What's the Question? is a party game for 3-10 players of most ages. Recommended: 5+ Players, age 15+.
BASIC RULES
Debate who deserves to be the first tiebreaker. The tiebreaker has the most power at the table. Don’t worry, it only lasts for a turn. While that is going on, someone should shuffle the deck. The question side stays face down. The topic side will be face up.
Once the first debate is over and decided, that person gets the two tiebreaker voting cards. The person on his or her left gets the one black representative card. Everyone, including the tiebreaker and representative, gets two normal voter cards. Each person should have two voter cards of a single color. These colors will help with scoring and should remain the same throughout the game.
The tiebreaker places the deck face down in front of them. He or she places the top card face down beside the deck, then choose one of the two topic on the card.
Everyone gets a paper to write on. If you are using the paper provided, you will notice there are eight spaces on each sheet. For each round, use one space to allow for reuse.
After a topic is decided, everyone but the tiebreaker writes something fits the topic. Write it on the first line since this is the first round.The tiebreaker should simply put a dash through that first line. For example, if the topic was “hobby”, then a player could write “stamp collecting” or “painting”. Keep it out of sight of the other players. Fold it length-wise once and hand it to the tiebreaker.
After everyone has written something on the papers, they give them to the tiebreaker and he or she shuffles them. The tiebreaker does not include his own in the shuffle. Everyone but the tiebreaker chooses a paper at random and reveals it to the table. For this example, we’ll say the black representative selected a paper that said “stamp collecting”. At this time, the tiebreaker chooses which person/subject combination will be debating against the black representative. Our tiebreaker chooses the player with “painting”.
The tiebreaker gives that player the white representative card. Now, the tiebreaker turns over the topic card from the deck and reads the question. For example, if the topic is hobby, the question could be “Which hobby is more dangerous?”
The debate begins between the black and the white representatives. Everyone else now becomes a voter. The representatives do not vote. The tiebreaker only votes with the tiebreaker voting cards. Representatives may do anything in their power to get votes, including but not limited to internet usage, lies, or phoning a friend. To vote, a voter chooses a voter card with a colored circle that matches the person they would like to vote for and puts in the middle of the table. A debate should last about 2-5 minutes, depending on the question and the passion of the players that are debating. If all but one voter has voted, the remaining undecided voter must vote immediately.
After the tiebreaker and all voters have voted, the debate is over. Turn over all voting cards in the middle of the table and count them to see who won the debate. In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker’s vote decides which representative wins the round.
To keep score, flip a paper from the pad upside down. It doubles as a score tracker. You may use names or colors. The winner of the debate gets 3 points. If a voter (not a representative) submitted the winning topic, that voter gets 2 points. The person who voted for the winner of the debate gets 1 point. Count up the points, write them down, then begin the next round.
The black card and the tiebreaker voter cards get passed to the left. The white card returns to the tiebreaker. When someone reaches 20 points, that person is the winner. If two or more people reach 20, they must debate why they believe they should be the overall winner until a winner is decided by the rest of the table. There will never be more than one winner. Whoever suggests it is the loser.
PLAYER CHALLENGE
Representatives do not write on the paper for the player challenge. The subject is themselves. After the tiebreaker chooses a white representative, flip over the card and read the player challenge question. The representatives must debate to win.
Too Long;Didn’t Read
To start the game: One person gets tiebreaker cards, one person gets the black representative, and everyone gets the voter cards. Tiebreaker reads topics.
Each round: Read a topic. Regular voters write something related to that topic. Give the paper to the tiebreaker. He/She shuffles them and redistributes them. All reveal. Tiebreaker gives the white representative card to one of those players. Begin the debate. Voters and tiebreaker votes. See who won. Mark the scores. Pass the white representative card back to the tiebreaker. The player on the left of the tiebreaker becomes the new tiebreaker. Pass the black representative card to the left.
VARIANTS
My Own Agenda: This is for only 2 players, but the two players must be very outgoing! This will also require a few total strangers. Representatives will write each other's subjects, then approach strangers and ask them to settle an argument between you and your friend. For winning an argument, you get one point. First player to three points wins.
Good Luck With This: Use only two papers. The black representative and the tiebreaker will write subjects. Saves on paper, but gives a lot of power to the tiebreaker.
Playing with 3 or 4 players: Though this game is recommended for 5+ players, playing with 3 or 4 is possible in a pinch. Use “My Own Agenda” variant when doing this, or “Good Luck With This” to mix things up.
