In Orb or Void, you should find the orb in your opponent team hands. You can void any hand that you think is empty. If you cannot find the orb, your opponent team gets one point and if you can find it, you just get the orb for next round. Whenever a team has already 8 points, they play the Supper Orb round. The winner of the game is the team that wins the Supper Orb and gets the final point of the game.
Game Objective
In Orb or Void, you must find the Orb in your opponent’s hands. You can void empty hands or guess in one-shot. If you fail, they score a point; if you succeed by voiding, you take the orb; if you guess in one-shot, you take the orb and 2 points. Reach 8 points to play the Super Orb Round and claim victory!
Game Setup
Orb or Void is played by two teams (Green and Red), ideally with an even number of players (2-8, with 6 being best). For 2-player games, only Jingle Bell and Large Orb help cards are allowed, and each can be used twice per game.
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At the start, each team randomly selects 5 out of 10 help cards and can use one card per round.
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Use a medium-sized orb for the game. For smaller hands, substitute with a small orb.
Each team selects a leader who randomly draws the help cards and plays a duel to determine which team starts the game.
Start Duel
Team leaders roll a dice, and the higher roll wins. The winning leader holds the orb, performs hand tricks to secretly shuffle it between his/her hands, and presents both hands forward. The opposing leader guesses which hand holds the orb. The winner keeps the orb to start the game.
What is a Hand Trick?
A hand trick is a deceptive move used by a player to confuse opponents about the orb's location. The goal is to mislead the opposing team into guessing incorrectly.
Examples of Hand Tricks:
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Quickly mimicking the orb's movement between hands.
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Pretending to place the orb in one hand while keeping it in the other.
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Using gestures, expressions, or distractions to create doubt.
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A simple example is stacking hands and pretending to pass the orb between them repeatedly.
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Here are some samples of hand trick videos:
Note: All hand tricks must be performed visibly in front of the opponents. Mastering hand tricks is the key to outsmarting the other team!
How the Game Starts
The winner of the Start Duel starts the first round as the hiding team and the opponent as the guessing team.
Hiding Team Actions
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Leader's Role: The team leader holding the orb shows it, performs a hand trick, and secretly passes it to a teammate or keeps it.
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Sequential Passing: The leader continues the secret passing for all teammates, creating confusion which person holding the orb.
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Teammates' Hand Tricks: Each teammate performs their own hand tricks, adding to the misdirection.
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Final Reveal: Finally, everyone extends their hands forward, but only one hand holds the orb.
Guessing Team Actions
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The guessing team can consult briefly and then start the timer to make their guess.
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They can request the hiding team to perform up to 3 Empty Hand Tricks.
To find the orb, the guessing team can
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Void any hand believed to be empty. They cannot touch the opponent's hands when finding the orb.
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Use help cards; Only one card can be used per round. Only one card can be used per round. Help cards can only be used if no more than half of the hands have been voided. The guessing team can use any card in their hand only once and must discard it after use. For 2-player games, Jingle Bell and Large Orb help cards can be used twice per game.
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Make a one-shot guess without voiding any hand. Only a single one-shot guess is allowed per round unless the Free One-shot Guess card is used.
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Double the Points! The guessing team places the dice on the table with the number 2 facing up. The hiding team can choose to accept or reject the challenge. If they reject, they must hand over the orb, and no points are awarded to either team. If they accept, the points are doubled meaning that the hiding team earns 2 points if they win. One-shot guess still earns 2 points. Note that doubling cannot be combined with cards during one round.
What is an Empty Hand Trick?
A player must show an empty hand and perform a hand trick. He/She may or may not have the orb.
The guessing team must carefully watch all three hand tricks. The empty hand tricks help them find the empty hands.
Help Cards
Help cards can only be used if no more than half of the hands have been voided.
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Free One-shot Guess: Guess which hand holds the Orb. If your guess is incorrect move on and continue the game.
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Three Empty Hand Tricks: You will have three additional chances to ask either opponent to perform an empty hand trick.
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Two Birds with One Stone: By voiding one hand correctly, the opponent team leader must void another empty hand of his/her team. There are two cards of this type for each team.
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Large Orb: The winner of this round must play the next round using the large orb.
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Duel: The player holding the orb must reveal it and engage in a duel with the player chosen by the opposing team.
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Truth: Ask a yes/no question to any player of your choice from the opposing team, and they must answer truthfully.
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Void an Empty Hand: The opponent team leader must void an empty hand of his/her team.
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Jingle Bell: The winner of this round must play the next round using the jingle bell.
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Two Orbs: The winner of this round must play the next round using the two orbs. When playing with two orbs, both cannot be in one hand and finding one orb is sufficient to claim the orb.
Scoring and Game Ending
Scores
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If the guessing team fails to find the orb in 3 minutes or makes an incorrect one-shot guess, the hiding team earns 1 point.
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If the guessing team finds the orb using a card or by voiding hands, they earn no points but take the orb and become the next hiding team.
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If the guessing team finds the orb with a one-shot guess, they take the orb and earn 2 points.
How the Game Ends
The first team to pass 8 points plays the Super Orb round as the hiding team. If they win the super orb, they win the game. If they lose it, they lose 3 points, and the game continues.
If a team plays the Super Orb round three times without winning, the teams face off in duels. Each player competes in two duels against an opponent from the other team: once as the hider and once as the guesser. The team that wins the most duels is the final winner.
The Supper Orb Rules
The Super Orb round is similar to the other rounds except:
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The guessing team can ask for 6 empty hand tricks.
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The guessing team cannot use cards.
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The guessing team cannot void any hand. Finding the orb is in one-shot guess only.
What Happens if Someone Drops the Orb:
If the Orb is dropped before the timer starts, a duel takes place between the team leaders. If it is dropped during the game, the team that dropped the Orb loses it to the opposing team, but no points are awarded.
History of the Game
Orb or void is a traditional Persian group game that can be even played by two players. In this game, there are two teams competing each other. In each round of the game one team secretly hides and moves the "Orb" into a team member's hand, making sure the opposing team doesn't see where it goes.
Then the opposing team should guess which hand holds the orb in 3 min. They can void the empty hands and also use help cards to find the orb. As the game progresses, the teams will develop a tactical understanding of each other's strategies for hiding the orb.
This game doesn’t require any special tools and never becomes boring. It helps develop mental and communication skills, strengthens teamwork, and encourages cooperation among players.
FAQ
Game Basics
Q: How many players can play?
2–8 players. For best balance, we suggest an even number of players to keep teams equal in size.
Q: What is the recommended age?
Ages 7 and up.
Q: How long does a game take?
Approx. 30 minutes.
Gameplay
Q: Is there a 2-player mode?
Yes. However for 2-player games, only Jingle Bell and Large Orb help cards are allowed, and each can be used twice per game.
Q: What makes Orb or Void unique?
Orb or Void is a classic Persian hand-guessing game reimagined with help cards, dice, different orbs and a digital timer. Unlike bluffing games, Orb or Void relies on pure observation and deduction, not deception. Quick rounds, hidden orbs, and team play create exciting moments that keep everyone laughing and engaged.
Q: How many help cards can be used during each game by each team?
Each team randomly selects 5 out of 10 help cards available and can use one card per round in each game.
Q: Are the help cards reusable?
No, help cards must be discarded after they are used.
Q: Are players allowed to hide the orb behind their back without using any visible hand trick?
No. All orb hiding and passing must be done through visible hand tricks in front of the opponents.
Q: Can I use help cards or doubling points (dice) together with voiding hands in one round?
Yes you can use help cards and double points together with voiding hands in one round.
Q: Can we change the number of empty hand tricks in a round depending on the size of the team?
Yes, upon agreement with the other team at the start of the game you may change some of the rules. For instance
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You can change the number of allowed empty hand tricks in each round per team.
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You may change the number of help cards per team.
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You may change the timer set value.
Q: If a guessing team uses the Jingle bell (or Large orb or Two orbs) help cards and they get the orb in the current round, do they play the next round using the Jingle bell (or Large orb or Two orbs) even though they are the winner of the current round?
Yes. if any of the Jingle bell (or Large orb or Two orbs) help cards are used in a round, regardless of the winner of the current round, the next round must be player by Jingle bell (or Large orb or Two orbs).
Q: If a team uses the free one-shot guess help card and they fail in their one-shot guess but they find the orb in another one-shot try, do they get 2 points?
No, they don’t earn 2 points because a help card was used. A one-shot guess only earns 2 points if no help card is used.
Q: It is allowed to use help cards together with double points dice?
Yes, If the hiding team accepts the double point challenge, the guessing team can still use help cards to find the orb.
Q: Can I use help cards during the supper orb round?
No, the guessing team cannot use cards and/or void any hand. Finding the orb is in one-shot guess only.
Q: What Happens if Someone Drops the Orb?
If the orb is dropped before the timer starts, a duel takes place between the team leaders. If it is dropped during the game, the team that dropped the orb loses it to the opposing team, but no points are awarded.
Components & Quality
Q: What’s included in the box?
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10 Green Cards
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10 Red Cards
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2 Medium Orbs
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2 Small Orbs
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1 Jingle Bell
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1 Timer
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2 Score Counters
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1 Large Orb
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1 Dice
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Orb or Void Rulebook
Q: What material are the cards made of?
All cards are crafted from thick 300 gsm cardstock with a matte lamination finish.
Q: What material are the orbs made of?
The orbs and the jingle bell are made of stainless steel and has passed the safety tests for toys.
Q: Does the timer come with a battery?
Yes, The timer requires one 1.5v AG10/LR1130 battery and the battery is included.