Overview

Personal Preference is a social party game where players guess how well they know each other. One player secretly ranks four subjects in order of their personal preference, and other players or teams try to guess the correct order. The more accurately you guess, the faster you advance on the board.

Components

• 1 game board
• 4 Movement Pieces
• 16 Preference Tokens (4 of each color)
• 4 boxes of Category Cards (Food & Drink, Activities, People, Potpourri)
• 4 Color-coded Preference Cards
• 1 Secret Envelope

Setup

1. Set up teams of 2 or more players each (or play individually with 2-3 players).
2. Each team selects a Movement Piece and four Preference Tokens of the same color.
3. All Movement Pieces start on “Start/Finish.” It is OK for multiple pieces to share a space.
4. The player to the left of the host is designated “IT” for the first round.

Turn Structure

1. Draw Category Cards

The “IT” player draws four cards from the category indicated by their Movement Piece’s position (or one from each category if on the star symbol). If any card is totally unfamiliar to “IT,” it is replaced.

2. Rank Your Preferences

“IT” secretly ranks the four subjects from most to least favorite using the four color-coded Preference Cards. Place them in order inside the Secret Envelope. Do not consult with teammates or explain your reasoning.

3. Other Players Guess

Starting with the team to the left of “IT,” teams take turns discussing and placing their Preference Tokens on the colored sections of the game board in the order they believe “IT” ranked them. Teams may keep tokens outside the center circle unless they want to DOUBLE.

Turn order rules:

• No team takes more than one guessing turn.
• The last-place team may PASS until all others have guessed.
• When “IT” is the person being guessed, their team/partner guesses last regardless of waiting.

4. Reveal Preferences

“IT” reveals their rankings one at a time from most preferred to least. After each reveal, “IT” may discuss their reasoning. Each team advances one space for each correct placement.

Doubling

A team may DOUBLE by placing their Preference Token inside the doubling circle on the board section. Correct DOUBLEs advance 2 spaces instead of 1. Incorrect DOUBLEs move the team backward 1 space. A team may DOUBLE any number of guesses (from none to all four).

Actions

There is only one action per round: guess the “IT” player’s preference order by placing tokens.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Teams advance on the game board based on correct guesses:

• 1 correct guess (no double) = advance 1 space
• 1 correct DOUBLED guess = advance 2 spaces
• 1 incorrect DOUBLED guess = move back 1 space

The game ends when one or more teams land on or pass the “FINISH” square. If multiple teams reach Finish in the same round, the one farthest ahead wins. If still tied, play continues until the tie is broken.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• 2-3 Players: Each player acts independently (no teams). A player does not advance when they are “IT.” Bluffing is not part of the game.
• Planning Ahead: Category Cards have black symbols on one side and gray on the other. Play all “black” cards first, then all “gray” cards, then shuffle for new combinations.
• “IT” rotates to the left after each round.
• The “IT” player’s own team (or the “IT” player in small games) always guesses last.
• A player who is “IT” should not change their ranking after discussion and guessing begin.
• Teams should openly discuss their guesses, but “IT” must remain silent and not react.

Player Reference

Step	Action
1	“IT” draws 4 Category Cards
2	“IT” secretly ranks preferences in envelope
3	Teams place Preference Tokens (guess order)
4	“IT” reveals; teams advance for correct guesses

Scoring	Movement
Correct guess	+1 space
Correct DOUBLE	+2 spaces
Incorrect DOUBLE	-1 space