Overview

Macroscope is a party/deduction game where players roll dice to open windows on a cylindrical device, peeking at a hidden black-and-white line drawing underneath. The goal is to correctly guess the hidden picture while as many windows as possible remain covered, maximizing points. The game plays over 10 rounds, and the player with the most victory points wins.

Components

• 1 Macroscope device (box with numbered windows)
• Numbered tokens (covering the windows)
• 200 double-sided picture cards
• 2 dice
• Yellow crystals (scoring currency)
• Round tracker with marker
• Victory point tokens

Setup

1. Assemble the Macroscope and place tokens randomly in each window.
2. Place the device in the center of the table with a card deck loaded inside.
3. Each player receives 2 yellow crystals.
4. Place the round tracker with the marker on space 1.

Turn Structure

Players take turns clockwise. On your turn:

1. Roll both dice and remove the token(s) matching the rolled numbers from the Macroscope. If a matching number has already been removed, remove any token of your choice.
2. After removing 1 token, you may choose to remove the second matching token or stop.
3. After removing tokens, choose one of:
   • Guess the picture – name what you think the hidden drawing is.
   • Take yellow crystals – collect one crystal per currently open window.
   • Pass – do nothing; play moves to the next player.

Actions

Guessing

When you guess:

• Count the number of covered (still hidden) windows.
• If correct: gain victory points equal to the number of covered windows.
• If incorrect: lose victory points equal to the number of covered windows.
• After a correct or incorrect guess, other players may choose to challenge (guess themselves) by paying 2 yellow crystals. A correct challenge scores points; incorrect loses points.
• After all guesses are resolved, start a new round with a new picture card.

Taking Crystals

Instead of guessing, you may collect yellow crystals equal to the number of currently open windows. Crystals are used to make challenge guesses or to pay penalties.

Passing

If unsure, pass your turn. Play continues to the next player.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

• The game lasts 10 rounds.
• After 10 rounds, the player with the most victory points wins.
• Players who owe crystals they cannot pay simply return all crystals they have.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• A new round begins whenever the picture is correctly guessed (or all windows are opened).
• If all windows are opened without a correct guess, the round ends with no points scored.
• Players may not look at the picture card until after guessing.
• Yellow crystals serve as both a scoring tiebreaker and a resource for challenge guesses.

Player Reference

Action	Effect
Roll dice	Remove 1-2 tokens matching dice numbers
Guess	Correct: +points (covered windows); Wrong: -points
Take crystals	Gain crystals equal to open windows
Challenge	Pay 2 crystals to guess after another player’s guess
Pass	Skip your turn