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How to play Dixit: Dixit is the storytelling card game by Jean-Louis Roubira, illustrated by Marie Cardouat and published by Libellud. Each turn one player, the storyteller, gives a clue about one of their dreamlike picture cards, and everyone else tries to fool the table with a card of their own. The clue has to be clever: if everyone finds the storyteller’s card, or nobody does, the storyteller scores nothing. This guide follows the current Libellud rulebook for 3 to 8 players: setup, the four steps of a turn, scoring, the three-player rule and tips for better clues.
The edition this guide covers: Dixit
Dixit comes with 84 oversized picture cards, a scoring board, rabbit pawns and voting pieces. It costs about $40. Some listings and older boxes say 3 to 6 players; check how many rabbits and voting sets your copy has, because that sets your player limit.
Price band: $30+ (about $40) · Check today’s price on Amazon
What is in the current Dixit box
- 84 Dixit cards with surreal, wordless illustrations.
- A game board with a scoring track, eight numbered card spaces and a scoring reminder.
- 8 voting dials, one per player color.
- 8 wooden rabbit pawns to track points.
- Older printings have fewer voting pieces and rabbits and are for 3 to 6 players. The rules below work the same way.
Dixit setup in four steps
- Each player picks a color and takes the matching voting dial and rabbit pawn.
- Place every rabbit on the starting space of the scoring track.
- Shuffle all 84 cards and deal 6 face down to each player.
- Stack the remaining cards face down as the draw pile.
There is no fixed first player. Whoever thinks of a good clue first becomes the storyteller for the opening turn.
How a turn of Dixit works
1. The storyteller gives a clue
The storyteller looks at their six cards, secretly picks one and says a clue out loud. The clue can be a single word, a sentence, a song lyric, a movie quote, a sound or even a short mime. It just has to point toward the chosen card without giving it away.
2. Everyone else picks a matching card
Every other player chooses the card from their own hand that best fits the clue and hands it face down to the storyteller. The storyteller shuffles these cards together with their own card.
3. The cards are revealed
The storyteller lays the shuffled cards face up beside the numbered spaces on the board, one card per space. With six players, cards go beside spaces 1 to 6.
4. Everyone votes
Each player except the storyteller secretly turns their voting dial to the number of the card they think belongs to the storyteller. You cannot vote for your own card. When everyone is ready, all dials are revealed at once and placed on the chosen cards.
How scoring works in Dixit
The storyteller now reveals which card was theirs. Scoring depends on how many players found it:
| What happened | Storyteller | Other players |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone found the storyteller’s card | 0 points | 2 points each |
| Nobody found the storyteller’s card | 0 points | 2 points each |
| Some players found it, but not all | 3 points | 3 points for each player who found it; 0 for the rest |
On top of that, every player except the storyteller scores 1 bonus point for each vote their own card received. A great decoy card can be worth as much as finding the right answer.
Move rabbits one space per point. Then discard all the cards used this turn, everyone draws back up to six, and the player to the storyteller’s left becomes the next storyteller. If the draw pile runs short, shuffle the discards to make a new one.
When a Dixit game ends
At the end of any turn where one or more players reach or pass 30 points, the game ends immediately. The player with the most points wins. Ties are shared.
Playing Dixit with three players
With three players, each player holds 7 cards instead of 6. When the storyteller gives a clue, the other two players each hand over 2 cards, so five cards are revealed. Players still earn 1 bonus point for any vote on either of their cards, and they draw 2 cards at the end of the turn. Everything else is unchanged.
How to give a good Dixit clue
The rulebook’s advice is simple: aim for a clue that at least one player, but not everyone, will connect to your card. A few habits help:
- Avoid describing what is literally on the card. “A boat on the sea” will be found by everybody.
- Avoid clues so personal that only you understand them, like the name of your childhood pet.
- Use a feeling, a song title or a famous quote that fits the mood of the picture.
- Know your table. A clue that lands with one old friend and confuses the rest is often perfect.
Tips for decoy cards
- Think about how the storyteller usually gives clues, then pick a card that fits that style.
- A card with the same color palette as the likely answer is a strong bluff.
- Do not always play your most beautiful card. Ordinary-looking cards often draw stray votes.
Once your group has played through the base deck, see which Dixit expansion to buy and our list of the best games like Dixit.
Dixit rules FAQ
How many players does Dixit support?
The current rulebook covers three to eight players, while older boxes are for three to six. The three-player game uses 7-card hands and two cards per player.
What happens if everyone guesses the storyteller’s card?
The storyteller scores nothing and every other player scores 2 points, plus any bonus points for votes on their own card.
Can you vote for your own card in Dixit?
No. Players must vote for a card other than their own.
How many points do you need to win Dixit?
The game ends at the end of a turn when anyone reaches or passes 30 points, and the highest score wins.
