The Mind

Based on the game by Wolfgang Warsch

Try to read your friends' minds. Play cards in ascending order by feeling.

Setup

Use the sequence numbers printed on each ZSA card. You need cards with sequence numbers 1 through 100. That means:

• All numbered cards (ranks 0-9) from all 8 suits give you sequence #0-79
• The face cards give you #80-119

Pull out sequence #0 (Clubs 0) — you don't need it. Then use sequence #1 through #100 (that's Clubs 1 through Caps X). Set aside #101-119 (not needed).

100 playing cards total.

You also need tokens for lives and throwing stars. Use coins, buttons, or unused ZSA cards for these.

Setup:

Set out the life and star tokens. Shuffle all 100 cards.

Gameplay

Level 1: Deal 1 card to each player. Players look at their own card(s) but cannot communicate in any way about their values — no talking, no signals, no hints.

When everyone is ready, players begin. There are no turns. Any player may place their lowest card face-up on the central pile at any time. The goal is for all cards to be played in ascending order of sequence number.

If a card is played and any other player holds a lower card, stop. That player reveals the lower card(s), and the team loses 1 life for each card that was skipped. Discard all skipped cards. Then continue.

Throwing star: At any point, any player may propose using a throwing star by raising their hand. If all players agree (by also raising their hands), spend 1 star and everyone simultaneously reveals and discards their lowest card. This is the only allowed communication.

When all cards for the level are played, the level is complete.

Level 2: Deal 2 cards to each player. Level 3: 3 cards each. And so on.

Rewards

After completing certain levels, the team earns rewards:

Winning

Win by completing all levels for your player count. Lose when your last life is lost.