Intent for this game #
As our kids have grown, so have the kinds of games we reach for as a family. We’ve played so much of 20 Questions, whether in the car, waiting at the doctor’s office, or at a restaurant waiting for food. At home, though, we really enjoyed games like Zendo, which offered that feeling of narrowing in on a hidden rule through clever guessing. What I wanted was something with the flexibility of 20 Questions, but with a more satisfying puzzle.
That’s how The Divide was born. It’s a lightweight pen-and-paper induction game built around one simple idea: someone knows a rule, and the other player must figure it out by watching what goes In and what gets left Out. The difficulty lives entirely in the rule itself, so it scales easily from silly (“foods that start with B”) to sneaky (“words that sound like musical notes”).
Here is how you play.
The Divide #
Overview #
One player is The Ruler, who secretly chooses a rule that separates things into two groups:
- In (fits the rule)
- Out (does not fit the rule)
The other player, The Player, must figure out the rule by observing examples and making guesses.
Setup #
- The Ruler must come up with The Rule, appropriate to the experience level of The Player.
- The Ruler starts with one example In (follows The Rule) and one Out (breaks The Rule).
Gameplay #
- The Player proposes a rule (e.g. "Is it a type of fruit?").
- The Ruler checks the guess:
- If the guess is incorrect, The Ruler must disprove it by adding a new word to either the In or Out.
- If The Ruler is unable to do so, The Player wins.
- Repeat until the rule is discovered, or if there are 5 words in both columns.
Variants #
- Category Prompt: The Ruler may announce a category (e.g. “Fruits” or “Movie Titles”) at the start.
- Abstract Shapes Mode: Instead of words, draw shapes that must follow the rule.
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