Dixit

Check the box and deal the pictures

Use the 2021 Refresh base game, not an expansion deck alone. Its board has a scoring track, eight numbered card positions and a printed scoring aid. Check that every player has a matching-color rabbit and voting dial; leave unused colors in the box. Set the board on a table everyone can see, with room around it for the large pictures, a draw pile and a separate discard pile. Put each rabbit on the starting space.

For 4–8 players, shuffle all 84 cards and deal six face down to each person. Keep hands private and put the remainder face down as the draw pile. The first person ready with a clue for one of their cards becomes the first storyteller. A word or short phrase is enough; a long story or performance is optional.

Exactly three players: deal seven cards each instead. On every turn the storyteller submits one picture and each other player submits two, making five pictures to vote on. The two voters still cast only one vote apiece and may not vote for either of their own pictures. All other main rules below apply.

Give a clue, choose decoys and vote

Score in two passes

First count correct votes. If at least one voter finds the storyteller's picture but at least one voter does not, the storyteller earns 3 points and each correct voter earns 3. Incorrect voters earn zero in this first pass. If everyone finds it, or nobody finds it, the storyteller earns zero and every other player earns 2 instead.

Then count decoy votes. Every non-storyteller adds 1 point for each vote on their own picture. This bonus also applies when nobody found the storyteller's picture. At three players, count votes on either of your two pictures; only the other voter can vote for them. The storyteller never earns decoy bonuses. There is no three-point decoy-bonus cap in this Refresh rulebook; do not import Odyssey scoring.

For a four-player example, Ana tells the clue. Ben votes for Ana, Cara votes for Ben, and Dev votes for Cara. Ana earns 3. Ben earns 3 for guessing plus 1 for Cara's vote, totaling 4. Cara earns 1 for Dev's vote. Dev earns zero. If instead all three voters found Ana, Ana would earn zero and each voter 2, with no decoy votes to add.

If nobody found Ana and Ben received two decoy votes while Cara received one, Ana would earn zero; Ben would earn 4, Cara 3 and Dev 2. Move every rabbit by its entire turn total before deciding whether the game is over.

Refill, rotate and finish

After a turn, put all displayed pictures into the face-up discard pile. For 4–8 players, each person draws one new card to restore a six-card hand. With three players, the storyteller draws one and each other player draws two, restoring seven each. If the draw pile cannot supply everyone, shuffle its remaining cards together with the discard pile to make a new draw pile, then complete the refill. Running out of draw cards does not end this edition.

The player to the storyteller's left tells the next clue. At the end of any fully scored turn, if one or more players have reached or passed 30, stop. Compare all totals, including bonuses: the highest total wins. If that highest total is tied, those players share the victory. Do not stop halfway through awards, require exactly 30, finish an extra circuit or add a tie-breaker in the main format.

Keep the mystery fair and the explanation easy

Before the real deal, you can lay out a few pictures and demonstrate an obvious clue, a less literal clue and a pretend vote. Explain the two scoring passes aloud, then return every demonstration card and reshuffle all 84. This unscored teaching demonstration is a hosting suggestion. People can use a plain spoken phrase; nobody needs to sing, act or disclose a personal story.

Suggest clues that others have a chance to understand. Private references can be legal but can leave newcomers out; this is a group-fit discussion, not a reason to cancel someone's points afterward. A decoy that seems more convincing than the storyteller's card is part of the game. There is no objective panel judging how well a picture fits a clue: the votes decide.

Keep picture numbers fixed until scoring is agreed. Let players repeat the original clue exactly; as a house hosting agreement, add no new hints or claims about card ownership before everyone has voted. Discuss interpretations after the reveal. Confirm each card's owner and every bonus before discarding. If a rabbit crosses 30, keep the complete total clear, using a written note if helpful, until all awards have been compared.

House remedy for mistakes: if a player notices an invalid dial number or self-vote before the group reveals, let them correct it privately. If it is discovered after votes or card ownership have been revealed, void that turn: leave scores unchanged, return submitted cards to their owners' hands and have the same storyteller choose a new card and clue for a replacement turn. Use this same remedy for an accidental early reveal that spoils the mystery. This replay procedure is a suggested friendly-game agreement, not a printed official penalty. Do not invent point deductions.

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