The Lie
The Lie Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Idea and Goal
In this game, the cards cannot be trusted. They show numbers from 1 to 4 in four different colors – but this is only half the truth! Only after turning them over do you learn which of the two is actually true: either the color or the number. Skillfully combine your cards into larger numbers and outbid the numbers of the others in the same color. Whoever has played all their cards wins a round and receives points for it. Whoever has the most points at the end wins the game.
Components
96 cards
Note: For game-technical reasons, the numbers do not appear in all four corners.
Setup
Shuffle all the cards so that the black back side is visible, and spread them randomly in the middle of the table.
Course of Play
You play exactly three rounds (Durchgänge). Each round consists of two phases:
- Assemble a card hand
- Play cards
Phase 1: Assemble a Card Hand
Everyone plays this phase at the same time.
Quickly take one card after another from the middle of the table and add it to your hand. From now on we call this your hand ("Blatt"). In this way, build your hand for this round.
After you have taken a card, turn it over to the front side with the colored background. Make sure that nobody can see your hand.
After you have taken the first card, every following card must be added either at the very left or at the very right of your hand. A new card may never be pushed in between other cards.
The person who first has 12 cards in hand calls "Done!" ("Fertig!"), announcing that their hand is complete. They will begin Phase 2. All others continue to take cards and add them to their hands.
As soon as everyone has a complete hand of 12 cards, Phase 2 follows: PLAYING CARDS. Cards that are still lying in the middle of the table and were not taken are pushed aside as a pile. They are needed only at the end of the round.
Note: It Is Not Allowed ...
- ... to push new cards in between other cards of your hand.
- ... to arrange the cards of your hand differently.
- ... to put cards back into the middle of the table after they have been taken.
Phase 2: Playing Cards
This phase is played over several turns (Runden) and, in the game with 4 to 6 players, ends when three of you have no cards left in hand. With 2 or 3 players you play until only one person is left.
You play in clockwise order. The 1st turn is begun by whoever first called "Done!" in Phase 1. From the 2nd turn on, whoever won the previous turn begins. In each turn, everyone has exactly one go.
During your go you may play a combination of cards from your hand. This can be a single card, or a group of two or at most three cards of the same color that are directly next to each other in your hand.
The cards may no longer be re-sorted. They must stay in exactly the same arrangement in which they are in your hand.
You place played cards face up in front of you. If you play two or three adjacent cards, you form a number with them.
Example: A 4 and a 1 become 41. A 3, a 2 and a 3 become 323.
If you begin a turn, you must play at least one card. The others, in turn, have the choice to pass (i.e. play no card) or to play 1 to 3 cards in the same color with which this turn was opened.
Played cards must always form a number that is greater than the previously played one.
Example of a Turn with Four Players
Players: Amelie, Benni, Caro, Daniel (seated in this order around the table).
- Amelie plays a 3 and a 2, so 32.
- Benni plays a 4 and a 1, so 41. His number is greater than the previously played 32.
- Caro decides to pass.
- Daniel plays a 2, a 1 and a 4, so 214. Daniel wins the turn, because he played the greatest number.
In each turn, everyone has only one opportunity either to play or to pass. The turn is won by whoever played the greatest number. This person begins the next turn.
All played cards are collected face up on a discard pile.
End of a Round
Whoever has no cards left in hand finishes the round for themselves and may later take prize cards first. The cards lying as a pile at the side with the back side up now count as prize cards.
In the game with 4 to 6 players, you keep playing until the second and then the third person also has no cards left. In the game with 2 or 3 players, you play until only one person is left.
When the first person has no cards left, the person who still has the most cards in hand plays out next. In case of a tie, of those involved, whoever follows the (last) person without cards in clockwise order begins.
At the end of the round you take your prize cards in the order of your placement:
- 1st place: 3 prize cards
- 2nd place: 2 prize cards*
- 3rd place: 1 prize card
*In the two-player game there is only 1 prize card for 2nd place.
The value of a prize card corresponds to the number on its front side. Important: you look at your prize cards only at the end of the game!
You begin a new round by shuffling all the cards, except for the prize cards won, and spreading them again with the back side up in the middle of the table.
End of the Game
After you have played three rounds, you add up the values of your prize cards. The number on the front side counts. Whoever has the most points wins the game. In case of a tie, whoever has the most prize cards wins. If there is still a tie, you share the victory.
Example of a Final Scoring
Amelie: 11 points. Benni: 10 points. Caro: 12 points. Daniel: 8 points. (Caro wins.)