Round & Revel / Negotiation
The Shared Shelf
A good trade need not look equal on both sides.
Original printable party game. Timing is a planning estimate; this edition has not had a live group playtest.
Good for: Friends who enjoy friendly deals and talking through a plan.
What you need
- One copy of the 12 private contract cards, sorted into four role decks
- 24 counters: six each labelled PAPER, CORD, CLIPS, and LABELS
- Four stock areas, four team score sheets, and pencils
- A five-minute timer and a public three-round record
How to play
What you are negotiating
A lively small-group party game for people who enjoy making deals. Quick start: take your private contract, trade for five minutes, then reveal and score. Four fictional work desks begin with entirely different stock. Each desk has a private contract that rewards a different final collection. You can offer unequal exchanges, make a gift, join a three-way deal, or decline everything. A trade happens only when everyone involved agrees to its exact terms. Resources have no money value, and nobody pays, buys, borrows, or owes anything outside the game. The point is to discover compatible needs without assuming that an equal number of counters makes an equally useful deal.
Make four desks
With four players, each person is one desk. With five to eight, form four teams as evenly as possible. Assign the roles PAPER, CORD, CLIPS, and LABELS. Each team starts a round holding all six counters bearing its role name. Keep all stock face up and countable. Team members may quietly discuss their own contract; choose one spokesperson for each negotiation window, then rotate that job next round. Team size does not change starting stock, scoring, or the number of votes needed inside a team.
Deal different private goals
Separate the contract cards by their printed role. Shuffle each three-card role deck independently. Deal the top matching card to each team; keep it private. Never deal a contract to a different role. Each card has three independent scoring conditions worth 3, 2, and 1 points. Read your whole card before trading. You may describe your goals truthfully, disclose exact conditions, or keep them private, but cannot show the physical card until scoring. You must not make false claims about its wording or invent scoring rules.
Open the trading window
Start five minutes after everyone has read. All teams may talk freely and approach any other team. State an offer as an exact transfer in both directions, such as “our two PAPER for your one CORD.” The other team can accept, reject, or counteroffer. Counters remain with their owners until everyone involved clearly accepts. Complete an accepted exchange at once, with all transfers visible. Ask to slow down whenever two offers overlap; finish one agreed transaction before committing the same counter somewhere else.
What an agreement can contain
A deal may exchange any whole-number bundle, including zero units on one side as an outright gift. A three- or four-team exchange is legal if every participant repeats and accepts their own outgoing and incoming bundles. You cannot trade points, contract cards, future-round stock, promises of later payment, or personal favours. Discussion promises are nonbinding; only immediate completed transfers count. There is no stealing, compulsory trade, minimum stock size, or maximum hand size. You cannot transfer a counter you do not currently possess.
Stop cleanly and score
At the signal, no new offer can be accepted. Finish only a transaction for which every involved team had already clearly accepted before the signal. Return a half-moved unaccepted offer to its original owners. Reveal all four contracts. For each team, evaluate all three conditions against its final stock. Conditions are thresholds, not payments: keep the counters in place, and allow the same counter to satisfy two conditions. A team earns 0–6 points. Another team verifies the checks and writes the score before stock is reset.
An uneven trade that works
The PAPER team has Finishing desk and holds six PAPER. It exchanges two PAPER for two CORD, then two PAPER for two CLIPS, then one PAPER for one LABELS. Its final stock is one PAPER, two CORD, two CLIPS, and one LABELS, meeting all three conditions for 6 points. Those deals also give other desks resources they may need. A later offer of two CORD for one LABELS might be useful to another contract but would lose this desk its 3-point condition. Count your remaining stock before agreeing.
Three rounds, one result
After scoring, return every resource to its named starting team. Each team draws its next matching contract; no contract is reused during this game. Start another five-minute window. After three rounds, add each team’s scores, for a maximum of 18. Highest total wins, with shared wins for ties. Unequal contracts are part of the negotiation puzzle, not a claim of tournament balance. For repeat sessions, rotate starting roles. Offer written negotiations, enlarged labels, or more discussion time as needed. Nobody must explain why they declined an offer, and loudness never creates priority.
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.
Finishing desk
PRIVATE CONTRACT. For the PAPER team. Starting stock: 6 PAPER. Final stock scores these independent checks: At least 2 CORD: 3 points; At least 2 CLIPS: 2 points; At least 1 LABELS: 1 points. Reveal only when trading ends. One resource can satisfy multiple checks.
Parcel desk
PRIVATE CONTRACT. For the PAPER team. Starting stock: 6 PAPER. Final stock scores these independent checks: At least 3 LABELS: 3 points; At least 1 CORD and 1 CLIPS: 2 points; At least 1 PAPER: 1 points. Reveal only when trading ends. One resource can satisfy multiple checks.
Display desk
PRIVATE CONTRACT. For the PAPER team. Starting stock: 6 PAPER. Final stock scores these independent checks: At least 2 CLIPS and 1 LABELS: 3 points; At least 2 CORD: 2 points; No PAPER remaining: 1 points. Reveal only when trading ends. One resource can satisfy multiple checks.
Binding desk
PRIVATE CONTRACT. For the CORD team. Starting stock: 6 CORD. Final stock scores these independent checks: At least 3 PAPER: 3 points; At least 2 LABELS: 2 points; At least 1 CLIPS: 1 points. Reveal only when trading ends. One resource can satisfy multiple checks.
Repair desk
PRIVATE CONTRACT. For the CORD team. Starting stock: 6 CORD. Final stock scores these independent checks: At least 2 CLIPS: 3 points; At least 1 PAPER and 1 LABELS: 2 points; At least 2 CORD: 1 points. Reveal only when trading ends. One resource can satisfy multiple checks.
Archive desk
PRIVATE CONTRACT. For the CORD team. Starting stock: 6 CORD. Final stock scores these independent checks: At least 2 PAPER and 1 LABELS: 3 points; At least 2 CLIPS: 2 points; No CORD remaining: 1 points. Reveal only when trading ends. One resource can satisfy multiple checks.
Packing desk
PRIVATE CONTRACT. For the CLIPS team. Starting stock: 6 CLIPS. Final stock scores these independent checks: At least 2 PAPER and 1 CORD: 3 points; At least 2 LABELS: 2 points; At least 1 CLIPS: 1 points. Reveal only when trading ends. One resource can satisfy multiple checks.
Hanging desk
PRIVATE CONTRACT. For the CLIPS team. Starting stock: 6 CLIPS. Final stock scores these independent checks: At least 3 CORD: 3 points; At least 1 PAPER and 1 LABELS: 2 points; No CLIPS remaining: 1 points. Reveal only when trading ends. One resource can satisfy multiple checks.
Sorting desk
PRIVATE CONTRACT. For the CLIPS team. Starting stock: 6 CLIPS. Final stock scores these independent checks: At least 3 LABELS: 3 points; At least 2 PAPER: 2 points; At least 1 CORD: 1 points. Reveal only when trading ends. One resource can satisfy multiple checks.
Studio desk
PRIVATE CONTRACT. For the LABELS team. Starting stock: 6 LABELS. Final stock scores these independent checks: At least 2 PAPER: 3 points; At least 2 CORD: 2 points; At least 1 CLIPS: 1 points. Reveal only when trading ends. One resource can satisfy multiple checks.
Post room
PRIVATE CONTRACT. For the LABELS team. Starting stock: 6 LABELS. Final stock scores these independent checks: At least 2 CORD and 1 CLIPS: 3 points; At least 2 PAPER: 2 points; No LABELS remaining: 1 points. Reveal only when trading ends. One resource can satisfy multiple checks.
Workshop desk
PRIVATE CONTRACT. For the LABELS team. Starting stock: 6 LABELS. Final stock scores these independent checks: At least 3 CLIPS: 3 points; At least 1 PAPER and 1 CORD: 2 points; At least 1 LABELS: 1 points. Reveal only when trading ends. One resource can satisfy multiple checks.
PAPER stock
RESOURCE MASTER. Make six separate counters labelled PAPER. The four resource types require 24 counters in total. Each counter represents exactly one unit. No real supplies or money change hands.
CORD stock
RESOURCE MASTER. Make six separate counters labelled CORD. The four resource types require 24 counters in total. Each counter represents exactly one unit. No real supplies or money change hands.
CLIPS stock
RESOURCE MASTER. Make six separate counters labelled CLIPS. The four resource types require 24 counters in total. Each counter represents exactly one unit. No real supplies or money change hands.
LABELS stock
RESOURCE MASTER. Make six separate counters labelled LABELS. The four resource types require 24 counters in total. Each counter represents exactly one unit. No real supplies or money change hands.
Round & Revel. Edition 1 / October 2026. No purchases, accounts or specialist equipment beyond the listed materials are required.