Split Stories #1
Split Stories #1 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Step 1 — Teams and scenario
Split into two teams (1 or 2 players per team) and choose one of the scenarios.
A scenario comes with 2 booklets (A and B). Each team takes one, along with any additional documents included with the scenario.
Place the separation screen between the two teams. Each team gets one phone.
Notice: "You may describe anything you want by speech and gestures."
Scenarios
| Scenario | Difficulty | Time | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| L'Évasion | 1 of 5 | 15–20 min | Two prisoners prepare their escape from their cells. If you have never played Split Stories, the sheet recommends starting with this scenario. |
| Apollo 17 | 2 of 5 | 45–60 min | December 1972. The night before launch, the crew of the space mission runs a last moon-landing simulation. |
| Hasta Luego | 3 of 5 | 45–60 min | Mexico City, present day. A young police officer tries to save a teenager kidnapped in connection with a political demand. |
| Par l'au-delà | 4 of 5 | 60–80 min | Paris, 1890. A medium seeks to find her husband's murderer through a séance. Supplementary documents: (1) Ouija, (2) Suspect list. |
The sheet also shows the box-level details: 2 to 4 players, 20 to 80 minutes per scenario, age 14 and up.
Suspect list (supplementary document for Par l'au-delà), as printed on the sheet:
- Madeleine Renard — Medium
- Auguste Lemoine — Scientist
- Victoire de Sauveterre — Fallen aristocrat
- Théodore Masson — Magnetist
- Jacques Borel — Street fortune-teller
- Éloïse Griffon — Writer
- Étienne Vallon — Occultist
- Sœur Célestine — Defrocked nun
- Anna Valette — Mystic
- Charles Lecerf — Collector
- Henriette Gautier — Botanist
- Louis Saint-Clair — Astrologer
The Ouija board document named in the Par l'au-delà entry is not printed on this sheet and is not transcribed here.
Step 2 — Introduction
Read the introduction text aloud for yourself. It sets the context of the story from your character's point of view. It is up to you whether to share it or not.
Step 3 — Opening dialogue
Read the opening dialogue aloud. Each team plays the character in its booklet. The sheet says which player starts the dialogue.
Step 4 — Goal of the game
Solve all of the objectives.
You share the same objectives, and you may discuss them freely.
Step 5 — Online interface
One of you scans the QR code* and selects the chosen scenario.
This is where you enter your answers to the objectives, and where you can consult hints if you are stuck.
* Or go to the address splitstories.com.
Step 6 — Start playing
Start playing!
Step 7 — End of the game
Once all objectives are solved, read the closing dialogue.
Each scenario ends with a dialogue located on the last page of its booklet. Do not read it before you receive the instruction online.
Additional rules
- Some scenarios may temporarily forbid you from speaking. (The sheet marks this with a speech-bubble icon crossed out.)
- Some scenarios include mini-dialogues. Announce their number so that you can synchronise with the other team. (The sheet marks this with the numbered icons 1 and 2.)
- Some parts of a booklet are forbidden to you until you have received the instruction to read them. (The sheet marks this with a padlock icon.)
Reminders
- Forbidden: it is forbidden to show the contents of your booklet to the other team.
- Cover art: the visuals on the booklet covers and on the screen are not part of the game.
- Videos: if you need to consult online videos, make sure the other team does not see them.
- Notes: you may take notes, but never show them to the other team.
- Describe methodically: describe what you see to the other team methodically. "The secret of the game lies in your ability to communicate well!"