Round & Revel / Evidence-card debate
Claim & Counterclaim
The fact you use now may be the reply you need later.
Original authored print-and-play game. Time is a planning estimate; this edition has not had a live group playtest.
Good for: People who want the back-and-forth of a debate with a clear, checkable scoring system.
What you need
- Six Folded Pavilion evidence cards and six Rolling Canopy evidence cards
- Three public debate briefs, public evidence checks and score sheet
- Pens and a separate spent-card area for each team
How to play
Two proposals, equal resources
Form two teams as evenly as possible. Choose one of the three debate briefs for the whole game. One team receives all six Folded Pavilion cards; the other receives all six Rolling Canopy cards. Lay both hands face up. The facts are invented properties of fictional proposals, not advice about building or hiring anything. Every supplied card meets its printed eligibility threshold. Neither side has a hidden advantage from extra cards or specialist knowledge.
A card has two possible jobs
An unused evidence card can support its own category as an opening claim, or answer a different category when the brief permits that counterclaim. Once spent, it cannot do either job again in this duel. For example, a strong capacity card might be worth points as your own argument, yet also be your only answer to an opponent’s setup claim. All remaining evidence and all spent cards stay public so players can plan around those choices.
Read the debate convention
The selected brief gives two things for every opening category: the points at stake and the single category allowed to counter it. These are the game’s agreed priorities. A counterclaim does not prove a printed fact false; it answers that argument with a competing strength. Use only the chosen brief throughout both duels. Check the public evidence reference to confirm the card’s category and numerical threshold. A different attractive fact cannot substitute for the permitted category.
Open with one claim
Choose a first team by agreement. On its turn, a team must play one unused evidence card if it has any. Read its fact and state the corresponding claim in a short sentence, such as “Our pavilion needs only two minutes of setup, so it can be ready quickly.” Put the card into the team’s spent area. Exact scripted wording, acting and persuasive delivery are unnecessary. The printed fact and legal category determine whether the move is valid.
Answer or let it stand
The other team may spend its unused card in the countercategory printed for that opening claim. Read the answering fact and explain the competing strength in one short sentence. A legal counterclaim cancels all points from the opening; neither team scores for that exchange. The defending team can instead decline, even when it holds the correct card, to save that evidence for later. A declined or unavailable counter means the opening team earns exactly the brief’s printed points.
Spend only after checking
Before a counter card is committed, confirm that its category matches the brief and its fact passes that category’s threshold. If a proposed card is illegal, return it and let the defender either choose the proper card or decline; no points or cards are lost merely for asking a rules question. Once a legal defense is committed or explicitly declined, the decision is locked. Do not invent facts, alter values, borrow an opponent’s evidence or combine two wrong categories into a legal answer.
Alternate opening turns
After resolving the exchange, the other team takes the next opening turn, regardless of whether it just countered. Thus a team can spend a card defending and then spend a different card on its own opening. If a team has no cards left, it passes its opening turns automatically; the opponent continues until both hands are empty. There is no voluntary pass while holding a card. A spent card never returns during the duel. Record each awarded claim immediately.
Share the speaking jobs
Teammates may confer before a claim or defense. Rotate the spokesperson after every opening your team makes; let a different person give the defense when practical. A player may point to a card or have a teammate read it. There is no audience vote, style score, speech timer, fact search or requirement to challenge someone personally. Disagreements are settled by the selected brief and printed card, not by who speaks most forcefully.
Swap and finish
When both hands are empty, total the first duel. Each team could earn at most 12 points. Return all cards, swap proposal decks between teams, and have the other team open the second duel. Use the same brief again, so both teams encounter the same priorities from both positions. Keep scores with the team names. Add the two duels, maximum 24 per team. Higher total wins; equal totals share the win. Try a different brief next session.
A worked example
Under Travel Fair, a SETUP claim is worth 2 points and can be countered only by CAPACITY. The Folded Pavilion opens with setup in 2 minutes. Rolling Canopy may spend its 10-seat CAPACITY card to cancel those 2 points, but then cannot use that card to open a capacity claim later. A SPACE card cannot make that defense, even though its footprint fact is true.
Printable materials
Print and cut the twelve evidence cards into two complete six-card proposal decks. Briefs, evidence checks and all hands are public. No private answer key or non-playing judge is needed. Mark two clear spent-card areas.
Folded Pavilion / SPACE
Footprint: 4 squares. Supports a compact footprint because its footprint is at most 4 squares. This card may be used once in a duel: either as an opening claim or as a permitted counterclaim.
Folded Pavilion / CAPACITY
Seats: 8 people. Supports room for a group because it seats at least 8 people. This card may be used once in a duel: either as an opening claim or as a permitted counterclaim.
Folded Pavilion / SETUP
Setup: 2 minutes. Supports quick preparation because its setup takes at most 2 minutes. This card may be used once in a duel: either as an opening claim or as a permitted counterclaim.
Folded Pavilion / PRICE
Imaginary hire cost: 3 counters. Supports a modest imaginary hire cost because hiring it costs at most 3 fictional counters. This card may be used once in a duel: either as an opening claim or as a permitted counterclaim.
Folded Pavilion / SHELTER
Roof: PRESENT. Supports cover from a light shower because its roof is present. This card may be used once in a duel: either as an opening claim or as a permitted counterclaim.
Folded Pavilion / MOBILITY
Carriers needed: 2. Supports easy carrying because it needs at most 2 carriers. This card may be used once in a duel: either as an opening claim or as a permitted counterclaim.
Rolling Canopy / SPACE
Footprint: 3 squares. Supports a compact footprint because its footprint is at most 4 squares. This card may be used once in a duel: either as an opening claim or as a permitted counterclaim.
Rolling Canopy / CAPACITY
Seats: 10 people. Supports room for a group because it seats at least 8 people. This card may be used once in a duel: either as an opening claim or as a permitted counterclaim.
Rolling Canopy / SETUP
Setup: 1 minute. Supports quick preparation because its setup takes at most 2 minutes. This card may be used once in a duel: either as an opening claim or as a permitted counterclaim.
Rolling Canopy / PRICE
Imaginary hire cost: 2 counters. Supports a modest imaginary hire cost because hiring it costs at most 3 fictional counters. This card may be used once in a duel: either as an opening claim or as a permitted counterclaim.
Rolling Canopy / SHELTER
Roof: PRESENT. Supports cover from a light shower because its roof is present. This card may be used once in a duel: either as an opening claim or as a permitted counterclaim.
Rolling Canopy / MOBILITY
Carriers needed: 1. Supports easy carrying because it needs at most 2 carriers. This card may be used once in a duel: either as an opening claim or as a permitted counterclaim.
Travel Fair / public debate brief
SPACE claim: 1 point. The only permitted counterclaim is MOBILITY. | CAPACITY claim: 2 points. The only permitted counterclaim is SPACE. | SETUP claim: 2 points. The only permitted counterclaim is CAPACITY. | PRICE claim: 1 point. The only permitted counterclaim is SETUP. | SHELTER claim: 3 points. The only permitted counterclaim is PRICE. | MOBILITY claim: 3 points. The only permitted counterclaim is SHELTER. Both sides use the same table. A counterclaim prevents all points from the current claim; it does not earn separate points.
Indoor Market / public debate brief
SPACE claim: 3 points. The only permitted counterclaim is CAPACITY. | CAPACITY claim: 2 points. The only permitted counterclaim is PRICE. | SETUP claim: 1 point. The only permitted counterclaim is SHELTER. | PRICE claim: 3 points. The only permitted counterclaim is SPACE. | SHELTER claim: 1 point. The only permitted counterclaim is MOBILITY. | MOBILITY claim: 2 points. The only permitted counterclaim is SETUP. Both sides use the same table. A counterclaim prevents all points from the current claim; it does not earn separate points.
Garden Evening / public debate brief
SPACE claim: 2 points. The only permitted counterclaim is SETUP. | CAPACITY claim: 1 point. The only permitted counterclaim is SETUP. | SETUP claim: 3 points. The only permitted counterclaim is SHELTER. | PRICE claim: 1 point. The only permitted counterclaim is SHELTER. | SHELTER claim: 3 points. The only permitted counterclaim is SPACE. | MOBILITY claim: 2 points. The only permitted counterclaim is SPACE. Both sides use the same table. A counterclaim prevents all points from the current claim; it does not earn separate points.
Public evidence checks
SPACE: footprint at most 4 squares. CAPACITY: seats at least 8. SETUP: at most 2 minutes. PRICE: at most 3 fictional counters. SHELTER: roof present. MOBILITY: at most 2 carriers. A card must both match the required category and satisfy its threshold. Cards are public. Nothing is bought or hired in reality.
Two-duel score sheet
Team names ___ and ___ | Selected brief ___ | Duel 1 scores ___ / ___ | Duel 2 scores ___ / ___ | Combined totals ___ / ___. Swap proposal decks and starting team for duel 2. Keep points with teams, not proposals.
Round & Revel. First edition, October 2026. Uses only the listed printable materials and ordinary supplies.