Rebel Princess: Deluxe Edition Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Sequence of Play
  • Once the Round Has Ended:
• Playing the Game
  • Playing a Trick
  • Warning!
  • Rebel of the Ball
  • Using the Power of a Princess
  • Scoring Marriage Proposals
  • End of the Game
• Round Cards
  • Round Card List
• Princess Cards
• Designers' Acknowledgements
• Credits
  • Bezier Games, Inc.

Components

• 12 Queen Cards (crown) (1 to 12)
• 12 Fairy Cards (wand) (1 to 12)
• 12 Pet Cards (paw) (1 to 12, including the Frog, number 8)
• 12 Prince Cards (sword) (1 to 12)
• 1 Scorepad
• 26 Tarot Round Cards (a to z)
• 12 Princess Cards

Setup

1. Choose a Princess. Shuffle the Princess cards and give 2 to each player. Each player chooses 1 of their 2 Princess cards, places it in front of them face down and returns their extra Princess to the box. Players then reveal their Princesses simultaneously. Each Princess has a unique power for the entire game (see "Princess Cards", p. 23).

2. Attend the party. Prepare the deck with cards of the 4 suits: Fairies, Pets, Princes, & Queens. Depending on the number of players, the composition of the deck will be different.

   • For 3 players, remove 1s, 11s, and 12s from the deck.
   • For 4 or 5 players, remove 11s and 12s from the deck.
   • For 6 players, use all suited cards.

3. Once the deck is prepared, choose a player at random to shuffle the cards and deal all of them equally among the players, face down.

   The player to the left of the dealer will start the game.

4. Organize the party. Choose 5 Round cards (see "Round Cards", p. 14), and place them in a row, face down. You can choose and arrange the 5 Round cards as you want or do it randomly. We recommend that Round cards with a black hourglass (and darker card backs) should only be played for the final round.

   Note: If this is your first game, we recommend starting with Round cards a, b, c, d, and e.

   4a. Optional Shortened Play: If players feel the standard 5 rounds is too long, we suggest playing only 3 rounds instead. Round cards with a black hourglass (and darker card backs) should only be played for the final round.

5. Scoring: Place the Scorepad and a pencil to the side for scoring.

Sequence of Play

A game of Rebel Princess is divided into 5 rounds. At the beginning of each round, flip the corresponding Round card face up and read its effect. Each Round card triggers an effect that makes each round unique from the others.

Then, as indicated on the Round card, give a number of cards from your hand to the player on your left or on your right or both. The exchange is simultaneous. You aren't allowed to see which cards you have received before giving yours!

Examples:

• Single Fairy (pass 1 card to the left): Won Fairy cards are -1 proposal each.
• Odds and Evens (pass 2 cards to the right): Players must follow odd or even from the led card.
• The Prince Always Rings Twice (pass 1 card in each direction): All players play a 2nd card in player order after their first card. The sum of cards in the led suit wins the trick.

Play begins. The starting player leads the first trick (see "Playing a Trick," p. 8). Play until you have no cards in your hand.

When all cards have been played, the round is over, and you score the marriage proposals you've obtained (see "Scoring Marriage Proposals," p.11).

Once the Round Has Ended:

1. Shuffle the suited cards and deal them all again.
2. Refresh exhausted Princesses by turning them face up.
3. Flip the current Round card face down. Reveal the next Round card and read aloud its effects.
4. The player with the lowest total score starts the new round. Ties are broken starting with the tied player to the left of the player who started the last round.

Playing the Game

Playing a Trick

Each player, beginning with the starting player and proceeding clockwise, must play one card face up. This is known as a trick.

The four suits are Queen Cards, Prince Cards, Fairy Cards, and Pet Cards.

The suit of the first card played is referred to as the led suit and the other players must follow it (i.e., they must play a card of the same suit if they have one). A player who cannot follow the led suit may play any card of a different suit; this is called being "void" in a suit. Once a face up card is played by a player, the trick has begun.

Once each player has played a card to the trick, the player with the highest card of the led suit wins the trick. The winner of the trick collects the cards in that trick and puts them face down in front of themself. These face down cards may no longer be viewed by any player before the end of the round. The player who won the trick becomes the starting player for the next one.

Warning!

The Princes are not invited to the party. Therefore, at first, you cannot start a trick with a card from the Prince suit. Once a player who is "void" of a suit plays a Prince (this rule does not take the Frog into account as he is not of the Prince suit), the Princes have snuck into the party. From now on, the players are allowed to lead tricks with the Prince suit until the end of that round. In the event that a starting player only has Prince cards in their hand, they would be allowed to start a trick with one of them.

Rebel of the Ball

If a player wins all of the Princes and the Frog, they are declared the "Rebel of the Ball" and receive (only) -10 proposals for that round (ignoring the standard proposals gained from Princes and Frogs).

For Example: With 6 players playing with a "Once Upon A Time" Round card, if one player were to acquire all 12 Prince suited cards and the Frog, their score would be -10 for the round and not +17.

Regardless of which round is being played, a player who becomes Rebel of the Ball always receives -10 proposals, even if that player has other cards that would otherwise add or subtract proposals from that player. Any other special round scoring proposals for other players are still in place. It is easier to become the Rebel of the Ball with some rounds more than others!

Using the Power of a Princess

Once per round, a player may use their Princess's power if they wish (see "Princess Cards", p. 23). To do so, read it out loud and flip your Princess card face down (your Princess's power is then considered exhausted). That power will be refreshed at the end of the round.

If more than one player wishes to use their Princess's power, the powers are used in the order in which the players declare they wish to use the power. If more than one player wishes to use their power at the same time, powers are activated completely for those players in order starting from the left of the leading player and going clockwise.

If your Princess power would "undo" another player's Princess power, it may not be used during this trick (see the list of Princess powers on p. 23 for details).

Note: In your first round(s), you may ignore the Princesses' powers in order to learn the basics of the game.

Scoring Marriage Proposals

Once all the players have played their cards and the round is over, it's time to count the proposals. Players turn over all face down cards in front of themselves. Each Prince counts as 1 proposal. Additionally, the Pets suit contains the Frog (number 8). He is very dangerous, because he is actually a bewitched Prince. The player who has the Frog at the end of a round receives 5 proposals.

All the cards that add proposals have a diamond symbol below their number. Once you have tallied how many proposals each player has accumulated, record them on the scorepad.

Example of a trick: In a 6-player game, Kevin plays the 3 of Queens. The led suit is Queens and everyone must play a card of that suit, if they have any. Jay plays next, with the 7 of Queens. Renée is next but has no Queens, so she's "void" and plays the 12 of Princes.

Oh no! A Prince has snuck into the party! Antonia is also void in Queens and plays the 9 of Fairies. Ted also has no Queens and uses this chance to play the 8 of Pets, which is the Frog! Finally, Ryan, who still has Queens, must follow suit and plays the 4 of Queens.

Jay wins the trick, since, although there are higher values, he has the highest value of the led suit. He takes all the cards from the trick. At the end of the round, this trick will count as 6 marriage proposals, 1 from the Prince (12 of Princes)... and 5 from the Frog (8 of Pets)!

Jay then starts the next trick with the 10 of Pets. After winning so many proposals, he contemplates the possibility of becoming the Rebel of the Ball by winning all the remaining proposals.

End of the Game

When all 5 rounds have been played, the party is over! It's time to see which Princesses will get married and who will rebel. The player with the fewest proposals is the winner and will rebel against the unwanted marriages!

Ties are broken in favor of the player who has scored zero (or fewer) proposals in the most rounds. If the players are still tied, play another round of Rebel Princess using a random black hourglass Round card to determine the winner (which might not be one of the previously-tied winners)!

Round Cards

Now you know the basics of the game. However, each round is governed by a different Round card that imposes special rules which take precedence over the basic rules.

Note: The hierarchy of rules go: Princess powers, Round card effects, then basic rules.

1. How many cards you must pass to neighboring players at the beginning of each round and in which direction.

Example: This symbol on the "Arranged Marriage" card indicates that each player, before starting the round, must simultaneously give one card to the player on their left and another one to the player on their right.

2. A description of unique changes to the game for that round only. Read aloud the card's text at the beginning of each round.

3. The letter that appears in the upper left corner of that card indicates the complexity of the rules for that card. You may choose the 5 Round cards you want for your games, or select them at random.

Example ("The Prince Always Rings Twice," pass 1 card in each direction): All players play a 2nd card in player order after their first card. The sum of cards in the led suit wins the trick.

4. Cards with a dark card back (and a black hourglass on their front) are recommended for the last round(s), as they can cause a twist in the game that makes the ending more exciting!

Example ("Dancing Queens," pass 2 cards to the right): Pairs of Queens and Princes with the same rank score 3 proposals while pairs of differing ranks score 2 proposals.

Round Card List

a. Once Upon a Time. This round has no special rules.

b. Late to the Ball. After exchanging cards, but before the first trick, each player places a card from their hand face down in front of them. Players should place this card underneath their Princess card so as not to confuse it with other cards. That card will be played in the last trick of the round, following the normal rules. Sleeping Beauty and Scheherazade may not use their powers on the last card of this round.

c. Magic Beans. Each player (including the leading player) can only play the highest or lowest card of the led suit or of another suit if they are void.

d. Three Times a Lady. Each "3" card is worth -3 proposals. The Prince "3" is worth -2 proposals. In this round, you can score a negative number of proposals.

e. Arranged Marriage. If you have no tricks at the end of the round, you receive 5 proposals in addition to any other proposals taken this round.

f. Royal Decree. The highest card in the Queens suit will always win the trick (Queens are "trump"). If there is more than 1 Queens card, the Queens card with the highest value wins.

g. Always the Bridesmaid. The second highest card of the led suit wins the trick. If all players are void, the lead player wins the trick.

h. Crystal Clear. After exchanging cards, but before the first trick, every player chooses one of the suits in their hand (they cannot choose a suit they are void in) and places all cards in the suit in front of them face down. Once all players have placed their cards in front of them, they are turned face up simultaneously. The round will be played with those cards in plain sight. The revealed cards are still part of each player's hand and can be played as usual. The cards on the table cannot be considered as random cards, preventing The Ice Princess and Scheherazade from using their powers on these face up cards. If a player receives a card of that suit during the round, it is kept hidden in the player's hand.

i. Masquerade Ball. Everyone, except the player who leads, plays their cards face down. When everyone has played their card, flip them face up to determine the winner of the trick. If Snow White or Thumbelina uses her power, she must announce it (but does not reveal the value of the card she played). If Mulan uses her power, she does so after all cards have been turned face up.

j. Pet's Revenge. At the end of the round, Pet cards also score 1 proposal (and the Frog is now 6!).

k. Musical Chairs. After each trick, every player passes a card face down from their hand to the player on their right, simultaneously. Any "before the trick" Princess powers happen after cards have been passed.

l. Sisterhood. The card that is the furthest from the starting number in the led suit wins the trick. If all cards are void, the card value that is furthest from the starting number wins the trick. In case of a tie, the first highest number wins.

m. After Party. Every player divides their hand into 2 equal halves and sets 1 of the halves face down under their Princess card. They'll first play with all the cards in their hand, and then, place all the face down cards into their hand to play the second half of the round. Princess powers only affect the active hand's cards, not any face down cards. As per the normal rules, Princess powers can only be used once this round.

n. Late for a Very Important Date. The last 3 cards in a player's hand are kept and scored as won trick cards.

o. Wedding Gift. Before each trick, every player places 1 card from their hand face down in a pile that will be given to the winner of the trick. Therefore, in this round, only half of the tricks will be played. A player cannot achieve the Rebel of the Ball bonus when this Round card is active. Sleeping Beauty's power is used before cards are placed in the pile. If Alice uses her power after winning a trick, she redistributes only the resolved face up cards, leaving the face down "wedding gift cards" as-is. The trick is then redone with Alice leading the trick with any of her cards in hand; not including Princes if Princes haven't snuck in yet. The winner of this redone trick will now receive all trick and wedding gift cards.

p. Haggle with the Hag. The player who won a trick may exchange a card from their hand, which they must show, for a card from the trick. The card they recover from the trick cannot be the one they just played. If Mulan uses her power and wins the trick, this player may exchange 2 cards; 1 that isn't their played card per this Round card and 1 that is their played card per Mulan's Princess power.

q. Blind Man's Bluff. Every player divides their hand into 2 equal halves and sets one of the halves aside face down under their Princess card. Play the cards in your hand first, and then, give your face down cards to the player on your right so that they can play them. Princess powers only affect the active hand's cards, not any face down cards. As per the normal rules, Princess powers can only be used once this round.

r. Poisoned Apple. During this round, if you're "void," you win the trick with the card you play. If more than 1 player is "void," the player with the highest number wins. In case of ties, whoever played their card first wins the trick.

s. Odds and Evens. In addition to following the led suit, you must play odd or even cards, matching the card that started the trick. If unable to comply with this rule, the established suit is still mandatory, but in the case of being "void," playing an odd or even card prevails again.

If Snow White uses her power, the card she plays must follow the odds and evens rule. If The Pea Princess uses her power, players must follow the odds and evens rule with a card value of 5 or less. The same would happen in case of being "void". If Mulan uses her power, she does not have to follow the odds and evens rule. Mulan's initial play must follow the odds and evens rule but doesn't have to follow when using her power to replace the first card.

t. Single Fairy. At the end of the round, each Fairy card you've won scores you -1 proposal. In this round, you can score a negative number of proposals.

u. The Prince Always Rings Twice. When all the players have played their initial card, the trick continues and every player plays a second card, following the rules. The led suit does not change even if the leading player plays a different suit (if they are void in the suit they initially led with). To find out who wins the trick, add the value of cards from the led suit. In case of a tie, whoever has played the highest card of the led suit wins. If only one of the 2 cards is of the leading suit, the other card is not taken into account. Princess powers affect both cards played for this "double" trick. If Cinderella uses her power, the winner of the trick is the player with the lowest sum; in case of a tie when that power is active, whoever has played the lowest card of the led suit wins. If The Pea Princess or Thumbelina uses their power, it affects both cards that are played. If Alice uses her power, she gathers all of the played cards and randomly deals two cards back to each player.

v. Midnight Makeover. Fairies are wild and can follow any suit. They can always be played, and you are not "void" as long as you have some. Whoever played the highest value (of the led suit or Fairies) wins the trick. In case of a tie for the highest card, the player who played first wins the trick. If a trick is started with the Fairy, the led suit is Fairies. If Mulan uses her power, she may not substitute a Fairy for the card she played that was a different suit. If The Little Mermaid or Rapunzel uses her power, the lead player must use the suit they request, even if they have Fairies. If that player does not have the requested suit, they do not have to play Fairies, as that suit has not yet been led.

w. Pass the Bouquet. Each card of a new suit leads. Example: Jay leads with Queens. If Kevin has no Queens and plays a card from the Pets suit, now the leading suit is Pets and the other players must play Pets, if any. The highest card of the last suit played wins the trick.

x. Upside Down. The number 6 of each suit inverts the hierarchy in the order of the cards for that trick. (e.g., 12 would be the card with the lowest value and 1 the highest.) This will only happen in a trick in which a 6 is played, and for every 6 that appears, the hierarchy will be reversed again. If Snow White uses her power when the card values are inverted, her now zero value card (if it is the led suit) will win the trick. If Mulan uses her power to include or remove a 6, the trick hierarchy is recomputed to determine the winner of the trick. If Cinderella uses her power, that trick's hierarchy is reversed at its start, and each played 6 reverses it again.

y. Bathroom Break. Princes score twice as many proposals, except for the player or players who have accumulated the highest number of proposals prior to that round.

z. Dancing Queens. When scoring the proposals, each player separates the Princes and Queens they have won in their tricks. If a Prince and a Queen match in number, the set counts as 3 proposals. Couples that do not match in number count as 2 proposals, and if a Prince cannot be assigned a Queen, 1 proposal, as usual. Solo Queens do not count as any proposals.

Princess Cards

Princess powers can be played once per round, when the Princess card is active (face up). Flip a Princess card face down when their power is exhausted (used). Detailed rules for each Princess's power are below:

Alice: Cheshire's Challenge. Shuffle a trick you just won with no Frog and deal the cards back randomly to each player's hand. If Princes snuck in during that trick, they are able to be led from that point on.

Cinderella: Everything Changes at Midnight. Before a trick, reverse the hierarchy of numbers, so lower numbers in the led suit will win the trick.

The Ice Princess: Freezing. Before a trick, take 2 random cards from any player. Give 1 card back to the player, and put the other one face down in front of them as the card they must lead or play (which could be a Prince, even if Princes have not yet snuck into the party). If the player is not leading, they must play this card, even if it doesn't follow suit (or any other condition imposed by a Princess power or Round card). If a Prince is chosen, the Princes have snuck into the party.

The Little Mermaid: Hypnotic Song. Decide which suit the player who leads the trick has to play. If the leading player does not have that suit, continue naming suits until they have one. The Little Mermaid may not use her power if either The Ice Princess or Rapunzel has already activated their power on the lead player during this trick. The Little Mermaid may not compel the lead player to play a Prince card if the Prince suit has yet to be played unless the lead player only has cards of the Prince suit.

Mulan: Camouflage. After the last card has been played in a trick, swap the card you played for another of the same suit. The Frog cannot be swapped.

The Pea Princess: Five More Minutes! Before a trick, declare that the other players must play a number higher than 5 if they have one (players must still follow suit if they only have lower value cards in the led suit). If Princes haven't snuck in yet and the player who will be playing first only has cards higher than 5 in Princes, this player may play a 5 or lower.

Pocahontas: Wilderness Guide. Before a trick, choose any player to lead it. Pocahontas may not use her power if either The Little Mermaid or Rapunzel has already activated their power during this trick.

Rapunzel: Royal Hair Climb. The player who has the lead must lead a Prince, even if Princes have not yet snuck into the party. You may choose yourself if you are leading. Activating this power does not count as having a Prince sneak into the party, so following the activation of this power, Princes may still not be led. If the player to lead has no Princes, Rapunzel's power is still considered exhausted, and the player may lead with a card of their choice. Rapunzel may not use her power if either The Ice Princess or The Little Mermaid has already activated their power on the lead player during this trick.

Scheherazade: Barter in the Bazaar. Before a trick, take a card at random from any player's hand. Swap it for one of your cards (or give it back to them). Scheherazade may not use her power on the leading player if either The Ice Princess, The Little Mermaid or Rapunzel has already activated their power during this trick.

Sleeping Beauty: The Spindle of Fate. Before a trick, every player (including Sleeping Beauty) contributes a card for Sleeping Beauty's review (you may see which card came from which player). You will keep one for yourself and deal out the rest of the contributed cards to the other players. You determine which player receives which card. Sleeping Beauty may not use her power if either The Little Mermaid, The Ice Princess, or Rapunzel has already activated their power during this trick.

Snow White: Seven Dwarfs. Play a 7 or lower as a zero. If The Pea Princess has used her power this trick, Snow White may play a 6 or 7 and declare it to be a zero.

Thumbelina: Ignorance is Bliss. You may play any card except the Frog or a Prince and do not have to follow suit when you are not leading. If The Pea Princess has used her power this round, and the only card(s) above a 5 are in the led suit, Thumbelina may still use her power and play a different suit than the led suit. Thumbelina may not use her power to ignore the suit requested by The Little Mermaid or Rapunzel.

Designers' Acknowledgements

Thanks to all those people who have made this game possible with their patience and advice. Especially to Adrián and Julián. And to our families and friends. Thank you.

Credits

Designers: Daniel Byrne, Gerardo Guerrero, Kevin Peláez, and Tirso Virgós Developer: Ted Alspach - Bezier Games, Inc. Artist: Alfredo Cáceres Editor: Enric Aguilar Graphic Design: Pau Urios Layout: Ren Estrugo and Matt Paquette & Co.

Bezier Games, Inc.

CEO: Ted Alspach COO: Toni Alspach App Development: Steven Melton and Erik Coburn Customer Support Manager: Ryan Moore Licensing & Program Manager: Renée Harris Marketing Manager: Jay Bernardo Trade Show Manager: Kevin Padula

©2024 Bezier Games, Inc. Rebel Princess and its logo are trademarks of Zombi Paella. Bezier Games and its logo are registered trademarks of Bezier Games, Inc.

Warning: This product contains small parts that can be swallowed and may not be suitable for use by children under 36 months. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT A TOY.