Guess the Mess! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Game Summary
• Set Up
• How to Play
  • Places Everyone!
  • Now Dig!
  • Guess!
  • Score!
  • Start a New Round
• Winning the Game
• In Case of a Tie

Contents

• 144 Place Cards
• 400 Mess cards
• 8 Which Way cards
• One 30 second timer
• 8 Numbered Spot Cards
• 64 Numbered Player cards (1 through 8 in each of 8 colors)
• 16 Blank Place Cards (write your own!)
• Score pad

Game Summary

During each round, the players receive a card with a secret 'place'. Then for 30 seconds, players dig through a big pile of face-down Mess cards (items) trying to assemble a combination of things that could be found in their particular place. Each player is then assigned another player's mess and must guess which of 8 places the mess is located in based on the items depicted. Players receive 3 points if their first guess is correct, or 2 if their second guess is correct, or only 1 if their third guess is correct. The player who made the mess gets the same number of points as the guesser who guessed their mess. The player with the most points after 6 rounds wins the game!

Set Up

1. Look at the Which Way cards and select only the ones for the number of people playing the game. (For example, in 4 players, select the three cards that say 3+ Players and 4+ Players.) Place any extras in the box. Shuffle the remainder and set the stack aside.
2. Choose a player to be the MESSenger throughout the game. The MESSenger is in charge of the place cards. The MESSenger's job is to collect, shuffle, display, and read aloud the Place cards at the appropriate time. Hand the box of Place cards to the MESSenger.
3. Each player receives a set of cards of one color numbered 1 through 8.
4. Take the 8 SPOT cards and arrange them number side up in one or two rows off to one side so all players can see them.
5. Take the Mess cards and spread them out as much as possible in the middle of the playing area face down. Be sure that all Mess cards are in reach of all players. Mix up the cards before each round. (These cards never need to be stacked. They are always kept in a mess, even when they're put away.)

How to Play

Places Everyone!

1. The MESSenger deals one place card face-down to each player, including herself. Each player secretly looks at their place card and memorizes the location indicated. Players each then hand their Place cards to the MESSenger face down. The MESSenger should not look at the Place cards.
2. Once the MESSenger has collected all of the Place cards, she adds Place card(s) from the front of the Place card box so that there is a total of 8 place cards face down. For example, if there are 5 players playing, the MESSenger will add 3 additional place cards from the box for a total of 8 (no need to add cards when there are 8 players). The MESSenger then shuffles the 8 place cards and places each one face down besides a SPOT card to indicate there are 8 different Locations in play.

Now Dig!

3. Any player turns over the timer and says "Dig!".
4. At the same time, all players begin digging through the face-down Mess pile to find items that could possibly be a mess in their place. Here are the rules for selecting cards:
   • a. Select ONE card from anywhere in the pile and look at it.
   • b. Turn over only one card at a time. You may use one hand only and may only look at one card at a time.
   • c. If you want the card, place it face down in front of you. If you don't want the card, turn it back over somewhere in the pile and select another card. Once you find a card, keep digging to find more.
   • d. Once you lay a card down in front of you, you cannot put it back in the pile!
   • e. Players may collect as many cards as they like, but must have at least one when the time is up.
   • f. When time is up, any player says: "Time's Up" and all players must stop looking through the Mess cards. In the unlikely event that a player does not have at least one card when time is up, that player must randomly draw a card from the pile and keep it.

Guess!

5. When each player has their mess cards face-down in front of them, any player turns over the top Which Way card and sets it face up in a discard pile next to the deck. This card indicates a person to the right or left of you. (i.e. 2 Left means the second person on your left.) Players gather up their mess cards and hand them to the player designated by the card.
6. When receiving mess cards, each player lays them face up in front of them. This is the Mess to Guess. Each player should only have one Mess to Guess. There is no need to hide these mess cards from opponents.
7. One by one, the MESSenger now flips over the Place cards and reads each card aloud. These are the 8 place choices.
8. Each player looks at the mess that was handed to them and looks at the 8 possible places. Each player has three guesses to guess where the mess belongs (from the 8 places). Players select their numbered cards to indicate their guesses and place the three cards in a stack before them face down. The top card will be their first guess, the middle card is their second guess and the bottom card is their third guess. Players must place three guesses, even if they're sure their first is correct.
9. When all players have set a stack of three cards in front of them, players take turns revealing all of their guesses. Do this in a clockwise fashion and start with a different player each time. When guesses are revealed, the person who made the mess being guessed answers whether the guess is correct or not. As soon as a player reveals a correct guess, they and the person who made the Mess score points.

Score!

10. If their first guess is correct, the Guesser receives 3 points in their Guess column on the score sheet; if their second guess is correct, the Guesser receives 2 points; if their third guess is correct, the Guesser receives 1 point. If none of the three guesses is correct, the Guesser receives zero points.
11. The person who created the mess receives the same number of points as the Guesser who guessed the mess. Mark the score in their Mess column for that round. At the end of each round, all players should have scores for both their mess and guess.)

Start a New Round

12. When all the points have been recorded, all players mix the mess cards thoroughly back into the mess pile. One suggestion is to take cards from the bottom of the pile and place them on the top, always face down. The MESSenger puts the used place cards in the back of the box.

Winning the Game

The game ends after the sixth round. Add up everyone's Guess and Mess scores for all six rounds. The player with the highest score wins.

In Case of a Tie

Play a tiebreaker round between all tied players. If there is still a tie, then all tied players win!