Shindig Machine

Shindig Machine Rulebook

Table of Contents

Guide to Game Types
The Games

Guide to Game Types

Easy games involve short bits of speaking. You use the card you just played as a cue or guide.

Medium games involve integrating your card with others already in play or interpreting multiple cards.

Challenging games ask you to react to cards played "at" you by your friends. Trying to stump them or surprise them with a clever turn is part of the fun.

Know your players. If people are shy or don't know each other well, start off with easy games and gradually bring people along. Most people should be up to the more challenging games if you make them comfortable first.

The Games

Superpower (easy)

Try to imagine all your friends wearing brightly colored tights (or don't, if that's too disturbing).

Deal 3 cards to each player. Pick a player to go first.

The first player puts down a card, using it to describe their superpower. Then they play a second card and describe the drawback to their superpower.

Now the player to their right takes a turn.

Continue until everyone has gone.

(variant) - Players describe their own powers using a card from their hand, but it's up to the next player to the right to play their weakness.

Kill/Survive (easy)

Find out which of your friends is the biggest threat, so you can be extra nice to them from now on.

Deal 6 cards to each player. Pick a player to go first.

The first player plays a card, and describes how they will kill the player to their right using that card. The targeted player then plays a card from their hand and describes how they will survive the first player's attack.

Then the second player becomes the killer and the player to their right becomes the survivor.

Continue around until all players are out of cards.

Slander (easy)

Imply terrible things about fake politicians.

Deal 3 cards to one player and 2 to the rest. The player with 3 cards goes first.

The first player plays a card, briefly describing a political candidate and the office for which they're campaigning.

The person to their right plays a card and describes a damning rumor about the candidate. Then the next player to their right does the same.

Once play has gone all the way around, the first player plays an additional card, revealing how correct the rumors were and disclosing the horrible dirt no one was able to dig up.

Repeat until all players have sponsored a candidate, or just play a round or two.

Diagnosis (moderate)

Should not be misconstrued as legitimate medical advice.

Deal 3 cards to one player and 2 to the rest. The player with 3 cards goes first.

That player plays a card, describing an odd symptom they've been having.

The person to their right plays a card, offering a diagnosis. Each player takes a shot at the diagnosis, playing a card in turn.

Once play has reached the original patient again, they play a second card, conclusively solving the medical mystery.

Repeat until all players have had a bizarre illness, or just play a round or two.

Reinterpret (moderate)

A simple Rorschach test and a great way to keep your mind limber.

(Note: This is a great game if you find your group getting locked into the interpretations for specific cards that are wearing thin.)

Deal 1 card, face-up, in the center of the table. Pick a player to go first.

That player offers an interpretation of what the card depicts.

The person to their right then offers their own interpretation, which cannot be the same as the first player's interpretation. Then the next player to the right goes, but their interpretation cannot be the same as either the first or second player's interpretation.

After each player has contributed an interpretation, deal a new card face-up to the center of the table and repeat.

Repeat for 3-5 cards.

Snake (moderate)

A simple, linear group storytelling experience.

Deal 3 cards to each player. Pick a player to go first.

That player plays a card, using it to describe the beginning of a story. Then the player to their right plays a card and continues the story.

Repeat until each person has played 2 cards.

Oracle (moderate)

50% more accurate than tea leaves and entrails. Probably.

Pick a player to go first. That player must ask a question.

Turn the top card from the deck face up on the table.

The person to the asker's right answers the question, based on the card. Each subsequent player offers their own answer until play has gone all the way around.

The first player may not offer an assessment, and must only say "Thank you, oh wise ones."

Repeat until everyone has had their questions answered.

Interview (moderate)

Exorcise all those job interview demons.

Pick a player to go first. They are the Interviewee. Deal them 2 cards more than the total number of players.

The rest of the players take turns asking job interview questions (see the list below or invent your own). The Interviewee plays a card in response to each question and integrates it into the answer.

Continue until each other player has asked the Interviewee a question.

Repeat until all players have been interviewed, or just play a round or two.

Questions:

Why are you interested in working for us?
Why do you want to leave your current company?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Describe your ideal boss.
Describe your work style.
How would you deal with an angry customer?
How would you fire someone?
What's your greatest strength?
What's your greatest weakness?
How did you hear about this position?
What would you do if you knew your boss was wrong about something?
What are your work environment pet peeves?
What are your co-worker pet peeves?
What salary range are you looking for?
When can you start?

Pitch Session (challenging)

Experience the joy of destroying someone's creative vision.

Deal 5 cards to one player and 2 cards to everyone else. The player with 5 cards goes first.

The first player arranges their cards sequentially from left to right, using them to describe a movie plot to the other players.

After the pitch is finished, the player to the right replaces one of the five cards with one of their own. The first player must re-pitch the movie, integrating the new card in place of the original. This may entail a simple substitution or a complete rewrite of the story.

Continue until each player has proffered their own substitution, necessitating a new pitch each time.

Interrogation (challenging)

Live out your dreams of catching bad guys in their lies.

Same as Pitch Session, but instead of pitching a movie to executives you try to lie to cops. After each telling of the "story", the other players present pieces of crushing contradictory evidence that force you to scramble and amend your previous statement.

Band Name (challenging)

Names are hard.

Lay out the top 3 cards from the deck face-up.

Everyone must come up with band names that incorporate all 3 cards.

If people are stuck, clear the table and throw down fresh cards.

Tarot (very challenging)

Future-proof yourself.

Pick a player to go first. The next player to the right will read that player's fortune.

Deal 4 cards, one at a time, and tell the player their future. The first card represents the player's career, the second card represents their financial status, the third represents their love life, and the fourth represents their death.

Repeat for all the players that have the nerve to peer beyond the veil.

Eulogy (very challenging)

"Sandy was a real wanker, and I can say that now 'cause she's dead."

Pick a player to be dead first. The mourner to their right plays the top card from the deck and describes a memory from the decedent's early life. The next player reveals the top card from the deck and describes a memory from the corpse's teen years. This continues until all 5 cards have been played. Here's a suggested sequence of remembrances, but we understand if you're moved to reminisce at length:

early life
teen years
adulthood
how they died
what you'll most remember them for

Big Game (moderate)

Make epic, twisting tales with your friends.

Make sure you have a big space in which to lay out cards.

Deal 10 cards to each player. Draw the top card from the deck and place it face up in the center of the table.

The first player places a card from their hand next to the card on the table, directly adjacent in any direction (top to bottom, left to right, etc). They then interpret the story created by the cards on the table.

The second player adds a card to those already in play. They may either place the card in line with the first two, adding to that story, or they may place a cross card, connecting at a right angle to the existing sequence, to begin a side story.

As more turns are taken, the arrangement of cards on the table becomes more complex, and new cards may fit into multiple stories. If you place a card in a spot that aligns with both vertical and horizontal sequences, integrate your card into both stories. Continue until everyone is out of cards.