Tabletop Tuesday - A Fake Artist Goes to New York

Welcome to another edition of Tabletop Tuesday - Your weekly exploration into games of dice, cards, luck, and more of the Tabletop world.

This week's game...the game of suspicious strokes from artistic folks that is A Fake Artist Goes to New York.

A Fake Artist Goes to New York

Players: 5-10*
Time: 5 minutes per round
Genre: Social / Party Game



The name says it all: A Fake Artist Goes to New York is a quirky and bizarre game, but is very simple and delightfully entertaining.  The game is recommended for 5-10 players, although you could play with 4 if you're in a pinch for players.  There are three roles in the game: The Question Master, who decides what to draw, the theme, and the fake artist.  The subject of the drawing is written on small tokens for each player except for one, which will contain an "X".  This player is the Fake Artist, who will have no idea what it is they are drawing.  All other players thus then are the real Artists.  The Question Master will announce the theme (the only clue for the Fake Artist), to which players will then take turns drawing but a single stroke of a picture, each adding on to the next.  Once every player has taken two turns, they will admire the picture briefly before pointing their fingers at who they suspect to be the Fake Artist.  Should the majority of the votes befall on the Fake Artist, their only chance at redemption is to correctly guess the subject of the drawing.  If so, the Fake Artist and the Question Master win.  Otherwise, the Artists win.

With every scribble the Artists make, they will want to prove to their teammates that they are the real deal.  But because the Fake Artist has a chance to win should they guess the subject of the picture at the end, these scribbles must also not be too obvious to reveal such.  It's a fine line (pun intended) in which everyone is drawing with suspicious judgement at every stroke, hoping to convince the other's of their authenticity, be it real or fake.  As the Question Artist shares victory with the Fake Artist, they will want to keep the theme and subject simple so the artist has a chance to guess it.  Although, depending on your group of friends, you may have a fun time choosing ridiculous themes and inside jokes for a good round of laughs.  I recommend this game for those who enjoy lighthearted social deduction, loads of silliness, and have a good poker face.

If you have any questions about A Fake Artist Goes to New York, let me know in the comments.  Otherwise, look forward to future installments of Tabletop Tuesday!