Two questions about Misery Bubblegum

[Adam Biltcliffe]

So I opened up my Misery Bubblegum package today, and it was kind of scary. There are a lot of different cards, and three different rules pamphlets, and I worried over them for a while trying to work out where to start reading. I think I figured it out in the end, but I wasn't coming at the game totally cold, having read various play reports and things which gave some impression of how play works. It would have been really nice to have one more card or slip of paper on top saying something like "to figure out how this game works, read the player rules, then the rules on drawing and stakes, then the card rules ..."

Anyway, I think I have a fairly clear picture of how it works now, but I'm left wondering:

1) Can you pass cards 1-9 and 31-36 as opinions? I can kind of see how this would work for 1-9 ("Man, you have a serious need for approval, don't you?") but I can't make sense of it for 31-36.

2) When you discard one of cards 1-9 for a yes/no/flee question, does it have to be related to the card (a question related to freedom/victory/trust/etc.)? Or is this a generic special ability of all of these cards, and the name of the card is only relevant when it's played for stakes?

I'm hoping I can rope some friends into giving this a shot soon, but I'd like to be as clear as I can about how it works first!

[Paul Czege]

Hey Adam,

If you're not confident in your understanding of the rules, Tony Dowler has a nice post here that clarifies a lot.

Paul

[Adam Biltcliffe]

Thanks, Paul! I'd seen that post at some point before I got the game, but couldn't find it again afterwards, and it's made me more convinced that I do get the idea of how the game is supposed to play.

Any idea about the two questions I asked up above?

[Paul Czege]

Hey Adam,

If I recall correctly from the game Tony ran on Sunday at Gen Con, I believe you can pass all cards, 1-36, as opinions. I think I did it. And I think other players did as well.

So I'm pretty sure on that. I'm less sure on your second question, but I don't think when using cards 1-9 to ask a question that it had to be at all related to the text on the card.

Paul