VIP RIP
VIP RIP Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components (220 cards)
- 110 Celebrity cards* (15 of them blank)
- 78 Gravestone cards*
- 15 Tomb cards*
- 15 Aurora the Gravedigger cards
- 2 Score cards, positive and negative
*The Celebrity, Gravestone and Tomb cards have a day side and a night side. Play with all the cards of one type on the same side (all day or all night). In later games, you can alternate between day and night to ensure better replayability.
Cooperative Mode
The mode suited to learning the game, more relaxed and without needless rivalries. Pure fun!
Setup
a) Take the Tomb cards numbered 1 to 9 and place them in the middle of the table to form a 3x3 grid. Put them all face up, showing the same side: all day or all night. Return the remaining Tomb cards to the box. b) Shuffle the Celebrity cards and place one covering the bottom of each Tomb card (9 cards in total), respecting the day or night side you have chosen. If a celebrity is unknown to everyone, you may replace it with a new one. c) Set the remaining Celebrity cards aside and form a pile with the chosen side face down. d) Place the positive Score card to the left of the Celebrity deck, and the negative Score card to the right. e) Shuffle the Gravestone cards and form a pile with the chosen side face down on one side of the table. f) The last player to have seen a cemetery is the first player. Give them 9 Aurora the Gravedigger cards, numbered 1 to 9. Then draw and give them 5 Gravestone cards. Return the remaining Aurora the Gravedigger cards to the box.
How to Play
The game is divided into 3 rounds. In each round, the active player takes the role of Aurora the Gravedigger.
In each round, the gravedigger must match 3 of their 5 Gravestone cards with 3 of the 9 Celebrity cards on the table. When they find some kind of association between a phrase and a celebrity (whether literal, metaphorical, witty...), they place the Gravestone card in the middle of the table and, next to it, face down, the Aurora card whose number corresponds to the position of the celebrity on the grid.
Example: The gravedigger thinks they can match the phrase "At night, all cats are grey" with Batman, who is in tomb 6. They therefore place Aurora the Gravedigger card number 6 face down next to the Gravestone card.
They continue until they find 3 associations, and thus have on the table 3 pairs of a Gravestone card (face up) with an Aurora card (face down), forming a numerical combination. Then they discard the unused Gravestone cards. The gravedigger is the only one allowed to look, whenever they wish, at the numerical combination formed by the 3 pairs in order.
Example: The three Aurora cards hide 3 numbers that correspond to three celebrities.
Renewing Gravestone cards
While trying to match their cards, the gravedigger may discard a Gravestone card from their hand in order to draw two new ones. They may do this as many times as they wish, but for each Gravestone card discarded, they must renew a Celebrity card; that is, place one of the celebrities on the table in the negative score area and draw a new celebrity from the deck to put in its place.
Guessing
As soon as the gravedigger has placed the first pair, the other players may already speak and discuss to agree on which celebrity could correspond to each inscription on a gravestone. Meanwhile, the gravedigger remains silent as a tomb without making any gesture, listening to the debate and continuing their associations until 3 Gravestone cards are matched with 3 Aurora cards. The person to the left of the gravedigger takes the role of spokesperson and, in case of disagreement, makes the final decision.
The spokesperson announces the three-digit numerical combination formed by the 3 Aurora the Gravedigger cards, in the order established by the gravedigger. The gravedigger confirms whether they succeeded:
- If they gave the 3 digits in the right order, place the 3 celebrities involved in the combination in the positive score area. Each card in this area counts as 1 positive point. Discard the used Gravestone cards.
- If any digit is wrong, the gravedigger removes as many celebrities from the table as there are errors in the combination (both number and position). Remove the Celebrity cards that are not part of the correct combination. If some celebrities are part of the combination but in the wrong position, remove another Celebrity card that is not part of the correct combination. The removed celebrities go into the negative score area. Each card in this area counts as 1 negative point. Do not change the position of the remaining Celebrity cards on the table. The players have up to three chances to find the right combination. After the third attempt, the gravedigger removes the 3 celebrities that are part of the combination. Those that are correctly linked go into the positive score area and those that are incorrectly linked go into the negative score area.
The turn passes to the next player clockwise, who takes the role of Aurora and takes 5 new Gravestone cards and 9 Aurora the Gravedigger cards. Fill the empty spaces of the grid with new celebrities, without removing those already there.
End of the Game
The game ends once 3 rounds have been played. Calculate the difference between the number of celebrities in the positive score area and the negative score area: you win the game if the difference is zero or positive. Otherwise, you lose.
Advanced Mode
Won too easily? Try the advanced mode! This version is also played in 3 rounds, but with the following changes:
- The 1st round is played according to the rules above.
- In the second round, the gravedigger must:
- Add the Tomb cards numbered 10, 11 and 12 to the grid, and cover the bottom of each of them with a new Celebrity card.
- Add the Aurora the Gravedigger cards numbered 10, 11 and 12 to their hand, and draw 6 Gravestone cards. The numerical combination will be made up of 4 digits.
- In the third and last round, the gravedigger does the same, but adds the cards numbered 13, 14 and 15, and draws 7 Gravestone cards. The numerical combination will be made up of 5 digits.
Competitive Mode (6 to 8 players)
This mode, designed for more players, is competitive and much more frenetic! Get ready for a deadly race!
Setup
Split the players into two teams. Set up the game as for the normal cooperative mode. Each team takes a sheet of paper and a pen.
Sequence of Play
You will play 4 rounds: A, B, C and D. In each round, in turn, a person from one of the two teams takes the role of gravedigger.
In this game mode, the gravedigger cannot discard a Gravestone card to draw two new ones. The sequence of play is the same as in cooperative mode, except that each team provides a written answer on its paper. The teams hand the papers to the gravedigger, face down. On them they must write the round, the number of attempts and the proposed numerical combination. When the first team has handed its paper to the gravedigger, the other team has 15 seconds to write and hand in theirs.
The gravedigger checks whether either team has guessed the exact combination and writes on each paper the points obtained, next to the numerical combination.
Example: Round A, 1st attempt: 2 4 5 Round A, 2nd attempt: 2 3 6 Round B ...
- If a team guesses the combination, the team that guessed it correctly gets 3 points, and the other team gets 1 point for each celebrity correctly placed in the last combination it provided. The round ends and a player from the opposing team becomes the gravedigger for the next one.
- If both teams make mistakes: the gravedigger writes the number of errors on the paper next to the combination given. The gravedigger evaluates which team made the most errors and removes from the grid a number of Celebrity cards equal to that number. The eliminated celebrities cannot be part of the correct combination. The gravedigger simultaneously and secretly gives the papers back with their result to each team, so that they can continue with the next attempt. The round ends if, after 3 attempts, nobody has found the right combination. In that case, each team receives 1 point for each celebrity correctly placed in the last combination written.
Example: Team 1 Round A, 1st attempt: 2 4 5 - 2 errors Round A, 2nd attempt: 2 3 6 - Correct combination, 3 points. Round B ...
Team 2 Round A, 1st attempt: 2 6 8 - 2 errors Round A, 2nd attempt: 2 1 6 - 2 points, team 1 having found the correct combination. Round B ...
End of the Game
After 4 rounds, the team with the most points wins the game. In case of a tie, the team that made the fewest errors throughout the game wins.
Blank Celebrity Cards
The game also includes blank Celebrity cards. You can write on them new famous people who are not included in the game, or let your imagination run free.