Friends
Friends Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Have you got all the bits out of the box? Keep the box, so you can either store the game in it afterwards, or have somewhere to put your collection of unpaid bills.
Attach the L-shaped leg to the back of the scoreboard and put the pegs in at the 0 mark.
Starting the Game
Because this is a game where the girls play against the boys, you must split into two teams. Those who are not quite sure where they belong may choose for themselves, as long as they can agree with the others. Each team must choose a name (this may help the motivation when you have to get into the spirit of the game).
It is also important that you agree on the stakes, or the consequences, you are playing for: You must know what you will stake if you are unlucky enough to lose, and the boys should bear in mind that it is not exactly fun to have to iron the girls' clothes for a whole week!!
Write your stakes down with the special pencil we have enclosed, so that you feel you have really got something for your money. There is a special place for writing the stake on the scoreboard.
The Cards
This sounds complicated - but it is not.
There are two sets of cards: the Universal cards (which everyone can use) and the 18+ cards (for adults only). We advise parents to remove the 18+ cards from the game if it is to be used by children.
Each set of cards is divided into four categories: Fear and Trembling (Angst og Bæven), Ancient Knowledge (Oldtidskundskab), Literature and Everything Is Relative (Alt er Relativt). Each category is further divided into Girls and Boys. (The pictures on the back can help you see what is what.)
(There are also Lightning cards and Yes/No cards, but we will come back to those.)
If you sort the cards by category and gender, you have eight piles of cards.
Shuffle each pile and put four cards up on the board in the right places. That is, for Literature you put the four girls' Literature cards up on the board's four spaces under the heading Literature in the girls' section (the pink one). The picture of Rachel, Phoebe and Monica must face outwards. In the same way, four boys' Literature cards are placed on the four spaces under Literature in the boys' section (the blue one). Do the same with all eight piles of cards, and then put the remaining cards back in the box.
Each team now gets one YES and one NO card. Then there are only the boys' and girls' Lightning cards left. You shuffle these and save them for the end of the game.
Then each team has a turn, which means that every player on each team gets a turn ... you can work that out! For example: Let us say that the girls begin. The boys are gentlemen, after all! The first girl may freely choose a question FROM THE GIRLS' SECTION and read it aloud to the boys.
If it is a SOLO question, for example "Have I ever forged my parents' signature?", only the girl who reads the question must choose a YES or a NO card and place it face down - while ALL the boys must do the same and thereby show what they think. When this is done, the girl turns her card over and shows her answer. Then the boys do the same. They then get one point for each boy whose answer matches the girl's.
If it is a GROUP question, for example "Has any of us been a scout?", ALL the girls on the team must place a YES or a NO card face down with their answer, while only one of the boys guesses which answer each of the girls has given. (The team may discuss among themselves - after all, it is a team game.) One point is given for each answer that is correct.
Some cards have a BONUS point. If nothing else is stated on the card, the player who reads the question may choose a player from the opposing team, who answered the original question correctly, to try to answer the BONUS question.
When a card has been used, it is put back on the board with the question side outwards, and the points scored are marked on the scoreboard. Points are indicated in tens and ones, so "23" is marked with a peg at "20" and one at "3" (just like in billiards?!)
When the girls' turn is over, it is the boys' turn to choose a card from any category ... and so on, until ALL the cards have been used.
The Lightning Round
When all the questions on the board have been answered, the time has come for the famous and feared LIGHTNING ROUND. Each team, with the leading team first, has one minute (use the hourglass) to answer as many questions from their gender's pile of Lightning cards as they can.
The questions for the boys are on the boys' cards (the ones with Ross, Chandler and Joey on the back), so it is the girls who must read them aloud, and vice versa.
The questions are read out, and 2 points are given for each correct answer. YOU MAY NOT SAY 'PASS'. You have to come up with some answer before you can move on. If the answer is wrong, you may move on or try to find the right answer.
Some of the answers are given on the card, but most of the boys' questions are made so that the girls will certainly know the answers, and vice versa. If a discussion arises, stop the hourglass. If the doubtful question cannot be resolved, you must read a new question, and the hourglass is started again at the same time.
Who Wins?
When the Lightning Round is over, the winner is - for the time being - the team with the highest number of points. If it is a tie, each team answers one more Lightning card in turn, until a winner is found (as in Golden Goal). The losing team must now pay, if that is possible, or promise to pay the stake that was agreed at the start of the game ...
...but:
The losing team may challenge the winners: A final All-or-Nothing round with the Lightning cards.
The new stake must be extremely tempting. Why would the winners otherwise risk the prize they are already entitled to? That, of course, is how the girls lost their apartment to the boys in the episode of Friends where Ross' game - which forms the basis for this game - was first played.
If the winners agree to this, a final one-minute round can now be played. It will either turn the losers into winners or make sure the winners keep on being winners!! So the teams must be careful about what they stake!
The Challenge
One last thing...
Any group of friends who play this game will begin to quarrel if anyone tells little lies. Remember that your friends know you, so it is not worth the trouble to lie. If this rule is not observed, the following rule may be brought into use:
Before the game, you must agree on a 'Challenge stake' (something annoying that everyone else will enjoy - for example serving drinks or snacks, or going to the kiosk for sweets for the others ...). Any answer may be disputed and put to a vote. The player and the challenger each get one minute (use the hourglass) to argue their point of view. If the majority supports the challenger, the challenged player must fulfil the stake - and vice versa. All participants, except the challenger and the challenged player, may vote.
If the challenger is successful, the YES/NO card must be replaced and the scoreboard kept up to date.