Dramanoes isn’t about being great; it’s about far less and much more. To win this social showdown you gotta be smooth as buttered silk with the sting of a sunburned jellyfish. Because there’s only one recliner chair in the room and it belongs to The Least Objectionable Guest.
In the end, the player with the fewest matched Flaws can celebrate becoming The Least Objectionable Guest.
Rules
Objective
Make your opponents’ Flaws permanent by matching Blame cards to the Flaw cards in front of them. Collect too many Flaws of your own and you’re out of the party — the last player still standing (or simply the one carrying the fewest matched Flaws) wins.
The Decks
Flaw — 72 cards
This deck is your Achilles heel. Its 72 cards are split into 6 Flaw types: Arrogant, Condescending, Difficult, Obnoxious, Odd and Tactless. Every Flaw type has 12 unique cards, each featuring a quote and an attribution from a character who represents that Flaw. Recognize a type by its title, color and icon:
Blame — 72 cards
Blame cards match Flaw cards. The Blame deck holds 72 quoted accusations that relate to each of the 6 Flaw types. To make an opponent’s Flaw permanent, match the name, color and icon on your Blame card to the ones on their Flaw card, then read the Flaw type and quote aloud and place your card on their Flaw.
If your target cannot respond, your Blame makes their Flaw permanent. Remember to replenish your hand with a new Blame card.
Trading in Blame Cards
Having more than one of the same Blame type makes it harder to match opponents’ Flaws. If you’re holding multiples, you may discard up to 3 of them and re-draw from the deck — once per game, so pick your moment. Nothing’s free either: for the trade-in you must draw one Flaw card and place it face up in front of you, and you forfeit your turn. But — new cards! (Unless you draw multiples. Good luck.)
Annoy — 40 cards
Annoy cards are formatted like dominoes: each card has 2 different actions and you choose which half to play. That’s handy, because you only get 4 for the whole game. Skip and Steal must be played before the next player takes their turn — you’re trying to skip or steal that turn.
The 4 Annoy Types
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Duck — Discard a Blame card played to you. The turn moves left. -
Undo — Return the last played card to its owner — who everyone has now seen. The turn moves left. -
Skip — Play before a player’s turn to skip it. The turn moves left. -
Steal — Play before a player’s turn to skip it to yourself. Your turn!
Disaster — 6 cards
There are 6 Disaster cards with red Blame backs hiding inside the Blame deck — the most powerful cards in the game. You can’t stop them, so just take your medicine. (You probably deserve it anyway.) Each card explains on its face how to use it. It’s smart to hold onto one, but keep in mind that leaves you with just 3 Blame cards.
How to Play
Deal 4 Blame, 4 Annoy and 1 Flaw card to each player. Move the Annoy deck to the side and keep the Flaw and Blame decks in the center.
Read Flaws Aloud
Go around the table reading your first Flaw cards to each other, then place yours in front of you for everyone to see. Players are limited to one card per turn. If a full turn passes and no one can match a Blame card to a Flaw card, all players must draw another Flaw card to read and display.
Blame Someone
Be the fastest to Blame another player’s Flaw, then continue playing clockwise.
Responding to Blame
There are several ways to respond when you’re blamed:
Offensive — the comeback
Player 1 matches a Blame card to one of Player 2’s Flaws. Player 2 responds by matching one of their own Blame cards to a Flaw in front of Player 1. That’s a comeback: Player 1 receives a permanent Flaw and has to discard their original Blame card.
Defensive
- Duck to discard Player 1’s Blame card and end their turn.
- Undo to make Player 1 pick up their Blame card, which everyone has now seen. The turn moves left.
Passive Aggressive
Any player can play Skip before Player 2 has a chance to respond — Player 2 keeps the matched Flaw and Player 3 starts a new turn. Anyone can play Steal to end the turn instead; again Player 2 keeps the matched Flaw, and whoever played Steal goes next.
Disaster: play a Disaster card toward any player (even yourself) at any time, and follow the instructions on the card.
Winning, Losing & Number of Players
Dramanoes is a versatile game. It accommodates one winner and 3 to 7 losers. Fewer players require more Flaws to get kicked out; with more players, use smaller numbers so you don’t run out of cards. Play to the counts below.
So… when am I kicked out of the party?
| # of players | Different Flaws | Same Flaws |
| 4 | 6 | 5 |
| 5–6 | 5 | 4 |
| 7–8 | 4 | 3 |
Get bounced and you’ll soon wind up on the “remember to forget to invite” list.
The Last Word: Dramanoes characters should feel familiar — they’re in all of our lives. But they’re made up. Take nothing personally. Relax and have fun being your least worst self!