Dysfunction

The fun with dysFUNction is that you can play however feels right to you- it’s simply about sharing stories, One-Upping each other, and finding the fun in your dysFUNction.

Suggestions for how to play the dysFUNction game:

1. Download the complete official dysFUNction game rules here.
2. Turn up the party with our Drinking Game Rules.
3. Take the Dig Deep cards with you whenever you are heading out (leave the rest of the game at home). Throw out topics for impromptu storytelling and One-Upping wherever you're at; a bar, out to dinner, car time, Tinder dates, a plane, cocktail parties, the first time meeting the in-laws…dysFUNction questions are awesome icebreakers.
4. Make up your own rules. You won’t get the wooden spoon for rule-breaking here!

Highlights from the official dysFUNction game rules:

Find the fun in your dysfunction! The object of the dysFUNction game is to be the player with the most Baggage. Baggage is claimed by having and sharing your dysfunctional family stories. The first player to claim 15 bags and fill their Baggage Cart wins the game.

Roll the die and move your Baggage Cart around the board. Board squares prompt you to draw a Dig Deep card and tell a family story, interact with a Family Fun card and gain or lose some Bags. You can get stuck in Denial (just like in real life), until you wake the hell up and break free.

Storytelling is the heart of this game, and One-Upping is what brings on the competition. When you land on a Dig Deep square, a Dig Deep card will give you a story topic and specifies which player will be The Judge for your story. Every story told receives from 1-3 Bags based on the quality of the story. If a player has no story to tell, they can pass and lose 3 bags, or all of their bags if they don’t have 3.

After a Dig Deep story is told and The Judge has awarded Bags, any other player may choose to One-Up. The player can try to One-Up the most recent story by telling a true story on the same topic from their own experience, that they believe is more hilariously dysFUNctional.

If the Judge determines that the One-Up story wins, the original storyteller gets one chance to improve upon their story and try to ‘One-Up the One-Upper’. They may NOT tell a different story, but they may briefly add true details to their original story before the Judge makes a final ruling.

What makes a story Baggage-worthy?

Most of us know a good story when we hear one, but here are some guidelines to help you both gain and award Baggage:

• Level of Dysfunction. The more dysfunctional a story is, the more Baggage the storyteller deserves – you can’t choose your family, but you can use them to win this game!
• Entertainment Value. Laughter is the object of the dysFUNction game. On a scale of awkward chuckles to mild amusement to rolling on the floor hilarity, the most entertaining stories should earn the most Bags. Try not to put everyone to sleep, or worse, make them cry!
• If your family is simply too functional on a given topic (and you’re sure you’re not in Denial), it’s OK to resort to in-laws, families of significant others, distant relatives, or even families of friends. But proximity should also play a part in the number of Bags awarded, especially in a One-Up when the competing stories are close to equal.