🃏 SIGN

It is an unfortunate reality that as adults, we have fewer opportunities to meet and talk with new people than when we were kids. We are all so busy and it's hard to get our schedules to line up, and our habits become so ingrained that it's harder to break out of our shells and connect with others. In recent years, board games and board game cafés have exploded in popularity, and I feel that these are great new places to get past our reservations and socialize with others. One game that I enjoyed recently is a card game called SIGN, which was created with the expertise and wisdom of the staff of the charming board game café, Asobiba.

SIGN is a cooperative card game for two to eight people in which players take turns placing clues to convey a secret keyword, while one player must guess the word. The title of the game refers to the messages contained in our starry skies. This is represented in-game with small circular Star Cards with words written on them, and Line Chips connecting them into a beautiful constellation that reveals the group's interpretation of the keyword.

Each topic card lists five keywords that can fit into the theme. Here, we can see that #4 would be "birthday-like."

At the start of each turn, one topic card is drawn, for example "X-like," which lists five keywords. One player looks away while the rest of the group gets prepared. The official rule is that the first player is the person who has mostly recently seen a shooting star. All the other players receive a set of Line Chips, with symbols printed on them like "equal to," "greater than," "much greater than," and so forth. They also receive a handful of random Star Cards with an assortment of words. And finally, a random card numbering from one to five is drawn, and everyone but the player in the hot seat can see the secret number that corresponds to that round's key phrase. Let's say that the secret number is 4 which, according to the Topic Card, corresponds to "birthday-like."

Which better communicates "birthday-like," a rock or a letter? Players connect Word Cards using the relationship Line Chips.

One of the Star Cards is placed in the center of play, the timer starts, and players must scramble to put their constellation together by placing more Star Cards and connecting them with their Line Chips to show their relationship to the topic. For example, if the starting word was "rock," and a player places the card "letter" beside it, they must decide which word is more birthday-like and convey that using the Line Chips. If they decide that "letter" is closer to being birthday-like than "rock," they would place a "greater than" Line Chip between the two, so it would read "letter > rock." Combine enough of these clues together within the time limit, and the final constellation should convey which of the five keywords is the correct one. Players must work together and use their best judgment to try and estimate how the player in the hot seat will interpret the final constellation.

When the two minutes are up, the players are left with a constellation of Word Cards and Line Chips that will hopefully convey the correct keyword.

In my experience, I found the game to be quite balanced because the Star Cards never quite match up with the topics, so players have to get very creative with how to convey and interpret these themes. It's quite tough, but it is a cooperative game, so you can at least struggle together as a group.

After the two-minute time limit is up, the player in the hot seat looks at the constellation of cards and tries to guess which of the five keywords is the message. If they get it right, the turn is a success!

The relationships between the words are often very strange and require explanation from the players afterwards, which can lead to some great conversations. Why would they think "mushrooms" are more birthday-like than "handkerchiefs"? Let's find out!

Players are then encouraged to explain their thought processes behind their placement of Star Cards and Line Chips. Players may have personal memories attached to the associated words. Let's say one player emphasized mushrooms as a birthday-like thing. Once the turn is over, that player might explain that it is because they got Super Mario games for their birthday as a kid. It's fun hearing the thought processes that went into these word associations, and can help you learn new things about the other players, and even yourself.

Because of this, SIGN is a great conversation starter. I personally really enjoyed hearing my friends' thought processes at the end of each turn. If you are meeting people for the first time, it's a great way to get to know them. If you already know the others very well, you can see a new and surprising side to them that you would not have otherwise guessed.

There are 40 Topic Cards in total, printed front and back, so you have a lot of variety to work with. In addition, there are also special rules that modify the game if players so desire, such as the Saboteur Rule where one player secretly tries to scramble the message of the constellation. And of course, depending on the experiences and senses of the players, the starry skies will look different every time. It is designed to be endlessly replayable.

Let's swap stories while creating our constellation of words in SIGN!

This is a work of art that could only be made with a deep and abiding love of board games, so it should come as no surprise that it was created by the staff of a board game café. It is a fun and creative game that can be enjoyed with longtime friends and new acquaintances alike. Why not share a story while gazing at the starry sky together?

誰かと会って話をするという事は、大人になると機会が減ってしまいます。日々の忙しさから面倒くさく感じたり、相手に遠慮をしてしまったりすることで、相手のことをよく知る機会が失われていく中で、近年ではボードゲームの新作が常に生まれており、ボードゲームカフェが新しい社交の場となってきているように感じます。今回は、ボードゲームカフェ「あそびば」のスタッフがその経験と知恵を振り絞り生まれた「SIGN」というカードゲームを紹介します。

「SIGN」は、回答者とヒントを作るプレイヤーに分かれ、与えられたお題をクリアする二人から八人で遊ぶ協力型のカードゲームです。ゲームのタイトルである「SIGN」は、星空に込められたメッセージのことであり、ヒントを作るプレイヤーはカードを星に見立てて、空に並べて回答者にメッセージを伝えるというコンセプトです。ゲームが終了した時には並べられたカードが美しく、プレイしている間だけではなく、プレイ後の余韻も大変魅力的なゲームです。

5つの中からお題が選ばれる。今回は4番の誕生日っぽい物。

まず、回答者を一人決めます。回答者は一番最近流れ星を見た人という公式ルールです。その回答者以外のプレイヤーは『不等号チップ』と手札として『単語カード』を受け取ります。そして、『お題カード』から一枚選びます。今回は例として（○○っぽいもの）というカードを選びました。その後、回答者に見られないよう5枚ある数字カードの中から1枚抜き取りプレイヤー同士で見せ合います。これが４だったとしましょう。そうするとお題が『誕生日っぽいもの』に決定します。

岩と手紙はどっちが誕生日っぽい？不等号チップを使って表現しよう。

一枚だけ場に単語カードを置き、これを起点として誕生日っぽいものを伝えるサインをプレイヤーが作っていくのです。場に出ている単語が岩だったとしたら、岩よりも誕生日っぽいと思うもの、そうではないもの、同じくらい誕生日っぽいものを自分の単語カードと不等号チップを使って表現します。例えば自分の手持ちのカードに手紙などがあれば、岩と比べて手紙は誕生日っぽいですか？その答えを個人の考え方に合わせて不等号を置いていくのです。手札には枚数の制限があり、必ずしも都合のいいものではありません。上手に誕生日っぽい物を表現するサインをプレイヤーみんなで作るのです。

2分後に星空をお披露目。回答者はお題が何かをこの不等号から予想する。

並べ方のルールや手札の取り扱いは、同梱の説明書を見ていただきたいのですが、とてもバランスがとれており、一回の出題で必ずと言っていいほど不都合な手札に遭遇します。それを上手に切り抜けてみてください。

制限時間2分間で並べ終えた後、回答者はそのサインを見てお題を予想し、見事正解するとそのターンは成功となります。

不都合なカードも置いた人にとっては何か理由があるかも。聞いてみよう。

プレイヤーはその個人的に思う事、今回で言えば個人的な誕生日の思い出などがどこかに仕込まれているかもしれません。とあるプレイヤーがキノコが誕生日っぽいものとして非常に評価が高かったとしましょう。ゲームが終わった後にその人にその理由を聞いてみてください。その人にとっての誕生日ときのこについての物語を知ることになるでしょう。誕生日にスーパーマリオを買ってもらったから　とかね。

このゲームはゲーム後の会話がとてもはずみます。とっても楽しい会話になる事は間違いありません。初めて会う人だったらその人の魅力を知ることになるでしょう。よく知っている人だったら、その人の意外な一面を知るでしょう。

お題カードは40枚あり、裏と表の両方にお題が書かれており大変豊富です。そのほか、お邪魔者ルールなど特別ルールも用意されているのでバリエーションを楽しむことができます。そしてもちろん、一緒にプレイする人の経験や感覚で毎回異なった星空が描かれることでしょう。いつまでも遊べるようにデザインされています。

星空の物語をみんなで作っていこう！

ボードゲームカフェで毎日たくさんのゲームに触れてきたスタッフによる力作であり楽しいと思えるポイントがしっかり押さえられています。知り合いとでも初めての人とでも楽しめる作品です。みんなで星空を眺めながらお互いの話を聞いてみませんか。