How To Play: Faces

Faces is a party game that gets everyone laughing as you match wild expressions to silly scenarios. Learn How To Play faces, read your friends, pick the funniest cards, and master the art of bluffing. With quick rules and fast rounds, it’s a crowd-pleaser you’ll want to play again.

Faces: Box Cover Front

Welcome, fellow face fanatics! If you’ve ever wanted to be the king or queen of laugh-out-loud moments, you’re in the right place. I’ve wrangled my friends into endless rounds of Faces and can now share my wisdom (and embarrassing failures). This guide covers a quick outline of the game rules, plus the best strategies to win and, most importantly, not lose to your cousin.

Overview

What’s in the box

  • 162 Face Cards
  • 60 Card Sleeves
  • 6 Voting Dials
  • 1 Rulebook
  • 1 Score Pad

How To Play Faces: Rules Summary

Setup
  1. First, give each player a set of voting cards. Trust me, you’ll want your own.
  2. Then, shuffle the faces deck and put it in the middle. Yes, right in the spill zone if you’re me.
  3. After that, pick someone to go first. (We choose whoever looks the most suspicious.)
Gameplay
  1. At the start of your turn, draw a face card and place it for all to see. Try not to spit out your drink laughing.
  2. Next, read aloud a prompt card. These range from silly to downright odd.
  3. Now, every player (except the reader) picks which face matches the prompt best by secretly voting using their cards.
  4. Once votes are in, reveal them and argue with your friends if you must. This is half the fun.
Winning
  1. Each time your vote matches the majority, score a point. If you never match anyone, like me last week, you get nothing but shame.
  2. Play until someone reaches the agreed point limit, or until someone flips the table in frustration.
  3. That player is the winner—crowned the master of matching faces and prompts!
Special Rules & Conditions
  1. If there’s a tie on votes, nobody scores. See, the game is fair, not like my old Monopoly set.
  2. In a 2-player game, you’ll secretly pick extra votes with a dummy hand, so things stay interesting.
  3. Always double-check you’re using the right voting cards—once, I voted with my sandwich.

So that’s How To Play Faces in a nutshell. It’s quick, it’s silly, and you’ll laugh a lot—mostly at your friends’ total lack of poker face.

Best Faces Strategies

Sharpen Your Spidey Senses: Mastering Opponent Tells in Faces


Why Faces Are Never Just Faces

In How To Play faces, reading your opponents is half the fun. You can spot sneaky clues if you pay attention. Even my pal Greg, who claims he has a poker face, always twitches his left eyebrow when he’s bluffing. Here are my best tips for sleuthing out your rivals:

Keep Your Eyes Peeled

  1. Watch for body language that changes after a card is played.
  2. Notice any nervous laughs or quick glances at the faces in question.
  3. Remember patterns—some people act the same way each round.

Use Their Reactions Against Them

Once you spot a tell, keep it to yourself and rake in those points. Last game, I caught my buddy Jane smirking every time she tossed a ridiculous card. Thanks, Jane!

Be the Face-Picker Champion: How To Play faces by Choosing the Funniest Face

Know Your Crowd

If your friends laugh at dad jokes, pick the goofiest mug. For serious gamers, go subtle. The key is always knowing your audience’s humor.

  1. Remember everyone’s laugh style.
  2. Pick faces that match their mood.
Spot the Universal Chuckle

Some faces will crack up everyone—like wild eyes or stuck-out tongues. These are safe bets if you’re unsure.

  1. Choose exaggerated features.
  2. Use faces that mirror classic funny expressions.
Mix it Up

Don’t keep picking the same kind of face. Surprising your friends keeps you one step ahead in How To Play faces.

  1. Rotate your picks often.
  2. Keep your friends guessing!

Bluffing and Misdirection: Mess with Their Minds!

Winning at Faces means mastering the fine art of bluffing. I once scored big just by tricking my friends into guessing completely wrong. Bluffing means you play with confidence, even if you have no clue. Misdirection adds to the chaos, and suddenly, you’re snatching up all the points.

Confidently Sell a Random Face

  1. Pick a face and act like it fits the clue perfectly, even if it doesn’t.
  2. Keep a straight face yourself—don’t give anything away!

Use How To Play Faces to Your Advantage

  1. Remember, everyone’s reading up on how to play Faces, so use their assumptions against them.
  2. Pretend to look confused or unsure (when you’re not) to throw them off.

Distract and Distract Again

  1. Chat about irrelevant things when it’s your turn. My personal favorite: complimenting someone’s socks.
  2. Point to a random face, then choose a totally different one.

Final Thoughts: Go Forth and Make Faces!

Alright, that’s all my best wisdom after way too many rounds of Faces with my friends (and one heated potato chip debate). Remember, the secret sauce is reading people, picking wild faces, and bluffing like you’re auditioning for an Oscar. With these tips on How To Play faces, you’ll soon rule the table—or at least keep everyone laughing. Now go and let your funny face flag fly!

Want to know what we think of Faces? Read our detailed review of Faces here

Jamie in his proper element: With all of his board games
Jamie Hopkins

With years of dice-rolling, card-flipping, and strategic planning under my belt, I've transformed my passion into expertise. I thrive on dissecting the mechanics and social dynamics of board games, sharing insights from countless game nights with friends. I dive deep into gameplay mechanics, while emphasizing the social joys of gaming. While I appreciate themes and visuals, it's the strategy and camaraderie that truly capture my heart.