Say my Name Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Playing the Game
• Round 1
• Round 2
• Lightning Round
• Round 3
• Clarifications
• Other, Less Important Notes
• Everyone vs. Everyone Mode
  • Setup
  • Round 1
  • Round 2
  • Round 3
  • Winner
• Summary Table
• Credits
  • Acknowledgments

Components

• 242 cards
• 1 score pad
• 1 instruction manual

Setup

1. Form the teams. Players must divide into teams of 2 or more, and should sit with their teammates spread out around the table (as in Truco). Note: while it is possible to play in teams with more players, we recommend forming several teams of 2 players.

2. Choose a category. Before starting the game, all players together must choose which of the game's 3 categories will be used: Titles, Characters, or Anything Goes. Note: the Anything Goes category can include Titles, Characters, Places, and others. Note: the hints (Actor, Movie, Literature, etc.) printed below each name are only there to help players who don't recognize a particular person or title.

3. Create the main deck. Each player is dealt 8 cards, of which they must choose 5 and return the other 3 to the box. The 5 cards chosen by each player are gathered together and shuffled without looking at them into a single deck. This deck is used throughout the game, except during the lightning round.

   IMPORTANT: Players must not reveal the content of their chosen cards to the other players.

   Note: for a shorter game, deal fewer cards; for a longer game, deal more.

4. Create the lightning round deck. Each player takes one card from the box at random, without looking at it. These cards are then gathered and shuffled to form the deck used only for the lightning round.

   Example: In a game with 6 players, the main deck will have 30 cards and the lightning round deck will have 6.

   • Main deck: 5 cards per player (6 players = 30 cards)
   • Lightning round: 1 card per player (6 players = 6 cards)

5. Set up the timer. We recommend using a phone's stopwatch to track each turn's 30 seconds.

Playing the Game

The starting player is whoever most recently won an Oscar (and if nobody has won an Oscar, whoever most recently finished reading a book is fine).

During their turn, the player giving clues draws the top card of the deck and looks at its content. Then they start the timer and begin giving clues to their team. As soon as their team guesses a card, the clue-giver draws the next card from the deck and gives clues for it. Guessed cards are kept by each team.

Once time is up, the clue-giver passes the remaining cards to the player on their left, who begins their own turn. This continues until every card in the deck has been used.

IMPORTANT: Before starting their turn, each player must shuffle the cards remaining in the deck.

A round ends when every card in the deck has been guessed. At that point, all teams count how many cards they guessed and add 1 point per card. Points earned in a round are recorded on the score pad.

Afterward, the used cards are shuffled and used again in the next round. That means during rounds 2 and 3, players will have to guess the same Titles, Characters, or Places that they guessed in round 1.

Round 1

The clue-giver can: talk, act, make sounds, point, sing, hum, etc.

The guesser(s) can: guess with no limit on attempts (if they guess wrong, they can keep trying).

The clue-giver cannot:

• Say a word that appears in the name to be guessed, nor any of its derivatives, diminutives, or parts of it.

  Example: for Star Wars you couldn't say things like "warrior" or "galactic," and not "gala" either. But you could say "movie," since that appears as a hint on the card.

• Translate those words into another language, or say the title's version from another country.

  Example: for The Shawshank Redemption (whose Spanish title translates as "Dreams of Freedom") you couldn't say "dreams," "liberty," or "The Shawshank Redemption."

• Say the Key Word, nor any of its derivatives, diminutives, or any part of it. Spell it out, cut words apart, or anything similar.

  Example: for Legally Blonde you couldn't give a hint like "It starts with the same letter as Laura."

• Pass: they must keep trying until their team guesses the card or time runs out.

IMPORTANT: If a player fails to follow any of these restrictions, they lose their turn.

Round 2

Round 2 is similar to round 1 but with some changes. The main one, of course, is that the players already know what the answers are.

The clue-giver can:

• Say only one word per card (and repeat it as many times as they want).
• Act.
• Pass: they can say "pass" and set the card face down to the side, then continue with the next card.

The guesser(s) can: guess only once per card, per team. Note: if they guess wrong, the clue-giver sets the card aside and continues with the next card in the deck.

The clue-giver cannot:

• Do any of the things forbidden in round 1, except for passing.
• Use more than one word, or make sounds.

IMPORTANT: At the end of each turn, cards that were not guessed or were "passed" are shuffled back into the deck of remaining cards. If a player fails to follow any of these restrictions, they must pass the card, but they do NOT lose their turn.

Lightning Round

The lightning round is completely different from the others, and is played between rounds 2 and 3.

To begin this round, each player takes one of the cards from the lightning round deck (prepared at the start of the game) at random, without looking at it. The youngest player starts.

On their turn, each player reads aloud the content of all 3 categories printed on their card (Titles, Characters, and Anything Goes). All the other players, regardless of team, compete to guess the Key Word. The first to guess it keeps the card.

Note: if after about 10-15 seconds nobody has guessed it, the card is returned to the box and no team scores for it.

Then the next player reads their lightning round card, and so on until everyone has done so. At the end, each team scores 1 point for every card its members guessed during this round.

IMPORTANT: Each player may guess only once per card. If they guess wrong, they must stay silent until the next card.

Round 3

The clue-giver can:

• Act.
• Pass: they can say "pass" and set the card face down to the side, then continue with the next card.

The guesser(s) can: guess only once per card, per team. Note: if they guess wrong, the clue-giver sets the card aside and continues with the next card in the deck.

The clue-giver cannot:

• Do any of the things forbidden in rounds 1 and 2, except for passing.
• Say any word or make any sounds.

IMPORTANT: At the end of each turn, cards that were not guessed or were "passed" are shuffled back into the deck of remaining cards. If a player fails to follow any of these restrictions, they must pass the card, but they do NOT lose their turn.

Clarifications

• Guessers can never "pass" a card. But they can ask their teammate who is giving clues to pass (except in round 1, where passing isn't allowed).
• If a player runs out of cards to give clues on during their turn, they cannot go back to the cards they set aside for failed attempts or for having been passed.
• In round 2, the first player to give clues is the player to the left of the last person to give clues in round 1. In round 3, it's the player to the left of the last person to give clues in round 2.
• The Characters category can include both individual people and groups of people.
• When a card shows a Title, Character, or Place with its version in another language written in parentheses, both versions are considered valid.

Other, Less Important Notes

• The hint "celebrity" covers any very well-known person, living or not. Celebrity simply means known or renowned — it isn't a value judgment.
• Some titles are both movies and books. We took the liberty of deciding, for each case, whatever we felt like.
• Since we don't want to offend anyone — and we're big chickens — we labeled "Religion / Mythology" any case that could get touchy or controversial.

Everyone vs. Everyone Mode

Everyone vs. Everyone is played in 3 rounds similar to round 1 of the normal mode, but in this mode all players compete against each other.

When to play it:

• If there are 3, 5, or 7 players, or teams of equal size can't be formed.
• If you want a shorter game.

Setup

Each player receives 5 cards, plus 1 card for every other player in the game. After looking at their cards, each player chooses 2 to return to the box and keeps the rest in hand.

Example: in a game with 5 players, each player receives 9 cards, returns 2, and keeps 7 in hand.

Round 1

Same as round 1 of the normal mode, but with the following differences:

• Passing is allowed.

• The Titles category is always used.

• On their turn, each player tries to get the others to guess as many of their own cards as possible.

  Note: a player's own cards that were not guessed must be kept to the side.

• Everyone tries to guess the cards at the same time. The first to do so keeps the card and sets it to their side.

After 30 seconds, it becomes the turn of the player to their left. This continues until every player has had one turn giving clues. When everyone has had a turn, the round ends and players add up their points as follows:

• 1 point for each of their own cards that was guessed.
• 1 point for each other player's card that they guessed.

Once points are added up, all the cards (both guessed and not) are shuffled into a single deck and dealt out again among the players to play round 2.

Round 2

Same as round 1, but always using the Characters category.

Round 3

Same as round 1, but always using the Anything Goes category (Anything Goes: Titles, Characters, Places, etc.).

Winner

At the end, the winner is whoever scored the most points across the three rounds.

Summary Table

Round	Words Allowed	Attempts Allowed	Pass a Card
Round 1	Unlimited	Unlimited	No
Round 2	1	1	Yes
Lightning Round	—	1	No
Round 3	None	1	Yes

Credits

Adapted from the classic game Celebrities, by Michel Fischman and Emmanuel Rabell.

Illustrations and design by Magdalena Okecki. SMN logo design by LAMM. Proofreading by Mónica, Marco, Facu, Jime, and Milly.

Play this music while you read the acknowledgments. GARPA is a band.

Acknowledgments

The invaluable help of Daniela Gagliano and Veru Rubinstein. Special thanks to Maggie, Charly, Emma, Nor, Topo, Tenchu, Santiago de Tucumán, Tais, Miranda, Nachol, Hellion's Child, "La nena," Mariano Medialuna, Neka, "Pollera" Busso, Mel L., Luis Dumont, Paula "Blitzcrankchica," Ditter, Jime, and Fran. And the huge contribution of Fer Marecos, Ro Kutner, and Alfredo Aguilar.