A fake artist goes to New York is a board game about hidden roles

A fake artist goes to New York is a mouthful of title for a fairly simple board game about drawing, lying and extravagant accusations. We also played on the last episode of At the sea, and had a surprisingly difficult time figuring out who among us was actually the fake artist.

Here's how it was played. Each turn, a player badumes the role of game master and selects a secret drawing prompt. They write it on the dry erase cards included in the game, as well as a card on which they write "FALSE". The cards are shuffled and given to the rest of the players.

For example, the game master can choose "Pizza" as the drawing prompt and write it on all but one card. One last card, they simply write "FAKE".

Once everyone has taken a look at the secret drawing prompt (or discovered that it was fake), the game master writes a category on the drawing pad. So, in our example, the game master would probably write "Food". In this way, fakes know at least that they are trying to draw a type of food.

Now, artistic creation can begin! One line at a time, the artists add to the group's masterpiece. These lines can be as complex or simple as the player wishes, but only one line: once the pen leaves the pad, its turn is over.

After all the artists have had two rounds, they have a chance to discuss who is the fake among them, before the game master calls a vote. Players then tell who they think the fake is. If they can not find them, the fake wins! However, even if they are unmasked, they are not lost. They have a chance to guess what they think is the secret write prompt, and if they manage to guess correctly, the fake wins! For real artists, the only way to win is to find the wrong AND the fake can not guess the prompt.

Polygon

Sounds simple, right? It's harder than it looks. In drawing, players must strike a balance between showing that they Know what's the secret invitation without making it so obvious that the fake artist will guess it later. This gives a cover to the fake artist, because why would he draw something specific? They would not want to give it.

This means that as long as the drawing takes center stage, A Fake Artist going to New York is really a hidden RPG. It's not your drawing skills that are tested, but your ability to convince everyone else of your team membership, even when you're not.

Polygon

Do you want to try it yourself? We highly recommend the adorable and highly portable version we bought in Tokyo (it's also available online), but you can probably play with what you already have. Besides the elements on which to draw, the only essential element is the different color of pens or pencils. Players can find out who drew what (you can simply write secret drawing prompts on slips of paper).

If you want more board games, check out our Overboard playlist. Make sure to subscribe to Polygon on YouTube to follow the next one!