The Hunger Games: District 12 Strategy Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Game Board
  • Resource Deck (55 Cards)
  • Special Deck (9 Cards)
  • 4 Reaping Decks (11 Cards Each)
  • 4 Player Tokens
  • Round Token
  • First Action Token
  • Cover Tokens
• Setup
  • Setup for 4 Players
• Playing the Game
• The Areas of District 12
• Building a Hand of Resource Cards
• Special Cards
• Player Trading
• The End Round
• Winning the Game
• Rules for 3 Players
• Rules for 2 Players
• Variant Rules for District 12
• The Round Track
  • Round One
  • Round Two
  • Round Three
  • Round Four
  • Round Five
  • Round Six
  • Round Seven
  • Round Eight
  • Round Nine
  • Round Ten
  • Round Eleven
  • Round Twelve
  • End Round

Components

Game Board

The game board represents District 12, focusing on six individual Areas: The Justice Building, the Capitol Storage Area, the Bakery, the Hob, the Everdeen House, and the Woods. The game board also includes a Round Track used to mark the passing of time. During each Round of the game, the players take turns moving their Player Tokens to the various Areas of the board in order to draw new Resource Cards into their hands. Each Area on the board contains 1 - 3 circular spaces. A player can only enter an Area if there is an available space for her Player Token there (i.e. a space not occupied by another player's token).

Resource Deck (55 Cards)

The Resource Deck includes 55 cards broken up into four types of resources (Food, Medicine, Clothing, and Fuel). Each resource type has several versions, each worth a different amount of Resource Points (RP). For example, "Fuel" is represented by 1 RP, 2 RP, and 3 RP.

Special Deck (9 Cards)

The Special Deck contains 9 Special Cards that grant players special abilities and scoring opportunities (see page 6).

4 Reaping Decks (11 Cards Each)

Each player starts the game with an individual deck of 11 Reaping Cards that feature that player's icon. If a player is unable or unwilling to discard Resource Cards when instructed to do so, she must instead place one of her Reaping Cards face down in the Glass Ball for each Resource Card she fails to discard. At the end of the game, one Reaping Card is drawn at random from the Glass Ball. The player whose card is drawn becomes the next Tribute and loses the game.

4 Player Tokens

Each player has a Player Token that matches the icon on her Reaping Cards. Each Round, the players move their Player Tokens from one Area of the board to another Area of their choice, as long as there is an available space for them in the new Area.

Round Token

At the start of each Round, the Round Token is moved forward one space on the Round Track. This new space will provide vital instructions to the players on how to proceed in the game. For example, the current space on the Round Track may instruct the players to add new Resource Cards to the Hob, or perhaps demand that every player discard 1 Food card to the discard pile.

First Action Token

At the start of the game, the youngest player receives the First Action Token. This token allows that player to be the first to place her Player Token during the initial Rounds of the game. The Round Track periodically instructs the player holding the First Action Token to pass it to the player on her left, thereby giving another player the chance to go first.

Cover Tokens

Cover Tokens are used to cover up certain spaces on the board when playing with only 2 or 3 players. This keeps the competition for resources strong even though there are fewer Player Tokens on the board.

Setup

What follows are instructions for setting up a 4 player game. Additional rules for setting up the 2 and 3 player games are included on page 7.

1. Place the game board in the center of the playing area.

2. Each player receives a Player Token and a corresponding Reaping Deck. Each player places one of her Reaping Cards face down in the center of the board on the space labelled the "Glass Ball". She then keeps her Reaping Deck face up on the table in front of her.

3. Place the Round Token on the first space of the Round Track on the game board (see right). Then give the First Action Token to the youngest player, or instead choose one player randomly to receive the First Action Token.

4. Remove the 4 Special Cards that include the "starter" icon from the Special Deck. Shuffle these Special Cards and deal one face up to each player. Each player's starting Special Card remains face up on the table throughout the game, and grants that player a special power. Any Special Cards with the "starter" icon that were not placed in front of players during set-up are returned to the box; they will not be used during the game. Shuffle the remaining 5 cards in the Special Deck and place them in a face down stack beside the game board.

5. Remove the 12 Resource Cards that include the "starter" icon (see above) from the Resource Deck. Shuffle these starting Resource Cards and deal three face down to each player to form their starting hands. The players may immediately pick up and view their hands, but should keep the contents of their hands hidden from the other players. Any Resource Cards with the "starter" icon that were not dealt to players are returned to the box; they will not be used during the game.

6. Deal 2 cards from the top of the Resource Deck face down on top of each of the available card spaces in the Hob Area of the game board (i.e. 2 cards on each Hob space for a total of 4 cards). Then deal 1 card from the top of the Resource Deck face up on top of each of the card spaces in the Bakery Area of the game board. Finally, deal 1 card from the top of the Resource Deck face up in the card space labelled "Discard Pile" in the Capitol Storage Area. This is the first card of the discard pile. Whenever a player is instructed to discard a card, she discards it face up on top of the stack of cards in the Capitol Storage Area.

7. Place the Resource Deck face down on the board in the space labelled "The Meadow". Whenever the Meadow is empty, immediately shuffle the discard pile in the Capitol Storage Area and place it face down on the Meadow to form a new Resource Deck. Afterwards, discard the top card from the Resource Deck face up onto the Capitol Storage Area. In this way, there will always be cards in both the Meadow and the Capitol Storage Area.

Setup for 4 Players

• Discard Pile: one face up Resource Card.
• The Bakery: one face up Resource Card on each space.
• The Glass Ball: one face down Reaping Card from each player.
• The Hob: two face down Resource Cards on each space.
• The Meadow: the Resource Deck.
• Round Token: first space on the Round Track.

Playing the Game

The Hunger Games: District 12 is played over the course of 12 Rounds; the players do not take their own individual turns, but instead participate together during each Game Round. Each Game Round has two parts:

1. Move Round Token: At the start of each Round (except the first Round), the Round Token is moved forward to the next space on the Round Track. The player who currently holds the First Action Token then performs the instructions detailed on the Round Track for that space. The Round Track uses icons to symbolize these instructions (see page 8 for a full explanation of what to do during each Round).

The instructions on the Round Track often involve things like adding new cards from the top of the Resource Deck to the card spaces in the Bakery and the Hob. When adding these cards to each Area, always add to the left most card space first, and then to the next card space.

Sometimes the Round Track instructs the players to discard Resource Cards from their hands. When this happens, the players secretly select which Resource Cards they plan to discard and place them face down on the table in front of themselves with their hands covering them up. Once all the players are ready, they reveal which Resource Cards they are discarding at the same time. In this way, players will not be sure which Resource Cards, if any, are being discarded by their opponents when deciding how many of their own cards to discard. If a player is unable or unwilling to discard Resource Cards when instructed to do so, she must instead place one of her Reaping Cards face down in the Glass Ball for each Resource Card she fails to discard.

2. Move Player Tokens: After the instructions on the Round Track have been followed, each player, starting with the player holding the First Action Token and continuing clockwise around the table, moves her Player Token to a different Area of the board and follows the instructions for that Area. Each Area on the game board includes 1 - 3 circular spaces. The first time a player is able to move on the board, she chooses an Area containing at least one empty circular space and places her Player Token on that space.

For the rest of the game, whenever it is a player's turn to move her Player Token, she must leave her current Area and move to another Area. She can move to any Area that has at least one available circular space inside it. The player does not move along the board from space to space like a traditional board game. Instead, the player can move to any other Area on the board as long as there is an empty circular space there.

Once a player enters an Area, she follows the instructions associated with that area as summarized on the game board and described in detail below. After every player has moved her Player Token to a different Area, the current Round ends and the same process is followed again.

The Areas of District 12

Every Round, each player must move to a different Area on the board. A player is not permitted to move to a different space within the same Area, even if such a space is available. Each Area depicted on the board has different instructions associated with it, as described below:

1. The Woods: When a player enters the Woods, she reveals the top 3 cards of the Resource Deck for all to see. If there is at least 1 Food Resource revealed, the player chooses 1 Food Resource from among the 3 cards and places that Food Resource in her hand. The cards that are not chosen are discarded face up onto the discard pile (i.e. the Capitol Storage Area). If no Food Resource is revealed, then all 3 cards are discarded.

2. The Everdeen House: When a player enters the Everdeen House, she draws the top card from the Resource Deck and adds it to her hand without revealing it to anyone else.

3. The Hob: When a player enters the Hob, she must choose one of the two circular spaces available there. Each circular space sits below a pile of face down cards. The player is able to examine the pile nearest her Player Token without revealing the cards to anyone else. If the player wishes, she may then trade one Resource Card from her hand with one of the Resource Cards in the pile. She does this by taking one card of her choice from the pile and placing it in her hand, and then placing a card from her hand face down on top of the pile.

4. The Bakery: When a player enters the Bakery, she must choose one of the two circular spaces available there. Each space sits below a pile of face up cards. At the start of the game there is only one card beside each space, but if the players do not visit the Bakery frequently, cards will begin to pile up there. The player is able to seize all the face up cards in the Bakery pile nearest her Player Token and add those cards to her hand.

5. The Capitol Storage Area: When a player enters the Capitol Storage Area, she may examine the entire discard pile (which is kept throughout the game at the Capitol Storage Area). Afterwards, the player may trade one card from her hand with one card of her choice in the discard pile. She does this by drawing one card of her choice from the discard pile into her hand, and then discarding one of her cards face up on top of the discard pile.

Building a Hand of Resource Cards

Over the course of the game, the players will slowly build a hand of Resource Cards by visiting new Areas of the board and either drawing new cards there or trading for new cards there, as instructed by the particular Areas of the board.

In the meantime, the Round Track will instruct players to discard cards periodically to represent the players' need to eat, as well as their need for medicine, fuel, and clothing. If a player is unable or unwilling to discard Resource Cards when instructed to do so, she must instead place one of her Reaping Cards face down in the Glass Ball for each Resource Card she fails to discard.

Although the Resource Cards are all worth variable amounts of Resource Points, their point value does not matter when being discarded in this manner. Therefore, players might be hesitant to discard valuable Resource Cards from their hands, and may instead risk placing more Reaping Cards in the Glass Ball.

Although players can hold any number of cards in their hands during most of the game, the Round Track periodically instructs players to discard down to 6 cards. Since the Round Track also informs players to discard down to 6 cards at the end of the game, the players are ultimately building a hand of up to 6 cards that will be worth a certain amount of Resource Points (RP) at the end of the game. However, since players can temporarily hold more than 6 cards, they can also gather cards to pay for Food, Medicine, and other necessary Resources.

Special Cards

Each player begins the game with one Special Card on the table in front of her, and may acquire new Special Cards during the game. Some Special Cards might give the player a special power, while others may grant her a scoring bonus at the end of the game. The Round Track periodically instructs players to place new Special Cards on the table beside particular Areas of the board. A player who visits that Area can choose to acquire the Special Card instead of interacting with the space normally. A player who acquires a new Special Card in this way must place it face up on top of her previous Special Card; the old Special Card can no longer be used.

At some point during the game, the players will have to decide when to abandon their starting Special Card and acquire a new Special Card. Since the newer Special Cards provide significant scoring bonuses at the end of the game, the players will almost certainly need to acquire one in order to have a chance of winning.

These Special Cards provide Resource Point bonuses for having certain Resource types at the end of the game. For example, "Katniss's Bow" provides a bonus for having certain Food Resources, while "Mrs. Everdeen" provides a bonus for Medicine Resources. Players should start thinking about what types of Resources they plan to collect as soon as possible so that they can receive the highest possible bonus at the end of the game.

Player Trading

The Round Track periodically signals times when the players may trade Resource Cards freely among themselves. This helps players collect the resources they need for upcoming Rounds. Players may reveal cards from their hands during these trades if they choose, and may trade cards in any combination that they find mutually agreeable.

The End Round

After the 12th Round, there is a final "End Round" marked on the Round Track. As indicated on the Round Track, during the End Round each player must pay 1 Food, 1 Medicine, 1 Fuel, and 1 Clothing Resource (or place a corresponding number of Reaping Cards face down in the Glass Ball). Afterwards, every player must discard cards from their hands until they are down to a hand of 6 Resource Cards. Unlike the other Rounds, the players do not move their Player Tokens and collect additional Resource Cards during the End Round.

Winning the Game

After the End Round has been resolved, one player thoroughly shuffles the Reaping Cards that have been placed in the Glass Ball and selects one at random. The player whose Reaping Card is selected becomes a Tribute and loses the game.

Among the players who remain, the player with the most Resource Points (including the Resource Point bonuses listed on her topmost Special Card) wins the game. In case of a tie, the tied player with the fewest Reaping Cards in the Glass Ball wins. If still tied, those players share the victory.

Rules for 3 Players

When setting up a game for 3 players, place 3 Cover Tokens on the circular spaces marked with the number "4" on the game board; these spaces are only used during the 4 player game. In addition, take one Reaping Card from the unused Reaping Deck and place it face down on the Bakery card space marked with the number "4" as well (see right). Throughout the game, players cannot enter covered up spaces. When filling the Bakery card spaces during Set Up and throughout the game, only fill the first Bakery space, not the one that is covered up.

During the 3 player game, one player will receive the First Action Token more frequently than others. To make up for this, deal only 2 "starter" Resource Cards (instead of 3) during Set Up to the player who begins the game with the First Action Token. Furthermore, deal 4 "starter" Resource Cards (instead of 3) during Set Up to the player who starts off going third since that player will have to go third more frequently than the other players.

Rules for 2 Players

When setting up a game for 2 players, place the 6 Cover Tokens on the circular spaces marked with the numbers "3" and "4" on the game board; these spaces are only used during the 3 and 4 player games. In addition, take two Reaping Cards from an unused Reaping Deck and place them face down on the two card spaces marked with the numbers "3" and "4" (see right). Throughout the game, players cannot enter covered up spaces. When filling the Bakery and Hob card spaces during Set Up and throughout the game, only fill the first card space in each Area, not the spaces that are covered up.

Also during Set Up, take 6 additional Reaping Cards from an unused Reaping Deck and add them to the Glass Ball. At the end of the game, if one of these added Reaping Cards is selected, then the player with the most Resource Points wins. If one of the two players' Reaping Cards is selected, then the other player automatically wins the game.

Variant Rules for District 12

For players who prefer a non-random conclusion to the game, do not select a random card from the Glass Ball at the end of the game. Instead, count all the cards owned by each player in the Glass Ball. The player with the most Reaping Cards in the Glass Ball loses 3 Resource Points; the player with the second most Reaping Cards loses 2 Resource Points; the player with the third most Reaping Cards loses 1 Resource Point; and the player with the fewest Reaping Cards in the Glass Ball loses no Resource Points. In case of a tie, all players in that category lose the same number of points, and the players in the next category lose the next amount of points, etc. Now all players add up the total Resource Points in their hands, subtracting the penalties described above, and the player with the most Resource Points wins the game.

The Round Track

Here is a summary of what to do at the start of every Round of the game. Over time, the players should memorize these icons so that they no longer need to refer to the rulebook.

Round One

No special rules.

Round Two

• Add 1 face up Resource Card to each Bakery space.
• Add 2 face down Resource Cards to each Hob space.

Round Three

• Add 1 face up Resource Card to each Bakery space.
• Draw 2 Special Cards from the Special Deck and place them face up beside the game board near their assigned Areas.
• Players may trade with one another, then play resumes.

Round Four

• The player with the First Action Token passes it to the left.
• All players must discard 1 Food (or place 1 Reaping Card in the Glass Ball).
• Afterwards, all players must discard down to 6 cards.

Round Five

• Add 1 face up Resource Card to each Bakery space.
• Add 2 face down Resource Cards to each Hob space.

Round Six

• Add 1 face up Resource Card to each Bakery space.
• Draw 2 Special Cards from the Special Deck and place them face up beside the game board near their assigned Areas.
• Players may trade with one another, then play resumes.

Round Seven

• The player with the First Action Token passes it to the left.
• All players must discard 1 Food and 1 Medicine (or place up to 2 Reaping Cards in the Glass Ball).
• Afterwards, all players must discard down to 6 cards.

Round Eight

• Add 1 face up Resource Card to each Bakery space.
• Add 2 face down Resource Cards to each Hob space.

Round Nine

• Add 1 face up Resource Card to each Bakery space.
• Draw 1 Special Card from the Special Deck and place it face up beside the game board near its assigned Area.
• Players may trade with one another, then play resumes.

Round Ten

• The player with the First Action Token passes it to the left.
• All players must discard 1 Food, 1 Clothing, and 1 Fuel (or place up to 3 Reaping Cards in the Glass Ball).
• Afterwards, all players must discard down to 6 cards.

Round Eleven

• Add 1 face up Resource Card to each Bakery space.
• Add 2 face down Resource Cards to each Hob space.

Round Twelve

• Add 1 face up Resource Card to each Bakery space.
• Players may trade with one another, then play resumes.

End Round

• All players must discard 1 Food, 1 Medicine, 1 Clothing, and 1 Fuel (or place up to 4 Reaping Cards in the Glass Ball).
• Afterwards, all players must discard down to 6 cards.
• Players do not move on the board.
• Draw Reaping Card and determine game winner.