Showtime
Showtime Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 cinema (made up of 3-5 board pieces depending on the number of players); each seat shows the Enjoyment points earned for sitting there, and each row shows its row number
- 12 cinema tickets (3 per player colour, with values 20, 40 and 60)
- 1 popcorn bucket
- 4 movie posters: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Romance, Comedy
- 4 player figures (1 per player)
- 64 person cards (16 per player). Each ticket shows: name, effect, number, and favourite film genre.
- 16 person cards from the "Special Guests" promo (4 per player)
- 4 player aids
Disclaimer: none of the characters refers to a real person. The characters are meant to represent the diversity of cinema-goers. However likeable some people are, and however much we try to be considerate of each other, some peculiarities can be disturbing – especially during a visit to the cinema. I'm sure we have all experienced a terrible evening at the movies...
Admission - Preparing the Game
Before the first game: look through the effects on the person cards together. The persons' names help you quickly understand the effect shown with symbols. Keep the appendix (the "Cast" section at the end of these rules) at hand; all effects are explained in detail there.
First, assemble the auditorium and the entrance. If 2 movie fans are waiting at the entrance, the screening takes place in the smallest auditorium – put together row 1 (the row with the screen) and row 2. If 3 movie fans are waiting, add row 3, and if four are waiting, the film is shown in the largest auditorium, so you must also add row 4 (row 1 is always followed by row 2; with 3 movie fans row 3, and with 4 movie fans row 4, will be the last row of the auditorium). Attach the entrance with the box office and the red carpet to the last row (on it you will track the Enjoyment points you collect); this closes off the auditorium.
(Illustration: the auditorium for 2 movie fans; with 3 or 4 movie fans 1 further row is inserted, and with 4 movie fans 1 more.)
Next, shuffle the 4 movie posters face down, draw one and place it face up in the poster frame to the left of the box office. This shows which genre of film will be screened first.
Choose a player colour and take the following:
- 16 person cards: These make up your group of cinema-goers, to whom you want to give an unforgettable evening at the movies. Shuffle the 16 cards face down, draw 4 cards and hold them in your hand. You must keep these cards secret throughout. Form a draw pile in front of you with the remaining cards.
- 1 player figure: Place it at the start of the red carpet.
- 3 cinema tickets: You will need these later. Put them in a pile beside the board (the 20 tile on top, the 60 tile at the bottom).
Finally, the biggest film fan takes the popcorn bucket, indicating that they are the start player.
Screening - Play of the Game
Showtime is played over 3 screenings (rounds). In each screening, each of you tries to place exactly 4 people in the cinema in the best possible seats. Make sure the people can see a film of their favourite genre, and that around them are seat neighbours who contribute to an enjoyable film experience. Whoever has collected the most Enjoyment points at the end of the game is the winner.
In each round the start player goes first, and the others follow clockwise until the end of the round. On your turn, you must carry out the following 3 actions in the order given:
- Place a card on a free seat
- Check the person's favourite genre
- Draw 1 card
1. Place a Card on a Free Seat
Choose 1 of the cards in your hand and place it on a free seat of the auditorium. Exception: Ken Krawall (card number 6) and Sophie Schnulze (card number 11) may also be placed on a seat that is already occupied. (The effects of each person are explained in detail in the "Cast" section.) When placing, make sure the card does not cover the seat, so that the star printed there stays visible throughout; it shows how many Enjoyment points the person sitting in that place gets at the end of the round.
2. Check the Person's Favourite Genre
After placing, you must check whether the current film matches the person's favourite genre (compare the symbol in the top right corner of the ticket with the symbol on the movie poster for the current round). If the film is to their liking (i.e. the two symbols match), the cinema visit is especially enjoyable for them, for which you get 2 Enjoyment points. In this case move forward 2 spaces on the red carpet.
Exception: the Normal family has 2 favourite genres.
Enjoyment Points
If you gain (or lose) Enjoyment points through one of your characters, you must move accordingly on the red carpet immediately. These always appear in the game with a yellow star. If you have to move to an empty space, place your figure at the front of that space. If you have to move to a space where one or more figures already stand, place your figure directly behind them. Exactly 4 figures fit on each space, one behind the other.
When you reach (or pass) space 20 of the red carpet, take the cinema ticket of your colour marked 20. Further points are then counted starting again from space 1 of the red carpet. If you reach (or pass) space 20 of the red carpet a second time, swap your current cinema ticket for the 40-value ticket; if you pass it a third time, swap it for the 60 ticket. If you would reach space 20 a fourth time, take the 20-value ticket in addition to your 60.
3. Draw 1 Card
At the end of your turn draw 1 card from your draw pile, so that on your next turn you can again choose from 4 cards.
End of the Rounds
When the cinema is completely full – which is the case after everyone has placed 4 cards – the film screening begins. This marks the end of the round, which starts the following 2 evaluations:
- Seats
- Persons' effects
General notes on scoring: Always score only one person at a time, row by row (from front to back), seat by seat (from left to right facing the screen). Always begin scoring in row 1, starting from the leftmost seat. (So the persons are always evaluated in seat order, and the scores are not totalled per player.)
1. Seats
First of all you can get Enjoyment points for the seats occupied by your persons. Sitting at the edge of the front row is obviously not as enjoyable as sitting in the middle of the auditorium. The yellow star in front of each seat shows how many Enjoyment points the person brings. If the person being scored belongs to you, you must move these points on the red carpet immediately.
2. Persons' Effects
Next, you must check for each person whether they gain or lose Enjoyment points because of their neighbours – to the left, to the right, in front, behind or within a row. If more than one neighbour affects one of your persons, you must add these effects together. Then move your figure on the red carpet accordingly. (The effects of each person are explained in detail in the "Cast" section.)
Exceptions: Gloria Giggle (card number 3) also affects herself; Heino Horch (card number 4) and Hildo Hahn (card number 5) only affect themselves.
Note: ignore the persons' effects marked in orange. You already carried out these effects when you placed the card.
Example: scoring with 2 movie fans. Scoring happens in seat order, starting from the leftmost seat of row 1 (from the point of view of a person facing the screen): Heino brings the green player 1 Enjoyment point, which they immediately move on the red carpet. For Benny and Bea the green player gets a further 2 Enjoyment points each. Nina brings the yellow player 1 Enjoyment point. In row 2, the yellow player first gets 2 Enjoyment points for Gloria and 3 for Linda. Then the green player gets 3 points for Linda, and finally the yellow player gets 2 Enjoyment points for Ken.
Then the effects are evaluated: since Heino sits in row 1, he is worth a further 2 Enjoyment points, but he loses 1 Enjoyment point because of Benny. In total the green player may move forward 1 space. Benny likes sitting next to Bea, so the green player gains 1 Enjoyment point with this. Bea is worth -1 Enjoyment point because of Benny, so the green player must move back 1 space on the red carpet. The last person in the first row is Nina. She is worth -1 Enjoyment point because of Benny, and she sits next to Bea, which brings her owner another -1 Enjoyment point, so the yellow player must move back 2 spaces on the red carpet. In row 2, Gloria is evaluated first. Because of Gloria the yellow player may move forward 1 space on the red carpet, since a woman (Linda) sits next to her. Linda is worth 1 Enjoyment point because Gloria is her neighbour, and brings the yellow player a further 2 Enjoyment points because she sits next to another Linda. The yellow player may move forward 3 spaces on the red carpet. The green player's Linda is worth 2 points because she sits next to the yellow player's Linda, so green may move forward 2 spaces on the red carpet. Ken (and so the yellow player) gets no further Enjoyment points, as his effect did not apply.
When the screening is over, everyone leaves the auditorium – put the cards back in the box. Then replace the old movie poster with a new one, determining the genre of the new film. Put the poster from the previous screening back in the box.
The player with the most Enjoyment points (in case of a tie, the player standing further back) receives the popcorn bucket and may place a card first in the next screening.
End of the Game
The game ends after the third film screening (round). The player with the most Enjoyment points wins the game, since they were the one who was able to give the people in their group the greatest experience. In case of a tie, the player whose marker stands further forward wins the game.
Director's Cut - Game Variant
Instead of playing with all 16 person cards, choose the following alternative at the start of the game: together, choose the 12 persons you want to take to the cinema (use the card numbers so that everyone takes the right cards out of their deck). Now everyone has the same 12 persons available. This decision makes Showtime much more tactical, since everyone knows which 12 people each player is sending to the cinema.
Note: in this variant you do not draw any more cards after the third screening. As a result, towards the end of the game you can no longer choose from 4 cards. In the rare case where, as a third card next to an existing Linda and Louis pair, you could only place a Linda or only a Louis card, you may not do so. In this case you must discard that card into the game box (Linda's special effect, described in the "Cast" section, may help you understand this). The round ends when everyone has played all their cards.
Cast - The Persons' Effects
General notes: At the end of the round most persons affect the persons sitting around them. The effect can apply to direct neighbours (right or left neighbour), but also to a person sitting in front, behind, or in the same row. This lets the player gain additional Enjoyment points (green seat) or lose them (red seat).
Exception 1: Gloria Giggle (card number 3) also affects herself; Heino Horch (card number 4) and Hildo Hahn (card number 5) only affect themselves.
Exception 2: if an effect is shown on a card with an orange background, it must be applied immediately after the card is placed. Ignore such effects at the end of the round.
If a number crossed out with a red X appears on the right side of a card, it means that those persons are not affected by the effect (see the individual person's description below for details).
A female symbol marks female persons, a male symbol marks male persons.
The different colours of the seat symbol mean the following (see also the player aid): the seat occupied by the person; gaining Enjoyment points (green); the seat occupied by the person whose Enjoyment points can be increased depending on the neighbours; losing Enjoyment points (red); occupied seat; free seat.
1 – Bea Biene ("Cinema queen"): A female person sitting to the left or right of Bea loses 1 Enjoyment point; a male person sitting to the left or right of Bea gains 1 Enjoyment point.
2 – Benny Blase ("When you gotta go, you gotta go!"): If Benny sits in one of the two middle seats of a row, every other person sitting in that row loses one Enjoyment point each.
3 – Gloria Giggle ("Laughter is contagious!"): A female person sitting to the left or right of Gloria gains 1 Enjoyment point. Gloria herself also gains 1 Enjoyment point for each female person sitting to her left or right. She can gain at most 2 Enjoyment points.
4 – Heino Horch ("Louder!"): If Heino sits in the first row, he gains 2 Enjoyment points. If he sits in row 2, he loses 1 Enjoyment point. If he sits in row 3 or 4, he loses as many as 2 Enjoyment points.
5 – Hildo Hahn ("Hello girls..."): Hildo gains 1 Enjoyment point for each female person sitting to his left, right, in front of or behind him. He can gain at most 4 Enjoyment points.
6 – Ken Krawall ("I sit here!"): You may seat Ken on a seat already occupied by a man. You must move the male card that was there to a free seat. Note: Ken cannot displace another Ken, however.
7 – Leo Lulatsch ("I can't shrink!"): The person sitting behind Leo loses 3 Enjoyment points. Note: if a Leo sits behind another Leo, he does not lose Enjoyment points.
8 – Linda Love ("Two pairs of eyes see more ;-)"): If another Linda or Louis sits to the right or left of Linda, Linda is worth 2 Enjoyment points. No further Linda may be seated next to such an existing pair. Note: Sophie's effect cannot be applied if Linda would be the person she moves, and would thereby end up next to an existing Linda and Louis pair.
9 – Louis L'Amour ("Two pairs of eyes see more ;-)"): If another Linda or Louis sits to the right or left of Louis, Louis is worth 2 Enjoyment points. No further Louis may be seated next to such an existing pair. Note: Ken's and Sophie's effects cannot be applied if Louis would be the person they move, and would thereby end up next to an existing Linda and Louis pair.
10 – Mia Mampf ("Yum, let the film begin!"): Whoever sits to the right or left of Mia loses 1 Enjoyment point. Note: if Heino or another Mia sits next to Mia, they do not lose Enjoyment points.
11 – Sophie Schnulze ("Excuse me, sorry..."): You may seat Sophie on an already occupied seat, provided there is still a free seat to the right or left of the occupied seat. Sophie then sends that person to one of the two free neighbouring seats.
12 – Lisa Lästig ("That can't bother me!"): The person sitting in front of Lisa loses 2 Enjoyment points.
13 – Nina Normal, 14 – Nora Normal, 15 – Nino Normal, 16 – Norbert Normal ("The Normal family"): Each of these 4 persons takes special delight in 2 different film genres. If one of the two genre symbols matches the symbol on the current film's poster, that person gains 2 Enjoyment points.