
- BGG rank
- BGG #10,201
- BGG rating
- 7.0
It's Mine
- 2 players
- 20–45 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2015

Rules assistance for The Idles
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

For 2 players
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Idles is a board game released in 2026 for 2 players, 30–45 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Unai Rubio and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Secret Unit Deployment.
Is your team dragging its heels? Productivity in the pits? Not anymore! Say Hello to Maxwell — The Supercomputer of Tomorrow, Today! From the fine folks at Moloch Industries, this marvel of modern engineering keeps your team on track and sends your company’s productivity soaring to brand-new heights! It’s simple, it’s effective, and it’s 100% guaranteed to boost results. The top companies in the country are already on board — what are you waiting for? The Idles is an asymmetric card game for two players. Set in a nostalgic 1950s America with dystopian undertones, the game pits a mysterious supercomputer — obsessed with maximizing corporate productivity — against a lowly employee struggling under that very weight. The supercomputer, Maxwell, will line up his programs and defend them with supervisors until they can be executed successfully...by any means necessary! Meanwhile, the employee must constantly prove their worth by grinding out productivity awards, or else risk being branded an idler. And bad things are said to happen to those who idle. Better not find out!
The Idles supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for The Idles is 30–45 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 Idles for ages 14 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 Idles belongs to these categories: Card Game and Political. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Secret Unit Deployment. 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 Idles are: Unai Rubio. 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 Idles 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.