How to play Dixit

How to play

Setup: Each player picks a colour, takes that rabbit and voting dial, and puts the rabbit on the start space of the scoring track. Shuffle the 84 cards, deal six face down to each player, and stack the rest as the draw pile. Whoever first thinks of a clue becomes the first storyteller.

The storyteller's clue: The storyteller secretly chooses one of their cards and says a clue about it out loud. A clue can be a single word or a whole sentence, invented or borrowed from a poem, song, film or proverb; it can even be sung, mimed or a sound.

Choosing a decoy: Every other player chooses the card from their own hand that best fits the clue and gives it face down to the storyteller. The storyteller shuffles these with their own card and lays them face up at random beside the board's numbered slots, starting at 1.

Voting: Everyone except the storyteller secretly turns their voting dial to the number of the card they think is the storyteller's. You can't vote for your own card. Reveal the dials together and place each one on the card it names.

Scoring: The storyteller reveals their card. If everyone found it, or no one did, the storyteller scores nothing and every other player scores 2. Otherwise the storyteller and each player who found the card score 3, and the others score nothing for their guess. On top of that, every player except the storyteller scores 1 bonus point for each vote their own card received. Move the rabbits along the track.

Next turn: Put the round's cards face up on a discard pile, and everyone draws back up to six. If the draw pile runs short, shuffle it together with the discards. The player to the storyteller's left becomes the next storyteller.

Winning: If anyone has 30 or more points at the end of a turn, the game ends at once. The highest score wins, and tied players share the victory.

Three players: Hold seven cards instead of six. Each non-storyteller gives two cards, so five are laid out, and draws two at the end of the turn. You still score 1 bonus point for each vote on either of your cards.

Strategy

Dixit is a social calibration game: the skill is reading how the people at your table think. Aim for some, not all: As storyteller you score only if at least one player, but not everyone, finds your card. A clue everyone gets scores you nothing, and so does one nobody gets, and either way every other player scores 2. Aim for a clue that a few people will connect and others will miss. With fewer players there are fewer guessers and fewer decoys, so everyone finding your card is more likely; with more players, a slightly clearer clue is usually safer. Clues with a hook: Personal references, shared memories and inside jokes work well with people who know you and fail with strangers, which is exactly the split you want. A borrowed line from a song, film or proverb can give a clue two meanings at once. Vary your style from turn to turn so experienced players can't read you too easily. Your decoy is worth points: When you aren't the storyteller, you score for finding the storyteller's card and for every vote your own card attracts. Pick a card that genuinely fits the clue, ideally in the same way the storyteller's might. Every vote you draw is a point for you and a missed guess for someone else. Read the storyteller: Some players are literal and describe what is in the picture; others go for mood, memory or wordplay. Track each storyteller's habits across turns and guess accordingly. If a clue is oddly specific, look for the card it fits exactly; if it is poetic, look for feeling rather than objects. Watch the scores near 30: The game ends at the end of the turn in which anyone reaches 30, so a storyteller who is behind may take a bigger risk, and a leader may prefer a safer clue. Remember that a clue everyone finds, or no one finds, gives every other player 2 points, which can decide a close finish. Play the table, not just the art: The same picture means different things to different people. The more you learn about how your friends see the cards, the better your clues, decoys and guesses become.

Tips

- As storyteller, aim for a clue that some, but not all, players will find. - A clue can be a word, a sentence, a song line, a mime or a sound; mix them up. - Your decoy card earns 1 point for every vote it attracts, so choose one that truly fits the clue. - You can't vote for your own card. - The storyteller never scores decoy bonus points, only the 3 for a clue that some players found. - Keep your dial hidden until everyone has chosen, then reveal together. - With only three or four players, lean more cryptic; with seven or eight, a clearer clue is safer. - If you keep scoring nothing as storyteller, ask the table afterwards whether your clues were too easy or too hard.

Player count & time

The current edition plays 3 to 8 players in about 30 minutes, with a small rule change for three players (seven-card hands and two decoys each). Earlier printings of the base game were for 3 to 6 players. Libellud also publishes standalone versions, Dixit Odyssey and Dixit Disney Edition, whose cards mix with this one.

Expansions

Nine expansions each add 84 new cards by a different illustrator, and all of them work with every version of the base game: Quest, Journey, Daydreams, Origins, Memories, Revelations, Harmonies, Mirrors and Anniversary, made for Dixit's tenth birthday with art from all the earlier illustrators. Because the pictures are the heart of the game, more cards mean more variety and fewer repeats for a regular group.

Why it works across audiences

Dixit needs no genre knowledge, no special vocabulary and no gaming experience, and it is rated for ages 8 and up. The pictures are wordless and a clue can be sung, mimed or made of sounds, so it works across ages and backgrounds. It is as much about getting to know each other as about winning.

Common beginner mistake

Giving clues that are too direct, such as naming the most obvious object in the picture. If everyone finds your card, you score nothing and everyone else scores 2. The fun, and the points, are in a connection that only some players will see.