Things in Rings Game

From there to here and here to there, things in rings are everywhere!

In Things in Rings, like in every other game, there are rules—but when players begin, no one except for the person who plays the role of the Knower knows what the rules are! How can anyone play a game like this? Not only is it possible, but it is fun.

Overview:

Two to six players can participate in this 20-minute game, which falls into the “party game” category.  A party game is often brought to the table in a social setting because it accommodates more than four players, is easy to learn, and has entertainment value with a higher level of player interaction than most board games. 

In this game, all players who are not the Knower are the Finders, who are trying to empty all the cards, which are the things in rings from their hand. To do this, they must correctly place each card in none, one, two, or all three rings, based on which cards they believe include none, one, two or all three of the following rules, which correlate to the colors of the rings:

1. Attribute (Blue Ring): An item’s physical properties. This might be a rule regarding color, size, weight, or shape.  Examples: contains plastic; weighs more than a chair.
2. Word (Yellow Ring): How the item is spelled, pronounced, or how many letters are in it.  Examples: has 1 syllable; ends with a consonant or “Y”.
3. Context (Red Ring): This rule might describe things like where items in this rule are found, what they are worth, or how old an item or thing that fits this rule is. Examples: you expect to find it in a school; most people see it regularly.

Gameplay:

One, two, or all three rings are placed on the table, depending on the level of challenge that the players want, which ranges from easy for one ring, medium for two, and difficult for three. If using two rings, there should be overlapping areas between them, and if three are used, there should be an area that overlaps each combination of two rings and another area where all three overlap. The Knower is chosen, and that player chooses random rules cards for each ring that is being used from a subset of rules cards that have the chosen difficulty level on the back.

There is a “Things” deck, which are objects that will match none, one, two, or three rules among the hidden, chosen rules for the game. Each player receives five of these cards. The Knower chooses three of their Thing cards that follow the ring rules. These act as clues to help the Finders start guessing the rules. The Knower then discards their other two Thing cards.

For the rest of the game, each Finder takes turns choosing a card from their hand and placing it face-up anywhere inside or outside the rings. (The area outside represents no matching rules.)  The Knower looks at their choice and either confirms it was correctly placed or moves it to the area it belongs if it was not. If the Finder was right, they can place another Thing card. If they were not correct, they must draw another card. When any player has emptied their hand of Thing cards correctly, they automatically win the game. All players can then guess the secret rules just to see if they have figured them out!

This fast-paced game encourages deductive reasoning skills as players find common attributes between words. Things in Rings creates conversation, and the complexity can be tailored to the group. The rulebook also contains a variant set of rules for cooperative play.