Rambling Roommates

This is Rambling Roommates, a series of ultra-minimalist card games I've been working on since 2019--the idea is that it's a deck of 54 cards, with each card being the primary component of some sort of game that is played with only one card (itself). I've made no attempt to keep my art style consistent since 2019, and so on this page you will see an exact and exacting progression of my artistic progress through the years.

As a quick note, I don't consider these cards and images to be canon to the main series anymore. This card game was the first time I'd ever drawn any of these characters, and my conception of who they are and what their personalies are like has changed tremendously since 2019, when I started this project--consider this a quirky look into what could have been.

This series is divided into six "rounds" of 9 cards each. Each round will focus on some different aspect of how a "single card card game" could be realized. Click the following links to jump to the round of your choice:

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Printable Documents

Round 1

Lizzie’s sleeping on the floor while her roommates all sleep on a bed.

Superglue this card to your bathroom floor text side down and make a point to step on it every time you you walk in.

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The Bathroom door has fallen down and Lizzie is trying to take a shit while her roommates have a loud conversation right outside the door.

Put this card in the bathroom next to your toilet. Every time you take a shit, look at this card and think of one good reason not to use this card as toilet paper. You may not use the same excuse twice. When you find yourself unable to think of any more reasons, do as you will.

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Lizzie’s roommates are eating a gross, fly covered sandwich, while another roommate is preparing to blow an air horn next to Lizzie’s ear.

Put this card in your mouth and leave it there for five seconds. Remove it and inspect. If there’s saliva on it, you lose. If there’s teeth marks on it, you win.

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Roommates have stolen Lizzie’s hat and she’s only just now noticed.

Place this card in a safe or locker somewhere and lock it up tight. Think about this card always. If you ever find yourself thinking about something else, go back to thinking about this card. Never let your thoughts drift. You may never open the safe or locked where this card is kept for as long as you live.

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Lizzie and her roommates have ordered pizza. One of the roommates is wiping her fingers on Lizzie.

Carry this card with you at all times. When you meet a new person, show the picture on the other side of this card to them and ask them what they think. No matter what they say, respond to them by shaking you head, saying How dissapointing, and never clarifying or bringing up the subject again.

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Lizzie's roommates are yelling at her. One is missing her belt. A belt is looking out of lizzie's jacket pocket.

Tell your friend you're about to improvise a haiku, and they have until you finish to figure out why lizzie s roommates are so angry at her. Then show them this card and do as you say you would.

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Lizzie and her roommates have just finished eating at a restaurant. Lizzie has just now realized they have no money. Her roommates do not know this.

Use tape to stick this card under a restaurant table. If you find this card, you can’t take it unless you tip your server 100%. If you can’t afford to do that, you can’t have this card.

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Lizzie is trying to open a safe behind a painting while her roommates loudly watch television behind her. Her hat, coat, a flower, and her hat in the reflection, and something else ambiguous are pink.

In a group of four or more people, put this card text up on a table, without showing anyone else the image, and tell them each to guess how many objects depicted on the other side are pink. Single out one friend and tell them you think they’ll get the answer right. Once everyone’s guessed, flip the card around and count them. If the person you singled out guessed right, you keep this card. Otherwise, you give it to the correct guesser (if there was one) for their keeping for them to play whenever.

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Lizzie’s roommates are collecting 68 chamomile flowers and stickers and pictures of flowers, Lizzie is experiencing allergies

Count the number of flowers on this card, and then laugh at the funny number.

Go To Top

Round 2

Outside Lizzie’s apartment. Lizzie is simultaneously robbing two of her roommates and looks pleased about it--The roommates on her left and right sides are both rubbing a piece of paper against their skins and seem to like it, but the one on Lizzie’s left side is stealing Lizzie’s hat while doing so, which Lizzie appears amused by.

Rub this card against your bare skin--you’ve won when the image on the other side of this card has been completely worn away.

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Kitchen Table. Lizzie, her girlfriend Roby Ola, and her roommate, are staring at a plush teddy bear on the table, which contains a zipper, and some coins and cash money are sticking out of it and are partially spilling around. Lizzie seems nonplussed, whereas her girlfriend seems intrigued.

A game for at least 3 players. Each player picks ONE of the characters on the image on the other side of this card. Then, all players have a conversation in which they imagine themselves in the persona of the character they picked, without telling the others. When a player thinks they’ve guessed the identity of everyone else at the table, they must announce so, and then all players reveal their identities. If the guessing player was right, they win. Otherwise, no one wins.

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Living room. Lizzie’s girlfriend is wheeling into the apartment with a box of tissues in her lap. Lizzie seems glad to see her, and is pickpocketing one of her roommates--while, at the same time, other roommates are in the living room and they are all having sneezing fits. Lizzie is winking at her girlfriend, her girlfriend seems bemused by Lizzie’s crime.

If you are feeling angry, use the Very Edge of this card to gently brush the tip of your nose, while contacting your skin with the card as little as possible. You win when you're not angry any more. Reward your victory by drinking some water.

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Living room right side of door. The roommates are pulling Lizzie to the front door where their landlord is asking for money while one roommate is opening an empty wallet, but Lizzie just wants to kiss her girlfriend Roby Ola!

Pull each end of the card as hard as you can. If you ever rip or tear it in any way, you Lose forever. Until that happens, you will always be a winner!

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The kitchen. Lizzie's roommates are staring at a calendar on the refrigerator showing its almost the end of the month, and look terrified, and are fidgeting with pens and a card in a way similar to the rules for this game. Lizzie, however, seems relaxed, and is actually is picking one of her roommate's pockets.

Hold this card by placing your fingers and thumb on the top and bottom edges of it, and press until it makes a curved shape--Then, pressure it with your other hand until it flips direction. Repeat until relaxed, at which point you can consider yourself whatever kind of winner you want.

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Lizzie is lying on the couch with her head in her girlfriend’s arms next to the couch, while she is tossing a card into the air. She seems annoyed by her roommates, who are ooing and ahhing at her.

Toss this card in the air and catch it. Each catch equals 1 point, and each time it lands without being caught means you lose 5 points. Get a hundred points to win!

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An ATM outside. Two of Lizzie’s roommates are staring at the ATM screen and panicking, while fidgeting with cards in a way similar to the instructions. Lizzie is pickpocketing one of them and looks relaxed.

Fold this card as many times as you can. You don't have to fold it in half, you can just fold a bit of the side. Do not unfold it. Each fold counts as One point. Get 15 points to win, and go for the highest score you can after that! Compete with any friends who also own a copy of this card!

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Living room near front door. The roommates are all clicking pens and fidgeting with cards in a way similar to the rules for this game while Lizzie is giving a billfold to a hand reaching from outside her door

Bend this card so that each corner is touching the corner on the side nearest to itself, then: Unbend it. If it leaves a fold mark, you lose. If it doesn’t, you win. Win as many times in a row as you can, and keep track of the number of times you do so.

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Lizzie is picking one of her roommate’s pockets and handing the cash to the landlord outside her door, her roommate is on the other side of the door, hiding, and Lizzie’s roommates are itching themselves and cleaning the floor.

Place your fingers and thumb on one hand on opposite edges of this card, and apply as much pressure to the card as you can without it bending. Every bend is a loss. When you feel you've applied the maximum possible amount of pressure, keep it there as long as possible. There is no win condition.

Go To Top

Round 3

Lizzie and her girlfriend are playing this game on the right half of this card, on the other half, there’s a roommate holding a bunch of folded in half cards.

You can only play this game once. Put the edge of the end of this card between your teeth, and have a friend do the same to the opposite end. To win, you must, without either of you touching the card with any other body part and without letting the card fall from either of your mouths, fold the card in half.

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Lizzie is giving the thumbs up to her girlfriend, who is picking a roommate’s pocket. Lizzie has her hand in her girlfriend's purse. Her roommate is smoking a pipe and looks high.

You and one friend pick one of you to keep this card in your pocket. Find a third friend, and the person who doesn’t have the card must give a true fact about the person who does, and the person who Does have the card must give a False fact about the person who Doesn't (Neither of you may explicitly reveal who has the card, you both may only deliver unidentified facts or falsehoods). The third person must guess, based off both statements and the rules of the game, which person has the card. If they guess correctly, the person without the card wins--if they guess wrong, the person With the card wins.

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Lizzie is facing away from the camera and holding a remote control behind her back. Her girlfriend is laughing. Her roommates are frantically looking around the rest of the room trying to find something.

A game for 2 or more people who live together. Place this card somewhere in your living space. If you see this card and you didn’t put it there, place it somewhere else. If this card remains in the same spot for more than a week, or if it is placed in the same location more than once, both players lose. Make sure not to lose.

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Lizzie is drinking water, her girlfriend and her roommates are smiling and preparing to throw a water balloon at her. Lizzie is surrounded by various objects you wouldn't want to get wet.

Throw this card in the air. If it lands illustration side up, get yourself a glass of water. If it lands text side up, throw it in the air again, and again, until it lands illustration side up.

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Lizzie and her roommate are standing on opposite ends of this card, with a lot of empty space between them. Lizzie is blowing her girlfriend a kiss, and her girlfriend seems pleased by this.

Put on lipstick and kiss this card, then give it to someone you love who also loves you. If they’re not around you and they miss you, they can kiss this card

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Lizzie and her roommate are kissing, but Lizzie is being pickpocketed by her girlfriend. Lizzie herself has a mousetrap attached to her hand, and seems to be in pain.

For two players who deeply trust each other, two blindfolds, and a song you both love. Each player must blindfold themselves. One player also places this card in one of their pockets before covering their eyes, and both players sing a song they both love, in unison. Before the song is finished, the player without this card must locate where on the other player this card is located, and extract it, at which point they win. Their opponent may interfere with them doing this by whatever means they wish, short of taking off their blindfold. Whichever player has the card by the end of the song, wins! Loser orders pizza or something

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Lizzie’s roommate is showering in the apartment bathroom with the broken door. Lizzie is about to flush the toilet, and is putting her finger to her lips while looking at her girlfriend, who is outside trying to avoid laughing.

Hold this card in either of your hands when you take a shower. Clean yourself thoroughly. You lose if this card gets wet.

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Lizzie is hanging onto her girlfriend’s wheelchair, which is flying, her girlfriend is in the wheelchair and is holding a balloon, and looks terrified. Her roommates look on from the bottom of the panel, amazed.

Leave this card rules side up in the sun until the text has totally faded. Then, write your own rules in. Bonus, Leave it image side up in the sun until that fades, then draw in your own illustration.

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Lizzie's girlfriend has dropped her purse on the floor. Theres a rat in it. Lizzie's roommate is holding a mousetrap in her hands and pointing at it to lizzie's girlfriend. Lizzie looks nonplussed and is pickpocketing her roommate.

Get a group of friends together, and slip this card into someone’s pocket without anyone noticing. You could have everyone close their eyes for a bit and announce there’s going to be a game, if you don’t think you can do this easily. Announce that someone has this card and that they may Not check their pockets or they lose. Then, you can say one fact about your relationship with the person you gave the card to, such as My best friend or The person I want to know more about, or something like that. Be as vague or as specific as you want. Everyone must then discuss amongst themselves who they think has the card, and may ask you yes or no questions, which you can Choose to answer. Once everyone’s guessed who you gave the card to, you can tell the person where the card you gave them is on the person. They win if they guess right, and you may congratulate them.

Go To Top

Round 4

Roommate has just dropped an anvil on lizzie's foot by accident. Lizzie’s girlfriend is laughing at her.

Using this card and absolutely nothing else, make the loudest sound you can. The louder the sound, the bigger winner you are.

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Lizzie’s girlfriend seems annoyed. Lizzie is smiling and patting her head while sticking a hand in her purse. Lizzie’s roommates are partying in the background.

A game for two players, each with their own purse, at a party. To start, one player volunteers to keep this card in their own purse. For the other player to win, they must obtain this card and put it in Their purse. They may not keep this card anywhere other than their purse once they obtain it, or they lose the game instantly. Whoever has this card in their purse by the time the party ends, wins.

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Lizzie and her girlfriend are simultaneously picking the same wallet out of their roommate’s pocket, and appear to be competing with each other, the robbed roommate is wearing a bucket on her head and laughing hysterically.

For two players. Each player holds one end of this card between the index and middle fingers of one of their hands, and, on the count of three, must pull it away from the other player’s hand so that they let go of it. Each player is permitted to use their free hand to interfere with the other player, but may not use it to grasp this card, or they lose instantly. Whichever player lets go first, loses, and the remaining player wins.

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Lizzie is running on the sidewalk, carrying her girlfriend’s wheelchair, with her girlfriend in it, in one hand. Her girlfriend seems scared, but Lizzie is paying her no mind. She has a wallet in her free hand, carried between her index and middle fingers. Their landlord’s hand is reaching out from the foreground.

Balance this card on the back of one of your hands. You may not touch it with any other body part. Now, run as fast as you can, for as long as you can, without dropping it. When it lands, the game is over. Your score is how many feet/miles this card landed from where you started.

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Lizzie is picking her roommate’s pocket, who is standing above her on the stairs, the point where her hand picks the pocket is reflected on the other side of this card, as a sort of target. Lizzie’s landlord is sticking an open hand out at her from off screen. Lizzie seems embarrassed. A roommate is to her left, looking nervous.

Requires a small light object like a cheap earring or marble. Balance this card between your fingers, with the object on top of the card. Without touching the marble with your body or letting go of the card, toss the object in the air. It Muse land on the Opposite side of this card. Succeed, and you get one point. If it falls to the ground, you lose all your points. Get at least 100 points to win!

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Lizzie’s girlfriend is handing Lizzie some money as she negotiates with her landlord, offscreen. Lizzie is winking at her girlfriend, who is hiding from the landlord and seems nonplussed.

For two players. While one player looks away, the other places an object on top of this card, covering it completely. The first player then guesses whether the card's instructions are facing up or not. On hearing their guess, the second player may either offer a gift (could be money, could be candy, could be anything at all, as long as it's pleasant) for the first player to change their answer, or may offer nothing and say it's fine. At this point, the first player May or May Not change their answer, if they wish. The card is then revealed. If the first player's final guess was wrong, their opponent wins. Otherwise, They win! And if the second player offered them a prize and they changed their answer And Won, the second player Must give them what they were promised!

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Lizzie’s girlfriend has just thrown a bunch of money in the air, but doesn’t seem happy about it. Lizzie’s roommates are excitedly catching it, while Lizzie picks one or two of their pockets.

Throw this card in the air. As it falls, slap it from below (do Not grab it) to keep it airborne. The game is over when it hits the ground. Your score is the number of times you slapped it. Can optionally be played with two players, in which case each player must alternate slapping the card. If the card hits the ground, whichever player slapped it last gets one point. Whoever first gets ten points, wins.

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Lizzie is arguing with her girlfriend and not wearing a hat, her hat is on the floor, and Lizzie's roommate is wearing a golf hat and putting a ball towards its open hole.

Pick a target far away from your current location and throw this card towards it, as hard as you can. If it doesn't land at the target, give yourself one point, walk to where the card landed, and try again. The game is over when this card reaches its target, at which point, the Lower your score is, the Better you win. If your score is too high, you should play again!

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Lizzies girlfriend is throwing a baseball into Lizzie's face. A roommate is standing next to Lizzie's girlfriend with a catcher's mitt and baseball cap, looking nonplussed. There is a broken vase on the floor.

2 players stand 3 feet apart in roughly the center of a medium sized room. Players then take turns throwing this card at each other to catch. Neither player may move from their spot, Unless a player misses a thrown card, in which case, the other player must walk to the fallen card's location and pick it up to throw again, now while in a different spot. If a card is thrown and it would've been impossible for the other player to catch, a referee might be useful for determining this, the other player doesn't have to move to the new location, but may ask that the player who threw it to move there instead. Game ends when one player ends up leaving the room, at which point the other player wins.

Go To Top

Round 5

Lizzie and her girlfriend are fighting over a wallet, a roommate is on the side of the frame, noticing her pocket's empty.

Tell a story to your friends while holding this card. They must wrestle this card away from you. As soon as you lose your grip on this card, you must stop telling your story and whoever got the card from you must continue from where you left off. You may attempt to wrestle the card back if you wish. Game continues until story reaches a satisfactory conclusion.

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Lizzie is stealing from the safe again! Roby has a lantern to give her light so she can see what she's doing. It's night and a roommate is on the couch, sleeping.

For a group of friends and a kitchen timer. Place this card at the center of a table between all players, and set the kitchen timer for 5 minutes. Converse with your friends, but don’t touch this card. Once the timer goes off, The first player to pick up this card wins, and may pick a new subject for everyone to talk about for the next five minutes.

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Lizzie's roommate is staring at the camera, smiling and giving a thumbs up. Lizzie and her girlfriend are in the background, looking annoyed but stealing glances at each other.

Ask this card a yes or no question, then throw it in the air. If it lands text side down, that’s a Yes. Otherwise, No. If the card’s answer invites further yes or no questions, of any conceivable variety, ask those too, and keep flipping, until you can think of no more related questions, or until the card's answers contradict themselves, or until this card just tells a straight lie. The total number of questions you asked is your score, and if your score is lower than fifteen, you lose.

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Lizzie and her girlfriend are mad at each other, and are standing next to two roommates at opposite sides of this card. The roommates seem weirded out, while both are being pickpocketed by Lizzie and her girlfriend.

Have a group of at least four of your friends close their eyes, and give one of them this card. Said friend may Not, under any circumstances until the end of the game, reveal they have this card, and must deny they have it if asked. Otherwise, they lose and everyone else wins. Then, allow your friends to chat with each other, and form at least 2 teams of at least 2 people each. Once everyone's teamed up, the player you picked reveals this card, and everyone on their team wins, all other players lose.

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Lizzie and Roby are less mad at each other now, and seem like they’re trying to reconnect while still looking a bit disgruntled. Eliza is in the foreground, eating a book.

Stick this card in between any two pages of a book you’re familiar with, and hand it to a friend. The friend must read those two pages, and then describe to you what they think happens in the rest of the book. If they are reasonably close, they win. Otherwise, you win.

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Roby is reading a book with a bite mark on it, but gets distracted by Lizzie who is on her knees crying and giving her a bouquet of flowers. Eliza is in the foreground, making an :o face at the two of them, temporarily distracted while throwing darts. In front of her, there is a computer keyboard riddled with darts.

Drop this card on your computer keyboard, and, with this card still there, write a novel or essay or anything you want. You may not move this card, not even and especially not when it interferes with your typing. You may not edit whatever document you create. If your finished writing is read by at least one person afterwards, you win.

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A roommate is looking at you kindly and reaching out an arm to comfort you with. In the background, 2 other roommates are doing the same to Lizzie and her girlfriend Roby Ola, who are crying at each other.

If you ever run into a problem in your life that you can't figure out, sit down and gaze at this card and explain your problem to it. I assure you, the card will listen to you. Once you've finished explaining, imagine its response.

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For several players. Not too many, though. One player thinks of a specific word or phrase, doesn't tell anyone, and holds onto this card. All players then hold a conversation. If any other player says the word or phrase you thought of, even if just to ask you if they correctly guess what you're thinking of, you may give them this card and they then have to think of a word or phrase of their own. Whoever is holding this card after the natural end of the conversation loses, everyone else wins. If you want you can play again but minus the loser, until there's only one winner, or you can play with a timer instead of letting the conversation end naturally. Oh and no lying, honor rule, no one can enforce this.

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Crowd scene where Lizzie is robbing a roommate while her girlfriend Roby Ola robs lizzie. In the foreground, a roommate is pointing to off frame

Throw this card in the air and observe where it lands. Whatever object the roommate on either side of this card is pointing at, write a sentence in a journal about it, then throw the card in the air again. Whatever object it points at This time, write another sentence that ties that object and the previous object together somehow. On the third throw, incorporate all three objects into the next sentence. Keep going until you’re satisfied with what you wrote.

Go To Top

Round 6

While with a friend, drop this card on the ground and ask them to pick it up. Tell them your knee's been killing you if they want to know why you don’t do it yourself. Once they give it to you, immediately drop it again. You lose when your friend stops picking it up, unless they picked it up more than three times.

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Lizzie is enjoying wine with her wife and her roommates. Roby and Lizzie are showing off their wedding band.

Pick any integer, you probably shouldn’t pick a big one, but you never know, and throw this card into the air, giving yourself one point each time. If it lands text side up, you must toss it again. If it lands Image side up, the game is over and your score is finalized. If your final score is Exactly the integer you guessed, you win! Otherwise, you suck!

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Lizzie's roommates are ignoring her. She's trying to tell them the apartment is on fire.

Put this card somewhere you can see it, and play any videogame. Try to play well, but spend as much time as possible looking at this card instead of the screen.

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Lizzie is using a backscratcher on Eliza while picking her pocket, while Roby uses another backscratcher to scratch Lizzie’s back, but does not pick her pocket.

Use the edge of this card to scratch any itch you have, and Only the edge of this card. If you use anything else, be it a fingernail nail file or tooth, you lose instantly.

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Lizzie’s roommates are threatening the landlord with a gun. Lizzie is walking into the side of the frame, unaware of what they are doing.

Crumble up this card as thoroughly as you are able to. Then, set it on fire. Then, grind the ashes into as fine a powder as you are able to. Then eat the ground ashes. Then you win. Alternate rules: Resist the urge to play this game for as long as you can. You win when you fail.

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Lizzie is playing with a fidget spinner, Roby is carrying a yaoi paddle, and Eliza is about to slam some pogs

Place this card somewhere safe and leave it there for 2000 years. If you're a future historian studying this card, determine the context for why it exists and why the art is like this. The more accurate you are, the better you win, but of course you'll never truly know either of those metrics.

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Lizzie and Roby are getting married! The roommates cheer them on.

Give this card to someone you love, but use black paint to completely blot out the words and images on both sides of this card, so that your loved one will never know why you gave this to them. You win when they figure it out.

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Two roommates are installing a new door on the bathroom, while Lizzie washes her hands and smiles at them.

Take this card to your sink and pour water on it, and leave the faucet running on this card until it’s completely dissolved. You win when it’s totally gone.

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Lizzie has an arm around Roby and is pickpocketing Eliza, but all three characters are Very small on this page and are limited to a single corner of the image. Most of the illustration is taken up by blank space, intended for people to write their marks on as this card travels around.

Give this card to another person without them noticing. If you find this card on your person, write your initials on the other side of the card, then give it to somebody else without them noticing. When every available space on this card has been completely covered by peoples’ marks, all players win.

Go To Top

...and also...!

Did you want to play any of these? I've got you covered! Here are the PDFs for each round--they are intended to be printed double sided, in color, on cardstock (110 lb preferred). After printing, you need to cut them out, and you'll have a set of cards! I know it's a hassle, I'm sorry.

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6

And here's a box for them, in case you wanted a box--same process. Print it out, cut it out, and THEN you fold it and glue it together, hopefully that part's straightforward enough.

Rambling Roommates Box