Couch of Power

Players	8+ (ideally an even number)
Age range	All ages
Setup time	< 5 minutes
Playing time	15–45 minutes
Random chance	Low
Skills required	Strategic thinking Teamwork Memory

Couch of Power is a group game of strategy and memory in which two teams shuffle seats until one team controls every seat on the couch and wins. It is sometimes known as "Parliament" or "Four on the Couch".^[1][2]

[edit] Equipment

• Seats arranged in a circle. There must be one seat for each player and one empty seat.
• A couch, which can be a real couch (which would replace four seats) or four adjacent seats.
• Slips of paper, each with a player's name written on it, and a hat or tabletop for shuffling them.

[edit] Objective

The game is won by the team who fills the couch with their own players.

[edit] How to play

It's player A's turn. They can move player B from the couch to the empty seat.

Now it's C's turn. They can move a teammate to the empty seat on the couch and win the game.

Everyone writes their name on a slip of paper and puts it in the pile, which is then shuffled. Each player takes a slip and does not reveal the name on it to anyone else.

Divide the players into two teams. The game works best if the teams are even. To avoid later confusion, instruct one team to distinguish themselves from the other team by wearing headbands, rolling up their pants legs or shirt sleeves, etc. — boys vs. girls may work.^[3]

Teams then alternate seats (i.e., no two team members are sitting next to each other) so that two people from each team are on the couch and there is one empty seat. Play begins with the player left (or clockwise) of the empty seat.

The player calls a name, and whoever has that name on their slip must move to the empty seat, making their former seat the new empty seat. Play always passes to the player to the left of the empty seat. When all four people on the couch are from the same team, the game is over and that team wins.

In one variant, the player who is called trades slips with whoever called them. This makes it more difficult to remember the slips people have.

[edit] Basic strategy

If the switching-names rule is in effect, names can be forgotten just as easily as they are discovered unless one pays very close attention. If not, the names on players' slips are easier to remember and players can focus more on moving the ideal person to the ever-changing empty seat, keeping in mind that the person sitting to the left of a vacated seat will be the next to play. Like chess, this requires some ability to think ahead.

[edit] References