Honor System

The Secret Game

Milton Bradley, 1987

Object

Have the highest score after four rounds of play by telling stories and voting on them.

• As the Storyteller, convince opponents that your false story is true, or your true story is false;

• As a Listener, guess correctly whether the Storytellers’ stories are true or false.

Number of Players

3 or More Players.

Team Play: If there are more than 6 players, form teams. Each team shares one voting token, and teammates take turns (one teammate per round) telling stories.

• 204 cards • 6 voting tokens • 30 scoring tokens • scorepad

How to Set Up

The Cards: Combine the 4 decks of cards. Then shuffle them all, and place them facedown in a pile.

The Tokens: Punch out all tokens from the cardboard sheets. There are 6 voting tokens and 30 scoring tokens (see examples below).

Place one voting token in front of you. All players do the same. Place all of the scoring tokens in the box top.

The Scoresheet: Choose a player to keep score. The scorekeeper takes a scoresheet and writes in all players' names where indicated (see example top below).

Scoresheet Setup Example

How to Play

One game consists of four rounds of play. During a round, each player takes a turn as the Storyteller, by responding to an opening line on one of the cards. The Storyteller may tell either a true story or a false story (claiming it to he true). For example, here’s how the Storyteller might respond to an opening line:

        One of the most           “I once jumped in front
        heroic things I            of a moving train to push
        ever did was..,            my brother to safety”

This could either be a true story — or one the Storyteller made up!

During the Storyteller’s turn, all other players become the Listeners. After hearing the story, the Listeners individually and secretly vote whether the story was the truth or a lie. The Storyteller then reveals whether his story really was the truth or a lie. Listeners earn scoring tokens for correct votes; the Storyteller earns scoring tokens for incorrect votes. This ends the Storyteller’s turn.

After each player has taken a turn as the Storyteller, the round ends. Scores are recorded, and a new round begins. After four rounds of play, the player with the highest total score wins!

All the rules are explained in detail in the following sections.

Draw 2 Cards To begin A Round

Any player starts a round by drawing the top 2 cards from the pile. Read both opening lines aloud, then place the cards faceup on the playing surface so that all players can see them.

Telling Stories

Turn Order: Storyteller turns may be taken in any order, depending on who’s ready with a story first, second, and so on. NOTE: Each player must tell one story per round - no passing allowed!

Choosing Your Opening Line: As the Storyteller, you may complete the opening line on either one of the cards. If players would prefer different opening lines, you may return one or both cards to the bottom of the deck and draw replacements from the top.

How To Tell Your Story: Decide in secret whether to tell a true story or a false story. False stories should be told in a convincing way, to fool Listeners into believing they’re true!

If you decide to tell a false story, but have trouble inventing a really convincing one, follow these helpful hints:

• You can use the truth as a thin basis for your story — but change enough details to make the story more fiction than fact.

• You can tell a story that’s true about someone else, and claim it as your own story. Such a story is false, because it didn’t happen to you!

Voting

All Players Secretly Vote: After hearing your story all Listeners individually decide whether your story was true or false. Then they each secretly place their voting tokens truth-side-up or lie-side-up, and cover them with their hands.

At the same time, you (the Storyteller) secretly place your own voting token truth-side-up or lie-side-up, to indicate whether your story was true or false. Cover your voting token with your hand.

All Players Reveal Their Votes: At the same time, all players lift their hands to reveal their voting tokens. Players note whether the Storyteller’s story was true or false — and how many (if any) Listeners were fooled!

Earning Scoring Tokens

The Storyteller and the Listeners earn scoring tokens as follows:

• Storyteller: For each Listener whose voting token does not match your own, you earn one scoring token. Whether your story was true or false, you’ve succeeded in fooling these players!

• Each Listener: If your voting token matches the Storyteller’s voting token, you earn one scoring token. You guessed correctly that the Storyteller’s story was true or false!

Take any scoring tokens you earned from the box, and place them in front of you. All players do the same.

Ending a Round of Play

After each player has taken a turn as Storyteller, the round ends.

Recording The Scores: Count up the scoring tokens you earned during the round. All players do the same. The scorekeeper writes in each player’s total for the round in the appropriate scoresheet box.

Replace all the scoring tokens in the box, then begin a new round.

Ending a Game

A game ends after four rounds have been completed. The scorekeeper adds up each player’s total for all four rounds, and writes the total in the appropriate Final Score box (see example below).

Final Score Example

How To Win

After four rounds of play, the player with the highest score wins!