What Is Apples to Apples?

Apples to Apples is a party card game where players make humorous or creative comparisons between nouns and adjectives. Each round, one player acts as the judge and flips a green Apple card showing an adjective (like "Scary" or "Delicious"). All other players choose a red Apple card from their hand -- a noun they think the judge will pick as the best, funniest, or most fitting match for that adjective.

The judge reviews all submitted red cards and picks their favorite. The player who submitted the winning card earns the green card as a point. Play rotates until someone reaches the target number of green cards. The game supports 4 to 10 players, takes about 30 minutes, and is suitable for ages 12 and up.

How to Play Apples to Apples

Components

• Red Apple Cards (nouns): people, places, things, events.

• Green Apple Cards (adjectives): descriptive words like "Absurd," "Cuddly," or "Patriotic."

Setup

1. Shuffle the red and green card decks separately.

2. Deal 7 red Apple cards to each player (keep them secret).

3. Choose a starting judge (the rules suggest the player whose last name is closest to the beginning of the alphabet).

Round Structure

1) Judge Reveals a Green Card

The judge draws the top card of the green deck and reads the adjective aloud. Place it face-up for everyone to see.

2) Players Submit Red Cards

All other players (not the judge) choose one red card from their hand that they think best matches the green adjective. Cards are placed face-down in a pile so the judge does not know who submitted which card.

3) Judge Picks a Winner

The judge shuffles the submitted red cards, reads them all aloud, and picks the one they think is the best match (funniest, most creative, most accurate -- it is entirely the judge's call). The player who submitted the winning red card takes the green card and keeps it face-up in front of them as a point.

4) Draw and Rotate

• All players (including the winner) draw red cards from the deck until they have 7 red cards in hand again.

• Submitted red cards that did not win are discarded.

• The role of judge passes to the next player clockwise.

Winning

The first player to collect a set number of green Apple cards wins:

Players	Green Cards to Win
4	8
5	7
6	6
7	5
8+	4

If two players reach the target on the same round, they tie (or play a bonus round, depending on house rules).

Tips for New Players

• Play to the judge: The same red card might win with one judge and lose with another. Think about what the current judge finds funny or fitting.

• Save strong cards: If you have a universally great red card, wait for a green card where it shines.

• Embrace humor: The "best" match is whatever the judge decides. Funny and absurd often beats technically correct.

Scoring & Ranking

Apples to Apples uses a green-cards-won scoring system. Each green card a player earns counts as 1 point.

Recording a Match

Minimum record

• Green cards won by each player (integer).

Recommended record

• Green cards won per player.

• Number of rounds judged (each player should judge roughly the same number of times in a fair game).

Tiebreaking

The official rules do not specify a tiebreaker. If two players reach the target simultaneously, they share the win. Alternatively, play a final tiebreaker round with a new judge.

How to Log an Apples to Apples Match

1. Select the Classic variant.

2. Add all players (4 to 10).

3. Enter each player's total green cards won as their score.

4. The system ranks by highest score.

Tip: If you played to a fixed target, every player's score will be at or below that target. If you played open-ended, just record the final counts.