Mobscenity
Mobscenity Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What You Need to Play
- Obscenity Cards
- Pieces of blank paper
- Pencils/pens – 1 for each player or team
- Some kind of timer
- A hat or bowl
Game Play
The oldest player starts the game as the Master. The Master takes six cards from the top of the deck and then places his/her favorite two cards from the hand face up on the table. The Master then states what the Mobscenity Phrase will be by combining the two terms. For example, if the Master plays the cards "Wax" and "Dolphin," the Master can state the Mobscenity Phrase is "Waxing the Dolphin" (See "How Players Can Use Mobscenity Cards").
The other players have 3 minutes to write a both 1) a definition of the Mobscenity Phrase and 2) a sentence that includes the Mobscenity Phrase (the Master can decide to boot people from the round if they do not finish on time). definition of the Mobscenity Phrase AND a sentence that includes the Mobscenity Phrase (the Master can decide to boot people from the round if they do not finish on time).
(Editor's note: the two sentences above end and restart mid-line in the printed source. The second fragment is a leftover duplicate of the instruction and is reproduced as printed.)
When the 3 minutes are up, each player folds up their written response and puts it in the hat. Once all the players have put their responses in the hat, each player randomly takes a piece of folded paper back from the hat (NOTE: it is okay if a player ends up with his/her piece of paper). Moving in a clockwise direction starting with the player immediately to the left of the Master, each player reads the definition and sentence on the piece of paper s/he is holding ( oing their best to keep the identity of the writer anonymous).
After all of the pieces of paper are read, the Master decides which response s/he likes the best. The player with the best response gets 1 point.
The person immediately to the left of the last Master becomes the new Master. A round is complete when all players/teams have had a chance to be the Master. The game continues for as many rounds as the players would like.
How Players Can Use Obscenity Cards
In the interest of making the game as interesting as possible, the Master can do the following at the start of the round to create his or her Obscenity Phrase:
- Add up to 2 words from the following list: the, a, an, in, on, to, with
- Add "ed" or "er" or "ing" or "y" or "ly" to any word
- Make any noun plural
- Change the tense of any verb
For example:
- Cobra + Carry could become "Carrying the Cobra"
- Fiddle + Thief could become "The Thieving Fiddler"
Special Cards
There are some special cards included in the deck that have nothing to do with scoring but can make the game more interesting. Each special card must be played by the Master before playing Mobscenity Cards. More than one card can be used in a turn.
- Play 3 Cards: The Master can play 3 Mbscenity Root cards instead of the standard 2 cards.
- Draw 2 Cards: The Master gets to pull two cards from the top of the deck.
- Pick a Word: The Master can play this card with a Mobscenity Root card and choose any 1 word from the English language (slang, vulgarities, etc. are acceptable).
(The card faces themselves, printed on pages 3–7 of the PDF, are a card sheet rather than rules text and are not transcribed here.)
Game Variations
Hall of Shame
Every turn, the piece of paper with the winning definition of a Mobscenity Phrase is put to the side. At the end of the game, players vote on their favorite definition from the winners (no you may not vote for your own phrase). The Mobscenity Definition that receives the most votes enters the Hall of Shame and the player that wrote that Mobscenity Definition receives 2 bonus points.
Bating of the Master
When playing this version, every time a Mobscenity Term is used in a sentence, the player must use the name of the current Master or a member of the Master's immediate family.
F.U. Haiku
Instead of writing a sentence, each player writes a Haiku. Each Haiku has 3 lines: the first line has 5 syllables, the second line has 7 syllables, and the third line has 5 syllables.
Master of the House
The Master can add any rule during their reign as master. The next master can either negate a previously created rule or create a new rule.