Hedgehog Hop
Hedgehog Hop Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 36 Cards
Playing time: about 12 minutes. 2 players, or 3-6 players with the Multiplayer rules (see the Multiplayer Rules section; 4-6 players need a second copy of the game).
2-Player Setup
- Shuffle the Hedgehogs and place them in a facedown Draw Pile.
- Deal seven Hedgehogs to each player.
- From the Draw Pile, create a three by three grid of faceup Hedgehogs.
(All arrows should always be in the upper left corner.)
2-Player Play
Play begins with the person who's most recently enjoyed a dance-related activity (car bopping, kitchen dancing, and playing this game count).
In the 2-player game, every Hedgehog increases the Dance Mob's size, changing its shape.
On your turn, choose a Hedgehog to play into the Dance Mob.
Hedgehogs push into the Dance Mob according to their dance move: hoppers always Hop, groovers Groove, and sliders Slide.
Hedgehogs may be played either from your hand or from your line of Backup Dancers (see page 6). If a Backup Dancer is chosen, the player must discard a Hedgehog from their hand at the end of their turn.
Dance Moves
- Hop: A Hop pushes into the Dance Mob from the bottom, pushing the entire column up one space.
- Groove: A Groove pushes into the Dance Mob from the left, pushing the entire row one space to the right.
- Slide: A Slide pushes into the Dance Mob from the right, pushing the entire row one space to the left.
Hedgehog Styles
The Hedgehog Styles are Retro, Rave, Spicy, and Street. Style is shown by the illustration or the Style symbol in the bottom left of the card.
Are you In Sync or a Hot Mess?
After the Hedgehog pushes into the Dance Mob, check to see if you collect a Backup Dancer from the Draw Pile. For each Hedgehog orthogonal, adjacent, and "In Sync" with the one you played, you collect a Backup Dancer to place in front of you faceup.
Hedgehogs are "In Sync" if they are doing the same Dance Move and share one other quality, either Color or Style. They must be doing the same Dance Move.
Color can be determined by the border. Determine Style by the illustration or the Style symbol in the bottom left.
- In Sync! Same Move, Same Color.
- In Sync! Same Move, Same Style.
- Hot Mess! Same Move, Different Color, Different Style.
- Hot Mess! Same Color, Same Style, Different Move.
Don't worry if you're a Hot Mess, everyone is a Hot Mess sometimes. You just won't collect a Backup Dancer that turn.
Backup Dancers
Place Backup Dancers that you collect face-up, in front of you (not in your hand). If the Draw Pile is empty you may steal a Backup Dancer from your opponent's line of Backup Dancers.
If you played a Hedgehog from your line of Backup Dancers during your turn, at the end of your turn you must discard. Place your discard on the bottom of the Draw Pile faceup.
Example Play: Backup Dancers
Mark chooses to play the Green Hop from his line of Backup Dancers, scoring him two new Backup Dancers.
After he collects his new Backup Dancers, he discards the Red, Retro Slide from his hand since he played from his line of Backup Dancers this turn.
Example Play: Hop
Wendy is thinking about playing her Green, Rave Hop.
Hops always move in from the bottom. She can play it anywhere on the bottom. There are five places to play a Hop. One will not earn a Backup Dancer. Three will earn at least one Backup Dancer, and one location will earn two!
Wendy Hops her Hedgehog up from the bottom, pushing the whole column one card up.
Wendy checks to see if she gets a Backup Dancer. Since her Hedgehog is a Green, Rave Hop and is next to another Green Hop, and another Rave Hop, she gets two Backup Dancers!
Play Ends
Play continues until each player has only one Hedgehog left in their hand. This Hedgehog is your Lead Dancer for the Grand Finale.
The Grand Finale and Scoring
The Hedgehog remaining in your hand is your Lead Dancer. You will score more points if that Hedgehog is Happenin'. Score your Grand Finale according to the Move, Color, and Style of your Lead Dancer.
Score the following:
- Backup Dancers: Count your remaining Backup Dancers. You score one point for each.
- Move: Count the largest contiguous group of Hedgehogs doing the same Move as your Lead Dancer. You score one point for each.
- Color: Count the largest contiguous group of Hedgehogs of the same Color as your Lead Dancer. You score one point for each.
- Style: Count the largest contiguous group of Hedgehogs sharing the same Style as your Lead Dancer. You score one point for each.
Example Grand Finale
Wendy counts her Backup Dancers and scores 3 points.
- Move: Wendy's Lead Dancer is Grooving. Wendy finds the largest group of Grooving Hedgehogs and scores 3 points.
- Color: Wendy's Lead Dancer's color is Blue. Wendy finds the largest group of Blue Hedgehogs and scores 1 point.
- Style: Wendy's Lead Dancer's Style is Street. Wendy finds the largest group of Street Hedgehogs and scores 5 points.
Wendy's total is 12 points (3 Backup Dancers + 3 Move + 1 Color + 5 Style).
Winning
If your Grand Finale scores the highest, you win!
In case of a tie, the player with the most Backup Dancers wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most Backup Dancers of any single Color wins. If there is still a tie, the player who went first wins.
Multiplayer Rules
Have you played 2-Player Hedgehog Hop yet? Knowing the rules to the 2-Player game makes learning the 3-Player and multiplayer games easier! You should be familiar with the 2-Player rules before reading the 3-Player rules.
The 3-Player Puzzler is the 2-Player game with a different setup and slightly smaller hand size. The Dance Battle Royale is the ultimate Hedgehog Dance Crew competition and has a 3-Player and 4 to 6 Player version.
Contents of the multiplayer rules:
- 3-Player Puzzler
- 3-Player Dance Battle Royale
- 4+ Player Dance Battle Royale
- 4+ Player Puzzler (still testing)
- Unicorn Hedgehog and Zombie Hedgehog (promo card rules)
3-Player Puzzler
The 3-Player Puzzler brings a new dimension of play for experienced hoppers. The 3-Player Puzzler plays like the 2-Player Hedgehog Hop, but with a different initial Dance Mob setup and once less card in hand.
We recommend you have first-timers play the 2-Player game before learning the 3-Player game.
3-Player Puzzler Setup
- Shuffle the Hedgehogs and place them in a facedown Draw Pile.
- Deal six Hedgehogs to each player.
- From the Draw Pile, create your starting Dance Mob. See the example setup below.
Arrange cards with all arrows in the upper left corner.
Different from the 2-Player game, the 3-Player Puzzler plays with 5 Hedgehogs instead of 6.
Example 3-Player Puzzler Setup
The example shows a Draw Pile and a Dance Mob.
3-Player Dance Battle Royale
Welcome to the Ultimate Hedgehog Dance Crew Competition! The Dance Battle Royale (DBR) builds on the mechanics from the 2-Player version of Hedgehog Hop, but is an entirely different experience.
Instead of having a huge Dance Mob for your crew to push into, you have a smaller 2x2 Dance Crew to try to keep In Sync, despite your neighbors' clumsy moves.
Goal
Claim victory in the Grand Finale by scoring the most points. DBR is a set collection game. At the end of the game, you will score points for the most Hedgehogs making the same Move and for Hedgehog pairs who are In Sync.
Don't Panic!
The Dance Battle Royale is for players comfortable with Hedgehog Hop. Though different, it is just as fun. First-timers should spend a few minutes playing the 2-Player game before moving on to this version of the game.
3-Player DBR Setup
- Shuffle the Hedgehogs.
- Deal seven Hedgehogs to each player.
- Place the remainder of the deck facedown creating the Draw Pile.
- From their hands, each player sets up their Dance Crew, a 2x2 grid of faceup Hedgehogs. The remaining three Hedgehogs become the players' starting hand.
- From the Draw Pile, deal seven faceup Hedgehogs into a line in the middle of the table creating the Audition Line.
In 3-Player DBR, the Audition Line is a shared pool of dancers players can play from, in addition to playing from their hands. When the Audition Line runs out the Grand Finale begins.
Arrange cards with all arrows in the upper left corner when setting up your Dance Crew.
3-Player DBR Game Play
Play begins with the person who most recently enjoyed a dance-related activity (car bopping, kitchen dancing, and playing this game count).
In the 3-Player DBR, the size and shape of your Crew always stays the same 2x2. The Hedgehogs you bump out push into a neighbor's Dance Crew.
At the Start of Your Turn: In every round but the first, check to see if you collect a Backup Dancer from the Draw Pile. If you have any number of In Sync pairs touching in your Dance Crew, you collect a single Backup Dancer into your hand from the Draw Pile.
In Sync pairs must match Move and either Style or Color.
- In Sync! Same Move, Same Color.
- In Sync! Same Move, Same Style.
- Hot Mess! Same Move, Different Color, Different Style.
- Hot Mess! Same Color, Same Style, Different Move.
Make Your Move: Choose a Hedgehog either from your hand, the top of the Discard Pile, or the Audition Line and play it into your Dance Crew.
In 3-Player DBR, do not replace Hedgehogs taken from the Audition Line.
After the final bump of a dance Move, take the last displaced Hedgehog into your hand and check to see if your Dance Crew is In Sync. If you have any number of In Sync pairs touching in your Dance Crew, you collect a single Backup Dancer from the Draw Pile.
If you chose to play a card from the Audition Line or Discard Pile, choose a Hedgehog from your hand to discard.
If at any time a player would draw from the Draw Pile and it is empty, they instead choose a Hedgehog from the Audition Line to take into their hand.
3-Player DBR Moves
- Slide: A Slide pushes into the Dance Crew from the right, pushing the entire row one space to the left. The Hedgehog bumped out of your formation pushes into the Crew of the player to your left. It pushes into the corresponding row, bumping a Hedgehog out of the Dance Crew and into the final player's Dance Crew in the same way. See the example on page 10.
- Groove: A Groove pushes into the Dance Crew from the left, pushing the entire row one space to the right and bumping into neighbors as above, except moving right. See the example on page 11.
- Hop: A Hop pushes into the Dance Crew from the bottom, pushing the entire column up one space. In a three-player game, the active player chooses which opponent to Hop towards. See the example on page 12.
3-Player DBR Examples
- Example Play 1 (Slide): Logan plays a Slide from his hand. Slides always move in from the right and push left. Logan's Slide bumps a Hedgehog from his top row into Bob's top row, which pushes another Hedgehog into Wendy's Dance Crew. The Hedgehog is bumped out of Wendy's top row and becomes part of Logan's hand. At the end of his turn, Logan checks to see if his Dance Crew is In Sync. Since he has two touching Hedgehogs that are both Green and Sliding, he collects a Hedgehog from the Draw Pile into his hand.
- Example Play 2 (Groove): Wendy plays a Groove from the Audition Line. Grooves always move in from the left and push right. Wendy's Groove bumps a Hedgehog from her top row into Logan's top row, which pushes another Hedgehog into Bob's Dance Crew. The Hedgehog bumped out of Bob's top row becomes part of Wendy's hand. At the end of her turn, Wendy checks to see if her Dance Crew is In Sync. Since she has no touching Hedgehogs doing the same Move that share either Color or Style, Wendy's Dance Crew is a Hot Mess. Since Wendy played a Hedgehog from the Audition Line, she must discard from her hand.
- Example Play 3 (Hop): Bob chooses to Hop against Logan. Hops always move in from the bottom and push up. Bob lines up his Dance Crew with Logan's Dance Crew. The Hedgehog bumped out of Bob's right column moves into Logan's left column. The Hedgehog bumped out of Logan's Dance Crew becomes part of Bob's hand. For Bob's two touching Blue Hops, Bob collects a Backup Dancer from the Draw Pile.
3-Player DBR Play Ends
Play continues until the last Hedgehog is removed from the Audition Line. Immediately begin the Grand Finale.
3-Player DBR Grand Finale and Scoring
Using your entire collection of Hedgehogs, both in hand and Dance Crew, rearrange them for the Grand Finale:
- Separate Hedgehogs by Move.
- In each group, arrange them to make the most In Sync pairs possible.
Score the following:
- Count the number of Hedgehogs in the largest group making the same Move. Score one point for each Hedgehog.
- Count each pair of Hedgehogs with adjacent sides (not corners) that are In Sync. Includes those Hedgehogs in the largest group. Score one point for each pair.
3-Player DBR Winning
The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most Hedgehogs wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most Hedgehogs of any single Color wins. Third tiebreaker is most Hedgehogs in any single Style. If still tied, the game is a draw, and there is no winner.
3-Player DBR Example Grand Finale
The example scores a Largest Group of 5 points and In Sync Hedgehog Pairs of 4 points, for a total of 9 points.
4+ Player Dance Battle Royale
All 4+ Player games require a second copy of Hedgehog Hop. This version is the most complicated Hop and isn't for first-timers. 4+ Player DBR adds simultaneous play. Players should be comfortable with 3-Player DBR before playing 4+ Player games.
4+ Player DBR Setup
- Shuffle two copies of Hedgehog Hop together.
- Deal seven Hedgehogs to each player. Place the remainder of the deck facedown creating the Draw Pile.
- From their hands, each player sets up their Dance Crew, a 2x2 grid of faceup Hedgehogs. The remaining three Hedgehogs become the players' starting hand.
- From the Draw Pile, deal seven faceup Hedgehogs into a line in the middle of the table creating the Audition Line.
- The starting player is the person who participated in a dance-related activity most recently. Use the Hedgehog Hop box to mark the starting player.
Arrange cards with all arrows in the upper left corner when setting up your Dance Crew.
The Audition Line is different than 3-Player DBR. You never play directly from the Audition Line. Instead, players take their Backup Dancer from the Audition Line on their turn. Also, the Audition Line refills at the end of each player's turn.
4+ Player DBR Plan Your Move
At the beginning of each round of 4+ Player DBR, all players simultaneously choose which Hedgehog they want to play for the round and place it facedown in front of them. Hedgehogs will execute during each player's turn.
4+ Player DBR On Your Turn
In every round but the first, check to see if you collect a Backup Dancer from the Audition Line. If you have any number of In Sync pairs touching in your Dance Crew, collect a single Backup Dancer. Remember, In Sync pairs must match Move and either Style or Color.
Next, reveal your Hedgehog and push them into your Dance Crew. Hedgehog execution is similar to 3-Player DBR.
After the final bump of a dance Move, take the last displaced Hedgehog into your hand and check to see if your Dance Crew is In Sync. If your crew is In Sync, take a Hedgehog from the Audition Line. End your turn by refilling the Audition Line from the Draw Pile for the next player.
4+ Player DBR Moves
- Slide: A Slide pushes into the Dance Crew from the right, pushing the entire row one space to the left. The Hedgehog bumped out of your formation pushes into the player to your left's Crew in the same row, bumping a Hedgehog out of formation and pushing into the next player, and so on. See the example on page 10.
- Groove: A Groove pushes into the Dance Crew from the left, pushing the entire row one space to the right. Same as above except this time going right. See the example on page 11.
- Hop: A Hop pushes into the Dance Crew from the bottom, pushing the entire column up one space. For even player counts, the active player Hops at the person across from them. For odd player counts, the active player chooses which of the two players across from them they hop towards. See the example on page 12.
4+ Player DBR Examples
- Example Play 1 (Plan Your Move): Since Bob danced to the radio on his way to game night, he is the first player. Place the Hedgehog Hop box in front of him. All players choose the Hedgehog that they would like to play this round and place it facedown in front of them.
- Example Play 2 (Play Your Hedgehog): Since Bob is the first player, he reveals his Hedgehog first. Bob plays a Groove from his hand. Grooves always move in from the left and push right. Bob's Groove bumps a Hedgehog from his bottom row into Logan's bottom row. Hedgehogs bump around the table until the last Hedgehog bumps out. The Hedgehog bumped out of Andrew's bottom row becomes part of Bob's hand. At the end of his turn, Bob checks to see if any of his Hedgehogs are In Sync. Since he has two Grooves that are both Spicy next to each other, he collects a Backup Dancer from the Audition Line. Since Bob collected a Backup Dancer from the Audition Line, he replaces that Dancer from the Draw Pile.
4+ Player DBR End of the Round
After the last player makes a move in the round, all players check to see if their Dance Crews are still In Sync. If they are, they take a Hedgehog from the Draw Pile into their hand. The first player marker moves to the next player and the process begins again with each player choosing a Hedgehog to play.
4+ Player DBR Play Ends
For a 4-Player game, gameplay ends after eight rounds (each player is the starting player twice). For 5 or 6 Player, play as many rounds as there are players. After gameplay ends, begin the Grand Finale and Scoring.
4+ Player DBR Grand Finale and Scoring
Scoring in the 4+ DBR is the same as 3-Player. Use your entire collection of Hedgehogs from your hand and Dance Crew, and rearrange them for the Grand Finale:
- Separate your Hedgehogs by Move.
- In each group, arrange them to make the most In Sync pairs possible.
Score the following:
- Count the number of Hedgehogs in the largest group doing the same Move. Score one point for each Hedgehog.
- Count each Hedgehog pair with adjacent sides (not corners) that are In Sync in all of your groups. Score one point for each unique pair.
4+ Player DBR Example Grand Finale
The example scores a Largest Group of 6 points and In Sync Hedgehog Pairs of 7 points, for a total of 13 points.
4+ Player DBR Winning
The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most Hedgehogs wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most Hedgehogs of any single Color wins. The third tiebreaker is most Hedgehogs in any single Style. If still tied, the game is a draw, and there is no winner.
4+ Player Puzzler (Alpha, Early Testing)
There are quite a few requests for a higher player count Puzzler version of Hedgehog Hop. Here are the rules we are currently testing. A significant gameplay issue is the Puzzler version is more manageable using a Deluxe Tile version of the Hop rather than a card version. The multiplayer Puzzler version also needs ample table space.
4+ Player Puzzler Setup
- Shuffle two copies of Hedgehog Hop together.
- Deal six Hedgehogs to each player. Place the remainder of the deck facedown, creating the Draw Pile.
- From the Draw Pile, create your starting Dance Mob. See the diagram in the example setup below.
Place cards so that the arrows are always in the upper left corner.
The 4+ player Puzzler plays like the 2-Player game (see the rules in the box) except for:
- You play 5 Hedgehogs instead of 6.
- 6x6 is the maximum Dance Mob size. When you add a 7th Hedgehog to a row or column, you push the Hedgehog at the end of the line out. The displaced Hedgehog goes to the top of the Discard Pile.
All other rules are as in the 3-Player Puzzler.
Promo Cards: Unicorn Hedgehog
Unicorn Hedgehog loves to dance with everyone. Place Unicorn Hedgehog in the center of the Dance Mob during the setup of a 2-Player game, or any Puzzler version of Hedgehog Hop.
Unicorn Hedgehog is Wild. When a player plays a Hedgehog that is adjacent and orthogonal to Unicorn Hedgehog, that Hedgehog is always In Sync with Unicorn Hedgehog.
During the Grand Finale, Unicorn Hedgehog counts as being every Move, every Color and every Style.
Promo Cards: Zombie Hedgehog
Zombie Hedgehog is hungry. Zombie Hedgehog can only play in 2-Player games and Puzzlers and always starts at the center of the Dance Mob.
When Zombie Hedgehog is pushed into another Hedgehog, they always eat the next Hedgehog in the direction that they are moving. When a Hedgehog is eaten, remove it from the game.
Zombie Hedgehog is Red and Street.
Promo Cards: Zombie Hedgehog, Vegan Variant
Zombie Hedgehog is hungry for friendship. Zombie Hedgehog can only play in 2-Player games and Puzzlers and always starts at the center of the Dance Mob.
When Zombie Hedgehog is pushed into another Hedgehog, they always tag out the next Hedgehog in the direction that they are moving. When a Hedgehog is tagged, remove it from the game.
Zombie Hedgehog is Red and Street.
Editorial Notes
- Obvious typos in the publisher's text were corrected: "In Snyc" to "In Sync", "First -imers" to "First-timers", "Varient" to "Variant", and "dancerelated" to "dance-related", and "Hedgehogs execution" to "Hedgehog execution". Wording is otherwise as printed.
- The source diagrams and example images are described in text only. Page references such as "see page 10" are kept as printed in the rulebook.
- Section headings beyond the printed titles were added for navigation.
- Copyright and credit blocks are omitted.