How the Big Bang Theory episode timeline game works

Each card is a classic episode of The Big Bang Theory, with a quick summary under its title, and the task is to order them by first air date. You begin with one episode down and its date known. Take each new card, read what happens and pick the gap where it fits. Place it well and the date appears beside it; place it badly and it still moves to where it belongs, costing one of your three lives.

The show's relationships are your real timeline: whether Penny and Leonard are together, whether Amy has arrived, whether Howard is single or married. Early cards come thick and fast, while later ones are spread out over the rest of the long run. The summaries are honest, but guest-star episodes and holiday stories can land almost anywhere, and that is where most mistakes happen.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in exact air dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

What's in the deck

Here are 28 of the 35 cards you might be dealt, with 7 more in the deck. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

The Big Bran Hypothesis Sheldon secretly tidies Penny's messy apartment overnight
The Middle-Earth Paradigm Penny's Halloween party, Leonard dressed as Frodo
The Pancake Batter Anomaly A sick Sheldon demands Penny sing Soft Kitty
The Peanut Reaction The gang plans Leonard's surprise birthday party
The Bad Fish Paradigm Penny confides in Sheldon, who can't keep a secret
The Barbarian Sublimation Penny gets hooked on Age of Conan
The Lizard-Spock Expansion Rock, paper, scissors gets two extra moves
The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis A signed napkin from Leonard Nimoy makes Sheldon hug Penny
The Monopolar Expedition Sheldon prepares the guys for an Arctic expedition
The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation Sheldon flees home to Texas after a prank
The Adhesive Duck Deficiency Sheldon drives Penny to the ER after she slips in the tub
The Einstein Approximation Sheldon takes a job at the Cheesecake Factory to think
The Precious Fragmentation The guys fight over a prop ring from Lord of the Rings
The Wheaton Recurrence A bowling grudge match against Wil Wheaton
The Lunar Excitation Howard and Raj sign Sheldon up for online dating
The Robotic Manipulation Howard's robotic hand gets stuck in an awkward spot
The Russian Rocket Reaction Howard learns he is going to space
The Ornithophobia Diffusion A bird on the balcony terrifies Sheldon
The Hawking Excitation Howard gets Sheldon a meeting with Stephen Hawking
The Stag Convergence Raj's drunken bachelor party speech
The Bakersfield Expedition The guys in Star Trek costumes get stranded
The Proton Resurgence Sheldon hires his childhood TV science hero
The Locomotive Manipulation Sheldon and Amy share a kiss on a Valentine's train trip
The Status Quo Combustion Sheldon boards a train to leave Pasadena
The Matrimonial Momentum Leonard and Penny's Vegas wedding
The Opening Night Excitation Sheldon gives up Star Wars tickets for Amy's birthday
The Proposal Proposal Amy answers Sheldon's proposal
The Bow Tie Asymmetry Sheldon and Amy's wedding, with Mark Hamill officiating