Gualicho Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Initial Setup
• Introduction to Spells
• Turn
• Step by Step
• Energy Ball
• Victory Conditions
• Following Rounds and Clarifications
• Spells in Detail
  • Gualichos
  • Defensa
  • Desvíos
  • Curación
  • Potencia
• Collusion
• The Most Important Rule of All
• Spell Guide and All Combinations
  • Gualichos
  • Defensa
  • Desvíos
  • Potencia
  • Curación

Overview

Win the round by being the first player to have no cards left in hand. The overall victory is obtained by winning two rounds.

Short game mode: whoever wins a round wins the game.

Initial Setup

1. Separate the Guide Arrow card and the reference cards from the main deck. These may stay on the table so that players can consult them at any time.

2. Deal 7 cards face down to each player. Place the rest of the deck face down in the center of the table, within reach of everyone. Next to it is the discard pile, where cards that leave the game are placed face up, so that they cannot be taken or used again.

3. One player spins the Guide Arrow. The player it points to starts the first round, and, only once during the whole game, receives 1 extra card. That player then chooses the direction of play (left or right), using the Guide Arrow to indicate it.

Introduction to Spells

Gualichos are attack spells aimed at another player. Desvíos redirect these attacks, while Defensas block them by discarding them from the game. If a Gualicho cannot be deflected or defended against, it becomes damage: the penalty indicated on each card is applied, and the affected player adds one card from the deck to their hand for each point of damage received. Curaciones remove damage suffered on earlier turns, while Potencias copy the effect of any other card.

Turn

On your turn, you must take one of these actions:

• Play 1 or 2 cards, ending your turn.
• Play 1 card, discard another card from your hand and draw 1 card from the deck (in that order), ending your turn.
• Draw 2 cards from the deck, then carry out one of the actions listed above. If you still cannot play, pass the turn to the next player.

(Also explained on the reference cards.)

Clarification: while you are under attack from one or more Gualichos, you may not take new cards in order to deal with it.

Step by Step

The starting player may always cast 1 or 2 Gualichos of the same color, face up, toward the next player, following the direction of the round marked by the Guide Arrow. Once this attack has been made, the next player, on their turn, may do 3 things:

1. Defend: with 1 or 2 Defensa cards, as applicable, blocking the approaching attack. The defense may be partial. For example, a player attacked with two Gualichos who has only one Defensa to counter the attack will be damaged by one Gualicho.

2. Deflect: redirect the entire attack using a Desvío, so that no damage at all is received. A Desvío may also be used [?] on Gualichos of the same color, so that the attack is redirected in an enlarged form to the next player (see Energy Ball).

3. Take the damage from the Gualichos: the player must draw one card from the deck for each Gualicho not defended or deflected, and carry out the penalties or forfeits.

The player affected by the damage may still carry out the actions of their turn if they have not yet done so, or if they have a pending action, such as playing the second card of their turn.

Energy Ball

An Energy Ball is created when, for example, a player casts 2 red Gualichos and the next player uses a Desvío plus another red Desvío, increasing the power of the attack. In this way, the next player receives 3 Gualichos. That player may repeat the strategy of deflecting, adding one red Gualicho to this Energy Ball toward another player, and so on, until someone cannot keep deflecting and takes all the damage. Defensa may also be used followed by Desvío to weaken the attack.

An Energy Ball always contains Gualichos of the same color and no more than one Potencia, cast by the player who started the attack.

Victory Conditions

To win, you do not need to get rid of all the cards in your hand, regardless of the amount of damage you have.

Clarification: it is important to keep in mind that when a player has 1 or 2 cards left in hand, they are close to winning the round. There is no need to state how many cards are left unless asked.

For a player to win, every attack must conclude. If player "X" discards all of their spells from hand, using as the last card a Gualicho or a Desvío that passes the attack on to another player, player "X" must wait for that attack to conclude on someone before winning the round. However, if player "X" is damaged by that same attack that they started or deflected earlier, they must take cards from the deck for the damage received, and may use them. The round continues if any players still have cards in hand.

Tie: while an attack is waiting to conclude, other players may also discard all of their spells from hand. In this case, regardless of who was first to run out of cards, the player with fewer damage points wins. If the tie persists, both players win that round.

Following Rounds and Clarifications

After someone wins a round, each player must remember how many Gualichos have affected them as damage, placing all their cards on the discard pile so that they can later be shuffled and dealt in the next round.

Each player receives the amount of damage they suffered in the previous round. For example, if a player ended with 3 Gualichos as damage, in the next round they will receive 10 cards (the 7 starting cards plus the 3 additional cards for the damage received earlier). The maximum number of cards a player may hold in hand at the start of a round is 12. There is no limit to the number of cards a player may receive during the course of the round.

The winner of the last round starts the next round with the same number of cards that were received by the player who suffered the most damage.

The next round is started by the player who suffered the most damage. In case of a tie in the amount of damage, the Guide Arrow is spun and the player closest to the pointer starts the new round.

What happens if the central deck runs out of cards? The cards in the discard pile are shuffled to form a new deck, and the game continues as normal.

Spells in Detail

Gualichos

Both green and red Gualichos are directed spells, following the direction of the round, toward the next player. If that player cannot deflect or defend, they must draw a card from the deck and add it to their hand immediately, and carry out the penalty described on the Gualicho card.

Caution: a player may be affected by many Gualichos at the same time. These Gualichos turn into damage, and must be carried out in front of the affected player, so that the other players can check that the penalties and forfeits on each card are being fulfilled.

Difference between Gualichos: although a player may be affected by Gualichos of different colors, they cannot be played in combination. That is, green Gualichos may only be played with other green ones, and red Gualichos only with other red ones. This also applies to the Energy Ball.

Green Gualicho (icon): creates permanent physical forfeits. If they are not carried out at some point, the players must decide whether there is a sanction. This consists of drawing a new card from the deck and adding it to the hand at the end of the player's next turn. Optional: the play group may invent new, fun sanctions.

Red Gualicho (icon): creates various penalties that make it harder for the affected player to win, such as not being able to [?] the direction to the left or right, not being able to win, and so on.

Defensa

• Blocks one Gualicho. The player under attack may choose which Gualicho they want to block, and both cards go to the discard pile.

Desvíos

• A single Desvío may redirect any number of Gualichos.
• Two Desvíos may also be used at the same time to skip the turn of the next player, always in the same direction.
• Desvíos may also be used only to change the direction of the round.
• Desvíos go to the discard pile after being played.

Curación

• Removes one damage of your own, of your choice, received on an earlier turn. It does not cure damage caused in the current turn.
• Curación cards are discarded to the pile after use, together with the forfeit of the Gualicho that caused the damage, removing the forfeit or penalty.

Potencia

• Combines with all spells except itself. Potencia + Potencia is invalid.
• Cast on any spell, it powers up the first one and imitates its effect. For example, casting Gualicho + Potencia is the same as casting the same Gualicho twice, which could turn into two points of damage.
• Defense and Curación against powered-up Gualichos:
  • When defending against a powered-up Gualicho, the card cancelled first is the Potencia. For example, if a player is attacked with Gualicho + Potencia and uses a single Defensa card, that card cancels the Potencia but not the Gualicho.
  • When curing damage caused by a powered-up Gualicho, the Potencia is also removed first. For example, if a player has damage from Gualicho + Potencia and uses a single Curación card, it cures the Potencia, but the penalty or forfeit of the Gualicho still affects the player.

Collusion

It is legal to conspire to prevent a player from winning; the dialogue between players is completely open.

The Most Important Rule of All

If casting a spell changes nothing, the action is considered invalid. For example:

1. Mixing green Gualichos with red ones, since these spells are never combined.
2. Using Defensa when there is no attack to defend against.
3. Using Curación when there is no damage to cure.
4. Powering up a spell without need. For example, it is not necessary to use Potencia + Defensa to defend against a single Gualicho. Another example would be Potencia + Curación to cure a single damage.
5. Casting Potencia without powering up another spell.
6. Casting 2 Desvíos at the same time in different directions.
7. Casting 1 Desvío without changing the direction of the round and without deflecting any Gualicho.

There is no penalty for a player who tries to carry out an invalid action; they only need to correct it and do it the right way.

Spell Guide and All Combinations

(Read this only if in doubt during the game.)

Gualichos

• Gualicho: to begin an attack.
• Gualicho + Gualicho (of the same color): to begin an attack.
• Gualicho + Potencia: to begin an attack.

Defensa

• Defensa: blocks 1 Gualicho.
• Defensa + Defensa: blocks 2 Gualichos.
• Defensa + Potencia: blocks 2 Gualichos.
• Defensa + Desvío: deflects an attack, reducing its power to block one Gualicho.
• Defensa + Gualicho: blocks an attack and then begins a new attack.
• Defensa + Curación: blocks an attack and cures 1 damage.

Desvíos

• Desvío: to change the direction of the round.
• Desvío: to deflect an attack in the opposite direction.
• Desvío: to deflect an attack in the same direction, without increasing the attack.
• Desvío + Desvío, or Desvío + Potencia: in the same direction, with no attack, skips the turn of the adjacent player.
• Desvío + Desvío, or Desvío + Potencia (under an attack): skips the turn of the adjacent player and passes the attack on to the next player. [?]
• Desvío + Gualicho: deflects an attack made up of Gualichos of the same color, increasing the damage of the attack toward another player (Energy Ball).
• Desvío + Defensa: deflects an attack, reducing its power to block a Gualicho.

Potencia

• Combines with other spells, except itself.

Curación

• Curación: removes 1 damage of your own from an earlier turn.
• Curación + Curación: removes 2 damage of your own from earlier turns.
• Curación + Potencia: removes 2 damage of your own from earlier turns.
• Defensa + Curación: blocks a Gualicho and removes 1 damage from an earlier turn.
• Curación + Gualicho: removes 1 damage and then begins an attack.
• Curación + Desvío: removes 1 earlier damage and deflects an attack.

Credits, designer and tester attributions, and the publisher's online and social media details from the leaflet have been omitted.