Bridge Troll Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object
• Components
• Setting Up Bridge Troll
• Playing Bridge Troll
  • Roll
  • Bid
  • Collect Traveler Cards and Boulders
    • Open Players Claim Traveler Cards
    • Example: Claim Traveler Cards
    • Example: Allocate Claimed Traveler Cards
    • Example: Use Boulders to Defend Yourself
    • Open Players Now Collect Boulders Bid This Turn
    • Closed Players Claim Boulders from the Supply
    • Example: Claim Boulders by Closing Your Bridge
  • Score/Upgrade (Optional)
    • Example: Trade In Cards and Boulders to Score
  • End of Turn
• End of Game
• Special Traveler Cards
• Ransom Royalty with the Special Royal Messenger Card

Object

Players bid to collect Traveler Cards, which they then trade in to score points. The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.

Components

• 53 Traveler Cards
• 54 Boulders (wood cubes in six colors)
• 1 Die showing the weather
• A supply of Scoring Markers
• 4 Travel Schedules
• 15 Bridge Upgrade Cards
• 6 Trophy Tiles
• 6 Rules Summary Cards
• 6 Troll Bridges

Setting Up Bridge Troll

1. The first time you play, carefully punch out scoring markers and tiles, and apply stickers to each side of the weather die.
2. Each player chooses a Troll Bridge and places it in front of her, along with one Rules Summary Card. Return unused items to the box.
3. Each player takes six Boulders in her color and places them under her bridge as indicated. The remaining three boulders in each player's color go in a collective supply to the side. All other boulders are returned to the box. Note: In a three-player game, place all boulders from any fourth color in the supply as well before returning the rest to the box.
4. Each player starts the game with five points in Scoring Markers. Players place these above their Bridges as marked (scoring markers always go face-down). Place the remaining Scoring Markers to the side, face up.
5. Shuffle the Traveler Cards thoroughly and place them face-down in a single stack as shown.
6. Place the Bridge Upgrade Cards to the side in a single stack facing up. Bridge Upgrade Cards should be arranged in descending numerical order, with the highest number on the top, lowest on the bottom. Note: In a six-player game, return the "14" and "15" upgrade cards to the box.
7. Select the appropriate Travel Schedule and place it next to the stack of Traveler Cards. Be sure that the schedule you choose has the same number of Trolls on it as there are players in the game. Return all the other Travel Schedules to the box.
8. In a three player game, return the 4th, 5th, and 6th place Trophy tiles to the box. For four players, return the 5th and 6th place tiles. Five player games return the 6th place tile. Six player games use all six tiles.
9. The player who is able to grunt most like a troll begins the game. She becomes the active player—give her the Weather Die and the Trophy Tiles. Place a one point scoring marker on top of the 1st place trophy. The game now begins!

Playing Bridge Troll

Each turn is divided into four stages: 1) ROLL, 2) BID, 3) COLLECT, and 4) SCORE/UPGRADE. Trolls have short memories, so see the Rules Summary Cards to help you follow turn order while playing the game.

Roll

The active player (the player holding the die) performs the following actions.

a) ROLL THE DIE to determine the weather. (Better weather means more tasty travelers!) Based on this die roll, look on the Travel Schedule to determine how many Traveler Cards to draw this turn. For example, for four players, if you roll "partly sunny," you will see that the Travel Schedule shows a "5". As a result, draw five Traveler Cards this turn. To indicate that you are the active player, be sure to place the die on your bridge after you roll.

b) THE FIRST TRAVELER GOES FACE-DOWN. Draw the first card and place it face down next to the Traveler Card deck (this is the only card in the group to go face down). Its value should be kept secret from all players, including the active player. Do this for all turns of the game.

c) DISPLAY THE REST OF THE TRAVELERS FACE-UP. Draw the remaining number of Traveler Cards and place them all face up in a single row next to the first card, for all players to see.

• All of these Traveler Cards (both the face-down card and all the face-up cards) will be divided between players who are open for business this turn (that is, players who decide to bid).
• If the active player is ever unable to draw the number of cards indicated by the die, the game is over. In that case, proceed to "End of Game" below.

Bid

Players perform the following actions simultaneously to determine the order in which Trolls claim Traveler cards.

A) USE BOULDERS TO BID. To prepare for the boulder tossing competition, gather all the boulders in your personal supply. From this supply, secretly choose a number of boulders to use as a bid (this is the number of boulders you "throw" to compete for first pick of the day's travelers.) Place all these boulders into one hand. Even troll-games have their rules, so carefully follow the instructions below when making your bid:

• YOU MUST BID USING A SINGLE COLOR ONLY. You may bid as many or as few boulders as you like, but you may only bid using boulders of the same color. (This can be any color. The color of boulders with which you begin the game has no special value.) Note: The special Jester card lets you mix colors freely in your bid—see the Special Traveler Cards section.
• YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO BID. If you bid zero boulders (an "empty hand") then you will be CLOSED FOR BUSINESS this turn—you will collect Boulders instead of Travelers this turn. Keep this fact secret until all players reveal their bids!

After all players are ready, they simultaneously open their hands to reveal their bids. Players place their bids directly on each of their Troll Bridges. Return all unused boulders to each player's personal supply underneath his own bridge.

B) PLAYERS RECEIVE TROPHIES. After each player has "thrown" his boulders from the top of his bridge, players receive Trophy tiles to indicate order of play.

• HIGH BID CLAIMS FIRST PLACE. The player who bids the most boulders this turn must take the first place trophy (the trophy tile marked "1st"). This player also collects the one-point bonus marker on top of the trophy. The player who bids the second most boulders must take the second place tile ("2nd") and so on.
• RESOLVE TIES. If more than one player bids the same number of boulders, resolve ties in favor of the player with the fewest boulders remaining in his supply (i.e., beneath his bridge). If players still tie, then resolve the tie in clockwise order, beginning with the active player who rolled the die, in favor of the player encountered first this way.
• Players should put their trophy tiles directly on top of their Troll Bridges, next to their bids.
• CLOSED PLAYERS PLACE TILES FACE-DOWN. After all bidders claim tiles, each player who did not bid takes one of the remaining Trophy Tiles and places it face-down on his bridge to show that his Bridge is CLOSED this turn.

Collect Traveler Cards and Boulders

Open Players Claim Traveler Cards

a) FIRST PLACE GOES FIRST! Players proceed in order by starting with 1st place, then 2nd place, and so on.

• Each open player MUST claim one (and for now, only one) of the Traveler Cards displayed, if available. Closed players claim no Travelers!
• You may pick any face-up card or the face-down card. (But if you decide to pick the face-down card, you must then take it whether you like it or not!) When taking the face-down card, immediately display it for all to see.
• You may NEVER "pass"! Because some Traveler Cards are hazardous, you might not want to draw at all—but you still must draw anyway when it is your turn!

Example: Claim Traveler Cards

Five Traveler Cards will be divided between players open for business this turn. Players each secretly bid using boulders. When all players have chosen, they reveal their bids all at once.

Purple Troll bids zero and thereby closes his Bridge. (He will later collect 6 Boulders: two for each of the three players who are OPEN this turn.) Purple collects no Traveler Cards this turn.

Red Troll has the highest bid, so she is 1st place. She takes the Princess and places this card in her FOOD SUPPLY. After all players have claimed one card, Red Troll (1st place) must choose again. She claims the face down card: it's a Peddler. Not bad!

Green Troll and Yellow Troll tie for bids. Because Green Troll has fewer boulders under his bridge, Green goes next, taking a Woodsman.

Yellow Troll then claims the Wandering Minstrels card and decides to place it in his TOLLS COLLECTED. Yellow Troll is able to play Boulders of different colors by revealing (and then eating) a JESTER card.

Green must now take the last card remaining—like it or not! He claims the Bandit. As a result, he loses his highest valued Toll. He lacks enough Boulders to defend it and discards a Pawn Broker. Ouch! All Traveler cards have now been claimed.

After Yellow chooses a card, two Traveler Cards still remain and must be claimed. Begin again with the player holding the 1st place Trophy.

b) ALLOCATE CARDS AS YOU CLAIM THEM. Once you pick a Traveler Card, you must immediately choose what to do with it: either lick your lips and place it in your Food Supply (to the left side of your bridge) or cackle greedily and put it in Tolls Collected (to the right side of your bridge).

• For details on how to allocate all the different Traveler cards, see the example below.
• Instructions on how to use Boulders to defend against Hazard cards are in the example that follows it.
• Special Traveler cards always go directly into your hand, face down (see the Special Traveler Cards section for details on how these work).

c) IF LEFTOVER TRAVELER CARDS REMAIN, START OVER AGAIN. If all players open for business have drawn one card but Traveler Cards still remain, continue to draw remaining cards, beginning again with the FIRST PLACE TROPHY TILE, until all Travelers have been allocated. RETURN TO 3A, ABOVE.

d) END WHEN ALL TRAVELERS ARE CLAIMED.

Example: Allocate Claimed Traveler Cards

Regular Traveler Cards have brown borders and icons in both upper corners. The upper left side shows how much Toll (treasure) you can extort from this card. The upper right side shows how much Food value the card has if you eat it. You may claim either Toll OR Food from a single card, but never both. (For example, the Wandering Minstrels card is worth 5 Toll or 3 Food, depending on how you use it.) When you claim a Traveler Card, decide where you want to put it based on the information below.

• TOLLS. If you wish to extort the traveler for Toll-money, place it to the right of your Bridge in TOLLS COLLECTED. The card is worth the amount of money shown next to the Toll icon.
• FOOD. If you plan to eat the Traveler later, hold it captive by placing it to the left of your Bridge in FOOD SUPPLY. Its food value is determined by the number next to the Food icon. Strategy hint: decide carefully when placing Travelers next to your Bridge! A Monk is good for eating, but he can't pay much of a Toll!
• BRIDGE BONUSES. If the Traveler card shows a Bridge symbol with a "+" (e.g., Woodsman), then discard the card and claim scoring markers for the points indicated.
• SPECIAL TRAVELER CARDS. These cards all have a gold border. If you draw a Special Card, do not place it next to your Bridge. Instead, immediately add it to your hand, face down. For instructions on how to use Special Traveler Cards, see the Special Traveler Cards section.
• ROYAL CARDS. The cards all have a purple border. If the Traveler Card is a Duke, Baron or Princess, then it is a Royal Card and you MUST place this card in FOOD SUPPLY for the time being. You may use a Royal Messenger card to collect a ransom for this card, or, if you like, you can just eat it instead. See Ransom Royalty with the Special Royal Messenger Card.
• HAZARD CARDS: If the Traveler Card has a red border (a Knight, Bandit, Dragon, or Billy Goat Gruff card) then you are at risk of losing either a card from your collection or a point from your bridge value (see the example below for how to defend yourself by using boulders).
  • If you claim the Knight, he rescues the highest valued Traveler Card in your FOOD SUPPLY (the captive with the highest Food value).
  • If you claim the Bandit, he steals the highest valued Traveler Card in your TOLLS COLLECTED (the card with the highest Toll value).
  • The Dragon card claims your highest valued card overall, as currently applied.
  • If two cards tie for highest value in a category, you get to choose which card is lost. (If you have no card at all that can be taken, you lose none.)
  • Both the Hazard Card and the lost Traveler Card are discarded.
  • Note: Billy Goat Gruff cards work differently. See below.

Example: Use Boulders to Defend Yourself

• If you claim the Knight, he will rescue the highest valued card held captive in your Food Supply. In this case, you would lose the Princess card because its Food Value (5) is higher than that of the Wandering Minstrels (3).
• If you throw five Boulders at the Knight (the Food value of the Princess), you can drive him away. Discard these Boulders and the Knight Card. Keep your Princess!
• You may use any combination of boulder colors to defend yourself.
• If you claim the Bandit, he will steal your highest valued card from your Tolls Collected. In this case, you would lose the Toll you collected from your Priest (6 gold).
• If you throw 6 Boulders of any color at the Bandit (the Toll value of the Priest), you can discard the Bandit with no harm done. Discard thrown Boulders. Keep the toll from the Priest!
• Strategy tip: Keep Royal Cards as safe as you can. Wait to use your Messenger until you are ready to trade in your cards!
• If you claim the Dragon, he will snatch away the toll from the Priest, because that card has the highest value as applied (6). If you throw six Boulders at the Dragon, you can drive him into the discard pile and save the toll from your Priest!

The three Billy Goat Gruff cards work differently from other Hazard cards—and they can either hurt you or help you!

• If you throw the right mix of boulders, you can defeat a Billy Goat and score points for the fame you earn. To defeat a Billy Goat, you need to throw the number of boulders indicated on the card, all in different colors (any combination of colors will work as long as all are different).
• If you succeed, DISCARD the Billy Goat and score the number of points indicated on the card.
• If you fail, DO NOT DISCARD THE BILLY GOAT CARD—instead, reshuffle it back into the deck of Traveler Cards—he will return later in the game! When you fail, the Billy Goat's hooves also damage your bridge and you lose one point. Return lost scoring markers to the supply. If your only points are in Bridge Upgrades, discard one Bridge Upgrade card and trade it back in for scoring markers.

Open Players Now Collect Boulders Bid This Turn

a) LAST PLACE GOES FIRST! Starting with the LAST PLACE trophy (e.g., 6th place), and then proceeding in descending order to 5th, 4th, and so on, each player chooses any single pile of boulders that was bid by any player this round (i.e., those still in place on top of a player's bridge) and takes the entire pile, adding it to his own supply below his bridge.

b) Players may choose their own set of boulders to take back if these are still available when it is their turn to collect.

c) Immediately after you collect Boulders this way, return your Trophy Tile to the center of the playing area to indicate that you are finished (stack tiles in a single pile on top of one another).

Closed Players Claim Boulders from the Supply

Starting with the active player and proceeding clockwise, each player who bid zero boulders now performs the following actions:

a) CLAIM BOULDERS FROM THE SUPPLY. Each CLOSED player collects one or more Boulders from the supply for each player who is OPEN this turn. (The Travel Schedule shows how many boulders to take per open player.)

Example: Claim Boulders by Closing Your Bridge

Two boulders bid = bridge open. Zero boulders bid = bridge closed. Zero boulders bid = bridge closed. Six boulders bid = bridge open. Players who close their Bridges collect one or more Boulders from the supply per player who stays OPEN.

Taking turns in clockwise order, the brown and green trolls each collect four boulders from the supply, in any combination of colors desired. In a four-player game, CLOSED players collect two boulders per open player. As a result, Brown Troll and Green Troll here collect 2 x 2 = 4 Boulders each.

You are free to choose any combination of colors when drawing from the supply! Strategy tip: if you want to collect more Boulders, CLOSE on a turn in which you expect everyone else to stay OPEN!

b) If not enough Boulders remain in the supply, draw the remainder from whichever other player has the most boulders in his supply. If more than one player ties for the greatest number of boulders, it is up to the drawing player which player to take boulders from. If the drawing player has the most boulders himself, he collects none.

c) If everyone's action is BRIDGE CLOSED, then each player draws three boulders from the supply and Trolls drive this company of Travelers away. Discard this entire collection of Traveler Cards and replace it with another company of Travelers (draw the same number of cards, then re-bid).

Score/Upgrade (Optional)

• TRADE CARDS FOR POINTS. Proceeding clockwise beginning with the active player, each player, OPEN or CLOSED, may now use his cards to improve the condition of his bridge and thereby score points. You are not required to do so. You may use as many or as few cards as you wish.
• To score points, you must use one or more cards from both sides of your bridge. TOLLS buy building materials and FOOD gives you strength to work on your bridge—and you need both! By combining both types of cards you score points. See the example below.
• You may cash in as many or as few cards as you like, but the points you collect always equal the LOWER value of the two types of card you cash in together.

For example, if you have a 3 FOOD and 4 FOOD card in your Food Supply (7 total Food) and a 2 TOLL and 4 TOLL card in your Tolls Collected (6 total Tolls), you could cash in all four of these cards to score 6 points. (You score 6 because 6 is the lower of the two values between Food and Toll.) Or, you could cash in the 3 FOOD with the 2 TOLL for 2 points, or you could cash in the 4 FOOD with the 4 TOLL for 4 points.

• BOULDERS. If you are CLOSED (you should still have a tile showing this) you may use Boulders from your supply as building supplies to increase your score. A closed player may use any combination of boulder colors to improve her bridge.
  • A CLOSED player may add 1 point for every two boulders she turns in to the supply (2:1 trade), but these must be applied to the less valuable side of the bridge only (it is OK to add to an empty side). OPEN players may not use boulders to increase their scores!
  • You may never trade in boulders to score more points than the total amount on the greater side. At best, you can make both sides equal.
  • You may never apply boulders to both sides—only to the side with less value showing. See the example below.
• Collect Scoring Markers for all points scored and place them face-down above your Bridge where marked for BRIDGE VALUE. Keep your score secret until the end of the game!
• UPGRADE. When it is each player's turn to score, he or she (whether OPEN or CLOSED) may also cash in cards and/or Scoring Markers to claim the topmost Bridge Upgrade Card (limit one upgrade card per turn).

Example: Trade In Cards and Boulders to Score

If Green Troll cashes in all his cards, he will score 3 points—the value of the lesser side here (the Toll value = 3). However, because he is CLOSED, he may also trade in boulders along with these cards to increase his score (at a rate of 2 boulders per point added). Here he uses 2 boulders to add one point to the value of the cards on the lesser side (Tolls), increasing the score from 3 to 4 points. Even if Green Troll had more boulders to trade in, this is as high as he could raise his score because he may only add boulders to the side with less value showing.

These cards cost the number of points marked on the card. Each upgrade card is worth the exact amount it shows, plus one extra point at the end of game. Keep Bridge Upgrade Cards face down above your bridge in Bridge Value. Bridge upgrades depict the fancy adornments that Trolls like to add when showing off their bridges.

• When you are finished, discard all Traveler Cards and Scoring Markers that you cash in by placing them in a stack to the side.
• The turn is now over.
• Strategy tip: Cashing in FOOD and TOLL together is the primary way to score points in Bridge Troll, so be sure to trade in your cards! Besides, cashing in cards is a great way to prevent them from being stolen by the Bandit, Knight, or Dragon!
• Strategy tip: Take advantage of the extra boulders you receive by CLOSING your bridge at opportune times, and use some of them to add to your score!

End of Turn

A) Pass the Weather Die to the next player, proceeding clockwise. She becomes the new active player and gathers up the Trophy tiles and places them face up before her in a single stack, adding a bonus point marker to the 1st place tile. Players' bridges should now have nothing directly on them.

B) The game now continues with the next turn. Return to "Playing Bridge Troll" above.

End of Game

1. If the active player is ever unable to draw the number of Traveler Cards indicated by the die (because the deck has run out), the game ends IMMEDIATELY. Players may NOT trade in any remaining cards!
2. Score the game.
   1. Players flip over their Scoring Markers and Bridge Upgrade cards to reveal total points scored.
   2. Players score one additional point for each individual Bridge Upgrade card they hold.
   3. The Troll with the highest score grunts with glee—and wins the game! In the event of a tie, the player with the highest total value in Bridge Upgrades wins (add the numbers on the cards). If players still tie, then the player with more Boulders remaining in his supply wins. If players still tie, they bash their boulders together and celebrate a shared victory.

Special Traveler Cards

In the deck of Traveler cards are five types of Special Traveler. These cards all have gold borders and unique powers. If you claim a Special Traveler card, add it immediately to your hand, face down—do not place it next to your bridge. You may play a Special Traveler card anytime, even immediately if you want. Each Special Traveler is good for one use only. After you play a Special Traveler, immediately move it to your food supply so you can eat it later (how's that for gratitude?). You may eat a special traveler without using its power if you like.

• The FORTUNE TELLER gives you the power of foresight. Anytime before or after you bid, you may use your Fortune Teller to peek at the face down card in the latest group of travelers. Be sure nobody else sees!
• The GARLIC MERCHANT gives you the power of garlic breath. When forced to draw a Hazard card (Bandit, Knight, or Dragon), drive it into the discard pile instead. The Garlic Merchant has no effect on Billy Goats Gruff.
• The JESTER allows you to bid using any combination of Boulder colors instead of having to use only one. To play the Jester, make a bid using multiple colors and then show your JESTER card after bids are all revealed.
• The STONEMASON immediately quarries three stones for you in your choice of color, taken from the general supply. He tastes good, too.

Ransom Royalty with the Special Royal Messenger Card

The Royal Messenger works in conjunction with the three purple-bordered royal cards: the Duke, the Baron, and the Princess. If you claim a royal card, you must immediately place it in your Food Supply. You may only claim a Toll from these cards if you first use a ROYAL MESSENGER to send for a ransom. If you claim a ransom, the reward is substantial!

• If you hold one or more Royal Cards captive in your Food Supply when you play a Royal Messenger card, you may immediately move one (and only one) of these Royal Cards from Food Supply to Tolls Collected. Then put the Messenger in your food supply so you can eat him!