Sunken Sailor Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Provisions (Components)
• Setup
• Story Cards and the Secret Word
• Round Sequence
• Scoring
• Winning

Provisions (Components)

• 27 envelopes, each with 7 story cards
• 1 envelope with 7 Drunken Sailor cards
• 8 pencils
• 1 clip
• Drawing paper
• 1 box lid, which serves as the drawing board

Setup

• Each player takes a pencil.
• Choose any envelope for the round and draw one fewer story card than there are players. (Example: if you are playing with four, draw only three story cards.)
• Do not look at the cards yet!
• Draw one Drunken Sailor card from the Drunken Sailor envelope and shuffle it in among the story cards. The number of cards now equals the number of players.
• Deal one card face down to each player. Now each player may look at their card. This card is secret, so do not show it to the others. The card tells you whether you are an ordinary sailor or the Drunken Sailor (see "Story Cards and the Secret Word").
• The player who was most recently at sea begins the game.

Story Cards and the Secret Word

All story cards tell part of an adventure. The text of each card contains a secret word printed in bold, which everyone in this round must draw. The secret word is the same for all sailors, except for the Drunken Sailor.

The Drunken Sailor's card shows only a picture of themselves. They do not know the secret word and must try to find out what it is without being exposed as the Drunken Sailor.

Round Sequence

1. Clip one of the drawing sheets to the drawing board (box lid) with the clip, so that you can draw in secret.
2. The starting player draws part of the secret word on the paper without showing it to the others. IMPORTANT: Each player may draw only one single continuous line and may not lift the pencil from the paper. As soon as a player lifts the pencil, the next player is up. Be careful! If you draw too much of the word at once, you could play into the Drunken Sailor's hands. But if you draw too little, the others may think that you are the Drunken Sailor.
3. Pass the drawing to the next player clockwise. Only the player whose turn it is may see the drawing.
4. Once everyone has contributed TWICE to the drawing, it is revealed to everyone!
5. The players now have a maximum of 1 minute for final accusations and assessments of the drawing, to work out who the Drunken Sailor is. The Drunken Sailor, of course, keeps trying not to be caught and to decipher the secret word. It is allowed, and quite welcome, to question, tease or mock one another about their contributions to the drawing in order to unmask the Drunken Sailor. Leave the pencils lying in front of you so that everyone knows who drew with which colour.
6. When you have finished your accusations, count to three and then simultaneously point at the player you believe is the Drunken Sailor.
7. Score your points to see who wins the round (see "Scoring"). Has the majority identified the Drunken Sailor? Or has the Drunken Sailor gone unrecognised and even found out the secret word?
8. After scoring, the round is over. Put the story cards and the Drunken Sailor card back into their respective envelopes. Then open a new envelope and start a new round.

Scoring

• If the Drunken Sailor was not unmasked by a majority of the other players, they receive 2 points. (The Drunken Sailor's own vote is not counted when the majority is determined. If the result of the vote is tied, the Drunken Sailor also receives the 2 points.)
• Each sailor who correctly identified the Drunken Sailor receives 1 point, regardless of whether the majority voted for the Drunken Sailor or not. (Except if the Drunken Sailor guesses the secret word; see below.)
• If the Drunken Sailor was correctly identified by the majority, they still have one last chance to win the round by guessing the secret word. If they are right, the Drunken Sailor receives 1 point and none of the other sailors receives any points, regardless of whether they correctly identified the Drunken Sailor or not.

Winning

True sailors never look back, and they always tear the drawing paper into as many scraps as there were points scored in the round. Each player receives as many scraps as the points they scored in this round. The first player to collect 4 points (that is, 4 scraps) wins!

In case of a tie, the sailors share the victory with their comrades ... or they go back on board and experience new adventures!