Setup
Players
- 3-10
Materials
- Snake Oil Game Pack that includes: 28 double-sided customer cards (56 Customers) and 336 purple word cards.
- Note: Earlier editions of Snake Oil may include 72 Customer cards. There are also several Snake Oil expansion packs, such as the Booster Shot family friendly pack and the Crude Oil Expansion which provides adult-friendly word cards.
Additional Setup Notes
- Set out the pile of word cards and double-sided customer cards in the center of the playing area
- Begin by having each player draw a hand of six Word Cards
- Randomly choose a player to be the Customer for the first round. Everyone will get a chance to be the customer eventually.
Objective
Snake Oil is a creative and fun-filled game all about pitching the next top-selling product to your friends and loved ones. The objective of Snake Oil is delightfully simple: if the customer buys your product, you win! Inventors will dream up these top-of-the-line products by combining purple word cards and then pitch their product to the customer in hopes their creation is the best of the best.
Gameplay
Once Snake Oil has been set up, the Customer will begin the game by drawing a Customer card from the pile. They’ll read aloud the Customer card and place it in front of them in the playing area. The Customer will then take on the role indicated in the Customer Card for that given round.
After the Customer has read their card aloud, the other players are provided 30-40 seconds to combine two of their Word Cards from their hand in hopes of creating something the Customer would want. Once each player has selected two cards, they’ll place them face down on the table.
Beginning with the player to Customer’s left, players take turns showing their two Word Cards and pitching their products to the Customer. After 30 seconds have passed, the Customer can cut off the pitch at any time. Feel free to get creative when dreaming up these inventions, its often the most unique creations that take the win.
After each player has made their pitch, the Customer will choose the invention or product that they like’s best. After choosing the inventive winner, that player will receive the Customer Card as an award.
After each Customer round, all Word Cards used should be discarded into the box. Players will then draw enough Word Cards to ensure they always have a six-card hand, just like Cards Against Humanity. The player to the left of the Customer will become the new Customer for a fresh round.
Play continues until every player has become the Customer once.
Endgame
Players will take turns being the Customer and pitching their inventions until all players have been the Customer. After everyone has been sold a product, the game ends. Whichever player has the most Customer Cards wins!
In the case of a tie where multiple players have the same amount of Customer Cards, play an additional round with only the tied players submitting Word Cards and the next non-tied player as a Customer. Whoever wins that round, wins the game!
If every player ends the game with one Customer Card, start a new game because everyone won!
Snake Oil Variations
- Fire When Ready: In this fast-paced twist on Snake Oil there isn’t any need for waiting your turn when pitching inventions. Players immediately start pitching products as soon as they select their 2 Word Cards. As soon as a player is stopped pitching another player can jump in for the next sell, so act fast!
- The More the Merrier: If you’re looking for a more robust lineup of options for creating inventions for the Customer, play this version! Play so that each players holds an agreed-upon additional amount of Word Cards to give infinite options for products. Just make sure to decide ahead of time as a group how many Word Cards you’re allowed to hold per hand.
FAQs
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Can Snake Oil be played with more than 10 players?
Generally speaking, Snake Oil is most easily played with groups less than 10, but the Snake Oil expansion packs are perfect for parties with larger groups. Alternatively, feel free to have players work in collaborative teams to pitch products to make way for more interested inventors.
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