Components
- Gameboard
- 4 pawns
- 540 game cards
- 2 dice
- Scoring Chips
- Sand Timer
- Instructions
Object of the Game
is to match the answers on the game cards - what's called hitting Bullseyes! You score points each round for doing so, and the first player/team to reach the Finish space wins the game.
Setup
How do you want to play? For up to 3-4 players, you compete against others in Individual Play.
For more than 3-4 players, divide into teams for Team Play (either just two teams competing Head-to-Head, or up to 4 teams, with any number of players per team, as long as they sit together).
Once the format is decided, every player/team selects a game piece and places it on the START circle.
Four Card Categories
What The (blank)?
Try to fill in the blanks to figure out phrases and expressions, or objects and things. Think of words that often go together. If you are given "CLEAR (Blank) ", you may say: SKIES, CONSCIENCE, CUT, etc.
Or if you're given "(Blank) MACHINE ", you might say: VEND- ING, WASHING, SLOT, etc. You get the idea!
Add Ons
Think of answers that start or end with a certain word. If you are asked to find "Words that start with BACK", you might say BACKGROUND, BACKBONE, BACKLASH, etc.
Or for "Words that end in WORK", you may say FRAMEWORK, NETWORK, ARTWORK, etc. Just 'add on'!
Letter Perfect
Look for names, places, animals, etc, based on the letter(s) you're given.
If you're looking for "Female names that start with W", you may say WENDY, WANDA, WHITNEY, etc. Or for "Birds that start with R ", you may say ROBIN, RAVEN, etc. As simple as that!
Rhyme Time
Come up with words that rhyme with a certain key word. It's trickier than you think, because the answers you're looking for have at least the same number of letters as the rhyming word (or more).
So if you're asked to find words that rhyme with FLAME, don't say NAME (fewer letters), but try SHAME, FRAME, BLAME, etc. Some rhyming words have many possibilities, and many choices are anything but obvious!
Game Play
Step 1: Assume your Role for the round
Select a Card Reader (player/team) for the opening round. This role involves:
- reading the question to the other players/teams;
- setting the scoring for the round; and
- monitoring the answers that are shouted out.
Players/teams take turns in this role after each round.
To the left of the Card Reader is the Player/ Team in the Hot Seat. Once the 30-second timer is flipped, they go Bonkers blurting out answers to the question, trying to win as many points as possible.
Last but not least, all other players/teams (if there are any) take their place as Bystanders. They quietly (or not so quietly) think about the question that is read out, and listen to the answers given by the Player/Team In the Hot Seat...hoping that the answers are wrong!
Why? Because Bystanders can give their own answers at the end to score points - so pay attention!
Step 2: Selecting the Category
Now that everyone has a role, let the fun begin! The Player/Team In the Hot Seat spins the spinner to select a category. The spinner may point to any one of the four card categories:
- What the (Blank)?
- Add Ons
- Letter Perfect
- Rhyme Time
or to Your Choice (the Player/Team In the Hot Seat chooses whichever one of the four categories they want).
The Card Reader then takes the first card carefully from the card box so that no opposing players see it, and looks at the question for the selected category. Every question is followed by four Bullseye answers: A, B, C and D. The game board has four Bullseye circles labeled A, B, C and D. You'll see the connection...
Step 3: Placing Scoring Chips on the board
If you are the Card Reader, now is when you plan your strategy. Read the question and answers to yourself (or secretly along with your teammates), and then decide which answers will be the hardest for the Player in the Hot Seat (and Bystanders for that matter) to get.
Once you decide on the difficulty level of each answer, you allocate scoring chips to each Bullseye answer. Here's how:
If playing in teams, all players in the Card Reader Team should jointly decide where to place the chips (it's a team effort).
There are a total of 10 yellow scoring chips (extras may have been included, so count them out). The scoring chips will be divvied up between the Bullseye circles on the game board.
Scoring chips must be placed on each Bullseye circle in stacks of one chip, two chips, three chips, and four chips. It's up to you which Bullseye circles get 1, 2, 3, or 4 chips. Remember, put the most chips on the Bullseye circle with the hardest corresponding answer!
Example of Placing Scoring Chips: You could place 4 chips on Bullseye circle A (if you think that Answer A is the hardest for players to guess), 3 chips on circle B, 2 chips on circle C, and 1 chip on circle D (if you think Answer D is the easiest to guess).
Step 4: The question is read aloud..
After the chips have been placed on each Bullseye circle, the Card Reader, (i) reads the question to the other players; (ii) flips the 30-second timer over; and (iii) starts to monitor the answers that are given by the Player/Team in the Hot Seat.
Step 5: Trying to hit 'Bullseye' answers
The Player/Team in the Hot Seat now tries to blurt out as many answers as possible to the question before time runs out. Your guesses might seem right, but are they on target?
Only Bullseye answers win you scoring chips! Hitting a Bullseye means your guess matches one of the four answers on the card.
Sure, there may be other correct answers to the question, but you need to find the answers listed under A, B, C and D on the card to win the corresponding scoring chips placed on the board. If you don't say those answers, you win no chips!
If playing in teams: Any member of the Team in the Hot Seat can shout out an answer at any time, and teammates can shout out different answers simultaneously!
Step 6: Yelling 'Bullseye'
It's the Card Reader's job to monitor the answers that are given by the Player/Team in the Hot Seat. If an answer is given that is a hit, the Card Reader says 'BULLSEYE' and indicates which answer is matched (A, B, C, or D).
The Player/Team in the Hot Seat then collects the scoring chips for their correct answer from that Bullseye circle. Time doesn't stop while the chips are being collected, so keep the answers flowing!
If an answer is given which is riot a match, the Card Reader may say 'no', 'nope', etc, or just shake their head.
Be flexible when you're the Card Reader. If an answer is given which is 'close enough', by any reasonable standard (e.g. Charles instead of Charlie), show some leniency. Nobody likes a 'stickler', and what goes around comes around!
About some answers: In a few cases, an answer on a card appears with a forward slash (e.g. Crazy/Nutty), which means either one of these words (Crazy or Nutty) is fine to match this (you don't need to say both words).
Likewise, if an answer appears with some letters in brackets - like Pat(rick) - either the shorter answer (Pat) or the longer answer (Patrick) is fine to hit that Bullseye.
Step 7: Time's Up...enter the Bystanders
Note: If there are only two players/teams playing, there are no Bystanders! So once time is up for the Player/Team in the Hot Seat, just ignore Step 7 and go to Step 8.
The turn of the Player/Team in the Hot Seat is over when time runs out. If they didn't hit all of the Bullseye answers, Bystanders get their chance to hit any re- maining Bullseyes (and win scoring chips). Bystanders are allowed only one guess, and must wait their turn before giving it. Here's how their turn works:
The Card Reader asks the first Bystander/Team (to the left of the Player/Team in the Hot Seat) something like: "Well, what's your guess?" If the answer is a Bullseye, the Bystander/Team collects the scoring chips that are on that circle.
If the answer is wrong, or if no answer is given, then the Card Reader, continu- ing clockwise, asks the next Bystander/Team for their one guess, and so on until all the Bullseyes have been found or until each Bystander/Team has given one guess. Yes, it's not fair that the final Bystander has to go last, but somebody has to.
A Bystander Team must arrive at a collective decision as to which one answer to give to try and hit a Bullseye. Confer and discuss answers, but vote on which one becomes your 'official 'guess.
Step 8: How The card reader wins scoring chips
After time runs out for the Player/Team in the Hot Seat, and each Bystander (if any) has given one guess, the Card Reader reveals the Bullseye answers that were not matched in the round, and scoops up all remaining chips on the board.
So if chips remain on Bullseyes A and D (because none of the players hit those Bullseyes with the correct answers), then the Card Reader collects the chips on those circles. But if all the Bullseyes were hit during the round (which doesn't happen frequently), the Card Reader is left empty-handed.
The Card Reader, however, actually 'wins' only half of the scoring chips collected from the board, and must put half aside. So if the Card Reader collected 8 chips, they win - and get to keep - only 4 of them (putting 4 aside).
The number of chips collected may be an odd number, in which case you round up: if 5 chips are collected, the Card Reader wins and keeps 3 (5÷2=2.5, rounded up to 3).
Remember the Card Reader's strategy: By putting the most scoring chips (4) on the hardest answer, which is the most difficult Bullseye for players to hit in your opinion, you also increase your chances of receiving the most spoils!
Step 9: Count your scoring chips and move ahead
All players - the Player/Team in the Hot Seat, the Card Reader, and Bystanders (if any) - now move their game pieces on the board by the number of scoring chips they won in the round.
Each chip is worth 1 point (or 1 space on the board). For example, if a player/team won 9 chips, then their game piece would be moved ahead 9 spaces on the board (so 2 chips equal 2 spaces, etc).
Once all players/teams have moved their game pieces on the board (if they won any chips, that is), the round ends.
Step 10: Preparing for the next round
The next round begins once the new 'roles' are assigned. The (old) Card Reader/Team passes the card box to the player/team to their left (always clockwise), who becomes the (new) Card Reader for the round.
The player to the new Card Reader's left becomes the new Player/Team in the Hot Seat', and any remaining players/teams are the new Bystanders.
End of the Game
Play continues until someone reaches the FINISH space, becoming the Winner of the Game!
Quick recap of one round of play
The Player in the Hot Seat spins the spinner to select the category.
The Card Reader takes a card and decides how many points the answers are worth by placing scoring chips on each Bullseye circle.
After the Card Reader reads out the question, the timer is flipped and the Player/Team in the Hot Seat tries to hit Bullseyes by matching answers on the card.
Bullseyes are worth 1, 2, 3, or 4 scoring chips. Hit all four Bullseyes and win 10 chips during your turn - and advance 10 spaces.
But if you miss any Bullseyes, a Bystander has the chance to hit these Bullseyes later, or the Card Reader may collect those chips at the end.
After the chips are counted and the game pieces moved ahead, players/teams as- sume their new 'roles' for the next round.
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