The Blame Game

The Blame Game

Print & Play: Free Sample

Print these on letter paper, cut along the card borders, and you have a real deck. Card stock holds up better than copy paper, but either works.

This is the printable version. You can also play The Blame Game online.

In the print dialog: Letter paper, portrait, scale 100% (not "Fit to page"), margins None, and "Background graphics" on. Scaling is the one that matters. At anything other than 100% the cards come out smaller than 2.5″ × 3.5″ and won't match standard sleeves.

The Blame Game: Sample Pack

A card game about deciding whose fault it was. 3 to 8 players.

What's in this set

4 problem cards and 14 blame cards, enough for a full game with 4 players. The full deck has .

Every card made so far: . More get added as the art gets finished.

Setup

  1. Separate the cards into a problem pile and a blame pile. Problem cards have a red border, blame cards a blue one.
  2. Shuffle both piles and put them face down.
  3. Each player draws 3 blame cards. Keep them hidden.
  4. Pick a judge for the first round. The judge doesn't play cards.

Playing a round

  1. The judge draws a problem card and reads it out loud.
  2. Everyone else (the lawyers) takes a turn clockwise. On your turn, play one blame card and argue why it caused the problem.
  3. Draw a new blame card to replace the one you played.
  4. The problem card stays the same for everyone that round.

Voting and scoring

Once every lawyer has played, the judge picks their favorite argument. That lawyer takes a point. Pass the judge role clockwise and start the next round.

The game ends when someone reaches 5 points and everyone has been judge the same number of times. Most points wins.

Running low on cards: this sample is small on purpose. Shuffle played blame cards back into the pile whenever it runs out, and reuse problem cards once you've been through all four.

Other ways to play

  • Reverse: the judge reads a blame card, and lawyers play problems that it caused.
  • Blame chain: no judge. The first player links a blame to a problem, and each player after that blames a new card for the previous player's blame card. Vote on the best link when you're done.
  • Teams: if over 8 players, split into teams and answer together.
  • House rules: change whatever you want, like more cards per turn or a different winning score. Just agree before you start.

Want the rest? The full printable deck goes out to the mailing list at kylebob.com. That's every card made so far, not just these eighteen.

The Blame Game by Kyle Bob. Play it online at kylebob.com/blame.

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