This idea was part of the 2025 game jam ideas project.
The symptoms
Jackbox style game, a central screen that everyone can see and each player uses their cell phone as their input device with hidden information.
There are two roles
- Doctor - The judge, he needs to find out who is actually sick and who is faking being sick.
- Fakers - These are players that just want to get out of work, they are trying to trick the doctor into believing that they are sick so they get a doctors note and can skip out on work
Game loop
Each of the "Faker" players are given the same medical sounding symptom, they need to write and submit a short description of what the symptom is doing to them. Think Fibbage (faking it) or Balderdash (making it up)
After all the players submit their fake symptoms. The doctor is shown the symptom names, and all the descriptions and one real description.
The doctor then needs to choose one of the symptoms that he thinks is the real one.
The game continues without revealing what the real symptom or illness is for 5 rounds.
After 5 rounds
It lists all the chosen symptoms from the doctor.
Points are awarded for people who were able to fool the doctor. Players that were able to fool the doctor get a sick note, anyone that isn't doesn't get a note and is fired from their job.
If the doctor gets all the symptoms right, they win big.
There is an alternative to this game, that there is a patient zero in the group (the person with real symptoms) that the other fakers are blocking from getting care and everyone dies at the end regardless of how well they do.