Toward The Top

DISCLAIMER: This game is free as a print and play because of how experimental it is

 5 - 13 Players
15 - 30 Minutes

Who among you and your friends is most sinful?

Well when playing Toward The Top you'll be competing to see who can ascend past Heaven, while trying to avoid falling to Hell. You will be constantly shifting between all knowing Devils, cooperative Humans, and silent Angels, working toward the pearly gates.

Goal:
Ascend past Heaven (with or without other players) to win the game!

Strategic Overview:
Starting with the strategy is a bit weird yes, but it makes the rest of the rules explanation easier to follow as it is linked with commonplace concepts.

Each round there will be a secret "Law of Morality" that players will try to work together to figure out and communally follow it, so that way they they can ascend closer to Heaven.

However, player in Hell, the lowest realm, actually already know what the Law is and must work together with other Demons to follow it, however they want to lie and deceive as best as possible so that those in Earth or Heaven don't listen in to them and ascend themselves.

Players in Earth are incentivized to work together and listen closely to the Devils so they can try to figure out what the best strategy is for themselves.

Players in Heaven are incentivized to watch closely so that way they can make the Ascension, however they are incapable of communicating to each other in anyway, meaning they have to figure out what the other Angels will do because of how the Demons and Humans acted, and then follow suit with those other Angels.

 

Setup:

1. Give each player the 4 different player cards 
2. Give each player the Earth realm card and the Laws of Morality reference card
3. Start the first round

In a Round:

1. Shuffle all the Laws of Morality together, then randomly set aside 3 face up (These are set aside to show what Laws shouldn't be followed)
2. The players in Hell play one of their cards face down
3. The players in Earth play one of their cards face down
4. The players in Heaven play one of their cards face down
5. Reveal the top Law of Morality, this is the only Law players should've tried to follow
6. All the players reveal their played cards, if they played a card that follows the revealed Law of Morality they rise to the next realm, otherwise they fall back to the previous realm
7. Players put their played cards back into their own hands

Realm Ordering:

1. In Hell if you are immoral you stay in Hell, if you are moral you go to Earth
2. In Earth if you are immoral you go to Hell, if you are moral you go to Heaven
3. In Heaven if you are immoral you go to Earth, if you are moral you win the game
4. All players who ascend past Heaven in a round win together, the rest lose and the game ends

At Anytime:
Those in Hell make look at the top Law of Morality
Those in Hell and in Earth may speak
Those in Heaven cannot speak

 

Super Hell Variant:
An optional 4th realm, that is used to punish players who keep breaking the rules, either accidently or on purpose

When a player in either Heaven or Earth looks at the top Law of Morality, or a player in Heaven speaks, they go to Super Hell
At the end of the round those in Super Hell advance to Hell regardless of what they played
Those immoral in Hell still just stay in Hell
If more than 3 people are in Super Hell, the one who was in Super Hell longest goes to Hell, and the new rule breaker replaced them