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Five Fingered Severance
2011
Rules assistance for Five Fingered Severance
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–6 players
- 90 min
- 13+
- Complexity 1.9/5
Rules assistant for Five Fingered Severance
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Five Fingered Severance is a board game released in 2011 for 2–6 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Patrick Leder and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Push Your Luck.
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About the game
Today is your last day on the job. Corporate decided to close the store and everybody is getting the boot. You could spend the rest of the day helping those miserable, wretched wastes of human skin who come in and demand service, or you could do what you always wanted - tell them were to go and have a good time. And you know which one it’s going to be... From the instructions. In Severance each player assumes the role of one the characters at the store. They can steal items from the store, slack off, or keep performing their work duties. Each activity has risks and rewards. The player scores points after successfully slacking off and after taking their stolen goods to their locker. When a player gets caught (by the boss) doing something wrong they gain heat. Heat also naturally rises during the game. When a player reaches 30 they are fired. The game ends when all of the players but one are fired or the event deck is exhausted. Five Fingered Severance is a take that game. To gain points the players will have to open themselves up to the other player's attacks. I want the game to be more tactical though, so the plot cards in the deck are limited to just a few types of cards. This allows players to know about what they are getting when they take a turn to refresh their hand.
Designers
Publishers
- (Web published)
- Minion Games
Questions and answers
Five Fingered Severance supports 2–6 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 Five Fingered Severance is 90 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 Five Fingered Severance for ages 13 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.
Five Fingered Severance has a complexity rating of 1.9 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.
Five Fingered Severance belongs to these categories: Card Game and Humor. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Push Your Luck. 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 Five Fingered Severance are: Patrick Leder. 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 Five Fingered Severance 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.