because a Mimic Octopus could steal your points!
Mimic Octopus: If nobody else has the same card as you, you're a Mimic Octopus. There could be 1, 2, or no Mimic Octopus at all. When you realize that no one's talking about your card, you must quickly switch to identifying and mimicking someone else's card and sneak onto a team unnoticed!
Suggestion for the first round: We all know that playing any game for the first time can feel a little overwhelming, so here are some topics you can use to jumpstart the conversation: What is the last game you played? Where would you like to travel for your next vacation? What is your favorite dessert?
End of the Round
Everyone gets to individually decide when they're done with the round. If you think you've identified your role and played it well, or you think talking any more won't do you any good, you can raise your hand! But it doesn't mean that you have to stop talking. As soon as more than half of the players raise their hands, they all shout "Stop!" loudly and the round ends.
Hand Signals and Points
The following paragraph is printed without a heading in the source, directly after the End of the Round section, and is kept here as the opening of the voting step.
It's time for the big showdown — where you can turn your observations into points by voting! All players count down from 3 to 0 together. At 0, everyone simultaneously indicates with hand signals the conclusions they've made. No one may abstain from voting.
Team: If you think you're playing in a team, point your index finger at your partner (or one index finger at each of your two partners).
If you recognize ALL your partners, you get 1 point for each partner who also recognizes you.
If you don't find all your partners, or you point to someone who's not on your team, you get 0 points.
Printed illustrations: 1 Partner (one index finger); 2 Partners (two index fingers).
Mimic Octopus: If you think you're a Mimic Octopus, you must choose between Safety and Risk.
Safety: Make a fist. You get 1 point for recognizing your role as a Mimic Octopus, but no bonus points.
Risk: Form a peace sign with your hand. You get 1 point for recognizing your role and 1 bonus point per player who thinks you're on their team… But if no one points at you, you get 0 points in this round.
If you're wrong and you're not a Mimic Octopus at all, you get 0 points regardless whether you chose Safety or Risk.
Printed illustrations: Safety (fist); Risk (peace sign).
Evaluation and End of the Round
Keep your hand signals in place until the points have been distributed. You may now reveal what's written on your cards to find out if you're correct.
Player cards from the completed round each serve as 1 victory point. When you've earned victory points, place them in front of you. Any cards not earned as victory points are placed in the discard pile. If you need more victory points, take cards from the discard pile.
In a rare case when you don't have enough cards in the discard pile, take the missing cards from the box.
If there still are enough mini stacks in the middle of the table, start a new round.
End of the Game
Once you've run out of all the mini stacks, the game is over. The player with the most points wins the game. If there's a tie, there are multiple winners.
Clean Up
Make mini stacks of 3 cards from all the cards used, sorted according to the number on the card. Place these mini stacks on top of each other in random order. Place the finished deck in the empty compartment of the box with the two info cards on top. These serve as "bookmarks" should a card slip during transportation.
If you want to play a new game immediately, you can start a new one with the bigger deck from the box. That way you get to play with unused cards.
Combining Editions
Mimic Octopus is also available in Flirt Edition and in Cringe Edition. You can mix cards from different editions. The best way to do this is as follows:
Take one of the two decks of playing cards from one edition and form as many mini stacks of 3 cards as you like, as described in Setup. Repeat with the other editions until you have 15 or 16 mini stacks. Then play the game as usual. When you are done playing, sort the cards by edition and numbers and put them at the bottom of the decks you took them from.
Other Editions
Flirt Edition: Enchant each other with lame advances, cheesy romance and erotic moments. And the next time you meet, you can pretend it never actually happened! (Age 16+.)
Cringe Edition: Create unforgettable moments of embarrassment with your disturbing blunders and out of place behavior. (Age 14+.)
Author's note printed in the source: "It's just like acting! Don't take yourself too seriously!"