Game Rule Sheet

What’s in the Box?

Each game includes a rules sheet, one die and 120 cards (100 artist cards, 5 blank artist cards, 5 wild cards, 4 category cards, 3 definition cards, and 3 debate prompt cards).

Setting Up The Game

Choose one player to be the DJ. The DJ is responsible for leading the game; managing game flow, playing music for the group when requested and even determining the winner of a debate, if necessary. As a group, determine how many rounds the game will take and how much time will be spent deliberating each round (one minute is a good starting place). Shuffle the artist cards and the wild cards together. Deal as many cards to each player as there are rounds. If there are 7 rounds, each player should receive 7 cards. Players should only see the contents of their own cards. Place the die and a category card in the center of the table. It may be helpful to distribute category, definition and debate prompts cards for the group to share.

How to Play

The player to the left of the dealer begins the game by rolling the die to determine the first round’s category. They will then play a card from their hand. The objective is for each player to play a card of a song/album selection that best represents the category of the round. When playing a card during your turn, place it in the center of the table for all players to see. In a clockwise manner, the next player will play a card and so on until everyone has a turn. The artist card is played only for the selection under the category that the round is being played for. Once everyone has placed a card in the center, the players will collectively vote for a winner of the round. Playing a wild card automatically wins the round (all players still need to discard a card). Only one wild card can be use per round. In the event a winner is not clear, the players in contention will use the debate prompt card or their own talking points to make an argument for their selection. The non-debating players will vote for the best argument to determine who wins the round. The winner of a round should collect all cards played that round and place it near them. The winner of a round will begin the next round by rolling the die and playing a card first. The player that wins the most rounds wins the game. Players tied with the equal highest number of wins should be dealt one more card than the number of players in the tie break and play as normal to break the tie. For example, if there are three players tied with the same number of wins at the end of the game, then each player should be dealt four cards to start the tie-break rounds. Whichever player in the tie-break won the last round should begin.

Game Components Explanation

The category card and die are used to determine the specific musical category of each round. There are six categories total (Lyricism, Delivery, Storytelling, Subject Matter, Feature, and Album Replay Value) listed on the card with a corresponding side of the die. The player who begins will first roll the die to determine the category for the round.

The category definition card is a helpful reminder for the definition of each musical category.

The debate prompt card assists players with making an argument in a debate. The players in contention will debate their selection by answering the respective prompts on this card or by coming up with their own talking points. The best argument by majority rules wins.

Artist cards feature a selection of five songs and one album* for an individual artist or group. Each selection corresponds to one of the six musical categories. The artist card is played for the selection that corresponds to the category being played that round. For example, if Lyricism is the category being played in a round, the songs under Lyricism on each card are the only songs that can be considered. Each game comes with five blank artist cards to create custom artist cards. Read the FAQs at the end of the rule sheet to learn more. 

Wild cards are shuffled in the deck with the artist cards and are dealt as normal. Play the wild card in place of an artist card to automatically win the round. Only one player may use a wild card in a round but all players must discard. For example, if a player starts the round by playing a wild card, each player must still discard an artist card. If two or more players use a wild card on the last round of a game, discard the round’s cards and deal one new final round of cards to all players.

Random Questions:

  • Can I play cards I’ve collected from winning a round? No, cards from a round’s win cannot be used in future rounds of a game. The cards are simply kept by the winner to tally at the end of the game. (Like books in a game of Spades)
  • Can I change the card I played? A player may not change their card after they’ve already placed their card down.
  • How long should the deliberation time be? It depends on how deep you want to get into the music. For an estimated 40-minute game, spending about 1 to 2 minutes deliberating for 10 rounds would be a good start.
  • Does this game move fast or slow? The game’s pace is up to the players. Adjust the speed of the game by determining how much time is spent on deliberation,
  • discussion, whether clips of a selection are played, etc.
  • Does the DJ play? Yes, the DJ is a regular player of the game who is also honest and respectable.
  • What if I don’t know some of the songs or albums? This is the perfect opportunity to get familiar! Use the deliberation time to do quick research; read lyrics or listen on low volume to help determine how to use the card. Sometimes artist cards are used as a “throwaway” card.
  • What if no one knows the songs or albums played in a round? If no one knows the songs or albums played that round, the DJ could play a snippet of each song, pull lyrics, etc. to familiarize the group with new music or decide to scratch the round and play a new one.
  • Do we have to play the same category back to back? No, it can be annoying to roll the same category multiple times. Collectively choose when re-rolling the die is acceptable.
  • What happens if more than one person plays a wild card on the last round of a game? Discard the round’s cards and deal one new final round of cards to all players.
  • What are the blank artist cards for? The blank cards can be used to create custom artist cards for artists or songs/albums that either don’t have a card yet or are in an expansion pack.
  • Are there more artist cards? Expansion packs are available at letsrapcardgame.com to purchase and are made on an on-going basis.

*An artist card may exclude an album if the artist has not yet released one. Play that card as you would normally for all other categories.