Rules

Use nothing but your mind to choose the right card and the right time to beat your opponents in this real-time trick-taking challenge!

Components

1 set of components per player, consisting of

• 1 suit card
• 8 tokens
• 5 number cards, numbered 1-5

Setup

Jelly Brain is played by 2-3 players in 15 minutes. Take 1 set of components each.

• Place the suit card in front of you.
• Place the tokens to the left of the suit card.
• Shuffle the number cards and place them face down to the right of the suit card.

The player who last won a game is the game leader and leads every turn.

Turn Structure

The game is played over a number of simultaneous turns. In a turn, each player plays 1 card and the player who played the highest card earns a number of tokens. The player with the most tokens at the end of the game wins.

Gameplay

Each player draws his or her top card. At the game leader’s signal, simultaneously choose one of the following:

• Play the card face down to the table, on top of any previously played cards.
• Discard the card without revealing it.
• Wait for other players to play first.

If two or more players want to play their cards at the same time, place the cards next to each other. If players are unwilling to play their cards before one another, they must discard them without revealing them.

When all players have played or discarded their card, reveal the played cards (but not the discarded ones). The player who played the highest card wins the trick.

If number 5 was played, number 1 is considered the highest of all cards. In a tie, the last played card is considered the highest of the tied cards.

The winning player or players take 1 token plus 1 additional token for each card played (not discarded) after his or her own card. The tokens are placed on the suit card.

Ex 1: Red wins and takes 1 token plus 1 for the Green card.

Ex 2: Blue wins and takes 1 token plus 2 for the Red and the Green cards.

Ex 3: Red and Blue win. They take 1 token each. They take no tokens for the discarded Green card.

Ex 4: Same as example 3 but Green played number 3. Red and Blue take 1 token each plus 1 token each for the Green card.

Place played cards face up in front of you so that they are visible to all players. The next turn starts with each player drawing his or her next top card.

After the 3rd turn (i.e. when the players only have 2 cards each left), take back all cards, shuffle and proceed as normal.

End Conditions

The game ends after a turn if a player has 8 or more tokens on his or her suit card. The player with the most tokens wins. Tied players play ”sudden death” turns until only one remains.

Advanced Variant

Instead of drawing the top card at the start of each turn, try choosing the card yourself for additional mind challenges!

Rules (PDF)