Movie Tricks Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• The Flow of the Game
• Card Ranking
• The Bonus Cards
• Props Scoring
• Final Scoring
• Full Scoring Example
• 2-Player Game
• Family Variant
• The Movie Titles

Components

• 20 category cards (CGI, Props, Roles, Soundtrack — 5 of each category)
• 5 starting cards (each card is double-sided)
• 52 playing cards (13 of each suit, valued 1–10)
• 21 bonus cards
• 8 props goal cards
• 1 trump suit card
• 1 trump suit marker
• 1 director pawn
• 1 die (with the sides 5–10)
• 1 score pad

Each card features one part of a movie title (at the top) and a well-known movie quote (at the bottom). These elements are purely thematic and do not impact the game in any way (see The Movie Titles for more about the movie titles).

Setup

2-player games: Normal rules plus the modifications in 2-Player Game. Family variant: Normal rules plus the modifications in Family Variant. While Movie Tricks is not a complicated game, this simplified variant is specifically designed for children and family settings.

1. The starting cards

Shuffle the 5 starting cards, and draw as many cards as there are players. Place the cards with a random side face up to form a market in the middle of the table. Return any unused starting cards to the box.

2. The bonus cards

Shuffle the bonus cards. In 3–4-player games, randomly return 7 cards to the box before shuffling (only 14 cards are used). Place this bonus deck face down next to the market, then reveal the top 2 cards face up next to the deck to form a bonus display.

3. The trump suit card and marker

Place the trump suit card on the opposite side of the market with the trump suit marker next to it.

4. The props goal cards

Place all props goal cards on one side of the table. This is the props goal display.

5. The category cards

Each player places a set of category cards face up in their play area in alphabetical order (CGI–Props–Roles–Soundtrack). Return any unused cards to the box. Over the course of the game, players will place cards below each category card. These columns of cards are referred to as the player's tableau.

6. The playing cards

• 3-player game: Return the 12 playing cards with blue movie quotes to the game box (the quotes are at the bottom of the cards). Shuffle the remaining playing cards and deal 13 cards to each player. The unused card is returned to the box without looking at it.
• 4-player game: Shuffle the playing cards and deal 13 cards to each player.
• 5-player game: Shuffle the playing cards and deal 10 cards to each player. The unused cards are returned to the box without looking at them.

7. The director pawn

Each player rolls the die. The player with the highest roll becomes the starting player (the Director) in the first round and takes the director pawn. Return the die to the box (unless playing a 2-player game).

The Flow of the Game

1. Play cards

The Director starts the round by playing any card from their hand face up in front of them (not in their tableau). The color of this card determines the lead suit. Then, in clockwise order, each player must play a card of the lead suit face up in front of them. If they do not have any cards of the lead suit (and only then), they must instead play a card of any other suit.

2. Choose cards

The player who played the highest ranked card (see Card Ranking) takes the director pawn and chooses one card from the market. They place the chosen card face up in their tableau below the corresponding category card, overlapping any previously placed cards. Then, from second-highest to lowest ranked card, the players each choose one card from the market to place in their tableau.

Note: Once a card is in a player's tableau, the player cannot move it, and the color does not matter.

3. Gain bonus card and determine trump suit

The player who played the lowest ranked card chooses one of the following three options:

a) Take any one card from the bonus display and add it to your hand. Place the trump suit marker on the color matching the chosen card. b) Take any one card from the bonus display and place it directly below the corresponding category of your tableau. Place the trump suit marker on the color matching the chosen card. c) Discard any one card in the bonus display. Place the trump suit marker on any color.

See The Bonus Cards.

After you have chosen your bonus card, replenish the bonus display with a new card from the bonus deck. The chosen trump suit applies in the next round.

5-player game: After the player with the lowest ranked card has made their choice and replenished the display, then the player with the second-lowest ranked card chooses option a or b (see above) without changing the trump suit. Replenish the bonus display with a new card from the bonus deck.

If there are no cards left to replenish the display, skip step 4 and proceed to Final Scoring.

4. Prepare next round

The cards that were played during step 1 (Play Cards) are placed in the middle of the table to form the market for the next round.

Note: Any played +3 cards (see The Bonus Cards) are discarded.

The player holding the director pawn is the new Director in the next round.

Card Ranking

To determine the turn order for choosing cards from the market, follow the ranking system below, from rank 1 (highest rank) to rank 3 (lowest rank):

• Rank 1: Trump suit — from highest to lowest value.
• Rank 2: Lead suit — from highest to lowest value.
• Rank 3: Any other suit — from highest to lowest value, regardless of suit.

The trump suit is the suit that matches the location of the trump suit marker. The trump suit is determined at the end of the first round and can change from round to round (see Gain Bonus Card and Determine Trump Suit).

Note: The trump suit may be the lead suit (if the Director plays a trump suit card to start the round).

Example: In a 4-player game, yellow is the trump suit, so the yellow 2 will beat all other cards. Red is the lead suit, so the red 4 will beat the cards in the other suits. 10 will beat 7 since suit is disregarded within "rank 3".

Cards of same value

If 2 or more players play the same valued card within the same rank, the card which was played first in the round is considered a higher rank.

4- and 5-player games: Some playing cards have the same value and suit. These are marked with a symbol in the top left corner. Ignore this symbol when playing with fewer than 4 players.

The Bonus Cards

Most of the bonus cards are low-valued cards (0, 2, 3, or 4) with only 1 or 2 symbols. Additionally, there are some +3 cards.

+3 cards: When a player takes a +3 bonus card during step 3, they always add it to their hand (option a) and place the trump suit marker on any suit (since it is multicolored). In any later round, they may play one +3 card together with the played card to increase its value by 3.

Note: A player may hold more than one +3 card in hand but can only use one each round. Unused +3 cards have no value at the end of the game, so play them while you can!

Props Scoring

Each time a player places a PROPS card in their tableau, they must immediately decide whether to claim a props goal card or not. If they choose to claim one, they take a card from the props goal display with a number equal to or lower than the number of unique props symbols in their tableau. The claimed props goal card is placed above their PROPS category card.

Important: Each player may only claim one props goal card during the entire game.

Note: Players may only claim a props goal card the moment they place a PROPS card (including bonus cards). If they choose to wait, they risk not getting a props card in a later round (and therefore no props goal card).

The 8 props goal cards pair a props-symbol requirement with a star value as follows:

Unique props symbols required	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Star value	4	7	11	16	22	29	37	46

Final Scoring

The game ends when the bonus deck is exhausted when a player is supposed to replenish the bonus display. This happens during step 3 of round 13 (3–4-player games) or round 10 (5-player games). Score each player's tableau on the score pad as follows (see Full Scoring Example):

• Best movie: Points equal to the value of their horizontal row of 4 cards with the highest total card value. Note: A row with less than 4 cards does not score.
• Weakest category: Points equal to the value of their vertical column with the lowest total card value. Note: They score zero if at least one column has no cards at all.
• CGI: 2 points per "Bang" symbol plus the card value of your last placed CGI card.
• PROPS: Points equal to the star value on their props goal card, if any.
• ROLES: Points for their number of villains and heroes as listed in the table on the category card. Gain +8 points if the number of villains equals the number of heroes.
• SOUNDTRACK: The player with most soundtrack symbols gains 18 points. The player with fewest symbols gains 0 points. All other players gain 12 points each. In case of a tie for most or fewest symbols, all tied players gain 18 (most) or 0 (fewest) points. Note: If all players are tied, they all gain 18 points (just for the record).

Calculate each player's total score. The player with the most points wins the game. In case of a tie, the tied player with the highest score for Best movie wins. If there is still a tie, continue comparing tied players' scores in each of the remaining score categories (in order from top to bottom on the score pad) until the tie is broken. If it is impossible to break the tie, the victory is shared.

Full Scoring Example

Three players — Arnold, Uma, and Scarlett — reach final scoring with the tableaus shown below. Their scores in each category are:

Category	Arnold	Uma	Scarlett
Best movie	32	18	27
Weakest category	11	7	8
CGI	18	11	24
PROPS	16	29	11
ROLES	15	23	21
SOUNDTRACK	0	18	12
Total	92	106	103

Uma wins!

2-Player Game

Play using the standard rules, with the following modifications:

Setup

• Place all 5 starting cards in the market.
• Use 8 random bonus cards to create the bonus deck (then, reveal 2 cards for the bonus display, as normal). Return unused cards to the box.
• Return cards with blue quotes to the game box (like in 3-player games). Then, return all 8 cards valued 1 and 10 to the box. Deal 10 cards to each player. The remaining 12 cards are placed as a facedown draw deck next to the bonus display.
• Place the die next to the props goal display.

The flow of the game

1. Players alternate playing one additional playing card from their hands (for a total of 2 cards each). Note: It is possible to play the lead suit with the first card and the trump suit with the second card (if the player does not have more cards in the lead suit).
2. Players choose cards from the market from highest to lowest rank (as if each played card belonged to a different player). After both players have chosen 2 cards, there is one unchosen card left in the market. This card will form the market in the next round together with the 4 played cards this round.
3. The player who did not get the director pawn gains/discards a bonus card (even if this player did not play the lowest ranked card). Their choice determines the trump suit for the next round.
4. Important: Each player draws 1 card from the draw deck to their hand before the next round.

Props scoring

After the first props goal card is claimed, the player who claimed this card rolls the die and discards the props goal card whose value matches the die. If no card matches, discard the card with 1 less value than the die.

Game end & final scoring

• The game ends during step 3 of round 7.
• Before scoring the SOUNDTRACK category, roll the die one time to determine the number of SOUNDTRACK symbols for a dummy player. This number is compared against the players' symbols to determine scoring.

Family Variant

Follow the normal rules, with the following modifications:

Setup

• The bonus deck must consist of 7 cards (2-player games), 13 cards (3–4-player games), or 20 cards (5-player games). There is no bonus display.
• Leave the props goal cards in the box.

Flow of the game

Step 3: The player with the lowest ranked card draws the top (facedown) card from the bonus deck choosing options a, b, or c, as normal. In 5-player games, the player with the second-lowest ranked card draws a bonus card choosing options a or b after the player with the lowest ranked card makes their choice.

Final scoring

The game ends after the same number of rounds as in the standard version (when the bonus deck is exhausted). Then, score only the following in your tableau:

• 2 points for each symbol (CGI, Props, Roles, Soundtrack).
• Points for all completed movies (total card value of each row of 4 cards).

The Movie Titles

As mentioned, each card in your tableau features one part of a movie title. When a player completes a movie (4 cards in a row), a movie title of two parts will appear: one main title (the first two cards) and one subtitle (the last two cards).

This title has no effect on the game itself (or for the score) other than creating a sense of accomplishment for having made a great film which is ready for the global market!