Consensus Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup
• Playing the Game
• Winning the Game
• Scoring Details

Setup

1. Each player chooses a pawn along with the ten matching "Voting Cards" and places his/her pawn on the game board in the starting area. In this illustration, the player choosing the red pawn takes the red "Voting Cards."
2. The "Movie Question" deck is placed face down in the area marked "Movie Questions."
3. Players should choose seats around the game board.
4. One player is designated as the dealer (typically, the player sitting in the front center). The dealer places a "Movie Card" face up on the game board in each of the ten spaces marked "Movie." Each movie card has a corresponding number below it: for example, below "Pretty Woman" there is a number 1, below "Fatal Attraction" there is a number 2, and so on, through "Casablanca" as number 10.

Playing the Game

Step 1 — Read the question. A "Movie Question" is read out loud by one of the players. Players take turns reading the "Movie Questions" in each successive round.

Example question: "Which one of the following movies would a guy be most likely to watch prior to a big date?"

Step 2 — Vote. Using the ten "Voting Cards," each player decides which one of the ten "Movie Cards" he/she feels best answers the "Movie Question." Each player places the Voting Card with the number of the chosen movie face down in front of him/her.

Example: if you feel that "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" best answers the question, you place the "Voting Card" with the number "8" face down in front of you.

Step 3 — Reveal and advance. Once each player has cast a private vote, the "Voting Cards" are turned over and the majority is determined. To create suspense, the "Voting Cards" should be turned over one at a time, allowing each player an opportunity to explain or defend his/her choice. All players who voted for the majority movie advance their game pawns one space.

Example: the majority of players voted for "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" (#8), so all players who voted for "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" advance their game pawns one space. In this illustration, the red, blue and purple pawns advance one space.

Detailed scoring instructions can be found under "Scoring Details" below.

Step 4 — End of round. Any "Movie Card" that did not receive a vote remains face up on the board for the next round. Any "Movie Card" that did receive a vote is removed from the board and replaced with a new "Movie Card." A new "Movie Question" is read to begin the next round.

Winning the Game

Play continues (Steps 2 through 4) until a player reaches the end of the board and is crowned "The Greatest Mind!" If multiple players reach the finish line simultaneously, they are collectively crowned "The Greatest Minds!"

Scoring Details

Imagine this is your game, and you're playing with six players. The ten Movie Cards are numbered 1 through 10 as listed under Setup (1 Pretty Woman, 2 Fatal Attraction, 3 When Harry Met Sally, 4 Boogie Nights, 5 Rocky, 6 Meet the Fockers, 7 Dirty Dancing, 8 The 40-Year-Old Virgin, 9 The Godfather, 10 Casablanca). Each scenario below shows the number each of Players 1–6 voted for, and which players advance.

• Scenario 1 — Nobody advances. (No majority)

  • Player 1: 1; Player 2: 3; Player 3: 4; Player 4: 5; Player 5: 7; Player 6: 8.

• Scenario 2 — Nobody advances. (Consensus, but no majority)

  • Player 1: 7; Player 2: 7; Player 3: 7; Player 4: 7; Player 5: 7; Player 6: 7.
  • Note: as printed, this diagram is labelled "Consensus, but no majority," although all six players show the same number. The label is transcribed as printed.

• Scenario 3 — Nobody advances. (Split decision — no majority)

  • Player 1: 5; Player 2: 5; Player 3: 5; Player 4: 7; Player 5: 7; Player 6: 7.

• Scenario 4 — Nobody advances. (Split decision — no majority)

  • Player 1: 5; Player 2: 5; Player 3: 7; Player 4: 7; Player 5: 8; Player 6: 8.

• Scenario 5 — Players 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 advance. (Clear majority)

  • Player 1: 5; Player 2: 7; Player 3: 7; Player 4: 7; Player 5: 7; Player 6: 7.

• Scenario 6 — Players 3, 4, 5, 6 advance. (Clear majority)