Taskmaster: The Board Game
Taskmaster: The Board Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Players
3 to 5 players (if you have more than 4 friends, you can team up and adapt the rules).
The Official Rules
Here are the official rules, which you absolutely must obey:
- You must read out all the task instructions clearly and immediately.
- You must not discuss the tasks with any of your fellow competitors.
- You must not break the law.
- THE TASKMASTER'S WORD IS FINAL.
The Basics
- Take it in turns to assume the role of The Taskmaster...
- ...complete a series of ludicrous tasks...
- ...win the most points to become the Taskmaster Champion... your time starts now!
Setting-Up
- If you'd like to include a PRIZE TASK, pick a category (e.g., best socks, oddest food, most excellent ball...) in advance and ask all players to bring along a prize. The player who brings the best prize (as voted by all players) wins 3 bonus points. The winner of the game gets to take all the prizes home.
- Divide the cards into 6 piles (Kitchen Tasks, Living Room Tasks, Lab Tasks, Garden Tasks, Final Tasks and Secret Tasks) and place them in the corresponding locations on the board.
- Make sure you have a supply of paper and pencils or pens, and either a stopwatch or a timer app on your tablet or smartphone.
- You have 1 minute to draw a self-portrait on a perforated paper slip, press it into the front of a picture frame and place it on the leaderboard in alphabetical order (right to left) according to the first letter of your first name.
- Take a Secret Task card. Don't show anyone. Carry out the task covertly during the course of the game.
Aim of the Game
Score more points than your opponents from an agreed number of tasks.
The Details
A different player adopts the role of The Taskmaster for each task, except the Final Task. The tallest player is The Taskmaster for the first task, then the role passes to the player on their left, and so on. For fairness, all players should have an equal number of turns as The Taskmaster (so, if you have 5 players, try 5 or 10 location tasks). The Taskmaster doesn't take part in the location tasks or score points. If you have someone in your midst who doesn't want to join in the giddy fun of completing the tasks, they can be The Taskmaster for the whole game.
The Taskmaster places the Taskmaster trophy on the board in the Taskmaster House location of their choice (Kitchen, Living Room, Lab or Garden) and reads out a corresponding task card from the pile. Tasks are loosely themed to each location, allowing The Taskmaster to send players wherever their whim takes them.
Players complete the task, with The Taskmaster employing the assistance of a timer if necessary. At the end of each task, The Taskmaster awards points to each player. A points scheme based on the number of players (for example, if there are 4 players taking part in a task, the winner gets 4 points, 2nd place 3 points, and so on) is sensible. However, THE TASKMASTER HAS THE RIGHT TO BE ARBITRARY and may randomly dish out points as they see fit. Players then update their score - writing on the wax seal attached to their frame with the wipe-clean pen - and position on the leaderboard - leader on the right, last place on the left.
Once the agreed number of location tasks have been played, players meet 'back at the studio' and write down what they think each other's Secret Tasks were. Any player whose Secret Task goes undetected can add 3 bonus points to their score. Any player who successfully guesses another player's Secret Task can add 3 points to their score.
A Final Task is then carried out by all players. The player currently in last place takes a card from the Final Task pile, scans the QR code on their phone or tablet and plays the video task read by The Taskmaster's Assistant. There is no Taskmaster for the Final Tasks. If you have 5 players, the winner gets 5 points, 2nd place 4 points, and so on. If you don't have access to the Internet, pick a printed Final Task.
End of the Game
At the end of the debacle, final scores are totalled and the Taskmaster Champion is crowned, winning the hankered-for Taskmaster trophy (until you play again), the full set of excellent self-portraits from the picture frames and the prizes (if you have them).
In the event of a tie-break, tied players should complete one more location task - selected and judged by the other players - to determine the winner.
And remember... THE TASKMASTER IS ALWAYS RIGHT. If there are any queries, quandaries or quibbles, THE TASKMASTER DECIDES. You are all only here to SERVE THE TASKMASTER.