CAMPHYRE
\ ˈkamp-ˌfī(-ə)r \·campfire
The game that plays you.
First run is limited. Waitlist gets it first.
\ ˈkamp-ˌfī(-ə)r \·campfire
The game that plays you.
First run is limited. Waitlist gets it first.
the idea
Every conversation is already being scored. Someone isn't listening. Someone is taking up all the air. Someone just said the thing everyone had agreed not to say. You notice all of it, and you say none of it.
Camphyre deals you the cards for it.
Decide what the room talks about — what gets asked, who has to answer, whether anyone may interrupt, and when it ends.
Decide what the room does about it — who is rewarded, who is penalised, whose answer is thrown out, and who loses it all.
So two things are happening at once. A conversation. And a room watching itself have one.
Most conversation games ask what you think. Camphyre is also watching how you listen, interrupt, make space, take space, change your mind, and hold the room when it's yours.
the mythology
Camphyre is not a card game but a cure.
Dosed carefully, the contents will heal. Dosed carelessly, they will combust.
Consume responsibly.
a round
You're the moderator. Play a question. Read it out loud.
Name at least two people who have to answer it.
You decide who else speaks, whether anyone may interrupt, and how long this goes on.
Give the point to the answer that deserved it. Entirely your call.
Everyone else is holding cards. They can reward someone, penalise someone, overrule your decision, or take your points.
The person on your left takes the room. Begin again.
First to four points.
Three if there are eight or more of you.
Nobody wins until everyone has held the room at least once.
the questions
You're dealt one of each. So every hand can go anywhere.
The questions about what you're carrying. Camphyre asks them, so you don't have to be the one who brought it up.
The questions where the subject is sitting at the table. This is the category people talk about afterwards.
The questions that let the room get serious without anyone having to make it about themselves.
The questions that let everyone breathe. Not all of them do.
the points cards
Everyone is holding four of these, face down, all game. Nobody knows which.
Rewards the room
Punishes the room
Decides which one it was
The same interruption either rescued the conversation or wrecked it. Somebody at this table is holding the card that decides which.
Changes the game
You cannot give yourself a point. Everything you have, somebody in this room decided you deserved.
what actually happens
Real games. Real rooms. Nothing staged.
“I hate this game. I can’t wait to play again.”
“Truly unlike any other game I’ve played.”
“Honestly kinda scared to play it again.”
“I’m not even sure if I want to win.”
“Was still thinking about it weeks later.”
“There are so many people in my life I want to play this with. And so many I don’t.”
“I can’t explain it. You have to play it to understand it.”
the offer
108 cards. 4–10 players. 18+.
Free shipping over $X · Ships in Y days · 30-day returns
the offer
Camphyre goes to the waitlist before anyone else. One email when it's ready. Nothing before that.
Or watch it get made: @camphyre
in the box
Questions and Templar Cards only. The room can reward each other but not penalise. Start here if it's your first game, or if you don't yet know how hard this group hits.
Everything. Reward, penalty, reinterpretation, and the Tricksters. This is the game as it was built.
Every game uses a different fraction of the deck. Four players see sixteen questions of fifty-two. You will not run out.
who it's for
Camphyre is for people who are already past small talk.
It works with friends who have known each other long enough to have something at stake. It works with people who can disagree at a table and still be at that table an hour later.
It does not work as an icebreaker. It does not work with people you have to see on Monday. It is not a team-building exercise and it will go badly as one.
Play it with people whose opinions can still hurt you.
questions
Campfire. The spelling is the only difficult thing about this game.
No. Nobody is trying to be the most offensive person at the table. The questions are real questions, and the points are awarded for how people actually behave in the conversation.
No. It's a competitive game with a winner, and about a quarter of the deck exists purely to break the tension. Nobody has to process anything.
Say so. It costs nothing and it isn't scored — the moderator moves the question to someone else and the round carries on. Camphyre is meant to be uncomfortable. It isn't meant to trap anyone.
You can, and it's a different game — sharper, funnier, less devastating. But it's built for people with history. If a group has never disagreed about anything, start on Low Flame.
No. Alcohol isn't part of the game and nothing in it depends on drinking.
About half an hour to finish a game. Most groups don't stop when it finishes.
Any number from four to ten works. Five or six is the sweet spot — everyone gets the room more than once and no one waits long for their turn.
Not for shock. The questions ask adults to be honest in front of people who know them, and the game gives other players the power to judge how they did.
Yes. All of them are here.