Chris finds he has a good mix of colored hearts - Lover's Hearts on his Rhyme cards, and only 3 Forward hearts on his hand. This is good because the goal is to have as few of your own hearts on the table, and as many as the others' - if you can figure it out. Chris also has a Passion Card, that gives him a mission. 

While the others check their own cards Chris discretely checks the Mission Sheet and finds the mission for Forward 3.

This mission is “Mention an upcoming event”. At some point during the game, Chris will have to mention an upcoming event, if he wants to complete the mission. Now it is time to start the game. 

You decide who starts by politely arguing that everyone else should start, the one with the most votes starts. If an even number is achieved, continue arguing. Hans gets two votes and starts the game.

Part II: The First Rhyme

There are no turns in the game, but the same player cannot put two cards down in a row. Hans opens the game with a Rhyme Card (ɒt), with the Lover's Hearts: 1X Playful, 1X Forward, 1X Free-Spirited, 1X Nostalgic.

Hans comes up with the phrase: “You are in my every dream and thought.”

Chris cringes lightly, Hans draws a replacement Rhyme Card to have 5 on hand. Hans’s choice means the other players have to Rhyme with the Phonetic (ɒt). Chris checks the Mission Sheet for examples and lands on “caught”. On his hand, Chris has a Rhyme Card (ɒt) with no Forward hearts, he puts down the card. 

He says the phrase: “I’m stuck on you, in your web I’m caught.”

Chris accidentally makes eye contact with Thomas. It is uncomfortable, Chris draws a replacement Rhyme Card.

Part III: Mission Failed?

Thomas has a grin on his face and distracts Chris and Hans by bringing up something funny that happened lately. Chris is immediately suspicious that he is doing his Passion Card mission. Hans seems to have the same idea and says “You’re for sure Playful 3," but can't guess until the end of the round.

Since Chris already has the Passion Card 3 in his hand, he knows Thomas can't and decides that Thomas is only trolling. Maybe to bait them to think he has the Playful Card?

Part IV: The First Round Ends

Thomas puts down a Rhyme Card (ʃ(ə)n) and proclaims: “Wherever you are, I'll go to your location.

By now Chris has had a glass of wine and the awkwardness has subsided slightly. Thomas draws a replacement card. 

Hans quickly counters with: “I want you with me, this is an invitation.”

Hans draws a replacement card. The poem is of medium quality and the round is now over, ready for counting points. Below is the resulting poem:

Love Poem

You are in my every dream and thought, (ɒt)

I’m stuck on you, in your web I’m caught. (ɒt)

I want you with me, this is an invitation, (ʃ(ə)n)

Wherever you are, I'll go to your location. (ʃ(ə)n)

Part V: Points

Thomas claims to have completed his mission. Chris scours the Mission Sheet for candidates as Thomas takes 2 Heart Tokens from the discard pile. He then draws a new Passion Card, but not a new Lover Card. (You only switch your Lover Card if an opponent correctly guesses your card. If they guess yours, the Opponent is handed two of your Heart Tokens). 

Now the three players count the Lover's Hearts on the Rhyme Cards currently on the table. Chris counts 3 Forward hearts and puts 3 Heart Tokens in the discard pile. Hans discards 2 and Thomas discards 1 of the 2 he gained from his mission.

Thomas clears away the 4 Rhyme Cards and puts them in the Rhyme Card discard pile. They are ready for a new round, the player sitting next to the starting player, clockwise, opens the next round.

Part VI: Mission Completed

During the second round, Chris mentions tickets for a concert they are going to together, after Thomas brings up a song by the band they are seeing. This counts as “Mention an upcoming event”. The other players seem not to notice that he completed his mission. At the end of that round Chris regains 2 Heart Tokens.

Part VII: Playthrough (tl:dr, jump to Round 6)

The game proceeds through 6 Rounds, total. Here are the results of the Examples for those interested:

PF= Playful

FW= Forward

FS= Free-Spirited

NO= Nostalgic

SE= Sensual

CU= Cute

TI= Tipsy

TO= Tough

Round 1

Lover's Hearts on table: PF 3, FW 3, FS 1, NO 2, SE 3, CU 2, TI 1, TO 1

Heart Token balance: Chris 6, Hans 7, Thomas 10 (Mission +2)

Round 2

Lover's Hearts on table: PF 1, FW 3, FS 1, NO 3, SE 0, CU 2, TI 4, TO 2

Heart Token balance: Chris 5 (Mission +2), Hans 4, Thomas 6

Round 3

Lover's Hearts on table: PF 2, FW 2, FS 2, NO 2, SE 0, CU 2, TI 5, TO 1

Heart Token balance: Chris 3, Hans 4 (Mission +2), Thomas 3 (Mission +2)

Chris guesses Thomas has Tipsy, which is correct. Chris gains +2 Heart Tokens, Thomas loses -2 Heart Tokens. Thomas draws a new Lover Card.

Round 4

Lover's Hearts on table: PF 4, FW 2, FS 2, NO 1, SE 2, CU 2, TI 2, TO 1

Heart Token balance: Chris 2, Hans 2, Thomas 1

Round 5

Lover's Hearts on table: PF 3, FW 1, FS 3, NO 1, SE 1, CU 1, TI 3, TO 3

Heart Token balance: Chris 1, Hans 0, Thomas 2 (Mission +2)

Hans is out this round. He can still perform missions as if he is still in, if he succeeds, he can take one Heart Token from a player of their choice. See the "Sore Loser"-rule.

Round 6

Hearts on table: PF 1, FO 4, FS 3, NO 4, SE 1, CU 0, TI 1, TO 2

Heart Token balance: Chris 0 (Mission +2), Hans 0, Thomas 0

All players reach 0 this round, however, Chris lands at -1 Heart Tokens and Thomas at -2. Chris wins the game and has now pulled Hans & Thomas’ Heartstrings. 

Lover Cards

• Chris is Forward

• Hans is Cute (Obviously)

• Thomas starts with Tipsy and ends with Nostalgic

• Game ends. Another round?

If you have any questions at this point, check out the full ruleset for explanations for exceptions and special rules and everything else not covered by the example.