Frame-Work is a game of strategy and deception. Players have been pinned as prime suspects in a criminal investigation. They must plant and manipulate Evidence to frame other players solidify their own Alibis. 2 - 4 Players




Cards in FRAME-WORK represent case files. The area directly in front of a player is considered the player's Dossier. Players attempt to fill their own Dossiers with Alibi files while simultaneously shifting Evidence files to their opponents.

Setup
The game is played in rounds. The first round begins with all players being dealt a single card to their hand. Next, the remaining cards are placed face down in the center of the play area. This will be the draw pile. Finally, the biggest troublemaker in the group of players is selected to go first. In subsequent rounds, the victor of the previous round goes first.

Turns
When your turn begins, you may choose whether or not to draw a card. If you draw a card, you must either use an Evidence card from your hand or plant a file in any Dossier. If you DO NOT draw a card, you may pass on your turn or reveal a card in your Dossier. At the end of your turn, you should always have one card in your hand until there the draw pile is depleted. At this point, you may play the final card from your hand. (NOTE: At no point should you be holding 2 cards at the end of your turn. This would be an indication of an error in play.)

Using Evidence
After drawing a card, you may choose to use an Evidence card from your hand.


The Evidence card being used is placed face-up in the play area and its effects are enacted. Afterwards, it is placed at the end of your Dossier. Starred Evidence cards, however, are placed at the end of the targeted player's Dossier. This makes Starred Evidence cards stronger offensive tools than standard Evidence cards.

Planting a File
After drawing a card, you may choose to place one of the cards from your hand at the end of any player's Dossier, face-down. Cards are planted in a player's Dossier in order from left to right. After being planted, the file may not be viewed until revealed. Any file can be planted in any dossier you choose.

Revealing a File
If you did not draw a card on your turn, you may choose to reveal a concealed card within your own Dossier. If the card is an Alibi card, you must immediately carry out its effect, if possible.


If an Alibi card is revealed by the effect of any card, the owner of the Alibi card must immediately use its effect, even if it is not currently that player's turn. The only time an Alibi card's effect is enacted is upon being revealed within a Dossier.

Alibis
Alibis are a very important part of FRAME-WORK. Tracking the location of these files and knowing when and where to play them will be the key to winning the game. They can be used offensively to force players to get busted, or defensively to prevent 3 Evidence cards being revealed next to each other in your Dossier. Having Alibi files revealed in your Dossier can earn you additional Trust Points at the end of each round.

Busted
If at any point during the round a player has 3 adjacent Evidence cards revealed in their Dossier, that player is busted and is immediately removed from the current round of play. No further actions can affect that player's hand/Dossier. Be sure to keep the busted player’s Dossier intact and his/her hand concealed until the end of the round. They also lose 1 Trust Point and are not eligible to earn Trust Points for the Alibi cards within their Dossier. (NOTE: Score can not be negative.)

Endgame
A round continues until:
1) All of the players consecutively pass on their turn
or
2) All 5 Alibi cards are revealed
or
3) All but one player is busted.
At the end of the round, players receive 1 Trust point for each Alibi they have revealed within their Dossier. The player(s) with the most revealed Alibi cards receive(s) 1 additional Trust Point. Additional rounds are initiated until a player wins the game by earning 5 or more total Trust Points. If multiple players win the game with the same total Trust Points, Sudden Death is initiated; otherwise, the player with the most total Trust Points wins.

Sudden Death
A new round of gameplay begins with only the leading players included. Sudden Death rounds continue until a player ends a round with a higher Trust Point total than the other player(s) involved.




In this game mode, players earn and lose points as a team of two while trying to eliminate the rival team. Each round, the team-mate who earned the most Trust Points in the previous round, goes first. Outside of these differences, gameplay remains unmodified. Teammates shouldn't share the contents of their hands and/or their strategies with each other.