Randomise
Randomise Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Aim of the Game
The world has gone completely random! You are going to become something ridiculous and must help your teammates guess what you are by describing, drawing or acting your way to victory.
You Need
- 4 or more players (Age 8+)
- Watch or stopwatch
- Pen and paper
How to Play
Split into two teams and nominate someone alert to keep score. Give each team a scoring and timing card and remove the blank cards from the pack (unless you've already filled these in with your own words). Shuffle and lay out the three piles of cards (A, B and C) on the Randomise 'stage' (any spot will do).
The team with the person keeping score gets to start. Teams then alternate every turn, with each player taking turns to step up to the stage.
When it is your turn, you must declare whether you are going for an EASY or HARD challenge, and whether you are going to DESCRIBE, ACT or DRAW your way to victory.
Then step up to the stage and select a card from each of the three piles (A, B and C). The opposing team will then select three random numbers for you from 1 to 3 (eg. '3,1,2').
Look at the words (under 'Easy' or 'Hard') that match these numbers to discover your new identity. Card A will always describe you (eg. Happy, Hairy, Vain), card B will tell you what you are (eg. Octopus, Astronaut, Lion) and card C will tell you what you are doing (eg. Eating spaghetti, Playing football, Baking a cake).
When you are ready, the opposing team will get ready to time your turn, and you will have 30, 60 or 90 seconds to reveal yourself:
DESCRIBE - You have 30 seconds to use your voice to communicate your identity. You can't say any of the words on your cards or use rhyming words or letters to give clues.
ACT - You have 60 seconds to use your body to communicate your identity. You can't make any noises, point or use any props.
DRAW - You have 90 seconds to use your artistic skills to communicate the phrase. You can't draw any letters or numbers.
Your team can shout out as many guesses as they like. The aim is to get them to shout out your complete identity before your time is up. After your turn, place each card at the bottom of the correct pile.
Scoring
Scoring works as follows:
ALL LEVELS - You get 1 point for every card your team successfully guesses (max 3 per turn).
EASY turns - You get 1 bonus point if your team shouts out your full identity before your turn is up - eg. 'Nervous mole eating spaghetti'.
HARD turns - You get 3 bonus points if your team shouts out your full identity.
STEALING BONUS POINTS - If your team does not shout out your full identity before the time is up, the opposing team has the chance to steal the bonus points. They can confer, and then have one guess at your full identity. If correct, they steal the bonus points (1 or 3 depending on difficulty level).
Winning the Game
The first team to reach 30 points claims victory! But if this team started, then the opposing team will have one turn to equalise/steal the victory.
In the case of a draw, you can play sudden death, awarding victory as soon as one team takes the lead after both teams have taken a turn.
Alternative Gameplays
Once you've got the hang of the game, feel free to mix things up by trying any of the alternative gameplays below, or inventing your own!
THESPIAN MODE - Our favourite way to play! This time everyone must act and they must act their entire identity at once (rather than breaking it down into component words). Hilarity guaranteed as you watch your friend really 'become' a 'Ticklish lion playing the piano'.
VARIETY SHOW - New rule. When choosing your method of communication, you cannot choose the same as your team mate chose for their previous turn.
SPEED DEMONS - To make it really tricky, halve the time limits. So you have 10 seconds to DESCRIBE, 30 seconds to ACT or 45 seconds to DRAW.
EYES CLOSED - Once you have discovered your identity, you must close your eyes for the rest of your turn.
ULTIMATE ALL OR NOTHING - A new rule you can introduce to allow risky gambles on big scores. When a player chooses to take on this challenge, they must then describe card A in 10 seconds, act card B in 20 seconds, and draw card C in 30 seconds. If their team guesses all three they get a huge 10 points. But if they don't, they score 0 (no points can be stolen by opposing team).
Q and A
Do players have to guess exactly what's on the card? You can be as strict as you like, but when we play we like to be a bit flexible - so if the card says 'dreaming' and someone guesses 'having a dream', we let them have it.
What if a player uses a prohibited action/word/drawing in their turn? Their turn ends, they score only points for guesses before the prohibited move, and play passes to the next team (although you might be kind and let them off for their first offence!).
What if we don't have any paper or pens? No problem - just ignore the DRAW option and DESCRIBE or ACT your way to victory instead. You can keep score using any technological device you have to hand, or your brain.
What if we find this game too hard/want to include younger players? Easy - you can just use one pile of cards (any single pile or all mixed together) or two piles of cards (Either A and B or B and C). You could also all take EASY turns. And you can extend the time limits.
What if we don't have enough players? If you only have two or three players you could try working together to get the best score you can. Give yourselves a total of 5 minutes on a stopwatch and see how many points you can get within this time (with players taking turns to act, draw or describe to the other). You can pause the stopwatch between turns. Then play for another 5 mins to see if you can beat your score!