Décorum

Decorum is a cooperative, hidden information game where you and your partner have the same objective: decorate your home in a way that makes you both happy. The issue is, different things make each of you happy and nobody says exactly what they need. Can you come to a happy compromise, or is it time to move out?!

• Play through 30 unique scenarios, each adding new twists and challenges.
• Keep your conditions a secret, they will say how you want the house decorated.
• Add, swap, and remove objects or repaint rooms to make the house look just right… for you.
• Respond with “Love it”, “Hate it”, or “Fine with it” to work together toward a optimally decorated home.
• There is a solution for every scenario, the trick is figuring it out in time.

At its core, Décorum is a pretty straightforward logic puzzle. There are a limited number of ways to arrange the internal pieces that meet all the requirements listed on the player’s rule sheets simultaneously. The catch of Décorum is that it’s also a hidden information game. None of the players have all of the rules. While playing, the players have to watch their partner’s moves just as carefully as they’re planning their own. Even more crucially, they will have to communicate why they’re making the moves they’re making–using the very limited means we’ve provided them.

Décorum might be about solving a puzzle, but it’s really a game about compromise and communication. The real challenge isn’t just solving the problem with the limited information you and your fellow players have; it’s dealing with the frustrations that inevitably occurs when your partner does something that messes up your plan. In order to be successful in Décorum, there will come a point where players will have to let go of their initial strategy for how they were going to finish the board and start paying attention to what their partner is doing instead. By adding and providing an incentive to resolve conflict, Décorum mechanically encourages (or even necessitates) a positive form of compromise.

Every player draws a "Scenario" card that lists a set of criteria of what types of décor a room must have or cannot have. For example "No room may contain a lamp" or "Every room must contain a wall hanging". Players must keep their criteria secret.

The play surface is a board showing various rooms in a house. Every room has multiple items that can potentially be placed in the room. Players will take turns placing, moving, or removing colored tokens on the board, where each token represents an item of home décor. Each token played may conform with, or violate, the other players' criteria. After each token is placed, other players can state they like the item of décor, as placed, or they do not like the item of décor, as placed. Further discussion or explanation is not permitted.

The game is over when all players' criteria are satisfied.