The rules

How to play

Blurred Lines is the game where you read scandalous scenarios and guess whether your friends will agree or disagree with the bad decisions they describe. Guessed wrong? You still have time to argue and change their mind. Corrupt your friends to win! Or save the corrupted ones, if that’s your style.

Players
3 to 8 (best with 4–6)
Time
30 to 90 minutes

What’s included

Setup

  1. Shuffle the scenario cards and place the deck face down in the middle of the table. You can play with every category mixed in or pick only the ones your group likes.
  2. Give each player one AGREE+DISAGREE card
  3. Choose the first Judge. Whoever most recently did something ethically questionable goes first.
  4. Set a timer for 3 minutes and keep it handy.

How a round works

Each round, one player is the Judge. Everyone else tries to predict whether the Judge will agree with the bad decision on the card.

  1. The Judge reads a card. Draw the top scenario card and read it aloud, poker-faced. The judge must be careful of their facial expression, body language, and vocal tone, so as to ensure they don’t hint about their judgement to the other players. The judge should quickly make their decision by placing their AGREE+DISAGREE card on the table, covered by their hand.
  2. Everyone predicts in secret. Every other player places their AGREE+DISAGREE card on the table with the AGREE or DISAGREE side up to indicate their choices. Players should keep their card hidden under their hand so as not to reveal their choice early.
  3. The Judge answers, and everyone reveals. The Judge says AGREE or DISAGREE out loud. All players show their prediction cards at the same time.
  4. The debate. If anyone guessed wrong, start the 3-minute timer. Players who guessed wrong try to talk the Judge into changing their answer. Players who guessed right can argue to keep the Judge where they are. Be funny, be persuasive, be shameless. If everyone guessed right, skip the debate.
  5. The final answer. When the timer runs out, the Judge gives their final answer.
  6. Every player who correctly predicted the judge’s final answer receives one point.

Quick reference

  1. Judge reads a scenario card aloud.
  2. Everyone else secretly predicts AGREE or DISAGREE.
  3. Judge answers. Everyone reveals.
  4. Anyone wrong? 3-minute debate to try to flip the Judge.
  5. Judge gives their final answer.
  6. Every player who correctly predicted the judge’s final answer receives one point.
  7. Pass the Judge role to the left.

Tips

For Judges

Read the card with a poker face. If you’re easy to read, you’re handing out free points. The Judge should make their decision quickly within about 5-10 seconds so as not to slow down the game.

For everyone else

When you argue, aim at what this Judge cares about, not what you think is right.

Keep debate flowing!

Keep your debate arguments concise and to-the-point! Avoid preambles, flowery language, digressions, quotations, and any other form of pompous, self-important drivel.

A few rules and clarifications

What does AGREE mean?

The Judge decides. They might be asking themselves:

  • Is it right?
  • Would I do it?
  • Would I blame someone who did?
  • Is it worth the consequences?

Guess which question the Judge is answering, and in the debate, try to change it.

You cannot add on to the scenarios

For example, if the card says “John cheated on his girlfriend Sarah during a work conference”, you cannot make up your own facts like “Sarah cheated on him previously” or “They had not clarified if their relationship was exclusive”. The Judge must make their decision based only on the information provided by the cards.

But you can suggest hypotheticals

Players can try to sway the Judge by proposing different perspectives or possible background information. For example, if the card says “John cheated on his girlfriend Sarah during a work conference”, a player can suggest, “What if Sarah had cheated on him previously?”. The Judge can consider how probably the hypothetical scenario is, and whether it changes their judgement.

The Judge can participate in debate

They can answer questions and counter-argue other players if they wish to, unless you are playing the silent judgement variant of the game (described below).

Game variants

  1. Longer Debate Feel free to add more time for debate if you’re a stubborn pedant who can’t just let things go!
  2. Silent Judgement When playing this version of the game, the Judge is not permitted to speak during debate nor can they give non-verbal responses like hand gestures, communicative facial expressions, or head shakes or nods. They need to sit stone-faced as if their parents just grounded them and they know they deserve it!
  3. Joker Version Joker cards look similar to the AGREE&DISAGREE cards except that they say AGREE on both sides! At the beginning of every turn, collect each player’s AGREE&DISAGREE cards (not the Judge’s), shuffle them and deal them out. One unlucky schmuck will be stuck with the joker card and forced to agree no matter what the scenario card says.