Give Me the Brain
Encyclopedia
Give Me the Brain is a discard-style card game
designed by James Ernest
and released in 1996
by Cheapass Games
.
The name derives from the theme; players assume the role of zombies attempting to complete their tasks for the day at Friedey's
, a "fast food restaurant for the damned", yet they only have one brain to share between them.
The game inspired several sequels, all set at Friedey's.
The original edition was the recipient of an Origins Award
for Best Traditional Card Game of 1997. A Czech language version of the original game was released in 1997 with the name Dej sem mozek. An expanded Special Edition was released in 2002
, and was nominated in the same category for the 2003 Origins Awards.
Just as Steve Jackson Games
re-released Lord of the Fries
in 2008, it was revealed at PAX 2010 that a third edition of Give Me the Brain would be released in the same manner.
Every card has some special effect on the game, and this must be dealt with whenever a card is played.
Some cards, indicated by a brain icon, require your zombie to have the brain in order to play. The brain is represented by a token that is held by one player at a time. The brain can be obtained by a number of methods: most commonly, many of the special effects written on cards will change which player has the brain. At the start of the game, a "Brain Auction" occurs to decide which player will have the brain to start with: in a Brain Auction, players must play Brain Bid cards from their hands to bid on the brain, and the highest bidder receives it. A player who holds no Brain Bid cards is not eligible to receive the brain, but holding Brain Bid cards can be a bad thing as well, as described below.
Every card which carries the brain icon also has a number printed just below it. After playing a card which features the brain, the player must roll a 6-sided die; if the result is less than the number shown on the card, the zombie has still completed the task but has managed to drop the brain in the process, triggering another Brain Auction. Since Brain Bid cards are cards in your hand, it is necessary to play all the ones you have in order to win: but since they can only be played during Brain Auctions, it may be necessary for a player to deliberately trigger Brain Auctions – or even to bid against themselves – in order to win.
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
designed by James Ernest
James Ernest
James Ernest is an American game designer and juggler. He is best known as the owner and lead designer of Cheapass Games. Prior to founding Cheapass, he worked as a juggler at various venues, including Camlann Medieval Village, and as a freelancer with Wizards of the Coast. He also worked for...
and released in 1996
1996 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 1996. For video and console games, see 1996 in video gaming.-Game awards given in 1996:*Origins Awards :...
by Cheapass Games
Cheapass Games
Cheapass Games is a game company founded and run by game designer James Ernest, based in Seattle, Washington. Cheapass Games operates on the philosophy that most game owners have plenty of dice, counters, play money, etc., so there is no need to bundle all of these components with every game that...
.
The name derives from the theme; players assume the role of zombies attempting to complete their tasks for the day at Friedey's
Friedey's
Friedey's is a fictional fast food franchise which features in several Cheapass Games products. It is described as a "fast food restaurant for the damned" and is generally staffed by zombies in search of brains...
, a "fast food restaurant for the damned", yet they only have one brain to share between them.
The game inspired several sequels, all set at Friedey's.
The original edition was the recipient of an Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
for Best Traditional Card Game of 1997. A Czech language version of the original game was released in 1997 with the name Dej sem mozek. An expanded Special Edition was released in 2002
2002 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 2002. For video and console games, see 2002 in video gaming.-Death:...
, and was nominated in the same category for the 2003 Origins Awards.
Just as Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.-History:...
re-released Lord of the Fries
Lord of the Fries
Lord of the Fries is a card game created by James Ernest and published by Cheapass Games and Steve Jackson Games. In 2008 Steve Jackson Games released a new edition with revised game components....
in 2008, it was revealed at PAX 2010 that a third edition of Give Me the Brain would be released in the same manner.
Game play
Each player receives a hand of cards at the start of the game; the objective of Give Me the Brain is to play all cards in your hand, which corresponds to your zombie completing all the work assigned for the day. Each card is labeled with zero, one, or two hand icons; when it's your turn, you can play any number of cards, provided that together they show a total of no more than two hands.Every card has some special effect on the game, and this must be dealt with whenever a card is played.
Some cards, indicated by a brain icon, require your zombie to have the brain in order to play. The brain is represented by a token that is held by one player at a time. The brain can be obtained by a number of methods: most commonly, many of the special effects written on cards will change which player has the brain. At the start of the game, a "Brain Auction" occurs to decide which player will have the brain to start with: in a Brain Auction, players must play Brain Bid cards from their hands to bid on the brain, and the highest bidder receives it. A player who holds no Brain Bid cards is not eligible to receive the brain, but holding Brain Bid cards can be a bad thing as well, as described below.
Every card which carries the brain icon also has a number printed just below it. After playing a card which features the brain, the player must roll a 6-sided die; if the result is less than the number shown on the card, the zombie has still completed the task but has managed to drop the brain in the process, triggering another Brain Auction. Since Brain Bid cards are cards in your hand, it is necessary to play all the ones you have in order to win: but since they can only be played during Brain Auctions, it may be necessary for a player to deliberately trigger Brain Auctions – or even to bid against themselves – in order to win.
External links
- Cheapass Games' Give Me the Brain product page