Noisy Persons Card Game
Noisy Persons Card Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 95 Character Cards
- 500 Phrase Cards
- 1 Set of Rules (you're reading those now)
- Lots of scrap paper from cutting out the cards that you should probably recycle
Tip: Some Character Cards have Characters written out as text, others have pictures. Treat these the same.
Set Up
To set up, all you need to do is separate the Character Cards & Phrase Cards into two different piles. Then, deal each participant a hand of 7 Phrase Cards.
Basic Round
The participant who has most recently done a silly voice (in any context) begins play by drawing a Character Card. For this round, this player is the Judge. The Judge will show their Character Card to everyone at the table. Players search their hands for a phrase written on their Phrase Cards they feel the Character appearing on the active Character Card would say. Moving clockwise from the Judge, all Players but the Judge take turns speaking as the character using the phrase on their Phrase Card. The round ends when everyone at the table but the Judge has had a turn. The Judge then picks a Winner for the round, and gives the Winner the Character Card and any associated Anted Phrase Cards (these will be explained soon) as a prize. All players draw back up to 7 Phrase Cards. The player clockwise to the Judge becomes the new Judge for the next round.
Tip: When reading the cards, really give it your all! The point of NPC is to find new voices you didn't know you had in you. To do that, you need to let them out!
Up the Ante
After drawing a Character Card, the Judge may look at their hand to decide if they want to add a Descriptor to it to Up The Ante. Descriptors are found written upside down at the bottom of every Phrase Card. If the Judge finds one they like, they may put it underneath the Character Card, so the descriptor shows at the top. Descriptors modify the character on the Character Card turning this "Kobold" into a "Dreamy Kobold."
Figure: Character card with a Descriptor.
Figure: Character card with two Descriptors.
There is no real rhyme or reason to choosing what circumstances a player would want to Up The Ante. If you have a Phrase Card that you don't like, you can effectively discard it by using its Descriptor as an Ante. Revel in the raw, decadent power of being a Judge.
Players can also be called upon to Up the Ante in Duels which will be explained later.
In all Up The Ante situations, there is no limit to how many Descriptors can be placed on a Character.
Passing
Sometimes, you don't have the right cards, or just aren't confident in your Half-Orc Lich King voice. In those situations NPC has a way to pass. Before the round begins, announce that you will be sitting it out, and add a descriptor from you hand to modify the current character card. It does not matter if the judge or another player has already placed a modifier on the character. This Descriptor adds to whatever is there already, and will make the voice more challenging and fun for everyone else.
For example, if our "Dreamy Kobold" was the Round's current Character, one of the potential winners may pass by Anteing Up to transform him into an "Equine, Dreamy Kobold."
Dueling
If you've played a card-based party games, you know that sometimes it can be difficult to choose a winner when you are the Judge.
If you get stuck, tell the group who your top choices are. Any of those players may Duel by searching their hands for a Descriptor to Up The Ante. Players engaged in the duel will immediately perform the character newly modified by their descriptors. The judge will decide who wins the round based on the new performance.
In the unlikely scenario that a duel fails to break a tie, players may opt to Up The Ante once more. Theoretically this can continue until all dueling players have emptied their hands. However, it is usually best for a judge to pick a winner sooner. This might not seem fair, but NPC, like life, is not about fairness. It is about doing silly voices.
The winner of a duel claims the character card along with any anted descriptors used in their performance for scoring.
Dirty Dueling
If you and your friends want a more challenging duel opponents can select modifiers from their hand for the other duelist to read. This is only recommended for groups who are really comfortable with the game, as you never know what someone will throw at you.
Ending the Game
Just as we all must die, so too must we eventually stop playing Noisy Person Cards.
Our general recommendation is to give yourself a Game Clock by picking a predetermined number of Character Cards you want to use. You can also play until you have used all the Phrase Cards, or just end the game when the beer runs out.
Once the game is over, players count up the number of Character and Anted Phrase Cards they won over the course of the game. The player with the most has Won.
That's great for them, but everyone walks away with a list of voices they know other people like to hear. So, in a sense, EVERYONE is a Winner. In a different, and realer sense, only the Winner is the Winner and has Won.