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About Trial by Trolley
Trial by Trolley is a dark-humoured party game from Cyanide & Happiness and Skybound Games, built on the trolley problem. One player is the conductor and the rest split into two teams, one for each track. Teams load their own track with innocents, sabotage the other with guilty cards, and twist both with modifiers, then argue their case. It is crude and cartoonishly violent, and the fun lives almost entirely in the debate, so it suits loud groups with a shared sense of humour.
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Is Trial by Trolley Right for You?
Best for
Trial by Trolley is for adult groups who enjoy dark humour and love to argue. It works best with seven to nine players, where both teams have several voices and the conductor has plenty to weigh up. It is a good choice if your group already enjoys judging games and wants something with more debate.
Maybe skip it if…
Anyone uncomfortable with crude or violent jokes should avoid it, as that is the entire premise. At the top of its range, waiting for everyone to have a turn as conductor makes the game long.
How to Play Trial by Trolley
Setup
Choose a conductor and split the other players into two teams, one per track. Put a random innocent card on each track.
On Your Turn
- On each team, one player draws innocent cards, one draws guilty cards and one draws modifiers.
- Each team adds an innocent to its own track and a guilty card to the other team's track.
- Both teams then play modifiers on any card to shift the moral weight.
- Teams argue their case, the conductor pulls the lever, and each player on the side that gets hit takes a death token.
How to Win
After everyone has had a turn as conductor, the player with the fewest death tokens wins.
💡 Strategy Tips
Argue to the conductor's personality, not to logic. What they find funny or relatable matters more than the body count.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Arguing about ethics instead of entertaining the conductor. Humour and persuasion matter more than logic.
- Wasting modifiers on your own track. Often the bigger swing comes from making the other side look worse.
- Talking over each other. Let one person on your team make the main case.
- Playing every conductor turn at full length with big groups. Agree on fewer rounds if time is short.
Advanced Strategy
- Learn what each conductor finds funny or hateful, and pitch to that.
- Save your strongest modifier until the other team has committed. A late twist can flip the decision.
- Combine your innocent card with a sympathetic modifier, so your track has a story the conductor cares about.
- When you are conductor, decide quickly. Long deliberations slow the game for everyone.
Variants & House Rules
Vacation Expansion
Adds two hundred new track and modifier cards themed around travel and holidays.
R-Rated expansion
An add-on pack with more adult track and modifier cards, for groups who want the humour even darker.
Video Guides
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Our Verdict
Trial by Trolley is a clever twist on the judging game, with the arguing doing all the work. Its BGG rating is middling and the humour is crude by design, so it will not suit every group. For an adult crowd that enjoys debating nonsense, we think it is a very funny night.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many players is Trial by Trolley best with?
Seven to nine. It supports three to thirteen, but small games lack debate and large ones take a long time to rotate the conductor.
Is it suitable for teenagers?
The box says 14+, but the humour is crude and violent. It is better treated as an adult party game.
Who makes Trial by Trolley?
It comes from the creators of the Cyanide & Happiness web comic, published by Skybound Games.