Balderdash
Balderdash is a board game of
bluffing and trivia created by Mark Powell and Bradyn
Blower, (Faux Games Inc.)
Gameplay
The game begins by all players rolling
a die, with the high roll chosen to be the first "dasher". The
dasher draws a "definition card" from the supplied box, and rolls
the die to decide which of the five words listed there shall be
used (if a six is rolled, the dasher may choose for themselves
which word to use). Then the dasher writes the definition (as
supplied on the card) on a piece of paper. All other players then
write down a definition, which may be an honest attempt to supply
the correct definition, or, if they do not know or for tactical
reasons decide not to, a fictitious definition for the word
designed to sound convincing.
The players hand their definitions to
the dasher, who checks if any of their definitions are the same as
the real definition. If there are any, the player(s) submitting the
correct definition is/are immediately awarded three points, and, if
there is more than one, the round is abandoned (though the points
are retained). The definitions, including the real definition, are
then read out in random order. Players record which answer they
believe is correct. Players are awarded two points if they guess
the correct definition. Players are awarded one point for each
other player who incorrectly chooses the fake definition they
wrote. The dasher is awarded three points if no one guesses the
correct definition. Players move their tokens around the game board
one square for each point awarded. The role of dasher then passes
to another player. The winner is the individual whose token reaches
the end square first.
Participants of the game, and in
particular the dasher, should be wary of revealing (accidentally or
otherwise) the identity of a player responsible for a particular
fabricated definition. This will obviously ruin that player's
chances of scoring as a result of someone picking their false
definition over the real one. A player affected in this way is said
to have been "discombalderated". An oft used strategy in balderdash
is to elect your own fake definition in an attempt to give it
credibility in the minds of your fellow players. This is referred
to as a "downstream balder". You do not score a point for guessing
your own fake definition, only for other people who guess yours as
being right.
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