Starting the game

For 2 to 3 players, deal each player 7 cards (they’re called issues in this game). If there are more than 3 players, deal 5 issues each. The rest of the deck forms a stack of potential issues.

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Taking turns

Players take turns in a clockwise order. On your turn, ask 1 other player if they have any copies of a particular issue that you already have in your hand. 

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If that player has any copies of that issue, they hand all of them over to you and you get another turn. If you collect all 4 copies of an issue during this stage, you may play your set by placing the set of cards face up in front of you and declaring that you have, for example, “existential dread.” Each set counts as one point.

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If that player does not have copies of that issue, they’ll say “not yet”. Your turn ends and you may draw a new potential issue from the deck. If you pull the final issue for a set you hold in your hand, you’ll have to wait for your next turn to play the set. 

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Winning the game​

When there are no more potential issues in the deck, each player takes one final turn, including the person who drew the final card. The player with the most completed sets of issues in front of them is the winner.

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Meet your match is a party game similar to 20 questions where players hold an unknown issue card on their forehead, and ask other players questions in order to learn what issue they have. The first pair of people to find the other player who is holding their matching issue win.

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To play, sort all the issues into sets of 4 and remove two copies of each issue from the game. You’ll be left with pairs of different issues. If playing with an odd number of players, you can use three issues from one set.

 

There should now be one card for each of the players (e.g., in a 12-person game, 6 pairs of issues will be used). Shuffle the cards together and hand them out randomly without the players seeing the issues written on them.

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Players hold their issue on their forehead with the issue facing the other players. Players then walk around and take turns asking each other “yes”, “no” or “maybe” questions about what issue they might have. At no time may any player say the name of any issue aloud. The first pair of players to find their match wins.

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Alternately, the game can be played with players being able to answer questions however they like, but players must still refrain from using the name of the issues on any card. 

I have issues is a party game similar to Charades, where 2 teams play against each other to guess as many issues as possible before time runs out. Designers note: This game is best played with multiple expansions of We've Got Issues.

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Set up

Shuffle one copy of each issue into a deck of potential issues, or use multiple copies of each issue and form a deck if you want them to appear multiple times (if you choose to have them reappear players must use different clues each time a copy of an issue is drawn from the deck).

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Round one

Team 1 selects a player to give clues to the rest of their team. Play begins when the clue-giver picks the top issue from the potential issue deck. From that moment, they have one minute to get their team to guess as many issues as possible before time runs.

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The clue-giver can say anything they want as long as it is not any word on that card, rhyming words, and they may not spelling out any part of that issue.

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When the team guesses the issue correctly, the clue-giver draws another issue from the deck or potential issues and continues giving clues and drawing issues until time is up or there are no more issues in the deck. If an illegal clue is given, the issue is put aside and play continues.

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When time is up, the current issue is reinserted into the deck of unguessed potential issues. This allows for a particularly difficult issue to be guessed by several players on both sides. Each team is awarded one point for every issue they guessed correctly. 

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Repeat with Team 2. For the subsequent rounds alternate the starting team.

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Round two

After all of the issues have been guessed in round 1, they are reshuffled into a deck. For this round, the clue-giver is now limited to describing the issue using only one word. The word can be repeated many times, but only one word is allowed. 

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Round three

The clue-giver cannot speak at all, but must suggest the issue to their teammates using hand motions, gestures, and pantomiming, similar to the party game, Charades.

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Round four

The clue-giver may use only a single hand gesture to convey the issue.

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Round five

The clue-giver can use only facial expression to convey the issue.

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Winning the game

If you still care who is winning at this point, you can add up all the points from each round, but hopefully you are all laughing too hard to care.