Shoot Your Friends
Shoot Your Friends Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
A lightning-fast game that pits opponents across from each other with nothing but a toy gun and a deck of cards between them. Be the first to create lethal combinations of cards on the table to become either the shooter or the shootie. To play Shoot Your Friends you must have fast reflexes, quick thinking, and an itchy trigger finger.
The Cards
There are three kinds of card:
- Character Cards. Use Character Cards to create matches and use the toy gun to shoot your friends out of the game.
- Shield Cards. Use Shield Cards to deflect bullets and stay alive a little while longer.
- Bullet Cards. Use Bullet Cards to determine who wins a game of Shoot Your Friends.
Each Character Card shows a character name and a match requirement number.
Note: the rules text refers to "The Great Grandma" card. On the card faces shown in the booklet's illustrations, the same character is labelled "The Grandma" (match requirement 2).
Game Setup
Separate the 6 Bullet Cards from the deck and set them aside.
Deal 8 cards to each player. Players may not look at them… yet. Place the rest of the cards into draw piles on the table within easy reach of every player.
Each player places 4 cards face down, side by side, on the table and his other 4 cards (the player's hand) face down off to the side.
Place the 6 Bullet Cards into a stack, face up on the table. You will use the Bullet Cards to score rounds.
Place the toy gun in the middle of the table within easy reach of every player.
That's it. You are now ready for the devastation to begin.
Playing the Game
Shoot Your Friends is fast moving. It's important to pay attention and react quickly. The game is played in rounds. The player who wins the most out of 6 rounds is declared the ultimate champion.
How to Play a Single Round
1. Flip the Cards and Pick Up Hands
On the count of three, all players simultaneously reveal their opening sets by flipping over the four face down cards in front of them.
If you happen to have one or more Shield cards in your opening set, count yourself lucky. Put a Shield in play by sliding it out sideways in front of your set. Replace the missing card in your set by drawing from a draw pile. You may only have one Shield card in play at a time. If you flip more than one Shield card as part of your opening set, take enough cards from the draw pile to cover any additional Shield cards in your set.
Once your set is made up of all Character cards, pick up your hand and look at what you have. It's time to rock and roll.
2. Create Matches and Shoot Opponents
In Shoot Your Friends, there are no turns. All players play at the same time. Players may play on their own or on opponents' sets to create character matches and use the toy gun to eliminate opponents.
Each character card is marked with a match requirement number. To make a match a player's set must contain the required number of matching character cards.
For example: to create a match of The Nun cards, 3 of a player's 4-card set must be The Nun.
To create a match of The Alien cards, all four of a player's 4-card set must be The Alien.
Play new character cards over your own or any opponent's cards in their sets to create matches.
IMPORTANT: When playing a character card on your own or an opponent's set, the character played must already be present in the target set.
For example: Jane can place her The Cowboy card over one of Clark's face up cards because Clark currently has a The Cowboy card in his set. However, Jane may not play her The Viking card over one of Clark's face up cards because Clark does not have The Viking card in play.
Luke may play his The Zombie card over one of his own face up cards because he currently has a The Zombie Card in his set. Luke may not play The Gangster card over any of his cards because he currently does not have The Gangster in play.
Shooting Opponents
Any player with a legal match becomes both a target and a potential shooter. If you or any other player completes a match in your set, you may shoot any opponent out of the game. On the other hand, any player with a match in his set becomes an open target and may be shot by any other player, even if the shooting player does not have a match.
Use Shield Cards to Block Bullets
If a player with a Shield card in play is shot, he is not eliminated from the game. He must discard his Shield card and may continue play.
Players may also hold any number of Shield cards in their hands. A player with a Shield card in her hand may stay in the game after being shot by discarding her Shield card.
Play continues until only 1 player is left standing.
3. Take a Bullet Card
After each round of Shoot Your Friends, the last man standing takes 1 of the 6 Bullet cards. When all of the Bullet cards are gone, all players count their Bullet cards. The player with the most wins.
In Case of a Tie: Sudden Death
In case of a tie, the remaining players engage in a single, sudden death round of play. The winner of the sudden death round is declared the ultimate champion.
Other Important Rules
Shoot Your Friends can get messy. Be careful to place, not throw, cards into play.
If a player illegally shoots another player without a match or without the target player having a match, the shooting player is eliminated from the round.
Always draw a new card from the draw pile immediately after playing a card from your hand to keep your hand at four cards throughout the game.
If you are eliminated from the game, clear your cards from the table immediately so other players know not to play on your set.
If a match is created by you or an opponent on your set and you manage to pick up the toy gun and eliminate another player, you must quickly clear your matched set from the table and deal a new set of 4 face up cards from a draw pile.
Sometimes a stalemate occurs, where no player has a playable card in his hand. In this event, all players involved must draw a single card from the draw piles on the count of three. Repeat this process until at least one player draws a playable card.
A Shield Card is always playable. Players must play or discard Shield Cards in the event of a stalemate.
The Great Grandma card is an exception to the matching rules. It only takes 1 The Great Grandma card to create a match. Hence, The Great Grandma card can be played on any player at any time.
When flipping over your initial set at the beginning of a round, you may play 1 Shield by sliding it out in front of your set. You must cover all other Shield Cards (should there be more than one in your opening set) with new cards from a draw pile. Initial cards to cover Shields do not have to match card characters in your opening set.