The Pretender
The Pretender Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
To start the game, lay the cards out on the table face down in 18 category piles. Select a category and take as many cards from this category as there are players - making sure you include the one 'Pretender' card. Shuffle the cards and deal one card to each player. All players except one will now have a list of 10 things that relate to the category. The remaining player will have the Pretender card - they are playing blind and must bluff their way through the round.
Mini Charades
The first player to shout out a number or letter chooses the item on the list that players will be acting out this round. Starting with this player and moving clockwise, all players must make one tiny charade relating to this item. Be too obvious with your mini charade and The Pretender will be on to it and will fit right in - too subtle and you risk putting yourself under suspicion. Meanwhile, the Pretender must either try and guess the item before their turn so they have some idea what to act out, or act out an action vague enough that it could fit many things within the category.
Accusations
After one round of mini charades, accusations are thrown around in an effort to catch The Pretender. Players can openly discuss their suspicions on who the Pretender is (without mentioning what the item on the card was). When the majority have made up their minds, players agree to vote. On the count of three, all players point to who they think the Pretender is. The player (or players) with the most votes must reveal their identity.
If the Pretender has escaped, then they automatically win! If the Pretender has been caught, then the rest of the players win UNLESS the Pretender, with one guess, manages to correctly identify the item on the card.
Scoring
Scoring is completely optional - if you want to keep score, decide in advance how many rounds you'll play (we recommend 5 for a mini game, 10 for a standard game and 15 for an epic game) and nominate someone to keep score. Then each round award one point to the Pretender if they win, and one point to every other player if the Pretender loses. At the end of the game the player with the most points wins. In the case of a tie, it's tiebreaker time - another player should choose a category and an item on the list and make a series of mini charades relating to the item until one of the tied players shouts out the item and steals the victory!