- BGG rating
- 6.8
Bad Medicine: Second Opinion
- 3–8 players
- 30 min
- 2019
- BGG rank
- BGG #11,125
- BGG rating
- 6.4
Bad Medicine
2015
Rules assistance for Bad Medicine
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 3–8 players
- 30 min
- 16+
- Complexity 1.5/5
For 3 players
Rules assistant for Bad Medicine
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Bad Medicine is a board game released in 2015 for 3–8 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 16 and up. It was designed by Gil Hova and its main mechanics are Storytelling, Team-Based Game, and Voting.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 6.0
Bad Medicine: The Unsafe Expansion
- 3–8 players
- 30–60 min
- 2019
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About the game
In Bad Medicine, you and your opponents are huge pharmaceutical companies. Your goal is to create names and advertisements for new drugs to cure the current Malady, while downplaying any side effects the folks at the lab may have discovered. Did we mention your company is huge? It's huge enough that the people who formulate the drugs and the people who pitch the drugs don't really talk to each other, so don't be surprised when the person pitching your company's drug is just as surprised as everyone else when she sees what it actually does... Each card in the game has a little bit of a drug name, a little bit of a description, and a side effect. There will be one card dealt in the middle of the table; its side effect is the malady to cure this round. In a 3-4 player game, each player gets seven cards, and chooses three cards for their drug names and two cards for their descriptions. Once everyone has chosen their cards, everyone pitches their drug in turn. While one player is making his pitch, the other players pass a card to the pitching player. The pitching player chooses one card to incorporate into his pitch as a side effect, and explain why it's not as bad as it sounds. The player whose side effect got chosen gets a point! In a 5-8 player game, players split off into teams. One player on a team gets six cards, and chooses three cards for their drug names, two cards for their descriptions, and one card for its side effect. He passes them all face-down to his teammate, who won't see the cards until she starts her pitch! After all players have made their pitches, everyone votes on their favorite drug. Players score points for getting votes, and teams rotate every turn. The player with the most points after four rounds wins!
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Formal Ferret Games
Questions and answers
Bad Medicine supports 3–8 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Bad Medicine is 30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Bad Medicine for ages 16 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Bad Medicine has a complexity rating of 1.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Bad Medicine belongs to these categories: Card Game, Party Game, and Medical. Its main mechanics are Storytelling, Team-Based Game, and Voting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Bad Medicine are: Gil Hova. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Bad Medicine as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.