Shit Happens

Begin by shuffling all 200 cards together. Each player is then dealt three cards, which they place face up in front of them, arranged in ascending order based on their Misery Index. This row of cards is called your Misery Lane. The remaining cards are stacked face down to form the draw pile.

The primary goal of Shit Happens is to be the first player to successfully collect and display 10 cards in your Misery Lane.

Play proceeds in turns, starting with a randomly chosen first player. In each turn, the player to the right of the active player draws a new card from the draw pile. They read the situation described on the card aloud to the active player, but they must not reveal the Misery Index number. The active player then attempts to guess where this new card would fit within their existing Misery Lane, relative to the Misery Index of their other cards. They must specify if it belongs to the left, right, or between two existing cards.

If the active player correctly guesses the position of the new card within their Misery Lane, they win the card and add it to their lane, maintaining the ascending order. If they guess incorrectly, the opportunity to guess passes to the next player to the left of the active player. This next player then attempts to place the card in their own Misery Lane. This continues around the table until a player correctly places the card or until the card returns to the player who initially drew it. If the card returns to the drawer without anyone guessing correctly, it is discarded.

The game concludes as soon as any player successfully accumulates 10 cards in their Misery Lane, correctly ordered by their Misery Index. That player is declared the winner.