Movie Night
Movie Night Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 34 Description Cards
- 2 "Movie Has / Doesn't Have" Cards
Note: The game requires a device with a timer.
Overview
Movie Night is a cooperative game where you and your friends try to think of the perfect movie to watch together. Tap into your collective movie knowledge and come up with a movie everyone can agree on — before time runs out!
Setup
- Place the "Movie Has / Doesn't Have" cards in the middle.
- Shuffle the description cards and deal 5 in a facedown pile. Return the rest to the box.
- Set a timer for 5 minutes.
How to Play
- Start the timer when ready. Immediately flip the first description card and place it in the "Movie has..." column. As a group, name a movie that fits the description.
- When you've named a movie, flip the next description card. Decide whether it fits the movie you just named, and place it in the opposite column (i.e. if it accurately describes the movie, place it under "Movie doesn't have..."). Now name a movie that fits both descriptions.
- Each time you successfully name a movie, flip the next description and place it like you did in step 2, then name a new movie that meets every description so far. Keep going until the pile runs out, or time is up.
Example
- "I want to watch a movie with a female main character." "How about… Frozen?"
- "Frozen is alright, but I'm not really in the mood for animation." "Maybe… The Hunger Games?"
- "Ok, so we need a movie with a female main character, released before 2000, with explosions — but no animation, and no named fathers. Any ideas?"
Winning
If you manage to flip all 5 descriptions and name a movie that fits every one — congratulations! You've found your perfect movie! Now go watch it. Right now.
Losing
If the timer goes off before you find your perfect movie, too bad! Either try again with 5 new description cards, or play some other game (if you can decide on one).
Hard Mode
When you're ready for a new challenge, try getting through 7 descriptions in 7 minutes. If you can handle that, try shuffling all the descriptions and seeing how many you can get through in 10 minutes. Be sure to brag about your best results online!
FAQ
What is a "movie"? For this game, a movie is any non-interactive visual narrative that runs for over an hour and isn't an episode of a TV series or mini-series. Documentaries and films without a theatrical release are allowed.
How much of the movie has to fit the description? If a movie fits the description at ANY point during its runtime, it counts. For example, Grease has animation (in the opening) and Inside Out has a cat (in the mid-credits scene).
Aren't some of the descriptions a little... subjective? Yes! It's up to your group to decide what terms like "main character" mean. Just try to be consistent — if you decide that Hermione is not a main character, neither is Elizabeth Norrington.
What if we don't know where to place a new description? If you draw a new description and don't know whether it fits the movie you just named, assume it does not fit and place it in the "Movie has..." column.
Do we really have to watch our perfect movie? No. It's okay to read the Wikipedia summary instead.