Golpher
Golpher Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 60 Card deck in 5 suits with 12 cards per suit (numbered 1-12)
- 1 Designated hole card, 3 boundary cards
- 1 Golf ball token
- 1 Golf ruler
Deck & Hand Setup
Assemble the deck, shuffle, and deal cards to each player according to the table below. Set aside any remaining cards for the round. The player who most recently played golf is the starting/lead player for the first round.
| Player Count | Deck | Starting Hand |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 suits of 1-10 | 13 cards |
| 4 | 5 suits of 1-10 | 12 cards |
| 5 | 5 suits of 1-12 | 12 cards |
First Time Playing: Round Setup
Discard down to 9 cards after receiving your starting hand and place the discarded cards face down in a communal pile. Shuffle the pile and create the course by placing cards from this pile face up onto the table as pictured below. Cards do not need to match the suit or number. For 3 or 4 players, use one of the undealt cards as the tee box.
(Course layout diagrams for 3 or 4 players and for 5 players, each showing the Tee Box, are printed in the rulebook and are not reproduced here.)
Place the golf ball in the center of the tee box. Skip Standard Round Setup to What is Trick-taking? for this first round.
Standard Round Setup
- Define the Course: Place the 3 boundary cards, with Golpher written on both sides of the card, in a column. Cards placed on the course may never cross the imaginary lines created by the boundary cards. Place both the tee box (using one of the undealt cards) and the hole card face up on the table anywhere within the boundary. There should be 2 full ruler lengths in between the two cards, creating the start and end of the golf course. For 5 players only, the lead player will use a card from their hand as the tee box instead.
(The printed rulebook shows a diagram of the boundary cards, tee box and hole card, with the 2-ruler-length spacing marked.)
- Build the Course: In clockwise turn order, players place cards from their hand directly adjacent, but not overlapping, to at least one card on the course that's not the hole card. When a card is placed adjacent to the hole card, it must connect the hole card to the tee box. The number of cards placed for the course are detailed in the table below. After the course building is complete, move the golf ball to the center of the tee box and start the round.
| Player Count | Cards Placed per Player | Total Cards Placed |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | 3 | 12 |
| 5 | 3 | 15 including the tee box |
What is Trick-taking?
A trick is a mini round in which each player plays one card from their hand in clockwise turn order and the winner is determined based on a ranking of card numbers and suits.
Must follow trick-taking is when the lead player starts by playing any card from his/her hand. Everyone else must play a card with the same suit as the lead player, also known as the lead suit. If you don't have the lead suit in hand, you may play any card instead. The trick winner is whoever played the highest number of the lead suit, taking all the cards played in the trick and putting them in a pile face down in front of him/herself. In general, first look at a card's suit to determine the winner: trump (if there is one) > lead > any other suit. If multiple players played the same suit, the highest number wins.
Overview
Aim for the lowest score by winning as few tricks as possible to hit the golf ball into the hole.
A game is 3 rounds. In each round, players will play tricks until the golf ball is hit into the hole or up to a maximum of 9 tricks.
In each trick:
- Lead player first decides the direction of where the ball will be hit by aiming the ruler
- Starting with the lead player, each player then plays a card
- Resolve the trick, move the golf ball, and score points
How to Aim
The lead player aims the shot using the golf ruler, with the golf ball placed at the 0 value on the ruler, according to the following conditions:
- Ruler must be on 2 or more cards on the course (includes the card the ball is on)
- Shots must be aimed in a way that progresses the ball toward the hole
- There must be at least 4 ruler notches on either side of the ruler that touch cards on the course ("on course"), in the example below, all ruler values are on course except 10
(The printed rulebook shows an aiming example with the ruler over the course; the on-course and off-course values are marked on the diagram.)
The lead player should communicate what ruler values are on and off course to confirm that all players are on the same page. Any disputes or uncertainties are left up to the judgment of the lead player. During aiming, try not to move cards on the course around, but any card(s) that do move may remain as is without realignment.
Trick-taking
IMPORTANT: Trump suit is determined by the card the golf ball is on and will change as the golf ball moves along the course (e.g. the suit of the card where the ball starts is the trump suit for the first trick).
Starting from the lead player, everyone plays a card into the trick according to must follow trick-taking rules. After all players play a card, the player whose card is ranked highest wins the trick based on this order: highest number of the trump suit > the highest number of the lead suit > highest number of any other suit. For example, in a trick where the 6 of lead suit, 3 of lead suit, 4 of trump suit, and 7 of offsuit are played - their respective place in the trick is 2nd, 3rd, 1st, and 4th.
The trick winner collects all cards from the trick into their own face down pile, scores 1 point, hits the golf ball (covered in the next section), and becomes the lead player for the next trick.
Hitting the Golf Ball
The trick winner moves the golf ball to the ruler value equal to the number on the card they played into the trick if it remains on course. If the winning card is the trump suit which is also not the lead suit, the trick winner must instead move the ball to the ruler value equal to the highest number played in the trick.
If the ball is hit off course, the golf ball does not move and whoever was second place in the trick subtracts 1 point from their score. The trick winner still increases their score by 1 point.
If the ball is hit into the hole (touches any part of the hole card), the round immediately ends. The trick winner still scores 1 point and subtracts 5 points from their score (-4 points total).
It may help to consider tricks won as strokes.
Round End / Scoring
Add points scored in this round to your previous round's total using pencil and paper. For example, a total score of 1 from the previous round plus 3 points scored from winning tricks this round minus 5 points from hitting the ball into the hole = -1 total score.
Proceed to the next round, perform Deck & Hand Setup and Standard Round Setup with the player who won the last trick as the lead player.
Game End
The player with the least amount of points after 3 rounds is the winning golfer! If 2 or more players are tied, the player who most recently hit the golf ball into the hole wins.
FAQ
Q: Is it possible for a round to end without a golfer hitting the ball into the hole?
A: It is rare, but it can happen if too many golf balls are hit off course. The round ends with nobody scoring -4 points.
Q: Does the hole card and tee box need to be connected by other cards on the course?
A: They do not need to be connected.
Q: How do I determine the trump suit when the golf ball overlaps cards of different suits?
A: The lead player chooses the trump suit from one of those cards before playing into the trick.
Q: May I use the ruler to measure a potential follow up shot?
A: You may not, distance management is a skill to master.