Round & Revel / Updating memory
Shift Log
The inventory keeps changing. Remember where everything ended up.
Original printable party game. Timing is a planning estimate; this edition has not had a live group playtest.
Good for: An after-dinner memory challenge for a small group.
What you need
- One copy of the 12 keeper cards and separate answer notes; keep them hidden from listeners
- Unruled paper and a pen per player; one score record
- A timer with a repeating 8-second interval, or a keeper who pauses about eight seconds between updates
How to play
The moving inventory
Five labelled shelves hold five objects. A keeper reads their starting positions and then five swaps. Listeners picture the changes without taking notes. When the updates stop, write the final shelf for each object. This is about tracking a changing state; repeating the original list will not be enough. Choose individual scoring or one shared reconstruction before starting.
Prepare an equal rotation
Sit in a fixed order. Play exactly one round per person, with the keeper job moving clockwise, so every player listens the same number of times. The keeper does not answer or earn points in their own round. Shuffle the 12 cards face down and take as many as there are players. Keep their matching answers separate. Draw a five-box answer row labelled shelves 1–5 for every listening round, but do not write object names before answering.
Read the starting shelves
The keeper takes the top card privately, says its code, and reads the START list twice, in shelf-number order. Say each shelf number and its object, rather than only reading five words. Allow a silent 15-second study period after the second reading. Listeners may ask for an unclear word to be pronounced again before the first update; they may not write, make tally marks or arrange physical reminder objects. All five object names are always BELL, KEY, LEAF, CUP and STAR.
Make five mental swaps
Read each numbered update once, then wait about eight seconds before the next. A swap exchanges the two objects currently occupying those shelves, which may differ from their original occupants. The shelf labels themselves never move. If someone did not hear an update, repeat that exact update once before continuing; a repeat is not a second swap. There is no penalty for an access repeat. Do not replay earlier updates or announce intermediate positions.
Reconstruct, then reveal
After update five, announce “write” and allow 45 seconds. Each listener writes one object name in each shelf box, or leaves a box blank. Pens stop together. The keeper now reads the answer for that card. Award 1 point for each shelf holding the exact correct object, for 0–5 per round. A misspelling is fine if its intended object is clear. An object written in two boxes can only score in its one correct box. Do not move an answer after hearing the reveal.
An update example
Suppose the start is BELL, KEY, LEAF, CUP, STAR. Swap shelves 1 and 4: CUP, KEY, LEAF, BELL, STAR. Then swap 4 and 5: CUP, KEY, LEAF, STAR, BELL. The second swap moves BELL again; it does not move the original occupant CUP of shelf 4. If a listener writes CUP, KEY, STAR, LEAF, BELL at this point, shelves 1, 2 and 5 are correct, giving 3 points.
Finish fairly
After everyone has kept once, add each player’s listening-round points. The maximum is 5 times one fewer than the number of players: with five people it is 20. Highest total wins, and tied leaders share the win. Do not count the keeper’s own round as a zero against a player who took extra practice turns. In cooperative play, listeners discuss for 45 seconds and submit one shared row; total the group’s round scores out of 5 times the number of players. The keeper stays silent during reconstruction.
Mistakes and interruptions
If the keeper reads the wrong update, exposes the answer, or loses track of which updates were read, void the whole round and use an unused card with the same keeper. No one scores the spoiled card. If no unused card remains, restart that keeper’s round with a freshly shuffled handwritten starting list and five recorded swaps, checking it on paper before the reveal. Never change only one player’s answer time or award points for an interrupted partial round.
Access and replay
Agree on a longer pause or 60-second answer time for everybody if useful. For hearing access, show each update alone on a large sheet, then cover it before the next; keep the starting list covered after study. Dictate answers privately to a non-playing scribe if needed. A relaxed version allows notes and uses the same five-swap task as a shared bookkeeping puzzle; label it separately when comparing scores. No one is eliminated for mistakes. Keep used cards aside until the deck is exhausted.
Printable cards and components
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.
Opening Shift
START, shelves 1–5: STAR, CUP, BELL, LEAF, KEY.
Update 1: swap the objects on shelves 3 and 1.
Update 2: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 5.
Update 3: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 3.
Update 4: swap the objects on shelves 4 and 2.
Update 5: swap the objects on shelves 4 and 1.
Rainy Delivery
START, shelves 1–5: LEAF, CUP, KEY, BELL, STAR.
Update 1: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 1.
Update 2: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 2.
Update 3: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 3.
Update 4: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 4.
Update 5: swap the objects on shelves 3 and 5.
Evening Labels
START, shelves 1–5: BELL, STAR, KEY, CUP, LEAF.
Update 1: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 4.
Update 2: swap the objects on shelves 4 and 3.
Update 3: swap the objects on shelves 2 and 4.
Update 4: swap the objects on shelves 4 and 5.
Update 5: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 3.
Early Collection
START, shelves 1–5: LEAF, CUP, STAR, BELL, KEY.
Update 1: swap the objects on shelves 3 and 5.
Update 2: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 3.
Update 3: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 5.
Update 4: swap the objects on shelves 3 and 2.
Update 5: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 2.
The Spare Key
START, shelves 1–5: CUP, STAR, KEY, BELL, LEAF.
Update 1: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 5.
Update 2: swap the objects on shelves 4 and 1.
Update 3: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 5.
Update 4: swap the objects on shelves 4 and 5.
Update 5: swap the objects on shelves 2 and 4.
Closing Check
START, shelves 1–5: LEAF, BELL, STAR, CUP, KEY.
Update 1: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 3.
Update 2: swap the objects on shelves 4 and 2.
Update 3: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 4.
Update 4: swap the objects on shelves 2 and 1.
Update 5: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 4.
A Busy Shelf
START, shelves 1–5: CUP, LEAF, STAR, KEY, BELL.
Update 1: swap the objects on shelves 2 and 3.
Update 2: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 5.
Update 3: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 3.
Update 4: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 2.
Update 5: swap the objects on shelves 2 and 5.
After the Bell
START, shelves 1–5: KEY, STAR, BELL, LEAF, CUP.
Update 1: swap the objects on shelves 4 and 3.
Update 2: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 4.
Update 3: swap the objects on shelves 2 and 4.
Update 4: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 2.
Update 5: swap the objects on shelves 4 and 5.
Late Arrival
START, shelves 1–5: CUP, STAR, KEY, LEAF, BELL.
Update 1: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 3.
Update 2: swap the objects on shelves 2 and 5.
Update 3: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 3.
Update 4: swap the objects on shelves 2 and 3.
Update 5: swap the objects on shelves 3 and 1.
Fresh Inventory
START, shelves 1–5: LEAF, STAR, CUP, KEY, BELL.
Update 1: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 3.
Update 2: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 1.
Update 3: swap the objects on shelves 4 and 1.
Update 4: swap the objects on shelves 2 and 1.
Update 5: swap the objects on shelves 4 and 3.
Before the Guests
START, shelves 1–5: STAR, CUP, BELL, KEY, LEAF.
Update 1: swap the objects on shelves 2 and 3.
Update 2: swap the objects on shelves 4 and 5.
Update 3: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 3.
Update 4: swap the objects on shelves 3 and 2.
Update 5: swap the objects on shelves 1 and 4.
Final Round
START, shelves 1–5: LEAF, BELL, KEY, STAR, CUP.
Update 1: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 3.
Update 2: swap the objects on shelves 2 and 5.
Update 3: swap the objects on shelves 5 and 1.
Update 4: swap the objects on shelves 3 and 4.
Update 5: swap the objects on shelves 2 and 5.
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.
SL-01
Final shelves 1–5: CUP, LEAF, BELL, KEY, STAR.
SL-02
Final shelves 1–5: BELL, LEAF, CUP, KEY, STAR.
SL-03
Final shelves 1–5: BELL, KEY, STAR, CUP, LEAF.
SL-04
Final shelves 1–5: STAR, KEY, CUP, BELL, LEAF.
SL-05
Final shelves 1–5: CUP, BELL, KEY, STAR, LEAF.
SL-06
Final shelves 1–5: CUP, LEAF, KEY, BELL, STAR.
SL-07
Final shelves 1–5: STAR, CUP, BELL, KEY, LEAF.
SL-08
Final shelves 1–5: CUP, KEY, LEAF, BELL, STAR.
SL-09
Final shelves 1–5: KEY, STAR, CUP, LEAF, BELL.
SL-10
Final shelves 1–5: STAR, KEY, BELL, LEAF, CUP.
SL-11
Final shelves 1–5: LEAF, STAR, BELL, CUP, KEY.
SL-12
Final shelves 1–5: BELL, LEAF, STAR, CUP, KEY.
Round & Revel. Edition 1 / October 2026. No purchases, accounts or specialist equipment beyond the listed materials are required.