The digital edition is live
Pull the Strings is now playable in a browser, free, today. The box is still in rehearsal. This one is not.
Stagehand Games Presents
Pull the Strings
Everyone’s a puppet. Only one pulls the strings.
A card game for rival puppet masters. Draft a cast of felt legends, build three little shows, and perform each one like the rent depends on it.
- 2 to 5 players
- Ages 10+
- 30 to 45 minutes
The box is in rehearsal. Opening soon.
Can’t wait for the box? Play it free in your browser (opens in a new tab)The Premise
Five puppet masters. One stage. No supervision.
Draft Puppets, Settings, and Plot Twists from the Spotlight. Build three shows before your rivals build theirs, and put each one on for the table. Steal the scene. Take a bow.
One hundred and five cards, five genres, and a Showtime moment nobody skips.
Play It Free
The house is open. Admission is free.
A digital edition of Pull the Strings is live and playable in your browser. The same cast, the same shows, the same trouble. Nothing to shuffle, nothing to set up, nothing to buy.
Play it free (opens in a new tab)playpullthestrings.com
The box is still in rehearsal. This one is not.
The Heart of the Game
Showtime!
Finish a Plot and the table goes quiet. That is your cue.
Lord Darkcloak arrives at Grimwood Manor. “I have returned.” Sparkles the Unicorn trots in behind him. “The mortgage is due.” Long pause. “...I know.”
You get fifteen to thirty seconds on stage. Use your puppets’ names, your setting, and your plot title. Give everyone a voice. The sillier, the better.
Every Plot card carries its own Showtime tip, so nobody has to start from nothing.
Meet the Cast
Sixty puppets. Thirty settings. One very small stage.
Pick a puppet, pick a place, and the marquee will tell you what is playing. Every one of them is in the box.
Now playing
Lord DarkcloakatBubble Bath Factory
Lord Darkcloak does it all in the middle of Bubble Bath Factory, including the sound effects. The Bubble Bath Factory floods the stage on schedule and apologizes never.
- Villain · Fantasy
- His name was chosen at age seven and he has fully committed.
- Comedy setting
- Bubbles rated for commercial use. Giggles not covered by insurance.
The Spotlight
Four cards, face up, and everyone wants the same one.
The Spotlight is a shared market in the middle of the table. Take a card and a new one takes its place. Your rivals were watching.
Draft one and see.
Intermission
A short break while the crew resets the stage.
One email when tickets go on sale, and maybe one before that if there is real news. That’s the whole newsletter.
The Bill
Thirty shows, from Matinee to World Premiere.
Each Plot tells you what your show needs and what it is worth. Meet the Base Goal and it is yours. Stretch for the Bonus Goal if you think you have the time.
- Matinee
- Evening Show
- Opening Night
- World Premiere
Step closer for a better look.
Escape the Alien Planet
The rescue signal worked. Unfortunately, everyone heard it.
Vampire's Ball
Formal attire. No garlic.
Rescue Mission: Oops
The hostage has started giving the orders.
Roast of the Dark Lord
He conquered seven kingdoms. He was not prepared for this.
A Turn, Briefly
Two actions a turn from these three, even the same one twice. Showtime itself costs nothing.
Set the stage.
Start a Plot from your hand. You can run two at once.
Draft.
Take a face-up card from the Spotlight, or draw blind from a deck.
Play your cards.
Attach Puppets and Settings to your Plots. Or spring a Plot Twist on someone who deserves it.
Costs no action
Showtime. Free of charge.
Meet a Plot's Base Goal whenever you like, perform it, and lock it away where no Twist can touch it.
The first player to lock three shows starts the final round. Most Puppet Points wins.
What Is In The Box
One box. A great deal of felt.
- 105 Main Deck cards. 60 Puppets, 30 Settings, 15 Plot Twists.
- 30 Plot cards across four difficulty tiers.
- 16 Director cards. Secret objectives, revealed at the end.
- 5 Featured Genre cards. One is drawn per game.
- 5 Quick Reference cards.
- 1 Intermission card.
- 1 rulebook. Twenty pages, five minutes to teach.
From Backstage
Production notes.
Printer proofs, playtest nights, and whatever else happens between here and opening.
Still in rehearsal
The prototype is on a table most weeks, being argued with. Nothing is final until the notes stop coming.
Be here for opening night.
One email when the box goes on sale. Maybe one before that, if something worth reporting happens. Nothing else, ever.