To Me ! ...or not to me ?
To Me ! ...or not to me ? Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 3 Guess pawns
- 6 Card holders
- 100 Word cards (the Word cards come in different colors; this is purely an aesthetic choice and does not indicate any level of difficulty)
- 18 Numbered Clue cards
- 2 Wild Clue cards (to be used if the game seems too difficult, see Variants)
- 6 dry erase markers
Set Up
- Give each player a dry erase marker and a card holder. The card holders must be ordered in ascending order, clockwise.
- Each player draws a Word card and places it in the card holder they received, taking care not to see what words are on their card!
- Place as many Guess pawns in the center of the table as needed (shown on the chart below), depending on the number of card holders in play.
- Find all 3 Clue cards that match each number on the card holders (and leave the remaining Clue cards in the box). Shuffle the cards and deal them to players. You must look at them without letting the other players see the numbers.
| Number of players | 3* | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Guess pawns | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
* When you play with 3 players, we recommend giving 2 card holders per player, for a total of 6 words (and, thus, 3 Guess pawns). You have each 2 words to guess. When you make a guess because a Guess pawn has been placed in front of you, your answer is for either of your card holders.
[Source note: the chart gives 2 Guess pawns for 3 players, but the footnote says "thus, 3 Guess pawns". Both are transcribed as printed.]
Game Flow
The player who has card holder #1 plays the first turn in the game, then everyone takes their turn clockwise.
When your turn comes up, choose ONE action:
- Give a clue, OR
- Use a Guess pawn
1. Give a Clue Using One of Your Clue Cards
Each Clue card has two sides:
- A side with a number, corresponding to a specific card holder and to the word that must be guessed. You must keep this side secret until the end of the game!
- A blank side on which you will write a clue to have that card holder's word guessed.
If you have no Clue card left, you cannot take this action.
When you choose this action during your turn, select a Clue card from your hand. The number on this card indicates who you can give a clue to. Write the clue on the blank side, then place this card in front of your own card holder.
Be sure to never reveal who the clues are for.
At the beginning of the game, each player has been dealt all the Clue cards they will ever get for the game. That way, you may anticipate which Clue to give and when to give it.
Wild Clue! If you have a Clue card bearing the number of your own card holder, or the number of a card holder whose word has been found, you may give a clue for any word with that Clue card.
To Me? ... or Not to Me? When someone writes on a Clue card, you must ask yourself whether that clue is meant for you, or for someone else.
Forbidden Clues
- Translations (for instance, Fromage for Cheese)
- Words in the same family (Sewage as a Clue to have Sewer guessed)
- Symbols and acronyms (a drawing of an arrow for Bow, or KFC for Chicken)
- Words that can be read on other people's card holders
- Proper nouns
- All clues given during the game must be exclusively based on the meaning of the word (and not based on their pronunciation or the number of their card holder, for instance).
Example. It is Jenny's turn to play. She has Clue cards with numbers 1, 2 and 4 in her hand. She looks at all the different words on the card holders from other people and elects to give a hint to the player who has card holder #1. She writes the word "Reptile" as her clue on the blank side of her #1 card and places it, Clue side up, in front of her own card holder.
2. Use a Guess Pawn
During your turn, if you think someone has a sufficient number of clues to guess their own word, you may take a Guess pawn from the center of the table and place it in front of that player.
You can absolutely give yourself a Guess pawn! Simply place it in front of you.
The player who gives a Guess pawn asks, aloud: "You guess…!"
The player who receives a Guess pawn announces the word they think is on their card holder.
If their guessed word is the same as the one on their card holder, this is a correct answer!
- The Guess pawn is put back in the center of the table, and can be used again.
- The card holder is flipped back to indicate that word has been guessed correctly.
- As a reminder, the remaining cards with bearing that card holder's number become Wild clues.
- The Clue cards that hinted at this word stay in place. It is important to wait until the end of the game before revealing who wrote for whom, and for what reasons.
If their guessed word does not match the word on the card holder, the other players tell the guesser their answer is incorrect!
- The card holder stays in place; do not reveal the word. It must be guessed in the future.
- The Guess pawn used for this is lost and put back into the box.
- If there are no Guess pawns in the center of the table, the game ends and you collectively lose the game.
Example. It is now Jérémy's turn. He thinks Reptile and Dungeons are hints that are meant for him. On his turn, he decides to take a Guess pawn from the center of the table, then places it in front of himself, and announces "Dragon".
As it is, of course, the exact word displayed on his card holder, everyone validates this answer!
- Jérémy flips his card holder.
- The Guess pawn is put back in the center of the table.
Other #1 Clue cards become Wild, and can now be used as hints for any word.
If Jérémy had made a mistake (saying "Hydra" instead), the other players would have told him his answer was incorrect! Jérémy could continue playing… however, the Clue pawn would have been put back into the box.
[Source note: the printed example says "Clue pawn" in the last sentence; the pawn meant is the Guess pawn. Transcribed as printed.]
Communication
In this game, communication is made only through the use of Clue cards. You cannot openly discuss what Clue is for whom.
Do not make any comments on the Clues given by other players. For instance, if you congratulate someone for a clue they just gave, you are letting everyone know that this clue is not meant for you.
Game End
The game can end in two ways:
- There are no Guess pawns and some words still need to be guessed: You all lose the game!
- OR
- All the words on the card holders have been guessed: You all win the game!
The more unused Clue cards, the better your victory. And, next time, try to do even better!
Variants
If the Game Feels Too Difficult for You
Use one or more of these rules variants:
- Allow the use of proper nouns for writing clues.
- Use Wild Clue cards.
- Increase the number of Guess pawns.
- When you run out of Guess pawns, each player can give a last answer for each of their unscored card holders.
If the Game Feels Too Easy for You
Use one or more of these rules variants:
- Increase the number of card holders, and thus the number of words to guess.
- Decrease the number of available Guess pawns.