Daring Dustbunnies Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• The Game Components
• Setting Up
• The Cards
  • What you need to know right now
• Moving Fluffballs
• Your Turn
  • IMPORTANT - If you are Out Of Cards
  • Drawing Back Up To Four Cards
• Charms & Static
  • Static
• The Vacuum
  • The Tube
  • The Bag
• End of a round
  • When the round ends
  • Setting Up The Next Round
• End of the Game
• Charms Explained
• Characters
• Game Reminders

The Game Components

• 1 x Start Card: helps you keep track of fluffballs and medals.
• 1 x Vacuum: features the dreaded TUBE (green area) and the even more terrible BAG (orange area).
• 5 x Rooms: all double sided and feature two or three carpet spaces.
• 10 x Characters: you'll get two to choose from in each game and they all have unique powers.
• 6 x Fluffballs: these are the bits of fluff that will race across the carpet. Your Fate is linked to one of them.
• 15 x Static tokens: these are used to power the charm cards.
• 1 x Cat & 1 x Dog: the Cat starts in the first room. The Dog starts in the last.
• 9 x Medals: gold, silver and bronze for the bravest fluffballs.
• 24 x Move Cards: moves that colour fluffball the distance shown on the card.
• 6 x Fate Cards: each round you'll have one to let you know which fluffball is yours.
• 2 x Talismans: playing one of these will reveal your fate to the other players. It's not a good thing.
• 2 x Cat Cards: a wild card that moves a fluffball in the Cat's room up to four spaces forwards.
• 2 x Dog Cards: a wild card that moves a fluffball in the Cat's room up to four spaces backwards.
• 6 x Wire Charms: a special charm that you start the game with.
• 30 x Other Charms: various ways to twist the rules of the game in your favour.

Setting Up

1. Place the start card onto the table.

2. Choose the room cards at random (remember they are double sided).

   • 2 or 3 players = 2 rooms
   • 4 players = 3 rooms
   • 5 players = 4 rooms

   Place them so the doors all line up.

3. Place the Vacuum Card at the end of the line of rooms. The TUBE (green area) should be closest to the rooms.

4. Give each player two character cards. Players choose one and reveal it face up. Turn the other spare one face down giving you somewhere to keep your fate card and static.

5. Shuffle the Fate Cards and give one to each player. Look at yours but keep it secret! This tells you which fluffball your fate is linked to for this round. Put the remaining Fate cards face down beside the board.

6. Separate the six special "wire" charms from the charms deck. Give one wire to each player. All remaining "Wire" Charms are kept face up beside the board. Charms are always kept face up beside your character card and are discarded when used.

7. The rest of the Charms are shuffled and placed face down beside the "Wires" deck.

8. Give each player three static. Return the rest to the box not to be used. Keep your static in the space shown.

9. Place all nine medals onto the start card and place the six fluffballs onto the chequered start area. Place the Cat above the first room and the Dog above the last room in the line.

10. Shuffle all the Movement Cards and deal a hand of four cards to each player. Place the remaining move cards face down where everyone can reach them.

You are READY TO BEGIN!

The Cards

Look at your hand of four movement cards which can be:

• Basic Move cards (24) - these move fluffballs 1, 2, 3 or 4 spaces.
• Talisman Cards (2) - can reveal your fate card.
• Dog (2) and Cat (2) cards - wild cards.

What you need to know right now

In your turn you MUST play at least ONE card from your hand. This will usually mean moving a fluffball. However there are a couple of exceptions:

If you ever play ONE talisman card you MUST REVEAL your fate card. Turn the fate card over and leave it visible for the rest of the round. If you have a Talisman in your hand right now it may be a good idea to plan how to get rid of it BEFORE it is the last card in your hand.

However if you have TWO talismans something else happens, you can play them both together as a single card. In this case INSTEAD of revealing your fate (colour) you may guess at an opponent. Point at a player and clearly state a colour, if you are right they MUST reveal. Naturally knowing what colour someone is makes it easier for the rest of the players, but it's still very possible to win.

The CAT card affects one fluffball in the cat's room. Move the chosen fluffball up to four spaces FORWARDS (that's 1, 2, 3 OR 4 spaces) or you can just move the CAT one room.

The DOG card is the same as the cat except it always moves fluffballs BACKWARDS. The cat and the dog can be in the same room, they live quite happily together.

Moving Fluffballs

The normal movement cards will move the fluffball shown on the card the number of spaces indicated. There are two or three carpet spaces in each room and each space has a special ability.

IMPORTANT: Words on carpet spaces only trigger if they are EMPTY as you land on them.

• Play - Play an extra card from your hand (if you have one).
• Give - Give a card from your hand to an opponent of your choice.
• Take - Take a random card from an opponent of your choice.
• Dump - Discard a card (face up) from your hand without "playing" it.
• Flip - Turn the top card of the move deck and play it. If this is a Talisman card you may NOT add a second Talisman from your hand to allow you to guess an opponents' fate.
• Move - Move another fluffball one space FORWARDS. You may not move the fluffball that just triggered this action.

If you are required to perform an action and find you are unable to do so you will NOT perform the action. (e.g. You land on GIVE but have no cards left.)

If the carpet space you land on contains one or more other fluffballs take static INSTEAD of triggering the ability of the carpet space. Take one static token for each other fluffball present.

When you move do ONE of: Empty space = Action; Occupied space = Static.

Your Turn

A Standard Turn looks like this:

1. Play one card from your hand.
2. Move a fluffball as indicated on the card.
3. Carry out the carpet action on an empty carpet space OR collect static if the space is occupied.
4. Play moves to the player on your left.

Character Powers are permanently in play. Charms can be played as a free action before or after playing a movement card.

IMPORTANT - If you are Out Of Cards

In Daring Dustbunnies you will not draw a new hand of cards until you have played, given away or discarded the ones you have. Therefore if you have cards in your hand at the end of your turn you will NOT draw any new ones.

If you run out of cards DURING your turn, wait until your turn is over before drawing back up to four cards. If you are required to play, dump or give a card from your hand and you do not have any, do not draw more cards in order to satisfy the requirement.

Note - your turn is not necessarily over as soon as you use your last card as you may still play charms if you can afford them.

If you run out of cards in someone else's turn (e.g. they take your last card) you MUST immediately draw back up to four cards.

Drawing Back Up To Four Cards

Whenever you draw back up to four cards you take an extra charm. If you currently do not own a "Wire" charm you MAY choose take one of these or you can take a random charm from the CHARMS deck. If you own a "Wire" you MUST take a random charm.

If you have no cards left and it's no longer your turn: draw four cards from the deck and take a charm.

Charms & Static

Charms let you bend the rules (cheat). Players start the game with a "Wire" Charm. You may play as many charms as you wish in your turn as long as you can afford to pay the static required. Discard charms when used. Place used "Wires" face up on their special deck, all other charms form a separate discard pile.

Static

When you spend static place it onto the START card. When you collect static take it first from the START card. If there is no static available on the START card you MUST take static from the other players in the game. You can take this from one player or from any combination of players.

Most charms show the amount of static that must be paid as a number.

When you activate the "Wire" charm you will spend ALL of your remaining static and move ONE fluffball of your choice backwards a number of carpet spaces equal to the static spent. (Spend 4 static = move 4 spaces.) TIP - This is a very useful way to escape from the tube.

The Sweet of Bribery allows you to look at one of the unused FATE cards but costs you 1 static per player in the game.

The Vacuum

The last two spaces in each round appear on the Vacuum Card. These are the TUBE and the BAG spaces. When at least one fluffball occupies either of these spaces it will trigger the end of the round (see below).

The Tube

When a fluffball reaches the green TUBE area it MUST STOP even if the move it is currently performing would take it beyond and into the BAG. Fluffballs in the TUBE can move backwards, returning to the safety of the carpet spaces. Fluffballs in the TUBE when the round ends receive no medals.

The Bag

If a fluffball in the TUBE moves forwards in any way it moves onto the orange BAG area. Fluffballs on the BAG space CANNOT move backwards. From now on any movement cards played showing this colour fluffball earn static equal to the number on the card.

Fluffballs on the BAG space when the round ends receive no medals AND the player whose FATE card is connected to that fluffball loses all medals won so far in the game. TIP: Try not to end up in the BAG!

Stop when you arrive at the TUBE. Moving forward from the TUBE puts you in the BAG.

End of a round

There are three rounds in each game of Daring Dustbunnies. Each round will end when THREE things have occurred:

1. At least one fluffball occupies either the TUBE or the BAG space.
2. All the Fluffballs have left the START space.
3. All fluffballs that are still on room cards are on separate carpet spaces.

IMPORTANT: ALL THREE things need to happen before the round can end.

Check for this situation at the END of each player's turn. If any fluffballs occupy the same carpet space the game will continue. It is possible for fluffballs to share the TUBE and/or BAG as these are not carpet spaces.

When the round ends

Fluffballs INSIDE the TUBE or BAG do not earn medals. Place the Gold medal beside the fluffball NEAREST to the Vacuum. The Silver goes to the fluffball in second place (next nearest). Bronze is given to the fluffball in third place. Fourth and Fifth place do not earn medals.

All players reveal their FATE cards. Players whose fluffballs are in the BAG forfeit ALL medals they own. Players whose fluffballs have won medals collect them.

Setting Up The Next Round

• Keep your charms.
• Keep your static (but see below about switching character).
• Return your FATE card.
• Return your MOVEMENT cards.
• Put the FLUFFBALLS back onto the START card.
• Gather up the ROOM cards from the last round.
• Randomly select and place new rooms.
• Players MAY elect to change characters at this point. You can only swap to the other (face down) character you were given at the start of the game. If you swap, place any static you held from the last round onto the start card.
• Shuffle and deal one FATE card to each player.
• Shuffle and deal four MOVEMENT cards to each player.
• The player whose fluffball was FURTHEST away from the Vacuum BAG in the last round goes first in the next.

End of the Game

After the third round a winner will be declared. The Dustbunnies are inspired by the olympics and therefore GOLD medals are most important. The player with the most GOLD medals wins! If there is a tie for this then consider which of these players has most SILVER. Still a tie? Which of the tied players has most BRONZE? Still tied? Who has the most CHARMS? If you are, unbelievably STILL tied, who has the most STATIC?

Charms Explained

A few clarifications of some of the charms.

• Bone - You may use this card to move the Dog instead of a fluffball. You may also move it before or after playing your movement card from your hand.
• Cat Toy - You may use this card to move the Dog instead of a fluffball. You may also move it before or after playing your movement card from your hand.
• Dice - Shuffle your hand and then play and completely resolve each card in turn.
• Fuse - Move a fluffball of your choice backwards until it reaches an empty carpet space. If there are no empty spaces move it all the way back to the first carpet space.
• Marble - Playing this means you will have to play an additional card from your hand if able to do so. I.e. you will still have to play your standard one card if you have not yet done so.
• Paintbrush - Declare the new colour of the move card clearly as you play it. You may only change the colour of one movement card for each paintbrush.
• Paper Clip - You MUST have exactly two cards, no more, no less.
• Plectrum - You MUST have exactly three cards, no more, no less.
• Spinner - The power referred to is that of the character.
• Toy Car - You can move two fluffballs. The one that is moved by the movement card you play and one that shares the carpet space. When you arrive at your new space (if it is a carpet space) treat it as if you had moved just one fluffball.
• - You may never own more than one "Wire" card unless you steal one using the tweezers. Wire charms are always available to take when you re-fill your hand of cards but only if you do not already own one.

Characters

• Sparx Frazleton III - Reduces the cost of charms by 1. He does however still have to use ALL his static to power the Wire Charm.
• Cottonreel - As you play a movement card you can declare that you will use it to move the relevant fluffball BACKWARDS. One use per ROUND. When you have used the power slide your fate card to cover up the text to remind yourself that it has been used.
• Jammy & Jinx - When you GIVE or TAKE you may choose to give to, or take from, the same opponent a second time.
• Mystical Misha - Once per turn, but at any time during her turn, as long as the Talisman card is visible on the discard pile, she may make one free guess at the colour of an opponent's Fate card. One use per TURN.
• Bernard The Beard - When you reveal a "4" value movement card you can declare you will use it as a "1" instead.
• Little Bud - To use his power you must play both move cards together, they must be the same colour, and it counts as a single move with a value equal to the combined total.
• Needle - You can move the fluffball shown on the card "1" space BACKWARDS instead of "1" space forwards.
• Tumbleweed Tex - Essentially you can use any card you cannot see INSTEAD of playing one from your hand. A random one from an opponent or the top of the movement deck. If you reveal a TALISMAN then you may NOT add one from your hand as if two were played. To use this power you MUST have a card in your hand that you are choosing not to play.
• Tina Tinsel - You take ALL the static into your possession, including that owned by the other players. One use per GAME.

Game Reminders

Moving Fluffballs

• Land on an empty space - Do what it says.
• Land on an occupied space - Take 1 static for each other fluffball there.

Talisman

• Play one Talisman card - Reveal your Fate.
• Play two Talismans - Guess an opponent's Fate.

Static - Take it from the start card first THEN from other player(s).

Charms - Play any time during your turn (before OR after movement cards).

Cats & Dogs - Move one fluffball in the same room up to four spaces.

Ending the Round

• All fluffballs must have left the start card before the round can end.
• At least one fluffball MUST be on the Vacuum Card (Tube OR bag).
• All other fluffballs MUST be on separate carpet cards.
• The round will NOT end if two fluffballs are sharing a CARPET space.

Taking New Cards

• Only draw back up to four cards if you have no cards AFTER your turn is over.
• Take a new Charm whenever you draw back up to four cards.