Grumpf Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Goal of the Game
• Setup for Your First Game
• Playing a Round
  • Set up the Animals on the Hunting Grounds
  • Grumpfs go Hunting
  • End the Hunt
• End of the Game
  • Sorcerer Tile
  • Joker Token
• 2-Player Rules
• Conditions to Enter the Hunting Grounds
  • Side "•"
  • Side "••"
• Starting a Round
• Scoring

Contents

• 6 two-sided Hunting Ground boards
• 4 Sorcerer tiles
• 3 Huts
• 6 Joker tokens
• 48 Animal tokens (14 Bees, 12 Reptiles, 10 Fish, 7 Birds, and 5 Mammoths)
• Grumpf tokens (8 per color)
• Elder tokens (1 per color)
• 1 bag

Goal of the Game

Each player controls a clan of Grumpfs. Players will be placing their Grumpfs simultaneously, as fast as they can, on the six Hunting Grounds in an effort to catch Animals. Each Hunting Ground has a condition that needs to be met before the Animals inhabiting it can be captured. Players will need to work together, adding the total value of their Grumpfs, to meet the entry condition and gain access to the Hunting Grounds. That's where the cooperation stops and the competition begins, as only the strongest clan on a given Hunting Ground will take the lion's share of the Animals living there. The game plays out over 4 rounds, with the victor being the player who trapped the most varied series of Animals.

Setup for Your First Game

1. Place the 6 boards in the middle of the table, "•" side up. Each board must be accessible to all players. These are the Hunting Grounds.
2. Put the 48 Animal tokens in the bag. Set aside the Joker tokens. Animal tokens will be drawn from the bag as the game progresses.
3. Place the 4 Sorcerer tiles on the Sorcerer board.
4. Place a number of Huts in the middle of the table depending on the number of players:
   • 2 players: 1 Hut
   • 3 to 4 players: 2 Huts
   • 5 to 6 players: 3 Huts
5. Each player receives the Elder and Grumpf tokens of her color and places them in front of her. In a 6-player game, remove the tokens marked with the crossed-out icon from the game.

Tip: The side of the boards marked with a "•" are used for a standard game, perfect for people that are new to Grumpf. After you've played a few times, you might want to use the "••" sides, or even mix "•" and "••" sides for greater variety.

If newbies are playing against experienced players, give each newbie a Joker token. This will help even things up at the end of the game when counting points (see End of the Game).

Source note: the rulebook's 6-player setup step shows a crossed-out icon (inside a black circle) instead of a word; the icon's identity is not legible at print resolution and is transcribed here as "the crossed-out icon". Check against the physical rulebook before relying on this line.

Playing a Round

A game lasts 4 rounds. Each round plays out as follows:

• Set up the Animals on the Hunting Grounds.
• Grumpfs go hunting.
• End the hunt.

Set up the Animals on the Hunting Grounds

Draw 12 random Animal tokens from the bag. Place each type of Animal on its matching Hunting Ground board. The type of Animal residing on each Hunting Ground is indicated at the bottom-right corner of each board.

Grumpfs go Hunting

Each player takes her Grumpfs into her hand. When everyone is ready, any player can shout, "Grumpf!" to start The Hunt. Now drop your tokens in front of you on the table.

Everyone plays at the same time!

1. Using only one hand, you may flip and re-flip your Grumpfs, one by one, as many times as you wish, to find the value that interests you (children may use both hands).
2. Simultaneously, players may also place their Grumpfs on the Hunting Grounds, following the order of the track (place your Grumpf on the first available space on the track).
3. Certain Grumpfs have a club instead of a numerical value. These special Grumpfs allow you to knock out other Grumpfs possessing a numerical value. They cannot be used to knock out another Grumpf holding a club. To knock out a Grumpf, place your club-wielding Grumpf on top of your target. The knocked out Grumpf will not count towards the final total at the end of The Hunt.

Golden rule: You may never flip, reclaim, or move a Grumpf once it has been placed on the board, regardless if it's yours or another player's.

Players try to fulfill the specific condition to enter each Hunting Ground collectively. To know whether a condition has been met for a given Hunting Ground, add the value on every Grumpf occupying one of its spaces (except for the ones that were knocked out). A detailed description of each Hunting Ground's condition can be found on the last page of this rulebook.

Once you decide that you're finished placing all of your Grumpfs (or you've placed them all), move your Elder token onto one of the empty Hut tiles at the center of the table and shout out your color followed by "Grumpf" (e.g. "blue Grumpf!"). This tells everyone that your moves are made for this turn. The other players are no longer permitted to knock out your Grumpfs once your Elder enters a Hut, so keep a protective eye on them at all times!

The moment all of the Huts are occupied by an Elder, the round ends immediately! Everyone must stop placing Grumpfs.

Example: A pink Grumpf has been clubbed! It no longer counts for fulfilling the board's condition.

Golden rule: Grumpfs that have been knocked out no longer count toward fulfilling the condition!

Tip: Watch out! Grumpf is a game of speed, so do not dawdle. The other players will not wait for you!

End the Hunt

Now it's time to see if the Grumpfs have gained access to each Hunting Ground. For each board, add the Strength values of all of the Grumpfs, ignoring those that were knocked out.

If the occupying Grumpfs do not meet the Hunting Ground's condition, nothing happens. The Animals remain for the following round and everyone takes back their Grumpfs.

Example: 5+2+3+5 = 15. 15 < 20. Failure!

If the occupying Grumpfs do meet the Hunting Ground's condition, the hunters divvy up the Animals, starting with the strongest clan.

Example: 2+2+3+3+2 = 12. 10 < 12 < 20. Success!

To determine the Strength of each clan in a given Hunting Ground, add the value of each Grumpf of the same color that hasn't been knocked out. The player with the highest total is first, second-highest is second, etc. If there is a tie, the tied player with a Grumpf earlier along the track wins the tie.

Example: 1st blue (2+3 = 5 pts), 2nd pink (3 pts), 3rd yellow (3 pts, but later along the track).

Distribute the Animals according to the specific rule indicated on each board. All the animals must be distributed, however it is likely that a player not get an animal even though they participated in The Hunt.

Example: 1st place takes 2 tokens, leaving 3. 2nd place takes 1 token, leaving 2. 3rd place takes 1 token, leaving 1. Start again with 1st place, who must take 2 tokens, but there is only 1. She takes it. There are no more tokens on the board, so distribution is complete!

Once the Animals have been distributed, the round is complete. Begin a new round by randomly picking 12 new Animals from the bag and placing them on the appropriate Hunting Grounds. There are enough Animals for 4 rounds of play.

Golden rule: If, when distributing the Animals, there are fewer players than the award distribution written on the particular Hunting Ground, distribute the Animals normally and simply skip the award for the missing player(s). For example, if a player fulfills a Hunting Ground's condition all by herself and the board indicates that 1st place gets 2 Animals, she takes her 2, ignores the 2nd place award and any after that, then takes her 2 again, and so on, until she has taken all of the Animals.

End of the Game

The game ends after the fourth round (at the end of the round that emptied the bag of Animals). Each player lines up her Animals into series of different Animals, making each series as long as possible. Score your series according to the following scheme:

The scoring scheme is printed as a diagram of rings separated by "≠" signs (each "≠" means the two neighbouring Animals are different), with the point value after each row:

• 5 Animals, each different from the next: 6 pts
• 4 Animals, each different from the next: 4 pts
• 3 Animals, each different from the next: 2 pts
• 2 Animals, each different from the next: 1 pt
• 1 Animal: 0 pt

If you have several series, simply total their points.

Note: Each Animal token can only be part of one series.

The player with the most points wins. If there is a tie, the tied player with fewest Animals wins.

Sorcerer Tile

You can get this tile by winning a round in the face "•" of the Sorcerer's board. This tile effectively duplicates one of your Animal tokens. At the end of the game, if you have won a Sorcerer tile, place the Animal you wish to duplicate on one of the spaces of the tile; the other space remains empty, but counts as if a copy of that Animal were in it. Note: You cannot duplicate the same Animal token multiple times.

Joker Token

The Joker counts as any one animal that you wish and can be used to extend a series. You can never duplicate a Joker with a Sorcerer tile, and it can never be exchanged (sorcerer board, side "••").

Example (as drawn in the rulebook): a first row of five different Animals scores 6 pts; a second row of three Animals (including one held on a Sorcerer tile) scores 2 pts; a single Animal scores 0 pts. Total = 8 pts.

2-Player Rules

In a 2-player game, use the Grumpfs of a 3rd color to represent a neutral player. Use only 1 Hut.

At the start of each round, place 2 of the neutral player's Grumpfs on the Bird board, 2 on the Mammoth board, and 1 on each of the other boards. (The board names follow the Animal icons printed in the rulebook's 2-player section.) These Grumpfs are chosen randomly but should occupy the first space(s) of the track on each respective Hunting Ground. Discard any tokens showing a club.

Play proceeds as if the 3rd color belonged to a 3rd player (yes, this means you can club his Grumpfs!).

Golden rule: In a 2-player game, you must place all of your Grumpfs before moving your Elder to a hut.

When you "End the Hunt", any Animals the neutral player wins are removed from the game. They cannot be exchanged (Sorcerer board, side "••").

Conditions to Enter the Hunting Grounds

Side "•"

• The total Strength of all the Grumpfs must be at least 20.
• The total Strength of all the Grumpfs must be between 10 and 20.
• The total Strength of all the Grumpfs must be 10 or less.
• The total number of Grumpf tokens on this board must be at least 4, regardless of their colors.
• No condition.
• No condition. The strongest player takes 1 Sorcerer tile. The Sorcerer tile permits you to duplicate an Animal at the end of the game. Only 1 Sorcerer tile can be won each round.

Side "••"

• Only the last 3 spaces occupied by Grumpfs that haven't been knocked out count for the ranking.
• All Grumpfs on this board must have the same Strength value (e.g. 5-5-5).
• All Grumpfs on this board must have different Strength values (e.g. 1-2-5).
• Each Grumpf on this board must have a Strength value less than or equal to 3 (i.e. 1, 2, or 3).
• The total Strength of all the Grumpfs must be an even number.
• No condition. Forced Trade: The strongest player may immediately choose to exchange one of her Animals with one chosen from another player. Always evaluate this board last. Only 1 exchange can be done each round.

Starting a Round

• Draw 12 random Animal tokens from the bag and place each of them on the matching boards.
• Every player takes her Grumpf tokens in her hand.
• As soon as someone shouted "Grumpf!", the round begins!

Scoring

Series of different Animals (see End of the Game):

• 6 pts
• 4 pts
• 2 pts
• 1 pt
• 0 pt