Pick a Paint
Pick a Paint Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 48 cards in total:
- 20 item cards, numbered 1 to 20.
- 28 colour cards, 4 each in red, yellow, green, blue, orange, pink and purple.
Note: the leaflet shows the 20 item cards only as pictures. Their names are not printed in the text, so they are not listed here.
Game Idea
The 20 item cards lie face up in the middle of the table. When it is their turn, a player must colour one of the 20 items. The item numbered 1 is coloured first, then the item numbered 2, and so on. To do this, the player places one of the three colour cards in their hand face up on the relevant item card.
Important: within each row (vertical and horizontal), each colour may appear only once.
If the players manage to colour all 20 items correctly, so that no colour appears twice in any row (vertical or horizontal), then everyone has won together.
In the expert variant, the colour cards are placed face down and each player plays for themselves.
Setup
- Shuffle the 20 item cards and lay them out face up on the table in a 5 x 4 grid. The arrangement of the cards is up to the players.
- Shuffle the 28 colour cards as well. Each player takes 3 colour cards into their hand.
- Place the remaining colour cards face down as a draw pile next to the 5 x 4 grid.
Playing the Game
The youngest player begins. They must colour item number 1, which is the ball. They take any one of their three hand cards and place it face up on the ball, so that the 1 can be seen through the hole. At the same time they say loudly and clearly the colour with which they are colouring the item. Afterwards they draw a card from the draw pile so that they again hold three cards. This completes their action.
The next player clockwise then takes a turn. They must colour item number 2, which is the rubbish bin. They take any one of their three hand cards and place it face up on the rubbish bin, so that the 2 can be seen through the hole. At the same time they say loudly and clearly the colour with which they are colouring the item. Afterwards they draw a card from the draw pile so that they again hold three cards. This completes their action, and the next player clockwise is up.
Example: Maria begins and places a green card on the ball. She says: "I am colouring the ball green." She then draws a card from the draw pile and adds it to her hand. Now her left-hand neighbour, Tim, is up.
Tim places a purple card on the rubbish bin and says: "I am colouring the rubbish bin purple." He draws a card from the pile, and his left-hand neighbour, Jan-Hendrik, is up.
Jan-Hendrik chooses orange and says: "I am colouring the book orange." He places the card on the book and draws a card from the pile.
Play continues around the table in this way. The items must be coloured in ascending order from 1 to 20.
Note: within each row (vertical and horizontal), each colour may appear only once. If a player cannot correctly place any of their three cards, they must pass. In this case they place one of their three hand cards face down at the edge of the table (it is no longer needed) and draw a replacement card from the draw pile. Their action is then over and the next player is up.
If the draw pile runs out, no more cards can be drawn. Play simply continues, first with only two cards in hand and eventually with only one card in hand.
Ending the Game
The game ends either immediately, when all 20 items have been correctly coloured, or when no player holds any cards in hand.
- If the 20 item cards were correctly covered with colour cards, then all players have won together.
- If no player has any cards left in hand and the 20 item cards were not all correctly covered, then all players have lost together.
Expert Variant (Profivariante)
Setup is exactly as in the standard game: a 5 x 4 grid of item cards is laid out and each player receives three colour cards in hand. Lots are drawn to decide who begins. Play again proceeds around the table, and the items are again coloured in ascending numerical order from 1 to 20. In the expert variant too, each player should try to place their cards so that no colour appears more than once in any row (vertical or horizontal).
Placing cards: when it is their turn, a player must choose one of their three hand cards, show it, and then place it face down on the relevant item. Passing is not allowed. The player then draws a card from the draw pile. Each player always has three cards in hand.
Example: Emily is the starting player. She shows a blue card and says: "I am colouring the ball blue." She places the blue colour card face down on the ball, so that the 1 can be seen through the hole. She then draws a card from the pile, and the next player is up.
Maria shows a pink card and says: "I am colouring the rubbish bin pink." She places the pink colour card face down on the rubbish bin, so that the 2 can be seen through the hole. She then draws a card from the pile, and the next player is up.
Play continues in this way around the table until all 20 item cards are covered by colour cards lying face down. The cards that players still hold in hand are then placed on the draw pile.
Note: because passing is not allowed, it can happen that a player is forced to place a colour in a row where that colour is already present (lying face down). This is a mistake for that player, but it is expressly permitted and must be done if necessary.
Revealing and Penalties
Now comes the moment of truth: who made which mistakes?
- The starting player, i.e. the player who placed their colour card on the 1 (ball), turns that colour card over on the spot. Then their left-hand neighbour turns over the card they placed on the 2 (rubbish bin). Then that player's left-hand neighbour turns over the card they placed on the 3, and so on.
- Players take turns turning over the card that they themselves placed face down on the relevant item card. The colour card is turned over on the spot, so that it then lies face up on the item card. If a mistake comes to light here, i.e. the colour of the card just revealed is already present in that row (vertical or horizontal), then the player concerned, the one who placed the card there, receives one penalty point.
- Note: the leftover cards of the draw pile can be used to mark penalty points. Whoever made a mistake receives one penalty card from the draw pile.
In ascending numerical order (1 to 20), all 20 colour cards are turned over on the spot by the player who originally placed each of them there. At the end, all 20 colour cards lie face up in the 5 x 4 grid. The player who has collected the fewest penalty points is the winner.