How to play Sheeple: rules, scoring and how to think like the herd

How a round works

1. The host creates a room and shares the code or link. Once at least three players are in, the host starts the game.
2. A prompt appears for everyone at once. Prompts are simple categories: a fruit, a sport, a superhero, something cold, a famous landmark.
3. Everyone answers privately. You have 30 seconds. Nobody sees anyone else's answer until the round ends.
4. The answers are revealed and grouped. Matching answers are gathered together, and points go to the biggest groups.
5. The host starts the next round. A game is five rounds. Whoever has the most points at the end wins; players tied at the top all win.

Scoring: how the herd pays out

After every round, answers that match are put into groups. Then the groups are ranked by size:

• The biggest group scores 3 points for everyone in it.
• The second-biggest group size scores 2 points each.
• The third-biggest group size scores 1 point each.
• An answer nobody else gave scores nothing. Being unique is the one thing you don't want.

Groups of the same size share a rank. If three players say “pepperoni” and three say “cheese”, both groups score 3 points. A pair that says “mushroom” would then be the next size down and score 2.

Spelling doesn't need to be perfect. Capitals, spaces and punctuation are ignored, a one-letter typo still matches, and a shortened answer can match its longer version (“choc” would not match “chocolate”, but “pepperon” matches “pepperoni”). Very short answers have to match exactly, so “ox” and “fx” don't count as the same thing.

How to think like the herd

The trick to Sheeple is to stop asking “what's my answer?” and start asking “what will most of these people type in the first five seconds?”

• Go with the first thing that comes to mind. Your first thought is usually the most common thought. Second-guessing is how you end up alone with “kumquat”.
• Think about who's playing. A group of kids, a group of grandparents and a group of gamers will each name a different superhero. Answer for the room, not for yourself.
• Use the most common form of the word. Type “dog”, not “golden retriever”. A more specific answer can only match fewer people.
• Know the classics. Some prompts have a runaway favourite: red for a colour, football or soccer depending on where your friends are from, summer for a season. When in doubt, pick the textbook answer.
• When the obvious answer is split, pick a side. If a prompt has two strong answers, think about which one this particular group leans toward. Last round's results are a clue.
• Don't try to be funny. The joke answer gets a laugh and zero points. Save it for Who Said Dat?

Playing with a group

Sheeple works best with four to eight players. Three can play, but with only three answers per round a single match decides everything. Bigger groups get more interesting, because the second and third groups start to matter.

Everyone plays on their own device, so it works just as well over a video call as around a table. The reveal is the best part: read the answers out loud and let people defend their choices.

There's a chat in the room, so you can tease the odd sheep out without needing a separate call.

Questions