ESP Game (ESPゲーム) is a game invented by Midari Ikishima involving Russian roulette that Yumeko Jabami is forced to play against her.
Rules[]
The game is played with Zener cards. The players have to guess the order of the cards chosen by the dealer, gaining one point for every correct card. It is played in two different rooms: a room where the dealer chooses the cards, and a second room where the players gamble. The rooms are soundproof and are only connected by cameras. A monitor in the dealer's room shows the players as they play the game, while the monitor in the other room only shows the dealer's hands and cards.
Before the showdown, each player has to load their gun. They can load any number of bullets they want, with a maximum of six. Then, the players insert their guns in a box (manga) / a special compartment in the table (anime) so that they are unable to distinguish them. After the showdown, the winner chooses a random gun and presses the trigger a number of times corresponding to the differences between each player's points. The gun may shoot or not, depending on the number of bullets that were originally loaded.
Yumeko Jabami accepts to play but on three conditions:
- The loser will pay one billion yen to the winner.
- Ryota Suzui will be the dealer
- They will only play three rounds
Midari Ikishima accepts, but adds one condition herself:
- If a player misses when shooting, the other player will be allowed to shoot them in return.
Game[]
Before Ryota Suzui leaves, Yumeko Jabami casually tells him that they can use "that" to win. He doesn't understand what she means, as they have no sign whatsoever they can use to communicate. Soon he realizes she only wants Midari Ikishima to believe they do, though. For this reason, he makes a V sign with his hand and shows it to them on the monitor. As it's only a bluff, this ends up being unhelpful.
During the first round, Midari loads six bullets and ends up winning by one point. Suzui is horrified at the possibility of Yumeko being shot, but it unable to do anything, locked in the dealer room with Midari's assistants. However, before Midari can press the trigger Yumeko stops her, saying she doesn't recommend it. She explains she loaded three bullets in her gun and filled the barrel with her lipstick, leaving a mark on it. Because she obstructed it, shooting could severely hurt Midari as well. The other girl doesn't even flinch and presses the trigger anyway, but nothing happens. Yumeko says she lied and didn't load her gun at all, but even if she had done it, a mere lipstick wouldn't have been enough to stop the weapon from shooting.
Before the second round, Yumeko asks Midari why she made her play this game. After she tells her about her love for dangerous situations, explaining why she wears an eye-patch, Yumeko announces their game will definitely end in a draw. Midari gets even more upset and loads six bullets again. Meanwhile, Suzui is wondering what he can do to help Yumeko. He comes to the conclusion Midari wouldn't pay attention to Yumeko's cards, and because her order is the only one he remembers he decides to go with it. Yumeko is indeed aware of his thinking and guesses all the five cards correctly, leaving Midari speechless. It's now her turn to shoot - Yumeko grabs one of the guns and points it at Midari. Because she won by two points, she presses the trigger twice, which makes the other extremely excited. After Midari wonders how Yumeko can be so calm while shooting, she calmly explains to her that she deliberately chose her own gun with no bullets inside by comparing the weight of the two weapons. Midari is amazed by her inhumane perception.
Just before the third round starts, Midari makes her assistance reverse the images on the monitors. Suzui starts yelling at them, accusing them of cheating, but Midari angrily tells him to keep going or she will kill Yumeko. He nervously places his cards on the table without having any time to come up with a different order.
It turns out Yumeko noticed the trick of the mirrored images, especially because Suzui is right-handed and he used the left hand the entire time. Midari doesn't care, though, as she used such an easy trick to make sure Yumeko defeated her. She's very enthusiastic when Yumeko loads two bullets in her gun and does the same so that she can't recognize her own gun anymore. Then, she deliberately gets every card wrong so that Yumeko will surely shoot her in case she guesses them all again. Yumeko anticipated her, though, and got everything wrong as well, saying she knew that Midari wanted to lose. She harshly speaks to her, says she detests her, and refuses to kill her even when Midari begs her to. In spite of her hatred, Midari falls for Yumeko, believing that she's "her goddess". Because the game ended in a draw, no one receives any payment.
Drama[]
In the drama, the location where ESP Game is played is slightly different: instead of a simple room with only a table and two chairs, it's quite large. Various items appear to be stored there, and ropes and cables are also visible in the background, creating the appearance of a messy room.
The table used for the game has an incorporated screen that lights up during the showdown, indicating in red the cards that match with the dealer's and in blue the incorrect ones. The cards themselves remain unchanged, but they have a different design on the back - instead of showing a single eye, they depict an eye inside of a six-pointed star.
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Gambles |
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Kakegurui main series |
Vote Rock-Paper-Scissors • Double Memory • Life or Death • Indian Poker • ESP Game |
Kakegurui xx |
The Election • Finger Cutting Guillotine • Nim Type Zero • 100 Votes Gamble • Active Station Greater Good Game • Tower of Doors • Hundred Votes Auction • Coin Flip of Fate |
Manga only |
Gin Rummy • War • Grand Tournament • Rock Paper Scissors Poker • Fasciation Hall • Change Poker • Dice Gamble of Jabami Family |
Kakegurui Twin |
Speed President • Three Hit Dice • Magic Dice Game • Coupling Party • Even or Odd Treasure Hunt • Dice Nim Game • Test Battle Game • Doubt Poker • Hidden Rules Peeping Tom Baseball Fist • Listen, Weigh, Jackpot • Little Max • Full Count Blackjack • Limit Dice • Conquer the Land • Koi-Koi • Blackjack • Dice Poker • Feudalism Game |
Kakegrui Midari |
Blackjack 1:1 • Hand Knife Trick • Guess the Card • Passive Russian Roulette Improvised Chinchiro • Chicken Circle • Hang Bingo • Kill or Die |