Colourbrain
Colourbrain Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 150 double-sided question cards (including deck cover cards)
- 44 colour cards (4 sets of 11 cards each)
- 4 Colour-Copier cards (1 card per set)
- 1 scoring pad
- 1 box for the question cards
- 1 rainbow pen
The 11 colours in each set are: Blue, Green, Red, Orange, Yellow, Brown, Pink, Black, White, Violet/Purple, and Grey.
Goal of the Game
The first team to reach 15 points wins the colourful quiz. (For simplicity, this rulebook refers only to "teams" from now on, but this also includes solo players.) If only 2 teams are playing, the team that reaches 10 points first wins.
Setup
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Split up into two to four teams — a team can also consist of just one person. If, for example, there are four players, you can decide for yourselves whether to form two teams of two, or to play Colourbrain as solo competitors. The more teams that play, the greater the fun will be. Teams do not need to have the same number of people.
Tip: If you form teams, try to cover as many different subject areas and age ranges as possible within each team.
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Each colour card set is marked with a number (1-4) on the back of the cards. Each team chooses one set of colour cards. This set consists of the 11 colour cards Blue, Green, Red, Orange, Yellow, Brown, Pink, Black, White, Violet, and Grey, plus one Colour-Copier card.
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After you unpack the first deck of question cards, slide it back into the question box.
Important: Do not shuffle the question cards! The first card is called "Deck 1 – Start Card." Follow the instructions on this card, and the colourful quiz fun can begin.
How Questions Work
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Note: In Colourbrain you are always asked about colours or colour combinations. For simplicity and readability, question words (which, what, how, etc.) have been left off the cards. Keep in mind when deciding on your answer that not every question asks for the explicit colour of an object or a person — colours can also be hidden inside names.
Example: Question: "German manufacturer of electrical appliances" — Answer: "Brown" (Braun).
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Note: Sometimes you will need to work out answers from other languages (usually English). To help with this, the colour cards are also labelled with the English name of the colour.
Example: Question: "Main character of the Peanuts, Charlie …" — Answer: "Brown" = Braun — so the correct answer requires playing a brown card.
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Note: Many things are not a single, solid colour. That's why it's important to pay attention to the number on the question card, which tells you how many colours are being asked for. If the number shown is 1, for example, you should assume you need to answer with the main / predominant colour of the thing in question.
Example: Question: "Ripe banana – 1" — Answer: "Yellow." Question: "Very ripe banana – 2" — Answer: "Yellow, Brown."
How to Play
1. Ask a Question
Any player reads the question on the frontmost question card out loud. The box for the question cards is designed so that you cannot see the answer. Make sure you always also read out the number — this tells you how many colour cards are being asked for.
2. Show Your Colour
Now use your 11 colour cards and decide which colour(s) answer the question that was asked. Place face-down in front of you as many cards as the number on the question card indicates. There is no time limit for answering questions.
3. Check
Once all teams have placed their colour cards face-down, turn them face-up. If no team has played a Colour-Copier card (see "Colour-Copier Card" below), the moment of revelation has now arrived: take the current question card out of the box so the solution comes into view. Now compare every team's answers with the solution. After each round of questions, put the question just played back into the box at the very back. This ensures that no question repeats before you have played through all the questions once.
4. Scoring
To answer a question correctly, you must lay down the correct number of cards and the correct colours as your answer.
- If a team gave the correct answer, it receives 1 point for every other team that answered incorrectly.
- If a team's answer does not contain the correct number of colours, or contains wrong colours, it scores 0 points.
- If every team gave the correct answer, no team receives points — but for this card, at the next question 1 extra point can be won instead (see "Pot Points" below).
Example: If two teams both answer with all the correct colours, while a third team gets some colours wrong and a fourth team gets none right, each of the two correct teams scores 2 points — 1 point for each of the two teams that answered incorrectly — while the two incorrect teams score 0 points.
Colour-Copier Card
Each team may play its Colour-Copier card once per game. Here is how it works: if you don't know an answer, or aren't sure of it, place the Colour-Copier card face-down in place of a colour card. After all teams have revealed their colour cards, you can now see how the other teams answered. You must then replace your Colour-Copier card with a new colour from your own hand of cards.
Example: Since 2 teams answered with Red and White, a team decides to replace its Colour-Copier card with its white card.
Important! You may not lay down a colour card in place of the Colour-Copier that was not played by one of the other teams — you must copy a colour that another team actually played.
Once the Colour-Copier card has been played, it goes back into the game box afterward.
If every team plays its Colour-Copier card on the same question, no team receives a point. In that case, you may take your Colour-Copier card back into your hand instead.
Pot Points
If every team answers a question correctly, the card goes into the pot instead of any points being awarded. To do this, place the question card face-up in the middle of the table. Starting with the next question card, it can be won as bonus points.
Every team that answers the next question correctly receives one additional point. If every team again answers that question correctly, this question card is also placed into the pot. Now as many as 2 bonus points can already be won. This continues for as long as every team keeps answering correctly.
If at least one team answers a question incorrectly, all current pot points are forfeited and the pot becomes empty again. Once the pot has been resolved, the cards from the middle of the table are pushed back into the box at the very back.
End of the Game
The game ends as soon as one team reaches 15 points (10 points with 2 teams). Should several teams achieve this at the same time, all of these teams may call themselves "Colour-Brains."
Variant
Every time a team is the only one to answer a question incorrectly, it may take its own Colour-Copier card back into its hand and play it again, provided it has already been played. This variant is only suitable for quiz rounds with at least 3 teams. It is also well suited for a generational duel, where children quiz against adults.