READ THEM. THEN BACK YOURSELF.
Bet Your Mate
You do not have to know them. You just have to know who does.
The guest secretly chooses their own number. Everyone else guesses, then bets chips on whose judgement they trust. There is no answer key.
- 3–20 players
- 20-30 minutes
Free to set up. Start with Bet Your Mate, then choose 3 games for A$10 or all 6 for A$15 before you pay.
A short look inside a sample BanterBox, with selected examples from all 6 games. Free, no email needed.
How to play
Four things happen each round, and the betting is where the real game starts.
Step 1
Read it aloud, write at the same time
The guest of honour draws a question and reads it aloud to the table. Then everyone writes at the same time, the guest included, and every number stays hidden until everyone has written. That live number is the truth for this round because there is nothing to look up.
Step 2
Everyone else shows their guess
Once every number is written, everyone except the guest turns their guess face-up. The guest keeps their answer hidden until the reveal.
- Sam5
- Priya12
- Tom30
- Jess50
Step 3
Back the guess you trust
Now decide who actually understands them. Put as many chips as you dare on one visible guess. It can be yours. It can be somebody else's. If your own guess suddenly looks ridiculous, abandon it with dignity and put your chips somewhere better.
- Ava's number15
- 5
- 12Closest
- 30
- 50
Priya
5 chips10
Writer bonus +1 chip
Step 4
Reveal and pay out
The guest flips their Answer Card and reveals their number. The closest guess wins, whether it landed above or below. Anyone who backed it doubles their wager, and whoever wrote it takes one bonus chip. If two guesses are equally close, both win.
Everyone thinks they know their mate best.
Back the answer you think they will give, watch everyone else commit, then find out who actually knows them and who was completely bluffing.
CUSTOM QUESTIONS
How your personal details create live table moments.
The guest makes the number up live at the table, so predicting their judgement is the whole game. Ava's been moving house a lot lately? The question becomes how many boxes she reckons she could unpack in an hour. Nothing is looked up, so even close friends can misjudge them.
THE BETTING IS THE REAL GAME
There is no right answer.
They invent their own number, and you have to guess what they would say. You are not searching your brain for trivia. You are reading the person sitting right in front of you. Then, once everybody's guesses are visible, you have to decide whose judgement you trust with your chips.
How much do you trust them?
Your estimate can be miles off. Once the guesses are face-up, you are free to back somebody else's instead. Realising your mate understands them better than you do is painful. Profiting from it helps.
How much are you willing to risk?
Picking the guess is only half the decision. You can put one chip on it or risk half your stack. The more certain you are, the more embarrassing it becomes when the guest flips something completely different.
The reveal starts the argument
The guest does not reveal a fact. They reveal their own answer. Then they have to explain why they wrote it while everyone who just lost chips explains why that number is obviously ridiculous.
Questions
Who decides the right number?
The guest of honour does, live at the table. They write their number before the guesses are resolved, so there is no hidden answer key and BanterBox is not claiming to know a fact about them. You are trying to predict what they will say in that moment.
Can I bet on someone else's guess?
Yes. Once the guesses are face-up, you can put your chips on any one of them, including somebody else's. That is the main strategic choice: your own estimate can be wrong, but you can still profit if you spot the player who read the guest better.
Do we need poker chips?
No. Printable chips are included, and coins, counters or anything else you can count works just as well. You only need a shared bank and enough pieces for players to place visible wagers.
What happens if two guesses are equally close?
Both guesses win. Anyone who backed either winning guess doubles that wager, and both players who wrote the winning guesses take the bonus chip. There is no tie-break between equally close numbers.
See the other games
Every game plays differently. Mix and match from the personalised BanterBox collection.
Secret Missions
Secret tasks that turn the whole event into the game.
Majority Rules
The biggest crowd wins every round.
The Outsider
One player does not know the secret word. Give a clue that proves you know it, spot who is bluffing, and do not make the answer too easy to steal.
Sketchy Business
Everyone is drawing the same thing. One person has no idea what it is.
The Pitch
Two situations. One line that somehow works in both.
Ready to play?
Put your chips on the line with Bet Your Mate.
Write your guess. Decide who you actually trust. Then put your chips behind it.
Create Bet Your Mate