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A card game for Total Rewards professionals

Bad Combinations.

A card game about the worst pairings in professional life.
If you work in Total Rewards or HR, you'll recognize these immediately. We're sorry.

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How to play
How to Play

The Gist

One player is the Judge. They flip a card that sets up a bad situation. Everyone else plays one card from their hand to make it worse. The Judge picks the worst combination.

Setup
Step 01
Shuffle the deck.
Give it a good mix. It deserves it.
Step 02
Deal 7 cards to each player.
Place the remaining deck face-down in the center of the table.
Step 03
Pick a starting Judge.
Whoever most recently survived a pointless all-hands goes first.
Step 04
Begin. Make it worse.
The Judge flips the top card and reads it aloud. That's the situation. Everyone else has to make it worse.
How a Round Works
Round Start
The Judge flips a card.
The Judge reads the situation card aloud. That's the setup. Everyone has to make it worse.
Submit
Each player plays one card.
Pick one card from your hand and pass it face-down to the Judge. No take-backs once it's submitted. Own it.
The Reveal
The Judge reads each combination aloud.
Cards are mixed, then flipped one at a time. Players can banter, justify, or say nothing. Silence is often the funniest answer.
Decision
The Judge picks the worst.
Most awkward, most realistic, most unhinged. Whatever they want. Their word is final. No appeals. Winner keeps the Judge's card as a point.
7
Draw back to 7 after every round. Played cards go to the discard pile. Judging moves to the left. Repeat until someone wins, the deck runs out, or everyone decides to go to the bar.
Example Round
Here's how bad it can get.
Judge Flips
"A comp initiative nobody scoped, with a C-suite asking for updates"
Player 1 "Senior leadership after drinks"
Player 2 "A low performer no one will fire"
Player 3 "A comp analyst who replied-all with the wrong attachment"

The Judge reads each combo aloud, pauses uncomfortably on Player 1's, and awards the round. Player 1 keeps the Judge's card. Everyone draws back to 7.

Winning
5
First to collect 5 Judge cards wins. Or play until the deck runs out and count cards. Or just stop when it feels right. It's a card game, not a performance review.
House Rules
The worst combination doesn't have to be logical. Painfully absurd counts.
The Judge can ask players to defend their card before deciding. This is encouraged.
If a combination is too real, the Judge may take a moment. That's normal.
No take-backs once your card is submitted. Own it.
Novo Insights

You've mastered
bad combinations.
Let's build some good ones.

We're Novo Insights, a boutique compensation consulting firm built by practitioners who've sat where you're sitting. If your comp program has its own bad combinations, let's talk about fixing them.

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