Object of the Game

In The Simpsons trading card game, you take a star of The Simpsons show and try to take over an episode. The first player to get 7 points wins the game. Players score points by using their Characters to complete or trash Scenes.

Equipment

The Simpsons game can be played with 2 players, but it's more fun with 3 to 5 players. Each player needs a 40-card deck of The Simpsons cards to play. You'll also need something to keep track of your points (dice, counters, or pencil and paper).

Getting Started

Each player shuffles his or her deck and puts it face down on the table. Then each player draws 6 cards.

The youngest player chooses who goes first, or you could just play rock-paper-scissors to decide. (Good ol' rock. Nothin' beats that!) Play goes clockwise around the table.

Your Turn

There are a number of things you can do on your turn:

Play a Scene (examples) if you don't already have 1 in play.

Play a Character (examples) to any Scene. (You can't play more than 2 Characters in a single turn.)

Complete a Scene (if it has enough matching Characters on it).

Trash a Scene (if it has enough Characters on it that don't match.)

Play Action cards (examples). (Each Action card tells you when you can play it. You can play some Action cards on your opponents' turns. Action cards are the only cards you can play during your opponents' turns.)

For example, you could play a Character on your Scene, score your Scene (if it has enough Characters on it), play another Scene, and then play a second Character.

At the end of your turn, you may discard any number of cards from you hand. Then refill your hand to 6 cards. (That way, you can replace the cards you don't want.) After you refill your hand, you can't play any more cards on your turn. If you run out of cards in your deck, just shuffle your discard pile and make that your new deck.

Playing a Scene

You play a Scene from your hand by putting it on the table in front of you. You can have only 1 of your Scenes in play at at time.

Playing a Character to a Scene

When you play a Character, you have to choose a Scene in play to put it on. You put the Character to any Scene — even to another player's Scene. The Character stays at that Scene until the Scene goes away or an effect moves the Character.

If you have 2 or more Characters at the same Scene, put them in a row toward you so that everyone can see their traits (and remember that the Characters are yours).

Each deck has 1 "Star" Character. It behaves just like any other Character, except that it doesn't count as 1 of your 2 Characters for the turn (because stars are better than the rest of us.)

Completing and Trashing Scenes

Each Scene has two numbers on it. The number on the left is how many Characters it takes to complete the Scene, and the number on the right is how many Characters it takes to trash the Scene.

Only Characters that match the Scene they're on count toward completing it. Characters that don't match the Scene they're on count toward trashing it. (A Character matches a Scene if it has 1 or more traits in common with the Scene.)

Once a Scene has enough matching or nonmatching Characters on it, all you have to do to complete or trash the Scene is to say you're doing it (on your turn, of course). A Scene isn't automatically completed or trashed as soon as it has enough Characters on it. Sometimes you'll want to wait until there are more Characters on the Scene in order to keep other players from getting points or to get more points yourself. If more Characters are on a Scene than are needed to complete or trash it, the player who completes or trashes the Scene chooses which Charactrs to count. You can complete or trash any player's Scene, not just your own.

Scoring Points

Here's who gets points when a Scene is completed or trashed.

The player who played the Scene and other players with any Characters used to complete or trash the Scene get 1 point each. (You don't get 2 points for having a Character at your own Scene.)

The player with the most Characters used to complete the Scene gets 1 bonus point. If 2 or more players are tied, no one gets a bonus point. No one gets a bonus point when a Scene is trashed.

After you figure out who gets points for completing or trashing a Scene, the Scene and all Characters on it go to their owners' discard piles. Some Scenes also have effects that happen when they're completed or trashed. And that's the end of that chapter.

Playing Action Cards

Action cards let you do things during other peoples' turns, in much the same way that Mambo in the Morning was interrupted by a special report abut the theft of Jebediah Springfield's head. An Action card does something, and then it's discarded. Every Action starts out by telling you exactly when you can play it.

If 2 or more players want to play an Action at the same time, start with the person whose turn it is and then go around the table in turn order.

Winning the Game

The first player to get 7 points wins the game.

If 2 or more players get to 7 or more points at the same time, the player with the most points wins.

If 2 or more players are tied for the most points, all the tied players win.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I play a second copy of a Character to the same Scene?
A: Yes, you can. Characters and Scenes aren't unique.

Q: Is there an easy way to keep track of whether a Character is trying to complete or trash a Scene?
A: Yes, there is. If a Character doesn't match the Scene it's on, try turning it sideways. Then you'll be able to tell at a glance which Characters help complete the Scene.

Q: One of my opponents is playing a Homer Simpson deck. Does that mean I can't play a Homer deck?
A: No, you can any play any deck you want.

Q: When do I get to draw a card?
A: You draw cards only at the end of your turn. You don't get to draw cards at any other time (unless a card tells you to).

Q: I don't like my Scene. Can I just replace it with another one?
A: No, You can't play a Scene if you already have one in play. A Scene stays around until it's completed, trashed, or discarded by an effect.

Q: I ran out of cards in my deck. Now what?
A: Just reshuffle your discard pile and keep playing.

Q: It's my turn and a Scene has enough Characters to complete it. Do I have to complete it right away or can I play more cards first?
A: Completing and trashing scenes is always optional. You might want to wait to complete a Scene until after you play another Character to it if that would get you a bonus point or stop one of your opponents from getting points.

Q: When I complete a Scene, do I have to count all the Characters that share a trait with the Scene?
A: No. You have to count at least as many Characters as the Scene needs to complete it, but you get to choose whether any extra Characters on the Scene count or not.

Q: My opponent played a card that moved 1 of my Characters to her Scene. Does she get to count that Character as hers now?
A: No. If a Character started the game in your deck, it's your Character, regardless of how it got where it is now.

Q: I used an Action card to put a Character in my discard pile on a Scene. Does that count as 1 of my 2 Characters for the turn?
A: No.

Q: Why would I ever want to trash a Scene rather than complete it?
A: You won't always have Character cards that match the Scenes in play. Rather than get left out of the scoring, you can try to trash a Scene instead — and stop other players from getting points for completing it. Also, some Scenes have effects that happen when they're completed. You can try to trash the Scene to keep the effect from happening.

Building Your Own Deck

Anything goes as long as you end up with a deck that:

Has at least 40 cards.
Has no more than 3 copies of any card.
Has only one kind of Star Character and all Actions match that Star.
Has at least 9 Scenes.