GAMES FOR GOOD COMPANY · Original print & play
R✦RRound & Revel

Round & Revel / Cooperative seating logic

Last Seat at Lantern Hall

Six guests. Six chairs. Every little clue must have a place.

2–8 playersEstimated 20–30 minutes

Original printable party game. Rules and examples checked; estimated timing has not had a live group playtest.

What you need

  • Six guest tiles: Aster, Birch, Clover, Dune, Ember and Fern
  • A row of six seat boxes numbered 1–6, left to right
  • 12 puzzle cards and the separate answer section
  • A pencil, score sheet and optional five-minute timer

How to play

The idea

Your group seats six fictional guests in one straight row while obeying every clue. All clues are truthful, public and available throughout. There is one correct left-to-right arrangement for each puzzle. This is a shared logic challenge; no player has a secret identity or needs to bluff.

Prepare the table

Draw six generously sized boxes in a row and number them 1–6 from left to right. Put an arrow above them labelled LEFT TO RIGHT. Cut out the six name tiles and place them below the row in a waiting area. Shuffle the puzzle cards and choose three. Keep the answer appendix folded or face down; anyone who has already read a selected answer should help by reading clues rather than directing the solution.

Read the clue language

“Next to” means in consecutive seats, such as 2 and 3. “Exactly one seat lies between” means a difference of two seat numbers, such as 1 and 3. “Somewhere to the left” means a smaller seat number, not necessarily adjacent. A clue naming seat 4 means exactly seat 4. Left and right always follow the printed arrow, regardless of where a player is sitting. This is a straight row, not a circular table; seats 1 and 6 are not neighbours.

Discuss, then move

Read every clue aloud. Choose a starting player. Everyone may discuss possibilities openly throughout the puzzle. On your turn, either move one named guest to an empty seat, return one guest from a seat to the waiting area, or pass. You cannot swap two occupied seats in one turn; clear one first. All six guest tiles remain visible. Continue clockwise. This one-piece rule makes room for everyone to handle the puzzle rather than letting the quickest solver rearrange the whole row.

Check without ending the attempt

You may reread clues, count seats and point out a broken clue at any time. Temporary arrangements do not have to satisfy every clue. Use paper for possibilities if helpful, but do not consult the answer. There is no penalty for moving a tile or changing your mind. If using the optional timer, give the group five minutes of solving before deciding whether to continue untimed; a timer is only a pacing aid and never changes the answer.

Lock a final arrangement

Once all six seats are filled, ask each player whether they want to lock the row. Lock only when everyone agrees; otherwise continue taking turns. Before looking at the answer, read each clue once more and have a different player confirm it against the row. A final check that catches a mistake is still part of solving. Choose one player as the answer-checker for this puzzle before opening the appendix. That player privately compares the locked row with the answer for the matching puzzle code, without showing the others. If it matches exactly, award 2 shared points and show the answer to everyone.

One repair attempt

If the locked row does not match, the answer-checker reveals only the leftmost incorrect seat number and that seat’s correct guest, then closes the appendix. Keep the tiles as they are and let the other players resume discussion and turn-taking with that information. The checker now acts only as referee, offers no solving advice, and passes their tile-moving turns for this puzzle. If everyone sees the full answer, simply score 0 and discuss the solution. A correct second locked attempt earns 1 point; a second incorrect attempt earns 0, then reveal and explain the whole row. Do not count an accidental full-answer reveal as an unaided solve.

Finish together

Play three puzzles, clearing the row between them. Continue the turn order from the next player, so it does not restart. Add the shared score out of 6. The group wins a perfect seating plan at 6; any smaller result gives you a reason to revisit the clues together, with no individual loser. These are friendly score labels, not a measured difficulty scale. Use different puzzle cards next time.

Miniature example

In a separate four-seat example, “Aster sits in seat 1,” “Birch sits next to Aster,” and “Clover sits somewhere to the left of Dune” force Aster, Birch, Clover, Dune. Birch must take seat 2 because seat 1 has only that neighbour; Clover and Dune then occupy 3 and 4 in order. The real deck uses six guests, and each card has been checked against all 720 possible orders for a single solution.

Access and host notes

Use large tiles, read all clues aloud and let a player direct a helper to make their single move. The answer section belongs after the cards so it can be printed separately or kept folded. For fully cooperative no-score play, allow unrestricted rearrangement and read as much of an answer as the group requests. Do not rush someone who is still tracing a clue. None of the estimated playing times has been confirmed by a live group playtest.

Guest tiles and seat row

Draw six boxes in a straight row, numbered 1–6 from left to right. Make one tile each for Aster, Birch, Clover, Dune, Ember and Fern. Keep an empty waiting area below the seats.

The PDF player kit includes a ready-to-copy seat row and name tiles. The written dimensions and labels in these rules are sufficient to make your own set.

Printable play cards

Print single-sided and cut on the borders. Read the setup before sorting the cards; some games use separate card types or fewer copies for smaller groups.

LH-01

Seating plan 01

  1. Exactly one seat lies between Clover and Ember.
  2. Exactly one seat lies between Dune and Ember.
  3. Aster sits somewhere to the left of Ember.
  4. Birch sits in seat 6.
  5. Aster and Dune sit next to each other.
LH-02

Seating plan 02

  1. Exactly one seat lies between Aster and Ember.
  2. Exactly one seat lies between Aster and Fern.
  3. Ember sits somewhere to the left of Aster.
  4. Dune sits somewhere to the left of Ember.
  5. Aster sits somewhere to the left of Birch.
LH-03

Seating plan 03

  1. Exactly one seat lies between Aster and Dune.
  2. Exactly one seat lies between Dune and Fern.
  3. Ember and Fern sit next to each other.
  4. Birch sits in seat 6.
  5. Ember sits somewhere to the left of Fern.
LH-04

Seating plan 04

  1. Exactly one seat lies between Birch and Fern.
  2. Exactly one seat lies between Ember and Fern.
  3. Ember sits somewhere to the left of Aster.
  4. Dune sits somewhere to the left of Ember.
  5. Aster sits somewhere to the left of Clover.
LH-05

Seating plan 05

  1. Exactly one seat lies between Aster and Dune.
  2. Exactly one seat lies between Dune and Ember.
  3. Clover sits in seat 5.
  4. Aster sits somewhere to the left of Fern.
LH-06

Seating plan 06

  1. Exactly one seat lies between Clover and Ember.
  2. Exactly one seat lies between Birch and Ember.
  3. Ember sits somewhere to the left of Clover.
  4. Aster sits in seat 2.
  5. Dune sits somewhere to the left of Fern.
LH-07

Seating plan 07

  1. Exactly one seat lies between Aster and Birch.
  2. Exactly one seat lies between Birch and Clover.
  3. Clover sits somewhere to the left of Dune.
  4. Dune sits somewhere to the left of Fern.
  5. Birch sits somewhere to the left of Dune.
LH-08

Seating plan 08

  1. Exactly one seat lies between Birch and Fern.
  2. Exactly one seat lies between Birch and Clover.
  3. Birch sits somewhere to the left of Dune.
  4. Ember sits in seat 3.
  5. Dune sits somewhere to the left of Clover.
LH-09

Seating plan 09

  1. Exactly one seat lies between Dune and Ember.
  2. Birch and Fern sit next to each other.
  3. Clover sits in seat 4.
  4. Dune and Fern sit next to each other.
LH-10

Seating plan 10

  1. Exactly one seat lies between Birch and Ember.
  2. Exactly one seat lies between Aster and Birch.
  3. Aster and Clover sit next to each other.
  4. Ember sits in seat 1.
  5. Clover sits somewhere to the left of Fern.
LH-11

Seating plan 11

  1. Exactly one seat lies between Dune and Fern.
  2. Exactly one seat lies between Clover and Dune.
  3. Ember sits somewhere to the left of Dune.
  4. Aster sits somewhere to the left of Dune.
  5. Fern sits somewhere to the left of Aster.
LH-12

Seating plan 12

  1. Exactly one seat lies between Birch and Fern.
  2. Exactly one seat lies between Clover and Fern.
  3. Clover and Dune sit next to each other.
  4. Dune sits in seat 6.
  5. Fern sits somewhere to the left of Aster.
Answer notes: open only when the rules tell you to check

Keep these notes away from players during a puzzle or writing round. This section is excluded from the website print view. The PDF player kit includes a separate answer appendix.

LH-01
Seats 1–6, left to right: Dune, Aster, Ember, Fern, Clover, Birch.

LH-02
Seats 1–6, left to right: Dune, Ember, Clover, Aster, Birch, Fern.

LH-03
Seats 1–6, left to right: Aster, Clover, Dune, Ember, Fern, Birch.

LH-04
Seats 1–6, left to right: Dune, Ember, Aster, Fern, Clover, Birch.

LH-05
Seats 1–6, left to right: Birch, Aster, Fern, Dune, Clover, Ember.

LH-06
Seats 1–6, left to right: Birch, Aster, Ember, Dune, Clover, Fern.

LH-07
Seats 1–6, left to right: Clover, Ember, Birch, Dune, Aster, Fern.

LH-08
Seats 1–6, left to right: Aster, Fern, Ember, Birch, Dune, Clover.

LH-09
Seats 1–6, left to right: Birch, Fern, Dune, Clover, Ember, Aster.

LH-10
Seats 1–6, left to right: Ember, Dune, Birch, Clover, Aster, Fern.

LH-11
Seats 1–6, left to right: Ember, Fern, Aster, Dune, Birch, Clover.

LH-12
Seats 1–6, left to right: Birch, Ember, Fern, Aster, Clover, Dune.

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Round & Revel. Edition 1 / October 2026. No purchases, accounts or specialist equipment beyond the listed materials are required.