- BGG rating
- 6.7
The Game on Fire
- 1–5 players
- 20 min
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- 2015
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The Game
2015
Rules assistance for The Game
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–5 players
- 20 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.2/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for The Game
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Game is a board game released in 2015 for 1–5 players, 20 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Steffen Benndorf and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Cooperative Game, and Communication Limits.
Expansions
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About the game
Players in The Game try to discard all 98 cards in the deck onto four discard piles in order to win, but they need to do so in the right ways. Each player starts with 6-8 cards in their hand depending on the number of players, and four discard pile prompt cards are on the table: two showing "1" and an up arrow and two showing "100" and a down arrow. On a turn, a player must discard at least two cards from their hand onto one or more discard piles, with cards on the 1 piles being placed in ascending order and cards on the 100 piles being placed in descending order. One tricky aspect of the game is that you can play a card exactly 10 higher/lower than the top card of a discard pile even when you would normally have to play in a descending/ascending order, e.g., if a 100 discard pile is topped with an 87, you can play any card lower than 87 or you can play the 97. After a player finishes their turn, they refill their hand from the deck. During play, players cannot reveal exact numbers in their hands, but they can warn others not to play on certain discard piles or otherwise make play suggestions. Once the deck is emptied, players are required only to play at least one card on a turn. If you play all 98 cards, you win! If you get good, the rules suggest that you play at least three cards a turn to increase the challenge.
Designers
Publishers
- Arclight Games
- Galápagos Jogos
- Popcorn Games
- Swan Panasia Co., Ltd.
- DV Games
- MINDOK
- Vennerød Forlag AS
- Game Factory
- Fractal Juegos
- Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag
- Morapiaf
- White Goblin Games
- Oya
- FoxGames
- Pandasaurus Games
- IDW Games
- YellowBOX
- Pravi Junak
Questions and answers
The Game supports 1–5 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 The Game is 20 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 The Game for ages 8 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.
The Game has a complexity rating of 1.2 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.
The Game belongs to these categories: Card Game and Number. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Cooperative Game, and Communication Limits. 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 The Game are: Steffen Benndorf. 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 The Game 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.