Overview

Belratti is a cooperative party game where players work together to prevent the art forger Belratti from sneaking fake paintings into a museum. Some players act as museum managers (Cat) and others as painters (Owl). Painters select cards matching displayed themes, but Belratti adds fakes to the mix. Museum managers must identify the genuine paintings while rejecting the fakes. The team wins if they score 15 or more points before Belratti reaches 6 points.

Components

• 168 picture cards
• 4 joker cards
• 8 character cards (Cat and Owl roles)

Setup

1. Distribute character cards: some players become museum manager Cat, others become painter Owl. Roles rotate clockwise each round.
2. Deal picture cards based on player count:
   • 3 players: 18 cards each
   • 4-5 players: 9 cards each
   • 6-7 players: 6 cards each
3. Set aside the draw pile.

Turn Structure

Each round consists of four phases:

Phase 1: Museum Managers Demand Pictures

• Two theme cards are revealed from the draw pile.
• Museum managers discuss and determine how many cards painters must provide (between 2 and 7 cards total).
• Discussion is limited to quantity only – managers may not hint at what kind of cards they want.

Phase 2: Painters Choose Pictures

• Painters secretly select cards from their hands that match the displayed themes.
• Painters may discuss amongst themselves but must agree on how to distribute the required number of cards.
• 4 random cards from the draw pile are added face-down to the painters’ submissions as Belratti fakes.
• All cards are shuffled together face-down, then revealed.

Phase 3: Museum Managers Equip Museum

• Museum managers openly discuss and assign the revealed cards to the two theme categories.
• They attempt to identify genuine paintings and reject fakes.

Phase 4: Painters Evaluate

• Each painter reveals which cards they actually submitted.
• Correct placements (genuine paintings correctly assigned): 1 point to the team.
• Belratti fakes incorrectly accepted: 1 point to Belratti.

Actions

Joker Cards

Museum managers may use joker cards to:

• Exchange theme cards for new ones.
• Question painters (limited communication).

Painters may use joker cards to:

• Adjust the number of cards required.
• Swap hand cards for new ones from the draw pile.
• After a perfect round (no fakes accepted), retrieve a previously used joker.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

• Game ends when Belratti reaches 6 or more points.
• Team wins with 15 or more points.

Victory Ratings

| Score | Rating | |——-|——–| | 30+ | “A sight for the gods!” | | 25-29 | “Picture perfect” | | 20-24 | “By every trick in the book!” | | 15-19 | “You get the picture” | | Below 15 | Belratti wins |

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Roles rotate each round so all players experience both Cat and Owl.
• The 4 Belratti fakes are always added regardless of how many cards painters provide.
• Painters cannot directly tell managers which cards are theirs.
• If the draw pile runs out, reshuffle discarded cards.

Player Reference

Player Count	Cards Per Player
3	18
4-5	9
6-7	6

Scoring	Points
Correct painting placement	+1 team
Fake accepted into museum	+1 Belratti
Team win threshold	15 points
Belratti game-end trigger	6 points
Belratti fakes per round	4 cards