The Publish or Perish Game
Race to publish papers as rival academics and trip each other up on the way. Funniest for anyone who has written one.
- 3–6 players
- about 45 min
- Learn it in a minute
- Party
- Cards
- Silly
The goal
Publish manuscripts to earn citations, and have the most citations at the end.
How it plays
- 1Manuscript cards carry a joke title and a citation value. To publish one you need the right research cards, such as Idea and Data.
- 2Cards like Collaboration and Workshop Attendance help you get there faster.
- 3Mishap cards are for the others: audits, budget cuts and unhelpful reviewer comments all slow a rival down.
- 4Whenever someone publishes, everyone else must applaud. Forget to clap and you are penalised.
How you win
The most citations wins. The full rules fit on one page in the box; read it out before you start.
First time?
- Allow about ten minutes per player: half an hour with three, an hour with six.
- Read the manuscript titles aloud. That is half the fun.
- Remember to clap when someone else publishes.