Stuff You Should Know
Stuff You Should Know Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
How Does This Game Work?
Prove you know your stuff as you take turns answering trivia, each question from a different episode of Stuff You Should Know. The first player to fill their board with one of each category token wins.
Stuff You Should Do First
- Punch out all of the tokens and dividers.
- Put the dividers in the card box, using them to sort the card decks by category.
The Categories
- History: From mummies to presidential debates, this one's all about people, places, and things of the past.
- Pop Culture: Diving into fads, films, food, and other fun stuff that's left a mark on society.
- Myths, Legends, & Conspiracies: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, folklore, mythology, and more. It's a fun one: What proof do you need?
- Science & Tech: Grab your lab coats! We're covering everything from house flies to black holes.
- Humans: This one's all about people and the stuff we do, think, and feel.
- SYSK Selects: A mix of topics hand-picked by Josh & Chuck. Sort of like a grab bag: you never know what you'll get.
Components
- 300 cards (600 questions)
- 6 category boards
- 36 category tokens
- 18 lifeline tokens
- 6 deck dividers
Get Ready
- Flip all the lifeline tokens so their black sides ("Stuff Someone Else Should Know") are faceup. Now give 'em a good shuffle.
- Each player gets a category board and three lifeline tokens. Place your lifelines on your board, black sides still faceup. (No peeking at the other sides!)
- Put the remaining lifelines back in the box. You won't need them.
- Make sure your card decks are divided by category and the category tokens are within reach.
Play
The player who has listened to the most SYSK episodes goes first. Play continues clockwise.
On Your Turn
- Pick a category—any category, as long as you don't have a token from it yet.
- The player to your left draws the front card from that category deck and reads aloud the episode title and the question.
- Now's the part where you answer. (If you need help, check out How Lifelines Work.) Were you correct?
- Yes: Put a token from that category on your board!
- No: Well, no token for you. Try again another turn.
- Place that card in the back of its appropriate deck. Now it's the next player's turn.
Card Notes
Each card shows a Category, an Episode title, a Question with four lettered answer options (A through D), and an Answer with a short explanation.
Cards are double-sided! While reading, try to keep the other side covered so you don't spoil that question for later games.
How Lifelines Work
Everyone starts with three "Stuff Someone Else Should Know" lifelines. As these lifelines are used, more lifelines will be revealed on the flip side. You can use ONE lifeline per turn. They can only be played on your turn.
Stuff Someone Else Should Know
- Pick another player (but not the reader, duh) to help you out. Pro tip: Other players, whether you definitely know the answer or just have a hunch, speak up! You have nothing to lose, only to gain, so you always want to be picked.
- The player you pick must give their best, exact answer. (So, if the question is multiple choice, they can't say, "I think it's either B or D." They have to pick one.)
- You decide whether to use their answer or go with a different one. Is your answer correct?
- Yes: You collect a token for that category.
- If you used the other player's answer, they earn the lifeline on the flip side of that "Stuff Someone Else Should Know" lifeline you used.
- If you didn't use their answer, they get nothing. Discard that "Stuff Someone Else Should Know" lifeline.
- No: You don't get a category token.
- If you used the other player's answer, they don't get anything either—discard your "Stuff Someone Else Should Know" lifeline.
- BUT, if their answer was correct and you just didn't use it, they earn the lifeline on the back!
- Yes: You collect a token for that category.
If their answer was right, they get the lifeline on the other side!
50/50
May only be played on a multiple-choice question! The player reading your question eliminates two incorrect options (their pick), giving you a 50/50 shot of answering correctly. Discard this lifeline after use.
Stuff You Should Skip
Don't like the question? Skip it. The reader draws a new card and you get to answer that question instead. Discard this lifeline after use.
Stuff You Should Research
You get 15 seconds to look up the answer online. Open the search engine of your choice while another player sets a timer. Once the timer starts, you can start typing. And once it stops, it's phone down! You must answer immediately. Discard this lifeline after use.
Swap a Token
You can either:
- Swap one of your category tokens for another player's. This is useful if there's a category you just can't beat. (For example, if you don't know much about science but you crush history, you could take a player's Science & Tech token, give them your History token, and then go for another History question.)
OR
- Swap between two other players! Just remember, players can only have one token from each category—you can't give someone a History token if they already have one.
Discard this lifeline after use.
Steal a Token
Steal a category token from any player. Nope, you don't have to give them anything in return. Sweet deal, huh? Discard this lifeline after use.
Stuff You Should Keep in Mind
- You can only earn one token per category. So, as long as you have that token, you don't need to answer another question from that category.
- There's no limit on the number of times you try a category and no rules on the order.
- If there's a blank in an episode title, that's because the full title gives away the answer!
- Not sure if an answer should count? Majority rules!
- If multiple players only need one more token to win, make sure everyone has had an equal number of turns before you declare a champion.
- If there's a tie, then the player with the most lifelines left wins.
Win
The first player to fill their board with each of the six category tokens wins!