The Mind - Gameplay & Discussion - Gen Con 2018

[@delwynjohns5965]

Great video guys, love the passion! Took a little too many liberties with the rules around non verbal communication than would fly with my group though (pointing etc).

[@theaffiyaeffect]

Ok so it wasnt just me who thought that. Lol. Kinda feels like cheating and not "really playing" but if fun was had i guess thats the main thing.

[@SlowDaddie]

4:49 This is why the game is way more awesome than you might think. It happens all the time.

[@tspotter]

An example of “collaborating” is someone going to play a card, another player gesturing for them to stop, and that player stopping. In saying that though I loved seeing you guys finish that round!

[@gaffercat]

Yeah, it's very different with 2. My husband and I got through 12 levels on our 3rd play and then proceeded to play "in the dark" to Level 6. So awesome!

[@boardgamereplay]

Very impressive! I look forward to trying the two player game and seeing how far we can get!

[@CakeLover913]

It's on!

[@Rabid_Wombat]

Awesome! Just scored The Mind today because of this vid 👍👍👍

[@boardgamereplay]

Ahh very cool Morgan! Thanks for letting us know! :)

[@kingplayer14]

Played this as well. It’s very group dependent in the right group it’s good.

[@boardgamereplay]

Totally agreed! As Jim said it's kind of an "intimate" experience so if you've got that good group dynamic it works really well.

[@johnhaand]

Compelling and enthusiastic. Great vid and job well done! Will try The Mind with my employees next week. :)

[@boardgamereplay]

Thank you John, we really appreciate that! Hope it goes over well with your employees!

[@DriveThruReview]

LMAO. The chest thump.

[@boardgamereplay]

haha so good!

[@nymalous3428]

This looks like a great team building activity. To does look like you guys had a great time, which was the point, and have improved your relationships with each other as well (and I mean the whole convention, not just this game). Thanks for sharing. (And for those people who say they were cheating with the gestures, what kind of game that is at all fun doesn't have some kind of interaction? If they were all just sitting there, deadpan with no emotion or movement other than putting down cards, how would that be fun to play or watch? And if that's how you play the game, please don't ever invite me over to play any games with you...)

[@boardgamereplay]

Thanks for checking out the video! We certainly did have a fun and learned a bit about each other from the game for sure :). Also, totally agreed on your second point about playing the game that way...I would not want to play that game!

[@kmj2l]

I really think it's a question of whether or not the gestures are intended to communicate specific instructions. The rules state that "there must not be any consultation between players, and no secret signals." To me, this means you cannot intentionally gesture to tell others specific things. The only exception is if you want everyone to stop, you can say stop and everyone puts their hands on the table. You are *absolutely* allowed to be expressive, and you are absolutely allowed to interpret other people's expressions as you think best... that's the humanity in the game, and what makes it so compelling. I assure you, the games we've played at my table have often been just as exciting and wild, but without somebody pointing to other people and using the "halt" gesture. As I responded to Board Game Replay, though, as long as everyone at the table agrees on how to play, it ultimately doesn't matter... it's all good fun.

[@Cymrusaint]

I mostly buy big thematic games, but I want this game.

[@Templarkun]

I felt it!

[@언어의온도-d3t]

Luv The mind :)

[@shprints84]

Is it allowed to mimic to each other?

[@kashyyyk]

Nope... Per the rules: none of the players are permitted to disclose any of their card values or show them to another player. There must be absolutely no consultation between the players, and no secret signals either. But, I guess, in the end, if they had fun with it, that’s all that mattered.

[@RandomPerson-nd2ey]

Heard of this game before and the whole concept seemed ridiculous and annoying. Videos like these are really starting to sway me. Oh, and I agree with you guys. You seemed to be following the rules as written. Others are simply reading more into them than is there (and, since they likely did a lot of playtesting, intended).

[@user-hh4tl2kk4h]

.

[@kmj2l]

Great game. Pretty sure the gesturing is cheating, though. A lot of pointing, and putting your hand up to tell people not to play. There's hands to the table, and that's it.

[@boardgamereplay]

We talked about this a bit in the video but have discussed it a little more since then. To quote the exact rules of the game - "Very important: none of the players is permitted to disclose ANY of their card values or show them to another player. There must be absolutely no coordination between the players, and no secret signs either!" With those in mind we don't feel that hand gestures to say "wait", "stay calm" or "you first" do anything to reveal information about the VALUES of the cards in their hand...that's the information that absolutely cannot be shared in any way. I can't imagine playing this game without some form of body language clues being present, for example sitting up quickly to play the next card, or slowly reaching towards the center of the table getting ready to flip your next card. The simple clues given off by that basic language really makes the game. That said if we had ever established any kind of signal like a head rub to say "I have +2 from that number in my hand" or a wink to say "I have the 100 card" it would be completely cheating. In this case these guys played 32 cards in sequential order without any coordination outside of their body language. It was pretty damn fun :)

[@kmj2l]

I'd have to go reread the rules, but ultimately as long as everyone at the table is in agreement about what is and is not acceptable, then it's all good. And my opinions don't take anything away from what was an awesome round of the game you played. I definitely think people need to be free to be naturally expressive, and to interpret each other's expressions. This is the secret heart of the game, and what makes it really interesting and magical. The unintentional communication. This is the thing that the detractors of the game really seem to be missing -- people who see it as a dry exercise don't really understand the magic which you all have displayed in this video, and which keeps people coming back to play the game. For what it is, I definitely think it was worthy of nominee for Spiel des Jahres, even if I'm not surprised that it didn't actually win the award. Glad you all enjoyed it!

[@Isaac_L..]

Yeah totally agree. I think gestures are completely legal. The only rule we changed is we did allow a signal for the 100 card, but only if your down to two cards left. This is because otherwise you could have a 99 and a 100 and it could take forever for the 99 to play because the 100 will literally never play it since waiting is a guaranteed pass. So allowing the signal only when 100 is one of the last two cards can definitely speed up the game. Aside from that I agree that as long as there aren't any numeric values communicated it's legal. I think a lot of groups seem to count time in their heads which I think is far more illegal than pointing and what not (not saying that time isn't a factor or necessary but if everyone is starting a second count from 1-100 and playing cards on their second that defeats the purpose of the game). But it's a fun game to be expressive in.

[@JosefFerguson]

I mean, they're totally cheating, but whatever.

[@boardgamereplay]

We talked about this a bit in the video but have discussed it a little more since then. To quote the exact rules of the game - "Very important: none of the players is permitted to disclose ANY of their card values or show them to another player. There must be absolutely no coordination between the players, and no secret signs either!" With those in mind we don't feel that hand gestures to say "wait", "stay calm" or "you first" do anything to reveal information about the VALUES of the cards in their hand...that's the information that absolutely cannot be shared in any way. I can't imagine playing this game without some form of body language clues being present, for example sitting up quickly to play the next card, or slowly reaching towards the center of the table getting ready to flip your next card. The simple clues given off by that basic language really makes the game. That said if we had ever established any kind of signal like a head rub to say "I have +2 from that number in my hand" or a wink to say "I have the 100 card" it would be completely cheating. In this case these guys played 32 cards in sequential order without any coordination outside of their body language. It was pretty damn fun :)

[@mattvucu6706]

Every group has their own rules which makes the game better