Ted Lasso Cooperative Party Game Overview
If I were to poll my friends to find out who has or hasn’t watched Ted Lasso, I think the results could be counted on one hand. The incredibly inspirational TV series was first released amidst the pandemic, at a time that we all needed a good pick-me-up. The trademark “Believe” sign became a symbol of hope and the show caused a change of perspective for so many people. As we (im)patiently wait for the next season to drop on Apple TV+, we’re embracing some of the things that sprung up from it. Scott proudly wears a Roy Kent jersey and we’re enjoying Funko Games‘ Ted Lasso party game. Yes, it’s a game and not a match but call it whatever you want because it’s fun either way!
As you might expect from anything Ted Lasso, it’s all about teamwork. But this party game doesn’t set players or teams against one another. It’s completely cooperative. Everyone has to work together just as Ted would want it. Set up by placing the game board, game box (with die and scoring clip), biscuit box and location mats (you’ll recognize them if you’re a fan of the show!) in the center of the table. Shuffle the Believe and Character cards separately and place them face down near the board. Four randomly selected event cards are placed on the board with the remainder being removed from the game for future use. Place one character card face-up on each location then set the Coach Lasso standee in the office and Coach Beard on the pitch. Finally, draw Trouble tiles from the box to coincide with the numbers on the character cards. Set a timer and you’re ready to play!
The goal is to raise everyone’s morale. If you’re able to score 45 by the end of the fourth round, everyone wins. Each player is dealt a hand of Believe cards at the beginning of each round. A two-minute timer is set and players have to work together to play all their cards within that time limit. Match your cards with tokens on trouble tiles and those tiles can be removed at the end of the round. You’ll earn morale points associated with the character card where the tile was removed.
Begin the round by flipping over the top card in the Event stack to determine the stipulations for the round. Sometimes they are helpful (discarding a specific type of Believe card to earn morale or reducing the number of trouble tiles). Other times, they are roadblocks (players cannot talk or limiting a coach’s interaction). Deal out a total of 24 Believe cards, distributed evenly among players. Familiarize yourself with the effects of each character and get ready to go. Once the timer is started, it goes quickly!
There are four different colors of cards that represent different ways to boost morale including Coaching (yellow), Quality Time (red), Jokes (blue) and Inspirational Speech (purple). In addition, there are biscuit cards which are wild because, naturally, biscuits make people happy. On your turn, play ALL of any one color of card in your hand. It will be your turn until you’ve played all of these. With each, you’ll determine whether you want to activate it to Be Kind, Move a Coach or Self Care. With Be Kind, the card can be played onto any character at a coach’s location. Keep in mind that this is ultimately how you remove the Trouble tiles from the characters and earn morale points.
Playing a card to move a coach allows you to move one coach to any other location so you can play additional cards in the future. But it’s not as easy as it sounds because you only have so many cards and using extras to move coaches willy-nilly isn’t allowing you to use those to deal with troubles. When you choose Self Care, you place the card face down on the designated space on the board. For every five cards at the end of the round, you can remove any one trouble tile. The next player takes their turn and it continues until all the cards are played or until the timer goes off.
At the end of the round, if a character hasn’t received any Believe cards, you’ll add another trouble tile to their card. Once they hit six, you’ll start losing morale. After all, everyone deserves and needs attention from their leadership! Remove as many trouble tiles as match the cards played for that character. Know what you do with those pesky tiles when they’re removed? They go in the absolutely adorable biscuit box.
Remove additional tiles for every five Self Care cards. In the event you’ve been able to completely resolve a character’s troubles, you’ll score either the designated morale or you’ll roll the die for each football displayed on the card. Lose three morale if any of the 24 cards remain in hands when the timer went off. Refill any empty character spots. Flip a new event card, shuffle the Believe cards then start the new round. Don’t forget that your goal is to reach a morale of 45 after the fourth round.
The combination of variable Character cards in different room, random Trouble tickets on each of those and only utilizing a few of the many Event cards each game ensures great replay value. Ted Lasso party game works for 2-6 players and is very quick to play. And while the Believe cards are used throughout the game in a rushed manner, it’s worth taking time in-between or when you aren’t playing to actually read them. There are jokes, quotes and all kinds of inspiration pulled right from the script. Snag a copy the next time you’re at Target or order it through their website. Be sure to ask your local game store whether they have copies. Get your Ted Lasso fix by playing the party game in-between seasons… or cook up some biscuits, play the game, stream the show and have a Ted Lasso themed night. Check out the other exciting news from Funko Games by following them on Facebook and Twitter.
Who is your favorite Ted Lasso character?
