The Basics
BaRPG can be played between 3 to 7 players.
Groups of more than 7 can team up to form 7 player positions
Gameplay can last anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending on variations to the item deck as explained later in this page. Click here to go straight to that section of this page
Each BaRPG deck contains 65 cards, divided into the following four types:
10 Character Cards |
46 Item Cards |
7 Level Cards |
2 Rules Cards |
Game Setup
Place the Item Cards in a pile in the middle of the table. This is the ‘Market’.
Place the Character Cards in a pile on one side of the table.
Put the two Rules Cards on the table between the players, so they can be consulted during the game.
Each player receives one Level Card and puts this face up (red/blue coloured side up) on the table in front of them. Put remaining Level Cards aside.
Each player also takes one Character Card at random, and places this on top of the Level Card.
Slide the Character Card down so as to reveal ‘Level 1’ on the Level Card underneath.
Using the Level Card
Sliding your Character Card further down tracks your current Level.
Every time you Level Up, slide down to reveal the next Level.
Sliding the Character Card to the left will reveal how many Sober Points you have lost. You lose Sober Points when being targetted by another player’s character power, or losing during a group activity.
At -4 Sober Points you become “Blackout Drunk. Lose your character and items. You restart at Level 1 with a new character, with all your Sober Points restored
Each player now also takes one Item Card at random.
!!! KEEP YOUR ITEMS SECRET !!!
Items can be played at any time, and overrule each other logically and in the order they’re played.
When an item is played it must be discarded in a pile next to the market.
If the market runs out shuffle and reuse the discard pile.
All players now read out their Character and Power to the group.
During the game, whenever you change your character, you must announce your new Character and Power to the group again.
Lastly, before starting the game, make sure to decide with the whole group what constitutes as a ‘Drink’. Our recommendation if you’re learning the ropes, keep it at ‘Bitch Sips’.
Gameplay
The best way to understand this is to use the Rules Card. The following is merely an extrapolation of those rules, along with examples of game play.
The first player to reach level 6 wins.
Each round of BaRPG takes place in two steps;
Action Round
- All players (except the player who leveled up last round) roll the dice.Ties are settled by those players only re-rolling. Highest rolling player gets to go first.
- That player checks if their roll is higher than their current level.
-> If the roll is higher than the player’s current level, go to step 4.
-> If not, continue with step 3. - Player’s roll was the highest, but not higher than the player’s current level? Then choose another player who must re-roll the dice again. Then return to step 2.
- The player goes up one Level (sliding the character card down), reads out their power again, and activates this power. These can either be group activities or single or two-player activities. The character card will explain.
- The power’s description will also prescribe who has to take how many drinks and/or lose sober points. Do so accordingly.
- That player who leveled up this round skips rolling the dice next round. Play now enters the Market Round (see below)
Example: Cat, Dani, Phil and Johno are playing, all players are at level 4.
Johno levelled up last round, so he skips rolling this round.
Cat and Dani both roll a 5, whilst Phil rolls a 4.
Cat and Dani re-roll to break the tie, Dani rolls a 3 and Cat rolls a 4.
Because Cat technically won along with Dani before the tie break, Phil’s previous 4 is ignored.
However, because Cat’s new roll is a 4, it isn’t higher than her level (4).
She chooses Phil to re-roll.
Phil rolls a 5, which is higher than his level (4), so Phil goes up to Level 5, and activates his character’s power.
Market Round
Players can now ‘buy’ item cards, one each per market round, by taking an item and drinking it’s drink value.
During this time items cards, with a combined value of 9 drinks, can also be ‘sold’ to level up, except to reach level 6. To sell an item, a player must discard these items without using them.
It is also important to note that:
– Once an item is picked up it must be bought.
– There is a hand limit of 6 items per player.
Don’t forget, Items can be played at any time, and overrule each other logically and in the order they’re played.
When an item is played it must be discarded in a pile next to the market.
If the market runs out shuffle and reuse the discard pile.
Once the market round is complete the game returns to the activities round.
Adjusting Game Duration
A standard set of BaRPG items will contain two “Spirit of the Vengeful Liver” cards. These are very powerful items, as they can send an opponent back to level 1. Although very fun, the number of “Livers” in your deck can greatly influence how long games can last. Use the table below to adjust your item deck to attain your ideal game duration
Desired Game Duration |
Number of “Livers” in the Items deck |
1:30 hours and longer | 2 |
0:45 – 1:20 hours | 1 |
Up to 45 minutes | 0 |
A Few Final Notes
- Whenever you have to change your character, take the top card from the character pile, and put your discarded one face-down on the bottom of that pile. That way all players will cycle through other characters before re-using their former ones.
- Be nice to your fellow BaRPGers; if someone lost a sober point last round, let them roll first next round.
- If you can’t figure out which rule to apply exactly, argue about it! Best answer should always win! ????
That’s it! As we hear from other people’s experience, this page will be updated and adjusted accordingly. So check back in future if you come across a moment in the game that troubles you!