Otherwise, if you just want to read the rules from your screen, scroll down.
REQUIREMENTS
4-10 people, ages 12+.
One game takes 30-60 minutes.
OBJECT OF THE GAME
As a Spokesperson, gain points by using your Response cards and quick wit to address and defend Incidents caused by the President of the United States, satisfying the Judges’ Criteria.
DEFINITION: AN "ANSWER" (noun & verb)
For future reference, an Answer (with a capital A) is a 3- to 5-sentence improvised explanation and defense of the Incident, seeking to confidently cast the President in a positive light. Specifically, an Answer should satisfy the Criteria the Judges have selected.
An Answer always begins with the Spokesperson reading his/her volunteered Response card.
4-10 people, ages 12+.
One game takes 30-60 minutes.
OBJECT OF THE GAME
As a Spokesperson, gain points by using your Response cards and quick wit to address and defend Incidents caused by the President of the United States, satisfying the Judges’ Criteria.
DEFINITION: AN "ANSWER" (noun & verb)
For future reference, an Answer (with a capital A) is a 3- to 5-sentence improvised explanation and defense of the Incident, seeking to confidently cast the President in a positive light. Specifically, an Answer should satisfy the Criteria the Judges have selected.
An Answer always begins with the Spokesperson reading his/her volunteered Response card.
THE CARDS
|
Incident Cards (45 cards + 3 blanks)
Each Incident card describes something absurd the President did, followed by a question. Incident cards are drawn and read by the Judges. |
|
|
Response Cards (60 cards + 3 blanks)
Each Response card either refers to a broad-topic issue, appeals to vague ideals, names a scapegoat, or skews the Incident card’s question in some way. Response cards are dealt to and held by the Spokespeople, and are used to lead off each Spokesperson’s Answer. |
|
|
Criteria Cards (5 cards + 2 blanks)
Each Criteria card describes a standard for Spokespeople to meet when giving their Answers. Criteria cards are selected and followed by the Judges. (These are optional – see VARIANT RULES.) |
|
THE ROLES
Spokespeople (“Spokes”)
Spokes use their Response cards and quick wit to Answer the Incident Cards. Spokes can earn points, but can also drop out of the round.
Spokes use their Response cards and quick wit to Answer the Incident Cards. Spokes can earn points, but can also drop out of the round.
Judges
Judges read the Incident Cards and vote on the quality of the Spokes’ Answers, based on each of their own chosen Criteria. Judges do not earn points, and cannot drop out of the round.
Judges read the Incident Cards and vote on the quality of the Spokes’ Answers, based on each of their own chosen Criteria. Judges do not earn points, and cannot drop out of the round.
THE SET-UP
|
Split players into two groups that are as even in number as possible (e.g. 7 players makes a group of 4 and a group of 3). These groups are not teams.
Determine which group will be Spokes for Round 1. The other group will start as Judges. In Round 2, these roles will switch.
|
|
|
Place the Incident deck close to the Judges, and the Response deck close to the Spokes. As the game progresses, discard used cards next to these decks.
Prepare a score sheet (see example) by writing in the names of the Spokes for Round 1 and the Spokes for Round 2.
|
|
THE PLAY: Round One
Judges choose who will be the Lead Judge. The Lead Judge is essentially that round’s emcee. S/he is the scorekeeper for that round, and moves the game along at certain times.
|
Judges each select one Criteria card (face-up), which they will display and vote by for the entire round. One Judge must pick Criteria #1 (if no one wants it, it goes to the Lead Judge). Judges announce to the Spokes which Criteria they have selected, so Spokes know what their goals are.
Deal each Spoke five Response cards face-down. Spokes look at their own cards.
|
|
The Lead Judge gives each Spoke two points to start.
A single turn has four basic parts: Incident, Answer, Vote-and-Verdict, and Follow-Ups. It all goes like this...
INCIDENT
The Judge seated farthest to the left draws and reads an Incident card. When s/he is finished, the Lead Judge counts down ten seconds quietly but visibly, either on his/her fingers or using a timer that everyone can see.
During this time, a Spoke must volunteer to Answer by laying one of his/her Response cards on the table, face-up.
If no-one volunteers before time hits zero, every Spoke loses a point, and the turn is over. Discard the Incident card and draw a new one.
If a Spoke ever drops to zero points, s/he drops out of the round.
|
ANSWER
When a Spoke volunteers, s/he may ask the Judge to re-read the Incident card. The Spoke must then immediately begin his/her Answer, starting by reading the Response card s/he laid down, and continuing by improvising.
An Answer may begin with a bit of fluff like “Well, you see, Mark...” but there shouldn’t be anything substantial before reading the Response.
|
|
An Answer may contain exaggeration, lies, and/or pure invention. This is not only legal – it’s necessary.
After finishing the Answer, the Spoke discards the Response card s/he used.
VOTE
The Lead Judge calls for “Votes in 3...2...1...” and then each Judge puts out either a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down, based on whether the Spoke’s Answer satisfied each Judge’s own specific Criteria.
VERDICT
If half or more of the Judges vote thumbs-up, that’s a GREAT Verdict. The Spoke earns a point and gets to draw a new Response card.
If less than half of the Judges vote thumbs-up (i.e. more than half voted thumbs-down), that’s a SAD Verdict. The Spoke earns no points and does not draw a new Response card.
If a Spoke ever runs out of Response cards, s/he is out of the round.
FOLLOW-UPS
The Lead Judge calls for “Follow-Ups in 5...4...3... 2...1...” during which time another Spoke may volunteer to Answer.
If someone does volunteer, play proceeds the same as before (from ANSWER to VERDICT) with two exceptions:
- In addition to the Judges’ Criteria, the Spoke’s Answer must be unique to previous Answer(s) given that turn. Even if it’s a better Answer, it can’t be similar to one that’s already been given that turn. Otherwise, Judges must vote thumbs-down.
- For a SAD Verdict, the Spoke earns no points, does not draw a new card, and cannot volunteer to Answer during the next turn.
The Lead Judge again calls for Follow-Ups.
There is no limit to the number of Follow-Ups per Incident, except that a Spoke cannot Answer an Incident more than once.
|
If no-one else volunteers, the turn is over. The Judge who read the Incident discards that card, and the Judge to his/her right draws and reads a new one.
The round ends as soon as a Spoke reaches five points. That Spoke wins the round.
|
|
|
THE PLAY: Round Two
Same as Round One, but flip the groups so the Spokes are now Judges, and the Judges are Spokes.
|
|
THE PLAY: Round Three
The Spokes for this round are the two winners of Rounds One and Two. Everyone else is a Judge.
If you’re playing with 8 or more people, some Judges will have to “pair-up” on Criteria (they determine this on their own).
Spokes start out with only one point.
The winner is the first Spoke to three points.
The winner is the first Spoke to three points.
Otherwise, play is the same as previous rounds.
The winner of this round wins the game!
PARTY FOULS
Playing Loose With Your Criteria
Judges should try to follow their Criteria objectively. There may be gray areas, and it’s an honor system, but basically don’t be a jerk. Judges cannot change Criteria mid-round.
Judges should try to follow their Criteria objectively. There may be gray areas, and it’s an honor system, but basically don’t be a jerk. Judges cannot change Criteria mid-round.
Alliances (spoken or otherwise)
It is against the rules for two (or more) players to form an alliance of any sort.
It is against the rules for two (or more) players to form an alliance of any sort.
VARIANT RULES
Criteria Schmiteria
If you don’t want to be restricted to judging by a single standard, get rid of the Criteria cards entirely, and just follow your heart. Or you could make up your own set of Criteria.
If you don’t want to be restricted to judging by a single standard, get rid of the Criteria cards entirely, and just follow your heart. Or you could make up your own set of Criteria.
Follow-Up Limit
If you’re short on time or just want a swifter game, limit the number of Follow-Ups allowed per turn.
If you’re short on time or just want a swifter game, limit the number of Follow-Ups allowed per turn.
Mercy
If an Answering Spoke knows that s/he’s failing badly, s/he can avoid facing the votes by calling “Mercy!” and automatically taking a SAD Verdict.
If an Answering Spoke knows that s/he’s failing badly, s/he can avoid facing the votes by calling “Mercy!” and automatically taking a SAD Verdict.
Cut-Throat Verdict
This is for players who want to increase the difficulty and have an even number of Judges. Instead of half-or-better being a GREAT Verdict, the Spoke must earn more than half. So a tied vote (like two thumbs-up and two thumbs-down) is SAD.
This is for players who want to increase the difficulty and have an even number of Judges. Instead of half-or-better being a GREAT Verdict, the Spoke must earn more than half. So a tied vote (like two thumbs-up and two thumbs-down) is SAD.
Chatty Judges
For casual players who want to encourage banter, allow the Judges to respond to the Spoke after s/he Answers. This could be a question for clarification, or making fun of the Answer, or anything else. To keep things from turning sour, you may want to limit exactly how much a Judge can talk back to the Spoke. We suggest that each Judge only be allowed to talk back once per Answer.
For casual players who want to encourage banter, allow the Judges to respond to the Spoke after s/he Answers. This could be a question for clarification, or making fun of the Answer, or anything else. To keep things from turning sour, you may want to limit exactly how much a Judge can talk back to the Spoke. We suggest that each Judge only be allowed to talk back once per Answer.
GAME VARIATION: ALCOHOLIC SPICEY (21+)
The rules are exactly the same as the regular game, with the following additions:
Draw a copy of the Approval Rating (AR) track below, and get out a penny or some other kind of marker. At the beginning of every round, set the AR to 40%.
For every SAD Verdict, the AR drops by 20%, and the Spoke who Answered takes a drink.
For every GREAT Verdict, the AR increases by 20%, and all other Spokes take a drink.
Whenever the AR hits 0%, all of the Judges finish their drinks – they clearly need to loosen up! The AR resets to 60%.
Whenever the AR hits 100%, all of the Spokes finish their drinks – y’all need more fog in your brain. The AR resets to 40%.
Q & A
What if I just want to be a Judge the whole time?
Feeling shy? Well, that’s OK – just be impartial for both groups of Spokes. (This works well for an odd number of players.)
Feeling shy? Well, that’s OK – just be impartial for both groups of Spokes. (This works well for an odd number of players.)
What if a few of us just want to be Judges, and the others want to be only Spokes?
Then you’d just play a single round.
Then you’d just play a single round.
So wait...how can a Spoke drop out of the round?
- If the Spoke’s points drop to zero. If no-one volunteers to Answer an Incident within 10 seconds, all of the Spokes lose a point. So if a Spoke doesn’t earn any points, and s/he and the other Spokes let the time run out twice (or just once for the final), that Spoke would lose two points s/he started with, and must drop out of the round.
- If the Spoke runs out of Response cards. When a Spoke gets a SAD Verdict, s/he doesn’t draw a new Response card. So s/he can run out if s/he gets a SAD Verdict five times before the round ends. This is pretty rare.
What happens if a Spoke drops out and there’s only one other Spoke left?
That remaining Spoke wins the round.
That remaining Spoke wins the round.
What if by some freak accident, two Spokes drop out at once and there’s no Spoke left at all?
If this was Round One or Two, the other round’s winner wins the game. If this was Round Three, there is no winner.
If this was Round One or Two, the other round’s winner wins the game. If this was Round Three, there is no winner.
Can I Answer an Incident more than once? Like, once as the first Spoke, and once as a Follow-Up?
Nope.
Nope.
How many Spokes can Follow-Up to an Incident?
As long as you haven’t set a Follow-Up limit (see VARIANT RULES), this can be as many Follow-Ups as there are Spokes who haven’t Answered that Incident yet. And remember, every next Follow-Up must be unique compared to all of the previous Answers for that turn’s Incident.
As long as you haven’t set a Follow-Up limit (see VARIANT RULES), this can be as many Follow-Ups as there are Spokes who haven’t Answered that Incident yet. And remember, every next Follow-Up must be unique compared to all of the previous Answers for that turn’s Incident.
So a Spoke giving the third Follow-Up for an Incident must give an Answer that is unique compared to the previous two Follow- Ups, plus the initial Spoke’s Answer?
Yes.
Yes.
Even if those previous Answers were all SAD Verdicts?
Yes.
Yes.
What is the gain/penalty for a GREAT/SAD Verdict for someone giving a second Follow-Up for an Incident?
Same as any other Follow-Up: GREAT – Gain one point.
SAD – Don’t draw a Response card, and cannot Answer the next Incident at all.
Same as any other Follow-Up: GREAT – Gain one point.
SAD – Don’t draw a Response card, and cannot Answer the next Incident at all.
Why aren't the Judges called Journalists?
The "journalist" title certainly works for whoever's reading the Incident, and whoever has Criteria #1. But would a journalist really care about you making the President sound good/smart? The person who has Criteria #2 or #3 is probably closer to being POTUS himself, than a member of the press. And the person who has Criteria #4 or #5 is more like a member of the general public. So while "journalist" works sometimes, it's not a catch-all. So we left it as Judge.
The "journalist" title certainly works for whoever's reading the Incident, and whoever has Criteria #1. But would a journalist really care about you making the President sound good/smart? The person who has Criteria #2 or #3 is probably closer to being POTUS himself, than a member of the press. And the person who has Criteria #4 or #5 is more like a member of the general public. So while "journalist" works sometimes, it's not a catch-all. So we left it as Judge.
You know that the singular-version of Criteria is Criterion, right? Not Criteria?
Shut up.
Shut up.
If you and your friends come up with better rules,
please share it with me and the rest of the world.
please share it with me and the rest of the world.
CREDITS
SPICEY: The Game
First Edition: November 2017
Created by: Mark Brillig
Playtested by: Adrienne & Peter, Anonymous, Beck & Matt Adams-Korn, Michelle & Doc Hartman, Harry Mikkleson, Kaleb A. Remski, Glen Schunk, Emily Toth & Brenden Van Slyke.
Inspired by: You Know Who (no...not Voldemort)
Font: Ubuntu Font Family by Canonical Ltd.
First Edition: November 2017
Created by: Mark Brillig
Playtested by: Adrienne & Peter, Anonymous, Beck & Matt Adams-Korn, Michelle & Doc Hartman, Harry Mikkleson, Kaleb A. Remski, Glen Schunk, Emily Toth & Brenden Van Slyke.
Inspired by: You Know Who (no...not Voldemort)
Font: Ubuntu Font Family by Canonical Ltd.