Quizterix Standard
Quizterix Standard is for casual gameplay. It is the most enjoyable ruleset for beginners and those who do not have detailed knowledge of the Cold War era yet. If you enjoy board games with family and friends and have 3-8 players, this ruleset is for you. Beginners get to try out memory tricks and have fun with crazy images. Advanced players can refine their competitive winning strategies.
(A) The aim of the game
Each player builds a timeline. The timeline with the longest streak of consecutive events wins.
(B) Decide how many events you want to include
Expect a couple of hours of gameplay for the full set of 52 events. 32 events last about 90 minutes for beginners and playing with 20 events results in shorter gameplay.
(C) Game preparation
Keep event and question cards in separate decks. Shuffle both decks. Always keep event cards with the image side facing up. These cards are called hidden cards. The game is about flipping them over one by one. 4 hidden cards are placed in random order in a line in front of each player. The remaining event cards are placed with the hidden side up in the middle of the table. Also place the Quickstart card, the Major System card, and the Mnemonic Panic card in the middle of the table. Place the question cards question side up in the middle of the table. One player is selected to start the game.
(D) Gameplay
Players take turns clockwise and each turn consists of up to 5 steps.
Step 1: Add a new event
This step is only played as long as there are still hidden events available in the event card deck. You draw the next event card from the top of the deck and insert it into your timeline at a location of your choice. Checking the flip side of the card is strictly prohibited!
Step 2: Optional: Risk a guess
You are allowed to guess one, and only one, hidden event in your own timeline. This includes the new event added in Step 1. You can decide not to risk a guess and simply proceed with Step 3. If you guess the event name, the year, and the mnemonic correctly, flip the event card over and proceed with Step 3. If you get any of those wrong, the event card remains hidden and the turn is over. The game continues with the next player. There is no limit to how often you guess an event, but you only get one try per turn.
Step 3: Optional: Peek
You may look at the flipped side of one card of your choice. If you choose to peek, your turn ends, and the game proceeds with the next player. Don’t forget the event name, the date, and the mnemonic! You will need it for your next turn!
Step 4: Answer a question
This step decides if you get a roll of the dice or not. Without looking at the questions, select one of the suits randomly (hearts, clubs, diamonds, or spades). One of the other players reads the question. If you do know the answer sufficiently well, you are allowed to proceed with Step 5. If you do not know the answer, your turn is over, and the game continues with the next player. Return the question card to the bottom of the questions stack.
Step 5: Roll your dice!
(1) Tough Luck! You have to give one of your hidden events to another player of your choice. This player is allowed to peek and memorize the event for their next turn. This player places their new event in their timeline at a position of their choice with the image side up.
(2) Get one event from the event stack. You are allowed to peek. Put the new event in your timeline at a position of your choice. Do not flip the card over! Bad luck when there are no new events left. In that case, the game simply proceeds with the next player.
(3) Steal any hidden event card from any other player. You are allowed to peek and put it in your timeline at a position of your choice. You are not allowed to flip the stolen card over!
(4) You swap one of your hidden cards with someone else’s (you choose which ones). Both players insert their new card at a position of their choice. Both players get to peek. Do not flip the event cards over!
(5) Move one of your cards in your timeline to a new position. This can be a hidden or a flipped card. Do not peek!
(6) Mnemonic Panic!
The mnemonic has to be different from the one on the card. You can, but you don’t have to use the Major System. You are allowed to mime, sing, dance, or do anything else you find memorable. You are not allowed to reuse a mnemonic that was used before. But this rule only counts for the game you are playing. You are allowed to reuse a mnemonic you or someone else has used in a previous game.
Mnemonic Panic for 2 players
Only play if both players have at least one card flipped. Otherwise, the game continues with the next player. Both players come up with a valid mnemonic for one of the opponent’s flipped cards. The fastest player gets to steal the event their mnemonic is for and insert the card at a position of their choice.
Mnemonic Panic for 3+ players
Only play if there are at least 3 flipped cards on the table. Otherwise, the game continues with the next player. Each player comes up with a mnemonic for any of the flipped events on the table. Once a mnemonic is presented, the other players guess which event it was for. When a player guesses a mnemonic correctly, both, the player inventing the new mnemonic and the player guessing it, receive
a new event card from the stack. Both players are allowed to peek and put the new event in their timeline. If no or only one new event is available on the stack, both players steal a hidden event from any player of their choice (including from each other). Both players are allowed to peek.
Special Rule:
If you own all four suits of a rank (e.g. all the Queens) and have them all flipped over, they are protected from being stolen or swapped!
(E) End of the Game
The game ends once the first player has flipped their entire timeline. The game immediately stops and all players flip their remaining hidden event cards. The player with the longest streak of chronological events wins. 2 or more events in the same year always count as being in the right order.
Examples:
‘56, ’81, ‘49, ’51, ‘53, ’68, ‘66, ’79 has 4 consecutive events.
‘87, ’72, ‘76, ’76, ‘81, ’83 has 5 consecutive events.
Even though the second timeline is shorter, it wins. In case of a draw: The timeline with the most events wins. Still no winner? The timeline covering the longest timespan wins. Last resort: The player, whose longest consecutive event line covers the longest timespan wins. If you managed to still be equal - play a round of Quizterix Snap! to find the winner.
Some special rules:
(I) Play with refreshers
If you play with anyone new to the game or someone with memory difficulties, allow them to peek again when they feel an event has slipped their mind. A quick refresher works wonders!
(II) Stop all that peeking
Once all players know many of the events, peeking can make the game too easy. When you are at that point, simply outlaw all peeking apart from the optional peeking at Step 3.
(III) Several event packs
If you own several event packs, you can mix decks. Either limit gameplay to a random selection of events or just play with the ones you are most interested in.
Quizterix Snap!
This ruleset is for multiple rounds of fast gameplay. Ultra-short revisions tickle your memory. Just enough to bring back events and dates when they start slipping your mind. Quizterix Snap! also works great after a game of Quizterix Standard.
(A) The aim of the game
Win as many event cards as you can
(B) Game preparation
Shuffle the event cards. Always keep the image side up. One player is selected as the dealer.
(C) Snap!
The dealer shuffles, blindly selects an event card, and puts it on the table image side up. The first player to shout out event name, event date and mnemonic wins the card. If no player is able to do that, the card gets flipped over and the solution is read out for everyone. The card is then shuffled back into the deck. Make sure you get it right next time!
(D) End of a Round
A round ends once the last event card has been played and there are no more cards left.
(E) Score
The player with the most cards wins. You can play several rounds and add up the scores to determine an overall winner.
Quizterix Klondike
This ruleset is for a single player and is suitable for experienced players and those new to the deck. The ruleset is a standard Klondike solitaire game with a twist.
(A) The aim of the game
Sort the events of your deck into 4 stacks.
(B) Game preparation
Prepare your event cards image side up according to the standard Klondike solitaire rules. If you should be unfamiliar with these rules, we recommend watching a short video on how to play.
(C) Gameplay
All cards showing the hidden side (i.e. the side with the image) are locked. You need to turn them over before you are allowed to use them. There are 2 ways to flip an event card: The low-risk variant is to draw a question card and answer the question with the same suit as your event. If you answer correctly, you are allowed to turn the card over. The high-risk variant is to know or guess the event name and year. If you get your guess wrong, your solitaire goes bust and you have to start again. Proceed with turning all playable cards over. Once they all show the flipped side, you are allowed to sort them according to the Klondike rules. Any card that gets uncovered has to be unlocked before it becomes playable. You win the solitaire if you manage to sort all cards into their stacks. You lose if no further sorting is possible or you have taken a risk but guessed the event name or year wrong.
Quickfire Quizterix Poker
This ruleset is for multiple rounds of fast gameplay. It focuses on ultra-fast revisions that tickle your memory. Just enough to bring bring back the events and dates that start slipping your mind. This ruleset is for 2-6 players and consisted of an arbitrary number of rounds taking no longer than 5 minutes.
(A) The aim of the game
Outsmart your opponents by placing your events strategically and win by securing more events that your opponents. Place bets on the quality of your hand and win your opponents stakes.
(B) Game preparation
Shuffle your cards. Player start each round with the same number of cards. Remove 1 random card from the deck when playing with 3 player, 2 cards when playing with 5 and 4 cards when playing with 6. The ruleset works well when several event decks are combined. In this case, each player starts with 13 cards and the rest of the deck is ignored. Players hold their hand close to their chest and make sure other players are unable see their hand.
(C) Betting on your hand
Betting on your hand is optional. Players need to have a good overview of all events in the deck in order to grade whether they have been dealt a good hand or a bad one. If you do decide to include betting, DO NOT USE MONEY for your stakes, as there are many ways to cheat. We recommend using dried beans or other suitable object to serve as stakes.
Players start with the same amount of beans. A round starts with every player paying in 1 bean as a minimum stake. The player sitting clockwise to the dealer starts the bidding process. They can choose one of 3 options: “Fold”, if they think they can not win the round or bluff their way to victory. Their cards are then removed from gameplay and not shown to any of the other players. “pass”, if they do not want to raise the stakes but stay in the game. “raise” to force the other players to increase their stakes. Once stakes are raised, each other player has to match the raise to stay in the game or decide to fold. Players who do not have enough beans to match the raise are allowed to stay in the game but have to bet all the beans they still hold. Players can not increase stakes twice in a row. The round starts when no more raises are placed.
(D) Gameplay
Each player selects a card to place. Selected cards are revealed with the year side up simultaneously. The player with the earliest event wins all the cards on the table. In case there are two or more events in the same year, they cancel each other and the next earliest card wins. If no winner can be determined, the highest card wins in the order: Ace-King-Queen-Jack-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2. If there is no winner still, the cards with the highest suit wins in the order Spades-Hearts-Diamonds-Clubs.
(E) End of a Round
The player winning the most cards wins and takes all the beans on the table. In the case or equal numbers the player having won the most recent event wins. If no winner can be determined the player having won the highest card wins in the order outlined above.
(F) End of the Game
The game ends once one or several players have lost all their beans. The player who has won the most beans wins.
Special Rule:
When playing with 4 players (or any other even number), players sitting on opposite ends of the table can form a team. The team with the most beans in the end wins. This special rule opens a number of strategic variants. Players in teams are encouraged to agree on a common strategy to increase their winning chances.