The quick version
Choose an employer and reveal a job. Deal four qualifications to each applicant and one per applicant to the employer; put ten more face up. Allow two minutes of one-for-one exchanges with the center. Applicants pitch clockwise, using all four cards, then answer one surprise card from the employer. The employer awards the job. Everyone serves as employer once; most jobs wins.
Saved on this device only — clearing your browser's cache or site data removes them (no account backup).
Build a clean card pool
Before the gathering, choose only ordinary jobs and playful, non-explicit qualifications. Omit adult themes, alcohol, drugs, personal insults and cards that turn a real medical condition into a joke. This is a curated house selection from the Mattel FCM11 edition, not a claim that the unfiltered box is suitable for every group. Leave the My Job card out so nobody has to discuss real employment.
Choose an employer. Deal four qualifications to each other player and give the employer as many qualifications as there are applicants. Reveal ten more in the center, then reveal one job. For this guide, allow two minutes during which anyone, including the employer, may exchange one held card for one center card at a time. Never grab a card somebody is already exchanging.
Make all four qualifications work
Starting left of the employer, each applicant reveals their four cards one at a time and explains why every qualification helps with the job. They may invent a fictional background, but must use the actual card meanings. After the pitch, the employer reveals one unused card from their hand and asks the applicant to explain that additional qualification.
After hearing every applicant and their answer, the employer chooses the most convincing or entertaining fit and gives them the job card as one point. The employer cannot win their own round. Discard every qualification held or used that round; the ten center cards remain. Refill from a reshuffled discard pile if needed.
The next person clockwise becomes employer. Repeat fresh deals, job, exchanges and interviews until everyone has hosted once. Most job cards wins, with tied leaders sharing the result. This one-circuit endpoint is a house clarification that avoids the printed rule’s overlapping six-player duration language.
Pitch the character, not the person
Keep interviews short enough that the whole table remembers each case. A card is a fictional prompt, not a description of its holder. The employer should offer one reason for the winning choice and then move on. Nobody needs a stage voice or acting experience; a straightforward explanation can be funnier than a performance.
Already know the game?
Ideas & Twists
Choose a variation together before you start.
Funemployed · See main rules
Published variantLate to the interview
Deal applicant qualifications face down and omit their exchanges. During the pitch, reveal the four cards one at a time, improvising before seeing the next. The employer prepares and asks a surprise card normally.
Funemployed · See main rules
Published variantPass the résumé
After the exchange period, every applicant passes their whole four-card hand to the next applicant clockwise, skipping the employer. Pitch that new hand. The employer keeps their own question cards.
Funemployed · See main rules
House suggestionOne-minute interview
Give each applicant one minute for the four-card pitch, then allow the ordinary surprise question without that clock. An unfinished qualification still needs a brief explanation before judging. Use the same limit for everybody.
Funemployed · See main rules
House suggestionThree qualifications
Deal three qualifications per applicant instead of four. Keep ten center cards, the exchange period and one surprise card each. This makes a first session easier to follow while preserving the interview structure.
Funemployed · See main rules
House suggestionTwo-person panel
With at least six players, the current employer appoints their left neighbor as a second interviewer. That person skips applying this round; the panel privately agrees a winner, with the employer deciding a disagreement. Rotate the employer normally so everyone sits on the panel once.
About this guide
The resume, shared exchange pool and surprise question follow the FCM11 rules. Clean selection, timed exchange, one-circuit endpoint and last three twists are house choices. The first two variants are printed in the rulebook. Visible community comments support appeal while also noting similarity among pitching games.
Ready for something different?
Find another game →