Party-Time
Party-Time Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 game board
- 1 pawn (the champagne bottle)
- 48 playing cards
- 6 silhouettes, each with 4 pre-cut garment strips
- 20 tokens (pastilles)
- 1 rulebook
Object of the Game
Who will keep their silhouette the most dressed until the end of the game? The loser is the player whose silhouette is the first to be left in underwear.
Setup
- Each player chooses a silhouette and covers it with the 4 matching garment strips.
- The pawn, represented by a champagne bottle, is placed on the fatal square (the star). The bottle will move across the board, but woe to the player who makes it cross this square.
- The 48 cards are shuffled thoroughly, then each player takes 3. Each player keeps their cards hidden from the others. The remaining cards are placed in a pile beside the game board, face down, so that they are not seen.
- The tokens are only used during play.
Playing the Game
The eldest player begins. They choose one of the 3 cards they were dealt and place it face up on the table so that everyone can see it. They then advance the champagne bottle by as many squares as the number printed on the card (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5). It is recommended to play a number card at the start of the game.
The played card stays on the table, and the player takes a new card from the pile. Each player always has 3 cards in hand.
After playing a card, if the champagne bottle lands on:
- a green square: the player receives a token as a reward. To find out why this token is useful, see the section on the meaning of tokens below.
- a red square: the player must return a token. A player who has no tokens cannot, of course, return one.
- a neutral square: nothing happens.
Once the bottle has been advanced and the player has received or returned a token, their turn is over. Play passes to the next player clockwise, who likewise plays a card and advances the bottle according to that card.
The closer the bottle gets to the fatal square, the more exciting the game becomes. A player who is forced to cross the fatal square (without stopping on it) during a new turn loses one of their four garment strips. Woe to the player who is the first to have no garment strips left: they remain in underwear and have lost the game.
Gently, though, it is not yet time for that. To avoid this kind of situation, there is a large number of special cards.
Special Cards
At any time, a special card may be played in place of a number card. Its purpose is to avoid the unavoidable jump over the fatal square. It is advisable to use special cards especially when the bottle is approaching the fatal square, or even when it is already on that square. The special cards have the following meanings:
- Card marked R with an arrow (showing a cocktail): the champagne bottle stays on the square where it is. Then it is the turn of the player seated to the right, and play continues clockwise.
- Card showing a black square: the player who plays this card puts the next player in an awkward position, because that player must remove one garment strip and then play, since it is his turn.
- Card showing a black star and a coloured star: move the champagne bottle directly onto the fatal square.
- Card marked with a question mark: the left-hand neighbour's hands must surely start to tremble. Immediately after this card is played, that neighbour must take the top card of the pile, look at it and carry out what it requires. Exceptionally, that neighbour has no choice among the 3 cards in their hand. As soon as they have played, it is the next player's turn.
Tip: it is wisest to play a special card when the bottle is on the fatal square or just before it.
The Meaning of Tokens
When a player manages to place the champagne bottle on a green square, they receive a token.
Caution: a player who collects more than 3 tokens loses all of them.
Tokens can be used to prevent the champagne bottle from going beyond the fatal square.
Returning a token reduces the value of the number card: by returning one token, the player subtracts 1 from the value of the number card they are playing. A player who returns 2 tokens may subtract 2 from the number card they have just played, and so on.
Example: the champagne bottle is placed on the fatal square. A player has 3 number cards in hand, with the values 2, 2 and 3. They have no special card that could save them from the danger lying beyond the fatal square. They also have 2 tokens. They play their number card with the value 2 and, at the same time, return 2 of their tokens. This reduces the value of their card to 0 (the printed text leaves this final value out; the example illustration shows 2 − 2 = 0). In other words, they are not obliged to advance the bottle, and therefore they lose no garment strip. Bravo!
Exhausted Draw Pile
When a player takes the last card from the pile, they take all of the cards already played, shuffle them and set them aside as a new draw pile.
End of the Game
The game ends as soon as the first player has lost all four garment strips.
There is also a winner. The winner is the player who, at that same moment, has the greatest number of garment strips.
It is quite likely that several players manage to get out of this adventure without much damage. In that case, they have won together.