Therapy, The Second Session
Therapy, The Second Session Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What to Expect
You are about to play Therapy, a revolutionary game about people. Over the next 90 minutes you'll test your perception of yourself, the people around you, and human nature in general. Most important, you'll have fun!
Number of Players
Therapy can be played by 3 to 6 individual players, or teams. (*For team play, see the footnote.)
Equipment
Your Therapy game includes a board, 2 dice, 6 couches, 36 Mastery Pegs, 90 Therapy cards, 360 Insight cards, 30 Crisis cards and a pad with "prescription sheets". You'll need to provide a pencil for each player.
To Begin the Game
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Each player selects one of the colored couches as his or her token and a Therapy Office of the same color. (The Therapy Offices are the triangular spaces at each of the 6 corners of the board). Your office is your starting point, and you may find it convenient to sit behind it.
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Each player receives a "prescription sheet" and a pencil.
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The order of play is determined by rolling the dice. The player who rolls highest goes first, and play proceeds from that player in a clockwise direction around the board.
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Each player starts the game with his or her couch in his or her own Therapy Office. At your turn, roll both dice and move your couch the number rolled. Follow the instructions for the space you've landed on (explained below). The turn now passes to the left. Unless otherwise indicated, take only one roll at a time, and always move forward the number you've rolled. Therapy Offices count as normal spaces. More than one couch may rest on the same space at the same time.
The Object of the Game
The object of the game is to achieve "Mastery" for each of the Six Stages of Life that appear on the board. Each player earns Mastery pegs which correspond in color to each of the stages of Life: Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood, Seniority and Cosmos. The first player to fill the slots in his or her couch with all six different colored pegs and then to reach or pass the FINISH space is the winner.
How to Obtain Mastery Pegs
Mastery pegs can be obtained in one of two ways:
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By curing a Patient who lands in your Therapy Office.
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By correctly answering an Insight question.
Therapy
If you land on a Therapy Office you automatically become the PATIENT. The owner of the Office is your THERAPIST. Therapy takes place immediately. Your THERAPIST selects a Therapy card from the top of the Therapy card deck and reads the question out loud to you, the PATIENT. You write your answer down privately, on your "prescription sheet". The THERAPIST writes down on his or her own sheet what he or she thinks your answer will be. If the answers match, you are cured and get to roll out of Therapy immediately, and the THERAPIST may select 1 Mastery peg of his or her choice, from any of the Six Stages of life. If the answers don't match, the PATIENT stays in the Office and waits for his or her next turn again with the same THERAPIST. You must stay in Therapy until you're cured.
(NOTE: On rating scale questions, '1' is always low and '10' is always high, and a margin of error of 1 either way is allowed for a match.) (For "Which player" questions, both the PATIENT and the THERAPIST can be included as possibilities.)
Summary Rule for THERAPY:
- MATCH: PATIENT rolls again; THERAPIST chooses 1 peg.
- MISMATCH: PATIENT waits for next turn and tries Therapy again.
Group Therapy
If you land on a GROUP THERAPY space, on your own Therapy Office, or an office that is not owned by another player, the result is GROUP THERAPY. Instead of one THERAPIST to treat you, you now have everyone treating you. One of the other players selects and reads the Therapy card out loud to you, and you write down your answer. The combined THERAPISTS then consult out loud with each other, trying to guess what your answer is. If the answer they agree on matches yours, you get to roll out of Therapy immediately, and to select which one of your THERAPISTS may choose a Mastery peg. If the answers don't match, you simply wait for further sessions of GROUP THERAPY.
Summary Rule for GROUP THERAPY:
- MATCH: PATIENT rolls again and chooses which THERAPIST receives a peg.
- MISMATCH: PATIENT waits for next turn and tries Group Therapy again.
Insight
If you land on an INSIGHT space, one of the other players selects a card from the deck in front of the corresponding Stage of Life, and reads it out loud. If you answer the question correctly, you automatically receive the Mastery peg for that Stage of Life. If you answer incorrectly, play passes to the next player. On your next turn, roll again and move on.
Summary Rule for INSIGHT:
- CORRECT: Receive the peg for that Stage.
- INCORRECT: Wait for your next turn, and roll again.
Insight with Mastery
If you land on an INSIGHT space and you already have the Mastery peg for the Stage you're in, you still have to answer an INSIGHT card from that stage. If your answer is correct, you get to roll again. If it's incorrect, play passes as usual to the next player.
Summary for INSIGHT WITH MASTERY:
- CORRECT: Roll again immediately.
- INCORRECT: Wait for your next turn, and roll again.
Insight Chance
If you land on an INSIGHT CHANCE space, you have a choice and a risk. Your choice is between answering an INSIGHT question from the corresponding deck, or passing and waiting for your next turn to roll again. If you choose to answer, and you answer correctly, you get the Mastery peg as usual. If you're wrong, you go directly to PSYCHOSIS at the center of the board.
Summary Rule for INSIGHT CHANCE:
- PASS: Wait for your next turn, and roll again.
- CORRECT: Receive the peg for that Stage.
- INCORRECT: Go to PSYCHOSIS.
Psychosis
If you are sent to PSYCHOSIS you must immediately forfeit 1 Mastery peg of your choice. (If you have no Mastery pegs this obviously does not apply). You then wait until your next turn, and roll 1 die only. Find the arrow leading out of PSYCHOSIS that corresponds to the number you've rolled, and follow the arrow to the Therapy Office indicated. Undergo Therapy immediately.
Summary Rule for PSYCHOSIS:
- Lose a peg of your choice. On your next turn, roll 1 die, and go to Therapy.
Crisis
If you land on a CRISIS space, pick a card from the CRISIS deck and follow its instructions.
Winning the Game
Once you have all 6 Mastery pegs, you only have one task left: to reach or pass the FINISH space, and win the game. Play is made easier for you by the fact that once you have all 6 Mastery pegs, you no longer need Therapy or Group Therapy. If you land on a Therapy Office or a Group Therapy space with a full couch, you simply roll out immediately.
You Are Now Ready to Play
You may not have mastered all of the rules yet, but don't worry, you can always refer back to the "Summary Rules" if you get lost. One trip around the board should be enough to make you an expert.
*(Team Play: Two players share a couch and an office, and the remainder of the rules are left to your discretion.)
Transcription notes: the source page prints a few typos, which are corrected here and not in the source: "I couch" (now "one couch"), "roll I die" (now "roll 1 die"), "WiTH" in the heading (now "WITH"), and a stray "." after "Winning the Game". The source's liability disclaimer and the publisher/trademark and contact block at the end of the page are boilerplate and are not transcribed.