Herd Mentality Game: A Must-Have for Board Game Nights

“Name a yellow food.”

You think: banana. Obviously banana. Everyone’s going to say banana, so saying banana is boring, so maybe you should say something cleverer. Sweetcorn. Custard. Actually is custard a food?

You write “custard”. Everyone else wrote “banana”.

You now have the Pink Cow, and you cannot win the game until somebody takes it off you.

That’s Herd Mentality. The whole thing is built on the gap between what you think and what you think everyone else thinks, and it punishes originality with a small pink cow.

What Is Herd Mentality?

A party game where you’re trying to give the same answer as everyone else. One player reads a question, everyone writes an answer in secret, and you score if you matched the majority.

Designed by Rich Coombes and Dan Penn, published by Big Potato Games in 2020. Four or more players, ages 10 and up, about 20 minutes.

There’s no trivia and no skill in the usual sense. You just have to know your friends – or rather, know what your friends will say when they’re also trying to guess what you’ll say.

What’s in the Box

Question cards, cow tokens, a Pink Cow, and a wipeable board and pen for each player. No paper to run out of, which is a small thing Big Potato get right.

How to Play

One player reads a question card aloud. The questions are deliberately loose – “name a yellow food”, “what’s the best pizza topping”, “name something you’d find in a shed”.

Everyone writes an answer in secret. Including the person who read the question.

Everyone reveals at once.

Score the round:

• Matched the majority? You get a cow token.
• Tied for most common answer? Nobody scores.
• The only person with your answer? You take the Pink Cow.

First player to eight cow tokens wins – but only if they aren’t holding the Pink Cow at the time.

The Pink Cow

This is the bit that makes the game.

If you’re the odd one out, you take the Pink Cow. You keep collecting tokens while you have it, but you cannot win while holding it. The only way to get rid of it is for someone else to be the odd one out in a later round.

So you can sit on nine cow tokens, unable to win, silently willing somebody else at the table to do something weird.

It also means the endgame gets very strange. Once one person is close to eight, everyone else starts trying to work out how to be normal enough to score but not so normal that the leader scores too – and the person holding the Pink Cow is quietly rooting for chaos.

If two players hit eight tokens at the same time, play continues until someone reaches nine.

How to Actually Win

Your first instinct is usually right. The single biggest mistake is the one in the intro – deciding the obvious answer is too obvious. It isn’t. Everyone else is having exactly the same thought, and most of them are also overthinking it. Say banana.

Play the room, not the question. “Name a good holiday destination” gets a completely different answer from a table of students than from a table of people with young children. The right answer isn’t the right answer – it’s the answer these specific people will give.

Listen to the reveals. After three or four rounds you’ll know who goes literal, who goes for a laugh, and who is trying to be clever. That’s worth more than anything else in the game.

Boring is a strategy. If you’re winning and want to stay clean of the Pink Cow, dull answers are safe answers. You won’t be the star of the round. You also won’t get the cow.

And when you’ve got the Pink Cow, stop being careful. You can’t win anyway. Your only route out is somebody else being the odd one out, so there’s an argument for saying something bizarre and hoping it starts a trend.

Who It’s For

This is one of the games we hand people who say they don’t like board games.

There’s nothing to learn, nothing to be good at, and nobody is at a disadvantage for not having played before. It works across generations – it’s rated 10+ and the questions are broad enough that a table of adults and children can play it together without anyone being lost.

It’s also very good with a drink. The answers get looser, the arguments about whether “custard” counts as a food get longer, and the Pink Cow starts moving around a lot faster.

Where it doesn’t work: quiet groups, or anyone who wants a game with actual decisions in it. Herd Mentality is a conversation with scoring attached, and if the conversation isn’t happening the game doesn’t do much.

Herd Mentality is a conversation with scoring attached, and if the conversation isn’t happening the game doesn’t do much.

Other Versions

Herd Mentality: Moosic & Moovies narrows the questions to film and music, which makes it sharper if your group shares those references and considerably worse if they don’t.

There are various expansion packs and travel editions. The base game is the one.

Come and Play Herd Mentality at Draughts

Herd Mentality is in the library at Draughts – Stratford at 5 Aquatics Walk inside Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and Waterloo at Arch 16 on Leake Street.

It’s a good opener. Twenty minutes, no rules explanation worth the name, and it gets a table talking immediately – which is exactly what you want before settling into something longer.

Frequently Asked Questions About Herd Mentality

What is Herd Mentality?

Herd Mentality is a party game by Big Potato Games, released in 2020 and designed by Rich Coombes and Dan Penn. Players answer open questions and score by matching the majority answer. It plays four or more players in around 20 minutes and is recommended for ages 10 and up.

How do you play Herd Mentality?

One player reads a question card aloud and everyone secretly writes an answer on their board. All answers are revealed at once. Anyone who matched the majority answer takes a cow token. Anyone who gave a completely unique answer takes the Pink Cow. The first player to eight cow tokens wins, provided they aren’t holding the Pink Cow.

What is the Pink Cow in Herd Mentality?

The Pink Cow goes to whoever gives an answer nobody else gave. While you hold it you can keep collecting cow tokens but you cannot win the game. The only way to get rid of it is for another player to become the odd one out in a later round.

How many cows do you need to win Herd Mentality?

Eight cow tokens, and you must not be holding the Pink Cow when you reach them. If two players reach eight at the same time, play continues until someone reaches nine.

What happens if there’s a tie in Herd Mentality?

If two answers tie for most common, nobody scores a cow token that round.

How many players do you need for Herd Mentality?

Four or more. It works best with six to eight, where there are enough answers for a clear majority to form and enough people for the arguments to be worth having.

What age is Herd Mentality suitable for?

Ten and up. The questions are broad and require no specialist knowledge, which makes it one of the better options for a mixed-age table. Younger children can play in pairs with an adult.

Is Herd Mentality a good game?

It’s an excellent party game and a poor strategy game, which is exactly what it’s trying to be. It teaches in under a minute, everyone can contribute, and the Pink Cow creates genuine tension at the end. If your group wants something with real decisions in it, look elsewhere.

What is the best strategy for Herd Mentality?

Answer with your first instinct rather than trying to be clever – most people overthink and end up alone with the Pink Cow. Beyond that, think about the specific people at your table rather than the general public, and pay attention to how each person answers over the first few rounds.

What is Herd Mentality Moosic and Moovies?

A version of Herd Mentality where the questions focus on music and film. It works well if your group shares those reference points and less well if they don’t.

Can you play Herd Mentality at Draughts?

Yes – it’s in our library at Draughts Stratford (5 Aquatics Walk, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, E20 2AS) and Draughts Waterloo (Arch 16, Leake Street, SE1 7NN). Ask our team when you arrive. Book a table at draughtslondon.com.