Big Brother: The Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Rules
• Game Components
• Big Brother
• Setup
• Sequence of Play
• Choosing
• Game Terms
  • Big Brother for 4 Players
  • Camera Space (Red)
  • Camera Cards
  • Confrontation Cards
  • Confrontation Space (Yellow)
  • Final Vote
• Rooms
  • Toilet/Shower
  • Garden
  • Storeroom
  • Diary Room
  • Living Room
• Nominations
• Gossip Table
  • Gossip Space (Blue)
  • Vote Cards
• Kitchen and Bedrooms
  • Kitchen
  • Men's Bedroom
  • Women's Bedroom
• Voting Out
• Evicted Players

Rules

The game is a light-hearted confrontation. Take the questions with a healthy pinch of salt. It is, after all, only a game.

Game Components

• 1 game board
• 6 neck tags, numbered 1 to 6
• 6 cords
• 6 pawns, numbered 1 to 6
• 120 numbered vote cards, 20 for each player
• 162 confrontation cards
• 6 camera cards
• 2 dice
• 1 ballot box
• 1 gossip table
• 1 rulebook

Before you start, carefully punch all the cardboard parts out of their frames. Attach a cord to each of the 6 neck tags so that it can be worn around the neck.

Big Brother

As in the Big Brother house, the players of "Big Brother - The Game" try to outdo each other by being the last one left. Before you start, agree on what you are playing for. For example: a meal out, a trip to the cinema, a concert, where the winner does not have to pay, or simply honour. The section "Sequence of Play" lets you start playing right away. Terms in bold are explained under "Game Terms", where you can look them up when they come up.

Setup

Place the game board on the table. You see the floor plan of the Big Brother house. Place the ballot box in the middle of the board and put the gossip table next to the board. Shuffle the deck of yellow confrontation cards and place it face down as a pile next to the board. Also place the red camera cards face down next to the board.

Each player chooses a number, and takes the matching pawn, neck tag and the 20 vote cards that show the picture of their neck tag on the back. Hang your neck tag around your neck so that everyone can see which number you are. Each player places their pawn on the living room space. This is where the game starts and ends.

Sequence of Play

Big Brother is played in a number of rounds. With 6 players there are 4 rounds, with 5 players 3 rounds, and with 4 players 2 rounds. Each round consists of one turn per player (unless you are playing with 4 players; see "Big Brother for 4 Players").

• The youngest player starts. The other players follow in clockwise order.
• The player whose turn it is rolls both dice and moves their pawn the number of spaces shown on the dice. Movement is clockwise. (The source text carries a stray character, "C", before this sentence; it has been dropped.)

There are 4 kinds of space you can land on: confrontation spaces (yellow), gossip spaces (blue), camera spaces (red), and 8 different room spaces (recognisable by the open door).

• You remain on your turn until you land on a confrontation space and have resolved the matching confrontation card.
• On any other space, first carry out the instructions for that space. After that, roll the dice again.

What you do on each of the different spaces is explained under "Game Terms". A round ends when every player has had a turn.

• At the end of each round, 2 or more players are nominated.
• One of the nominated players is then voted out.
• Evicted players keep voting, and so help decide who will win the game.
• Play continues until only 2 players remain in the game.
• These 2 players then decide together which of the evicted players may return to the game.
• The final vote decides which of these 3 players is the ultimate winner.

Note: For nominations and the final vote it is important to collect as many votes as possible. When it comes to being voted out, it is of course better to receive as few votes as possible.

Choosing

Sometimes you will face a dilemma, for example when you have to choose who is the biggest egoist, chatterbox or optimist. You still have to choose. There is always someone to whom a question applies slightly more than to anyone else.

Game Terms

Big Brother for 4 Players

If you start with only 4 players, each round lasts twice as long. So the votes are only counted, and one of the nominated players is voted out, once every player has had 2 turns. Otherwise the rules are the same as for 5 or 6 players.

Camera Space (Red)

When you land on a red camera space, take a camera card from the pile and look at what is written next to your number. Do not tell the others what it says; place the card face down in front of you on the table. Continue with your turn.

• As soon as you see during the game that one of the other players does what is written on your card, announce this. Show your camera card to the others as proof.
• The player you caught must put a vote card with your number into the ballot box.

Note: You can only earn these votes during the rounds. As soon as the ballot box is opened at the end of a round to look at the nominations, and during the voting out or the final vote, you cannot use the card. Once the next round begins, you can catch people again.

Camera Cards

Each camera card lists 6 behaviours. If you have one (or more) camera cards, try to catch the other players doing the behaviour listed next to your number.

Confrontation Cards

The confrontation cards are printed on both sides. During play, use the side of the card that is face down. The cards describe (more or less) recognisable situations. Each situation comes with 2 questions, a positive (+) and a negative (-).

• The + questions are asked when a player lands on a confrontation space, or during the final vote.
• The - questions are asked only when voting someone out.

After each question there is a vote. For a + question it is good to receive many votes; for a - question, receiving many votes is bad. Confrontation cards are set aside after use.

Confrontation Space (Yellow)

As soon as you land on a confrontation space, take a confrontation card from the pile. Read the card aloud. Read out only the situation description and the + question. After the card has been read out, each player decides for themselves whom the question applies to most. You vote for a player by putting a vote card with their number into the ballot box. All players do this in such a way that nobody sees whom anyone is voting for.

Note: You can only vote for players who have not yet been voted out.

Final Vote

As soon as only 2 players remain, the time for the final vote has come. First, the 2 remaining players withdraw to decide which of the evicted players may return. They must agree; how they do this is up to them.

• There are therefore always 3 candidates for victory. The candidates place their pawns in the living room on the board, so that everyone can see them clearly.
• Three confrontation cards are read out. After the situation description, the + question is asked.
• All players, including the 3 candidates, vote after each question.
• After the 3 confrontations the votes are counted. In case of a tie, one more confrontation card is read out. The player with the most votes wins "Big Brother - The Game", and with it the stake.

Note: Votes can only be cast for the 3 candidates.

Rooms

When you land on a room space, carry out the following instructions and then continue your turn.

Toilet/Shower

It is not polite to talk about someone who is on the toilet. So during the rest of your turn, nobody may vote for you.

Garden

At last, someone who does something in the garden! You are rewarded for this: every player still in the game rolls a die. Whoever rolls the lowest must put a vote card with your number into the ballot box.

Storeroom

You are in the storeroom to fetch a bar of soap for someone. Cast a vote for the player you think needs it most. Let everyone know whom you choose.

Diary Room

In the diary room you unburden yourself about the player you like least. The player you choose must put a vote card with your number into the ballot box.

Living Room

In the living room we play a game. The other players each roll a die. You must put a vote card into the ballot box for the player who rolls the highest.

Nominations

At the end of each round the ballot box is emptied and the votes are counted. The 2 players with the fewest votes are the nominees. If more players have the fewest votes, all of those players are nominated. Before the voting out, everyone takes back their own vote cards (recognisable by the number on the back).

Gossip Table

Both sides of the gossip table show 36 different positive and negative character descriptions. You may always choose for yourself which side of the table you use.

Gossip Space (Blue)

Whoever lands on a blue space chooses another player who has not yet been voted out to gossip with. You may gossip about all other players, whether or not they have been voted out.

• Both players each roll 1 die. On the gossip table you can see which gossip word belongs to this combination of dice.
• As soon as the dice have been rolled, the other players count down together from 10 to 0.
• Meanwhile, the two gossipers (without consulting each other!) each take from their own supply one vote card with the number of the player whom they think is best described by that gossip word, and keep the card hidden in their hand.
• At 0 the gossipers must show their vote card to the others.
• If they have both chosen the same player, each of them puts a vote card with the other's number into the ballot box.
• If they vote for different players, nothing happens. Afterwards you continue your turn.

Note: This means you may also gossip about players who have already been voted out.

Vote Cards

Each player has 20 vote cards. The back of each vote card shows the number of its owner. The front shows the numbers of the other players whom you can vote for. You never have a card with your own number on the front, so you can never vote for yourself. When voting, you must choose from the vote cards you still have in your possession (OP=OP).

Kitchen and Bedrooms

Kitchen

Who would like a drink or a snack? Arrange it: after all, you are in the kitchen!

Men's Bedroom

When you land on the men's bedroom, openly put a vote card of your favourite gentleman into the ballot box.

Women's Bedroom

When you land on the women's bedroom, openly put a vote card of your favourite lady into the ballot box.

Note: If you no longer have vote cards for the person you must or want to vote for, you may choose another card that you still have. You may never vote for players who have already been voted out.

Voting Out

To decide which of the nominated players must leave the game, 3 confrontation cards are now read out.

• After the situation description, the - question is read out.
• After each question, all players vote, including the nominees.
• After the 3 confrontations the votes are counted.
• In case of a tie, an extra confrontation card is resolved.
• The player with the most votes must leave the game. The pawn of the voted-out player is removed from the board.
• Everyone gets their own vote cards back.

Note: Votes can only be cast for the nominees.

Evicted Players

Players who are voted out during the game no longer have a pawn on the board. Votes can no longer be cast for these players, but they continue to vote as normal. They represent the votes from the country, just as on TV. One of them also still has a chance of winning the game.