Hunted: North Pole (2nd Edition) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Winning and Losing
• Setting Up Your Game
• Gameplay
• Decks
• Activating Cards
• Item, Elf, and Weapon Cards
  • Items
  • Elves
  • Weapons
• Tracker Cards
• Event Cards
• Skill Checks
• Map Cards
• Enemy Cards
• Fighting
• Elf Allies
• Bombs
• Out of Ammo
• Ability Cards
• Tokens
• Reaching Santa
• Endgame Scoring
• 2 Player Mode
  • Explore
  • Hide
  • Time
  • Winning and Losing
  • The Shared Row
  • Inventory Cards
  • Combat
  • Choices

Components

• 15 tokens
• 1 player board
• 4 target cards, 6 tracker cards and cubes
• 2 slingshot cards
• 1 event deck (28 cards)
• 2 map cards
• Number cards (3, 4, 12)
• 1 pawn
• 8 elf cards
• 1 hunted deck (65 cards)
• Dice (d20 and d4)

Note: the components page is a diagram, and some of its small quantity labels are not legible in the source; the list above names the components as printed.

Winning and Losing

To win, work your way through the North Pole and rescue Santa; if you run out of time or if your health is reduced to zero, you lose.

Setting Up Your Game

1. Place the player board in front of you, one cube on the space for eight health, and the other cube on the space for twenty time; place two d20 next to the player board.
2. Place the Slingshot card to the right of the player board on top of a tracker card and put a cube on the twelve space. Place three d4 on the card.
3. Select one of the elves (Becky or Clarence) and place their four cards to the left of the player board with the colorful side up.
4. Shuffle the Hunted deck and place it above the player board.
5. Place the "A" map card face up within easy reach. Place the pawn on the zero space. Place the number ten card next to the map.
6. Shuffle the Event cards and place them near the map card.

The game is now ready to begin. A diagram of a suggested play area is presented in the source: the Map is at the top left, the Event deck and Hunted deck are in a row below it, with the Main Row and Test Dice beside them, the Starting Weapon and Player Board to the right, and the four Character cards beneath the Player Board.

Gameplay

Hunted: North Pole is played over a series of turns in which you move through the North Pole rescuing elves and salvaging items and weapons, while trying to survive the onslaught of Jack Frost's minions that are trying to track you down before you reach Santa.

Your main stats, health, and time are located on the player board. Interacting with both the Hunted and Event decks will modify these stats and will be tracked on the player board. You may never go above twenty time or ten health.

The player board has the following areas: Test Dice, Health, Time, and Inventory.

On your turn, you have the choice of two actions: draw a card from the Hunted deck or hide.

• Draw a card - draw the top card from the Hunted deck and place it face up in the row above your player board. The revealed card has icons that indicate which actions are available to you; the various cards that comprise the Hunted deck are described in greater detail in the Hunted deck section. If the draw deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile to create a new draw deck.
• Hide – the hide action is used if you want to clear the current row of cards. To complete this action, discard all cards in the row to the discard pile and reduce the value on the time track by one. Using the hide action can help you avoid enemies but at the cost of losing time.

Decks

There are 2 main decks in the game: the Hunted deck and the Events deck.

• Hunted Deck - comprised of several types of cards including weapons, items, elves, events, and enemy cards; these card types are described in greater detail in their individual sections.
• Events Deck – comprised of various events that will occur as you move through the North Pole.

The icons listed on each card indicate different actions, activations, and bonuses available for you to utilize.

Activating Cards

When you choose the action to draw a card, the top card from the Hunted deck is placed face up in the row above the player board. You may then make decisions based on the action icons available on the card's left side. Action icons are used to activate other cards that have already been played to gain benefits from the activated card. When a card has had its action icons used to activate another card, move it to the discard pile. Activating weapon, item, and elf cards will move them into your inventory for later use, while path and reindeer cards move to the discard pile to allow you to immediately draw event cards to move along the path and get one step closer to reaching Santa. Note that only one card can be activated at a time, and you can only use one action icon on a card when you discard it. However, you can activate any number of cards (if able) during a turn.

For example: you've drawn three cards and have a Path, a Bomb, and an Ammo in the row. The Ammo and Bomb each provide one Move action, and the Path provides one Search action. The Path costs two Move actions to activate.

You could discard both the Bomb and the Ammo to provide two Move actions, activating the Path card. When the Path is activated, you gain its benefit: discard the Path card, move forward one space on the Map card, and draw one Event card. (You're getting closer to Santa!) Or instead, you could choose to discard the Path card to provide one Search action and use it to place the Ammo into your inventory. (Jack Frost is going to pay!)

The source's example illustration has two captioned steps: "Step 1: Discard both the bomb and the ammo to provide two move actions, activating the path card." and "Step 2: When the path is activated, you gain its benefit: discard the path card, move forward one space on the map, and draw one event card."

Note that Path cards move you forward one space, and Reindeer cards move you forward two spaces.

Item, Elf, and Weapon Cards

As you move through the North Pole, you can salvage weapons and items, which will help in getting to Santa. When activated, these cards are placed in the inventory, located to the right of the player board. Note that there is no limit to how many cards can be added to the inventory. Any item in your inventory can be discarded to gain the benefit listed on the card.

Items

Salvaged items can be used to heal, find elves, get rid of enemies, etc.

Elves

As you travel through the North Pole, you can find elves that you can attempt to save. Each elf that is saved provides additional points during end game scoring.

When the card is placed in your inventory, put it on top of a tracker card, and place a cube on the six spot. This will keep track of the elf's energy which is for both health and combat.

Each elf card has an effect that can be activated while it's in your inventory. After gaining the effect, flip the card face down. The card will remain in your inventory until the end of the game.

Each card also has a number inside of a triangle listed on it which is used for combat (explained below).

Weapons

When a weapon is activated and placed in your inventory, place it on top of a tracker card. Place a cube on the tracker number indicated by the number in the square. The number in the triangle indicates the size of die to be rolled during combat. The number in the circle indicates the number of dice you can roll during a combat round.

When you use the dice during combat, move the cube down the tracker for each die rolled.

Bombs do not need a tracker card as they can only be used once and are used to attack one or multiple enemies during a fight.

Any time you use a weapon, reduce the value on the time track by one.

The source's weapon card diagram (the Slingshot-style example) labels: the card type, the actions the card gives access to, the number of dice you can roll during a combat round, the type of die to roll, where to put the ammo/durability cube on the tracker card, and the actions it costs to add the weapon to your inventory.

Tracker Cards

Every time you use a weapon or elf card, you'll move the cube on its tracker card down. For example, if you roll three dice to use your slingshot during a combat round, you'll move its cube down three spaces. If an elf takes one damage, you'll move its cube down one space.

Event Cards

Path and Reindeer cards have location icons in the top right corner; when activated, these cards allow you to move forward on the map and draw one event card for each location icon, up to a maximum of two. If one card is drawn, you must complete the action on that card (unless it is designated as optional); if two cards are drawn, you must choose which card to resolve and discard the other.

Some cards move you forward or backward on the map. However, you do not draw an event card when this happens.

Some cards in the game grant carrot tokens; you may discard one carrot token to activate a reindeer card in the row.

There are several cards that have instructions to draw from the top of the Hunted deck in search of a specific card. When this occurs, draw cards one at a time, stop when you find the noted card, and shuffle the other cards that have been drawn back into the deck.

For example, if a card says, "Draw five cards and if you find an enemy card, it attacks you," draw cards one at a time; if an enemy card is revealed, you must fight it, but you do not have to draw any additional cards after revealing the enemy card. If the deck runs out before you've drawn the required number of cards, shuffle the discard pile, place it as a new deck and continue drawing.

Event cards that cause you to fight an enemy do not clear the row.

Event cards that require you to attempt a test and must be resolved before doing any other action. To resolve a test, you will roll dice (based on current health and noted at the top of the player board) and will try to roll equal to or greater than the current target number. If multiple dice are rolled, only one of the dice can be used to resolve the test; you may not add dice together to achieve the target number. Refer to the text on the specific card for the results of a successful or unsuccessful test.

Skill Checks

All skill checks will apply to one of your four stats: STR, DEX, INT, CHA. To pass a skill check, you'll have to roll a d20 equal to or higher than the current target number indicated by the number card near the map card. You'll roll dice based on your current health. If you have 8-7 health, you'll roll two d20 and use the higher number. If you have 6-3 health, you'll roll one d20. And if you have 2-1 health, you'll roll two d20 and use the lower number.

After rolling, you'll add the number on the die to the corresponding stat on your elf card to get the total. If that total number is equal to or higher than the target number, you succeed. If it's lower, you fail.

Map Cards

When you activate a Path or Reindeer card, you'll move forward on a map card and get closer to finding Jack Frost. When you move from one map card to the next (from space 5 to space 6 for example), increase the target number card by one (go from 10 to 11). Skill checks get harder as you progress.

The 4, 8, and 12 spaces grant you extra ammo for your slingshot. When you land on or pass over these spaces, increase your ammo by three.

Enemy Cards

While searching the North Pole for Santa, it is inevitable that enemies will be encountered. When drawing from the Hunted deck, if an enemy card appears it is placed face up in the row with any other revealed cards.

Each enemy card shows a minimum dice roll value to defeat it, and a trigger: the enemy card triggers when 2 bell icons are in a row, and also triggers if a second enemy is drawn.

With only one enemy card in the row, you have the opportunity to hide (described previously) to discard all cards, including the enemy, at the cost of one time. However, if there is ever an enemy card already in the row and another enemy card is drawn or if there are ever two or more bell icons and an enemy in the row, you must immediately discard all cards in the row and fight the stronger enemy, discarding the weaker. The card with the higher number on it is considered the stronger one; if the number is the same, discard either one.

If an enemy in the row has the Combine keyword on it and another card of the same type is drawn, instead of discarding one, you must fight both cards. (Gingerbread men travel in packs, and gummy bears tend to stick together).

Fighting

To fight an enemy, you will roll dice depending on the weapon that you're using and attempt to roll numbers equal to or greater than the number on the enemy card. The amount of dice will be limited by the type of weapon, ammo, and how many dice you want to roll. If you have multiple weapons in your inventory, only one of them may be used during a round of combat.

After the enemy encounter has been initiated, you first decide how many dice will be used for the initial assault. This number represents how many ammo rounds are being shot or how many swings of a weapon you're doing. Rolling more dice increases the odds of taking out the enemy but also uses up the weapon faster.

Once the number of dice has been determined, you roll and add up all the numbers shown on the dice. To defeat the enemy card, you must roll equal to or greater than the health number on the card.

If you do not defeat an enemy card, place red number tokens on the card to indicate how much damage has been done. Then, you lose one health by moving the health cube on the player board down one. The fighting process is then repeated until either the enemy is defeated or your health hits zero.

If the enemy is defeated, you may resume drawing cards from the Hunted deck.

Elf Allies

If you have an elf card in your inventory, it can help you during combat. Whenever you take damage, you may move the cube on its tracker down one instead of the cube on your player board. And whenever you roll dice to attack an enemy, you may move the cube on its tracker down one in order to add the die shown on the elf's card to the roll.

If the elf's tracker ever moves to zero, flip the card face down. It cannot be used for the rest of the game.

Bombs

To use a bomb, discard the bomb card from your inventory and roll a twenty-sided die. The number rolled is the amount of damage the bomb does. If you are fighting multiple enemies, the number rolled can be split between the enemies. For example, the roll of a 7 would take out a 4 AND have 3 damage carry over to another enemy. (You may only use one bomb card at a time).

When you use a bomb card, lose one health.

Out of Ammo

If you ever run completely out of ammo, you may lose two time to add five ammo to your slingshot. (You can always find peppermints around the North Pole if you take the time to look).

Ability Cards

Your elf comes with three ability cards that can be activated at any time during play. Once a card is used, flip it over to its grey side; it cannot be used again unless it gets flipped back over by another card.

Tokens

Some cards grant you a +2 token to put in your inventory. These tokens may be discarded to add two to any roll - skill checks or combat.

Some cards grant you a carrot token. These tokens may be discarded to acquire a Reindeer card from the row.

Damage tokens may be used during combat to keep track of how much damage you've done to an enemy.

Reaching Santa

Once you reach the fifteenth space on the location card, instead of drawing an event card, you have one final battle in an attempt to stop Jack Frost. If you're able to deal twenty damage, you defeat him, rescue Santa, and win the game.

The fight with Jack Frost plays the same as the other fights in which you lose one health at the end of each round that Jack has not been defeated.

Endgame Scoring

While there's only one way to win, you can track your wins and compare your best score using the following scoring conventions:

• +2 points for every health point you have left
• +1 point for every time unit you have left
• +3 points for every face-up elf card in your inventory
• +1 point for every face-down elf card in your inventory

2 Player Mode

You will need to provide your own dice for this variant.

2 player mode allows you to partner up with a teammate to take on Jack Frost together! Players will share time but will have separate health tracks.

Player 2 will take on the role of Clarence. Give them:

• the four Clarence cards
• a slingshot card
• an ammo tracker card and cube
• a six-sided die to track their health

Remove the Clarence card from the Hunted deck.

Each player begins with eight starting ammo for their slingshot instead of twelve. And each player begins with six health instead of eight.

You'll play the game exactly like one-player mode, but you'll alternate taking turns. On your turn, you have two options:

1. Explore
2. Hide

Explore

When you choose the explore action, draw a card and place it in a row in front of you. You may now use it to interact with other cards in your row. Each player will have a separate row of cards in front of them. A player may not interact with cards in the other player's row.

When you're done with any card interactions, it is the other player's turn.

Hide

If you choose to hide, lose one time and discard the cards in front of you. The cards in the other player's row are unaffected. It is now the other player's turn.

Time

Anytime either player does something that costs time, player 1 will move the time tracking cube down one space.

Winning and Losing

Just like the regular game, if you make it to the 15th location and defeat Jack Frost, you win. However, if either player goes to zero on their health tracker or if time runs out, both players lose.

The Shared Row

Since you're working together, you're able to place cards in a shared row that is accessible to both players. After taking a draw action, you may move one card from your row to the shared row. The card is now considered to be in both players' rows. This means a card with a noise icon counts as one noise for both players, etc.

A player must take a draw action before interacting with any cards in the shared row.

If the cards in a player's row get discarded due to an enemy attack or a hide action, all the cards in the shared row also get discarded. The other player's row is unaffected.

Inventory Cards

When you gain a card from the row, it goes into your inventory. At any time, if you want to give an inventory card to the other player, spend one time and place it in their inventory.

Combat

When a player goes into combat with an enemy card, the first round of combat works the same as the normal game. However, for the second round and on, the players may decide who is going to fight the enemy for that round. (This also applies to the final fight with Jack Frost).

Choices

Anytime a choice needs to be made in the game (events, etc.), the player who drew the card(s) gets the final say.