How to Play GRIM INC (Complete Rules Guide)
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Welcome to the official GRIM INC rules guide. If you’re looking for how to play the death-plotting party game GRIM INC, you’re in the right place.
This guide explains setup, gameplay, and winning the game, so you can get straight into pitching the most ridiculous deaths imaginable.
GRIM INC is a darkly silly party card game where players compete to impress the Grim Reaper’s management team by inventing creative ways to send mortals to the afterlife.
If you enjoy improv-style party games, storytelling games, and group humour, you’ll feel right at home.
The Story Behind GRIM INC
Unfortunately… you’re dead.
Welcome to the afterlife’s biggest employer: G.R.I.M. INC - the Grim Reaper’s Institute of Murder, Incorporated.
As the newest employees, your job is simple: Come up with creative ways to dispose of mortals.
Each round, players pitch ridiculous death scenarios using strange objects, bizarre locations, and unfortunate souls. Your manager decides which pitch deserves recognition from the company.
Impress management, collect recognition, and prove you deserve your place in the afterlife workforce.
What’s in the Box
A game of GRIM INC includes:
Implement cards (objects used in the demise)
Setting cards (where the death happens)
Soul cards (the unfortunate mortal)
Message From the Top cards (Boss’s orders)
Recognition cards (points)
Line Manager placard
A six-sided skull die
A 60-second sand timer
Game Setup
Shuffle each deck separately:
Soul cards
Setting cards
Implement cards
Message from the Top cards
Place the decks face down in the centre of the table
Put the Recognition cards in a designated area.
Choose the first Line Manager.
Traditionally, the first Line Manager is the player closest to death (interpret that however you like). That player takes the Line Manager placard and prepares to judge the round.
How a Round Works
Each round represents a corporate pitch meeting at GRIM INC.
The goal: create the best death scenario using the cards provided.
Step 1: Corporate Orders
The Line Manager rolls the six-sided die.
If they roll a skull, they must draw a Message from the Top card.
These cards represent directives from the Grim Reaper and may introduce delivering:
A bonus
A disciplinary
Step 2: Draw the Cards
The Line Manager Reveals from the deck for everyone to see:
A Soul (who dies)
A Setting (where it happens)
Players each then draw an Implement (what causes the demise) each, keeping it a secret until their pitch.
Step 3: Pitch Your Demise
Players now have 60 seconds (using the timer) to look at their card and invent a ridiculous explanation for how their mortal meets their end.
This is where the real fun happens.
Players must pitch their scenario to the Line Manager, again using the timer, explaining:
who the victim is
where the situation takes place
how the implement causes their demise
The more creative, darkly funny, or absurd your explanation is, the better.
Step 4: The Manager Decides
Once all players have pitched their ideas, the Line Manager chooses the best scenario.
The winning player receives Recognition from the company in the form of a Recognition card (unless a bonus has been given out instead).
Step 5: New Line Manager
The role of Line Manager rotates to the next player and a new round begins.
How to Win GRIM INC
The first player to get 3 cards of Recognition wins the game.
Alternatively, the game continues for as many rounds as you like, and the player with the most recognition at the end of play proves themselves to be the afterlife’s most valuable employee.
Congratulations. Management is impressed.
Tips for Playing GRIM INC
The best rounds happen when players:
embrace ridiculous storytelling
combine cards in unexpected ways
lean into the game’s dark humour
don’t take the logic too seriously
The fun comes from improvisation and creativity, not perfect strategy.
Is GRIM INC Easy to Learn?
Yes. GRIM INC is designed to be:
quick to explain
easy to start playing
chaotic in the best possible way
Most groups understand the game within one round.
Perfect For
GRIM INC works best with players who enjoy:
party games
storytelling games
improv humour
chaotic creativity
If your group enjoys games like Cards Against Humanity or Snake Oil, GRIM INC will feel right at home on your table.
Ready to Join the Company?
If you’re ready to pitch ridiculous demises and impress the Grim Reaper’s management team, you can purchase the game here!
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GRIM INC has an expansion - Gettin' Weird
