What Picture Stories is
The storyteller clues one of their pictures; everyone else slips in a decoy. Too obvious scores nothing — too clever and nobody finds you.
The storyteller picks one of their six pictures and says something about it. Everybody else then plays a picture that could plausibly have earned the same clue, the pile is shuffled, and everyone but the storyteller votes on which was the original.
The other players are not only guessing. Every vote your own card draws is a point, paid whichever way the round went, so the picture you slip in is a bid: close enough to the clue to catch somebody, far enough to be wrong.
The deck is sixty-four illustrations and you hold six of them, drawing back up after every round. Pictures your room has already played are sorted to the back of a new deal, so a fresh game opens on images nobody has a story about yet.
How to play Picture Stories
- Everyone takes a turn as the storyteller: pick one of your cards and say something about it, a word, a song lyric, a film title, a feeling. You have 45 seconds; stuck, ask the house to whisper an idea.
- While they think, look at your own cards and star a favourite or two.
- Then everyone else plays the card from their hand that best fits the clue, face down.
- The cards are shuffled and laid out. Vote for the one you think was the storyteller’s (never your own).
- Some find it, some don’t: the storyteller and everyone who found it score 3. Everyone finds it, or nobody does: the storyteller scores 0 and everyone else 2.
- Every vote your own card fooled is +1 for you. After a story each, the most points wins (or play the long game, first to 30).
How to win at Picture Stories
Aim at half the room
The best clue is one that two of five people can follow and the other three cannot.
Clue the corner
Every picture holds a dozen things, and the small one at the edge is the detail nobody else can match.
Play for the steal
Even in a round you cannot win, a card that catches two votes is two points you would not otherwise have.
Cue one person
A reference that lands on exactly the people it was meant for produces precisely the split that pays.
Suspect the perfect fit
A card matching the clue too neatly is usually somebody else fishing for your vote.
Questions about Picture Stories
How does the storyteller score?
Three points, and only when the vote splits. If every player finds their card, or none of them does, the storyteller scores nothing and everyone else takes two.
Can I vote for my own card?
No — your own slot is dimmed and the vote is refused. You still take a point for every vote it draws from everybody else, on any branch of the round.
What is allowed as a clue?
A word, a phrase, a song line, a sound, a shared memory. Nothing is validated, so the only limit is what your table will accept, up to eighty characters.
When does the game end?
At thirty points or eight rounds, whichever arrives first, and the host can move both. The storyteller role passes round the table each round.
Is Picture Stories free?
Yes. It is free to play, with no adverts. An optional Plus membership opens bigger tables and extra packs.
How many people do you need for Picture Stories?
Between 3 and 8. Below 3 there are not enough of you for the game to work.
What do we need to play?
A phone or laptop each, with a web browser. One person opens a room and everybody else joins by typing the room code on their own phone. There’s also an iPhone app if you’d rather.
Can we play Picture Stories over a video call?
Yes. Share the room code in the chat and play with the call running — everything private stays on each player’s own phone.
