Evil Baby Orphanage: How to Play This Party Card Game

Quick answer

To play Evil Baby Orphanage, deal each player a hand from the main deck, separate the Fate Deck for event resolution, and take turns playing baby cards to build your orphanage while sabotaging opponents. The first player to complete their orphanage wins. Read the full rules once before your first game, then use this guide as a setup and turn-order reference.

Evil Baby Orphanage is a party card game where you collect and manage troublesome babies, each with their own chaotic abilities. It plays best with three to five people who enjoy light strategy and laughing at terrible decisions.

This guide walks you through setup, turn order, and the Fate Deck so you can start playing in about fifteen minutes. It assumes you have the core game and a flat table with room for a discard pile and a Fate Deck.

What you need before you start

Open the box and separate the two card types: the main deck of baby and action cards, and the smaller Fate Deck used for random events. Shuffle both decks separately. Give each player a reference card if your edition includes them, and place the rulebook where everyone can reach it.

You will also need a way to track completed orphanages. Some groups use the included tokens; others just keep completed sets in front of them. Decide before you start so you are not hunting for a pen mid-game.

• Check that you have enough table space for two draw piles and a discard pile.
• If your Fate Deck cards are still wrapped, unwrap them now so you are not fumbling during play.

Setting up the play area

Place the main deck face down in the center. Put the Fate Deck beside it, also face down. Leave a gap for the discard pile. Each player draws a starting hand of five cards from the main deck. If you draw only action cards with no babies, you may show your hand and redraw once; this is a common house rule, but check your rulebook first.

Choose a first player randomly. The player to their left goes next, and so on clockwise. Keep the Fate Deck within reach of all players because it gets used on almost every turn.

• Do not shuffle the Fate Deck into the main deck by mistake. They serve different purposes.
• If you are playing with younger children, consider removing the most complex baby cards for the first game.

Turn order and core actions

On your turn, draw one card from the main deck, then take one of three actions: play a baby card into your orphanage, play an action card to affect another player, or discard a card to draw a replacement. After your action, flip the top card of the Fate Deck and apply its effect immediately. That effect might help you, hurt you, or change the target of your action.

The Fate Deck is what makes the game unpredictable. It can force a player to swap babies, lose a turn, or trigger a baby's special ability. Do not skip this step, even if you think your turn is over. Many first-time players forget the Fate Deck and wonder why the game feels too predictable.

• Resolve the Fate Deck card fully before the next player starts their turn.
• If a Fate Deck card contradicts a baby's ability, the Fate Deck takes priority unless your rulebook says otherwise.

Building your orphanage and winning

Your orphanage is a set of baby cards in front of you. Each baby has a cost or condition printed on the card. You must meet that condition to play it. Some babies require you to discard an action card; others need a specific number of babies already in your orphanage. Read each card carefully before you play it.

The first player to complete the required number of babies, usually three or four depending on player count, wins immediately. You do not need to wait for the turn to end. If two players would win at the same time, the active player wins. This keeps the game fast and avoids tiebreakers.

• Keep your completed babies visible so opponents can see your progress.
• If you are one baby away from winning, expect everyone to target you with action cards.

Your first game, step by step

1. Separate and shuffle both decks: Split the main deck from the Fate Deck. Shuffle each one separately and place them face down in the center of the table. Checkpoint: you should have two distinct draw piles, not one combined pile.
2. Deal five cards to each player: Each player draws five cards from the main deck. If you have no baby cards, show your hand and redraw once if your group agrees. Common mistake: dealing from the Fate Deck by accident. Keep the decks apart.
3. Choose a first player and go clockwise: Pick someone to start. Play proceeds clockwise. The first player draws, acts, then flips a Fate Deck card. Checkpoint: everyone knows who is next before the first turn ends.
4. Take your turn in order: Draw one card, take one action (play a baby, play an action card, or discard to draw), then resolve the top Fate Deck card. Common mistake: forgetting the Fate Deck step. It changes the game every turn.
5. Build your orphanage and win: Play baby cards that meet their conditions. The first player to complete the required number of babies wins immediately. Checkpoint: count your completed babies out loud so everyone can see your progress.

Products that support this game

• The World Needs a Jetpack Unicorn: A party card game where players build arguments from a hand of strange words and defend choices involving jetpack unicorns, bubble castles, and glowing monsters. If your group enjoys the silly, argument-driven side of Evil Baby Orphanage, this is a natural next game for the same table.
• Vagrantsong: Game of Life and Death Poker Deck: A linen-finished poker deck featuring Haints and spirits from Vagrantsong, usable as a regular deck of playing cards or with an included Junk Card for a Camp Phase challenge. Useful if you want a themed deck for other card games between sessions, though it is not required to play Evil Baby Orphanage.
• Duality Fate Deck: A Malifaux Fate Deck with the four Malifaux suits and cards marked for Weak, Moderate, and Severe. This is a different game's Fate Deck and does not replace the Evil Baby Orphanage Fate Deck. Only buy it if you also play Malifaux.

Evil Baby Orphanage rewards players who pay attention to the Fate Deck and time their action cards well. Set up cleanly, resolve every Fate Deck flip, and keep your orphanage visible. After one game, the rhythm becomes obvious and you can add house rules or expansions.