Jump The Shark Rules
The writers began the show full of hope they had joy in their hearts and a story to tell.
3 years later their eyes are bloodshot and their hastily scribbled script pages are covered in coffee stains and tears.
What was going to be their creative joy, their Magnum Opus, their labor of love has become their worst nightmare.
HOW TO PLAY
In Jump the Shark, players take on the roles of MAIN CHARACTERS, SUPPORTING CAST, DIRECTOR, and WRITERS on a successful TV show that is going steadily downhill.
This game is designed to be a conversation. Players will collaborate when creating episodes and building their MAIN CHARACTERS and SUPPORTING CAST cast by asking and answering questions.
Each player will need:
- 1d10
- A way to write things down
When the players MAIN CHARACTER is starring in an episode they should only play the role of their MAIN CHARACTER.
Any player whose MAIN CHARACTER is not starring in episodes can have several parts as other MAIN CHARACTERS, share the role of DIRECTOR, and play the SUPPORTING CAST.
The DIRECTOR helps to frame scenes, ask questions, and steer narrative.
The game takes the form of 4 sections:
- The Pitch: Act as WRITERS to decide the genre, setting, and title.
- Seasons 1-2: Create MAIN CHARACTERS and SUPPORTING CAST.
- Seasons 3-10: Film episodes until they are cancelled.
- The Finale: Tie up as many loose ends as possible.
THE PITCH
In the pitch players, act as the WRITERS who have just come up with the show that they think is going to change TV forever.
Roll on the table to generate a genre and setting for the show. Roll twice for genre to really make it stand out.
| d10 | GENRE | SETTING |
| 1 | Comedy | High School |
| 2 | Horror | Office |
| 3 | Crime | Sports Team |
| 4 | Action | Government |
| 5 | Drama | Future Apocalypse |
| 6 | Romance | Ancient History |
| 7 | Sci-fi | Shop or Mall |
| 8 | Thriller | Alternative History |
| 9 | Noir | Dystopian Future |
| 10 | Time Travel | Fantasy World |
Once the genre and setting have been decided answer these questions as a group
- What is the show about?
- What sold it to the network?
- What inspired the writers?
- Is it low budget or high budget?
Finally pick a name for the show and then move on to Seasons 1-2.
SEASONS 1-2
When they first pitched the show, the writers had it all planned out 2 perfect seasons with the story arcs for each MAIN CHARACTER and a well rounded SUPPORTING CAST that would tell the story they always dreamed of when they first started out.
Players create their MAIN CHARACTER by rolling on the table to decide their arc and answering the questions associated with it.
| d10 | ARC | QUESTIONS |
| 1 | Will They/Won’t They | Who was your romance with? Why is it so tempestuous? Ask the group to pick a MAIN CHARACTER or create a SUPPORTING CAST member. |
| 2 | Redemption | What did you do? Who has been helping to make it right? Ask the group to pick a MAIN CHARACTER or create a SUPPORTING CAST member. |
| 3 | Coming of Age | What event transitioned you to have a level of greater respect in the gang? Ask the group why they didn’t respect you before. |
| 4 | Hero’s Journey | What lie did you believe about yourself or the world that was holding you back? Ask the group what helped you to discover the truth. |
| 5 | Hidden Depth | What amazing hidden talent took a long time to surface? Who did you first reveal it to? Ask the group to pick a MAIN CHARACTER or create a SUPPORTING CAST member. |
| 6 | Dark and Edgy | What did you do to turn you from happy go lucky to moody and cynical? Who is now your enemy? Ask the group to pick a MAIN CHARACTER or create a SUPPORTING CAST member. |
| 7 | Light and Soft | What took you from grinch to teddy bear? Whose life have you made better? Ask the group to pick a MAIN CHARACTER or create a SUPPORTING CAST member. |
| 8 | Mischief, Chaos, and Corruption | Why are you trying to cause trouble? Who do you attempt to turn against the MAIN CHARACTERS? Ask the group to pick a MAIN CHARACTER or create a SUPPORTING CAST member. |
| 9 | Tested Friendship | Who were you close to? What came between you to test your friendship? How did you overcome it?Ask the group to pick a MAIN CHARACTER or create a SUPPORTING CAST member. |
| 10 | Flat | What dependable aspect of your character has become your only trait? Ask the group to create a catchphrase for you. |
For extra flavor, answer these questions
- What did they look like in the pilot episode?
- How did they join the group?
- What’s changed since episode 1?
- Why do fans of the show love or hate them?
When you need to create SUPPORTING CAST members ask
- What do they look like?
- What makes them special?
- How did they become associated with the MAIN CHARACTERS?
SEASONS 3-10
When the show first aired, everybody loved it. It was hailed as ground breaking, innovative, and won several awards. The network signed it for another 8 SEASONS, and it seemed like things could only go up from there….
Unfortunately, the WRITERS are all out of ideas and have resorted to recycling any old trope they can until they get CANCELLED.
In SEASONS 3-10, players collaborate to create important EPISODES until they get either CANCELLED or finish SEASON 10.
SEASONS & EPISODES
For each SEASON, players act out 3 important EPISODES, which have potential impact on the overall story.
Roll on the table to generate a PLOT for each EPISODE – re-roll if you’ve had the PLOT before.
| d10 | EPISODE 1 | EPISODE 2 | EPISODE 3 |
| 1 | IF IT PLEASES THE COURT Someone is on Trial | THE WAY WE WERE Everyone has flashbacks to their younger selves | DEARLY BELOVED Everyone attends a wedding |
| 2 | BEACH PARTY Everyone goes to the beach | UNLUCKY FOR SOME Someone has a spell of terrible luck | LOVE IS IN THE AIR Someone goes on a date |
| 3 | IT’S ME, YOUR LONG LOST…Someone’s long lost relative returns | IT WASN’T ME Someone’s Evil Twin appears and causes havoc | LOCKED UP One or more MAIN CHARACTERS are sent to prison |
| 4 | HOW DO WE GET OUT OF HERE? Everyone is locked inside a room or building | ROAD TRIP Everyone spends the entire episode traveling to a destination | DEATH IN HOLLYWOOD One of the MAIN CHARACTERS dies |
| 5 | TRIPPING OUT CHARACTERS Everyone takes some kind of hallucinogens | THE DIVERGENT Someone’s corpse comes back from the dead (possibly in a different body) | ONCE MORE WITH FEELING It’s a musical episode! |
| 6 | HAPPY HOLIDAYS Everyone celebrates a holiday | SURPRISE! Everyone plans a surprise party for another MAIN CHARACTER | NEVER WORK WITH ANIMALS Someone gets an unusual pet |
| 7 | AND IT WAS ALL A DREAM Someone has a crazy dream | HAZARDOUS CONTAINMENT Everyone is exposed to a horrible deadly virus. | THE GOLDEN RULE Someone invents a new game and won’t stop playing |
| 8 | STORM’S COMIN’ Everyone deals with a natural disaster | ABOUT LAST NIGHT Everyone wakes up from a wild night and figures out what they did | THE BIG SHOW Everyone puts on a show or performance |
| 9 | THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE Someone encounters a cyborg or aliens | DOUBLE BOOKED One or more MAIN CHARACTERS have to be in two places at once | BLAST FROM THE PAST Someone’s bitter rival or old flame appears. |
| 10 | LUCKY NUMBER 7Someone’s started their own casino | BUT WHAT IF? Everyone imagines if their lives had been different | GENRE-SWAP The series swaps genre for one episode (roll for it) |
When the PLOT for an EPISODE has been generated, players decide how involved their MAIN CHARACTERS are by choosing one of the DRAMA DICE and putting it in the middle. Once this has been done, any players who are not STARRING; decide amongst themselves how to share the roles of SUPPORTING CAST and DIRECTOR.
Each EPISODE has 3 ACTS
| ACT ONE – THE SET UP | ACT TWO – THE SETBACK | ACT THREE – THE CLIMAX |
| Act out scenes that answer these questions: What is the unrelated incident that starts the adventure? Which MAIN CHARACTERS and SUPPORTING CAST are involved? Why are the other MAIN CHARACTERS not there? What adventure is being had as a SIDE PLOT? | Act out scenes that answer these questions: What has changed since the start of the episode. Who is in a worse position than before? How did they lose control of the situation? Who could fix things, but doesn’t? Why? How has the SIDE PLOT made things worse? | Act out scenes that answer these questions: What have the MAIN CHARACTERS learned? What have we learned about the MAIN CHARACTERS? Who saves the day or lowers the tension? How does the SIDE PLOT join up with the PLOT? What is left unresolved at the end of the EPISODE? Mark this down as a LOOSE END. |
At the end of each SEASON, roll a d10. If it results in a lower than the number of the current SEASON, the show is CANCELLED – move to THE FINALE. At SEASON 10, the show ends, move to THE FINALE.
DRAMA DICE
At the start of each SEASON, each player rolls 4d10 for their MAIN CHARACTER. These are their DRAMA DICE.
When you create episode, DRAMA DICE decide how much involvement a MAIN CHARACTER has – the higher the DRAMA DICE, the more involvement the MAIN CHARACTER has in the plot of the EPISODE
- 7-10 MAIN FOCUS: This episode is all about them, they are the focus of most scenes
- 4-6 SIDE PLOT: They appear in the background of most scenes and are occasionally the focus
- 1-3 BIT PART: They appear once or twice or have little to no involvement
THE FINALE
Sweet release! The Network has finally let the show die, whether it’s by completion of the contract or by getting cancelled. Still it needs to be finished off with a hastily put together FINALE…
In the FINALE, any LOOSE ENDS have to be resolved as clumsily as possible.Stage a scene of each LOOSE ENDS, where the MAIN CHARACTERS involved get together and have FLASHBACKS. Begin each FLASHBACK, by asking “Hey do you remember that time we…?”