Shit Happens: Svět v plamenech

Shit Happens: Svět v plamenech turns life’s absurd misfortunes into a gruelling test of your judgement and your sense of black humour.

The world may be heading for disaster, but you can still decide which mishaps are bearable and which have gone completely over the top. Rank the bizarre disasters, defend your judgement against the others and laugh at situations you’d definitely not want to experience in real life.

Shit Happens: Svět v plamenech will appeal to adult players who enjoy black humour, open communication and lively debates on absurd topics. The game can be played by 2 or more players, making it suitable for a couple or a larger group. Due to its explicit language and situations intended solely for an adult audience, it is recommended for ages 18 and over. You should set aside roughly 20 minutes for a single game, though the rules naturally encourage a rematch. You’ll mainly need a knack for judgement and the ability to imagine the worst—yet still plausible—outcome of every event. You don’t need any prior knowledge of board games, as you’ll grasp the basic principle in a matter of moments. You can therefore easily include Svět v plamenech at a party, celebration or informal get-together with friends who aren’t put off by a bit of rough humour.

Each card represents an unpleasant event that could actually have happened or might happen to you one day. One moment you’ll be assessing an attack by a goose, the next waking up in a rubbish bin or being struck by an arrow. The situations have been assigned a numerical value on the Scare Scale, ranging from 0.1 to 100. When determining the results, the level of anxiety, the emotional impact and any potential long-term psychological consequences were taken into account. Your task is not to calculate the exact value, but to determine the correct position of the event amongst the cards already laid out before you. In this way, create your own ‘Pain Scale’, on which you rank misfortunes from the more bearable ones right up to genuine catastrophes.

At the start, each player receives three face-up cards and arranges them according to the printed values. The player to your right then takes a new card, reads out the situation and shows you the illustration, but keeps the number on the Shit Scale hidden. You choose a gap in your ‘Pain Line’ where you think the new disaster belongs. Once the value is revealed, you’ll immediately find out whether your judgement matches the order set by the game. You keep the correctly placed card, and your line extends as a result. With every success, however, the free space between the values decreases, so further decisions require an increasingly precise estimate.

An incorrect answer does not mean the end of the chance for everyone else. The player to your left may attempt to steal the card and correctly place it in their own row, after which the opportunity passes around the table. If no one succeeds, the card goes to the discard pile. When assessing the situation, imagine the worst-case scenario – one that is still realistic – rather than a milder or improbably fortunate version. It is precisely these differing views on the severity of individual events that spark debates in which you will uncover the limits of your fellow players. The first person to collect ten cards in their ‘Pain Line’ is declared the winner.

• The rules can be explained in a matter of minutes, so you can start playing without a long study session and even involve guests who don’t usually play board games.
• Every new situation encourages comments and the defence of one’s own opinion, ensuring there are no awkward silences or lengthy lulls around the table.
• The two hundred cards offer a wealth of unexpected combinations, so the sequence of disasters won’t feel the same in subsequent games.
• The numerical ‘Shittiness Scale’ provides a clear resolution to every decision, whilst leaving plenty of room for disagreement and collective debate.
• The game flows briskly and you don’t need a whole evening for a single game, so you can easily manage a rematch or several rounds with a changing line-up.
• The option to steal a misplaced card keeps all players engaged, as it pays to pay attention to your opponents’ moves as well.
• As the ‘Pain Threshold’ increases, the gaps between values narrow, and simple decision-making subtly transforms into a precise test of judgement.
• The standalone gameplay means you don’t need the base set, though you can later combine the cards with other Czech editions in the series.
• The cruder humour helps lighten the mood on a social evening, whilst the game itself is based on deduction and interaction, not just on swear words.
• The small number of components makes set-up and tidying up a breeze, so you can simply pull the game out whenever the group fancies a quick war of words.

Svět v plamenech is a standalone edition, but its 200 cards can be mixed with the base game Shit Happens and other localised sets. *Shit Happens: Zasraná práce adds office and workplace disasters, whilst Shit Happens: 50 odstínů hnědi focuses on intimate mishaps and bedroom embarrassments. Shit Happens: Rodičovské trable brings disasters linked to children and family life. By combining several editions, you can create a larger draw pile and increase the number of situations whose values players won’t remember.

The original Shit Happens was created by American screenwriter, producer and game designer Andy Breckman, also known as the creator of the TV series Monk. The game began its journey in 2016 via a Kickstarter campaign under the Uncle Andy Toys brand, which is its original publisher. It was subsequently licensed by Goliath Games, which expanded the series with further themed and standalone editions.

BOX CONTENTS:

• 200 SHIT HAPPENS™ cards
• Czech rules