The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- Gameboard
- Link playing piece and stand
- 4 Blank dice and labels
- 1 Numbered die
- 33 Cardboard playing tiles
- 36 Cardboard heart chips
Object
Help Link battle monsters and collect heart chips as he tries to rescue Princess Zelda.
Initial Assembly
- Carefully separate the cardboard playing tiles.
- Carefully punch out the Link playing piece and the heart chips from the cardboard platform. Fold Link along the crease, then fit him into the plastic stand as shown.
- Apply 6 dice labels to each of the 4 blank dice as shown in Figure 1. It doesn't matter which label goes on what side of the die, but make sure there are 4 sword labels and 2 red labels on each die. These will be referred to as the attack dice.
Figure 1: Applying the dice labels.
Setup
The setup and gameplay instructions that follow are for 4 players. For 1, 2 and 3 player variations, see page 4.
- Turn all the playing tiles facedown and group them according to color. Then place the tiles facedown on their matching color gameboard worlds. As you place the tiles on a world, mix them up so no one knows what's underneath.
Tiles can be placed anywhere within a world, as long as the game path is not covered or blocked. See Figure 2.
Figure 2: Gameboard with tiles.
- Each player takes 3 heart chips. Place all remaining heart chips next to the gameboard. This will be the drawpile for all players.
- Each player takes 1 attack die.
- Place the Link playing piece on the gameboard START space. During the game, players will take turns moving Link.
- Youngest player goes first. Play continues clockwise.
Link's Adventure
Will Link find the Triforce of Wisdom and rescue Princess Zelda? In order to do so, he must travel through 6 dangerous worlds. Along the way, all players will team up and work together to help Link fight monsters.
Link will be looking for a "Magic" tile in each of the 6 worlds. Once the Magic tile is found, he can move into the next world. As you search for Magic tiles, you will usually uncover monsters. Your goal is to defeat these monsters to earn as many hearts as possible.
At the end of the game, the player with the most hearts wins!
How to Play
Figure 3: Gameboard path. Labeled entry spaces: Fairy, Raft, Water of Life, Key and Bomb. Link starts at the bottom-left.
Link moves from the 1st world to the 6th world in this direction. But he can also move in different directions within a world.
Moving Link
On your turn, roll the numbered die. Move Link the number of gameboard spaces indicated on the die. Link must always move the full count of the die rolled.
Move Link from space to space along the cross-shaped path within a world. Link can move left, right, up, or down on the path within a world. See Figure 4. He cannot backtrack (return to the same spaces) on the same turn.
Figure 4: With a die roll of 3, Link can move to any one of the path spaces the arrows point to.
If Link lands on a white space, your turn is over. If Link lands on a yellow space, select one facedown playing tile from the world Link is now in and turn that tile over. (See Turning Over Tiles section, above right.)
The Entry space located between each world cannot be landed on or passed over until its matching Magic tile is found. (See Turning Over Tiles section, above right.)
Turning Over Tiles
On your turn, when Link lands on a yellow space, flip over any one facedown tile located in the same world he is in.
If you turn over a Magic Tile (see Figure 5), remove it from the gameboard and place it in front of you. It counts as one heart and is yours to keep for the rest of the game. (You never have to give it up.) Your turn is then over.
Figure 5: Magic tiles by world. 1st World: Fairy. 2nd World: Raft. 3rd World: Water of Life. 4th World: Key. 5th World: Bomb.
IMPORTANT: Once a Magic tile is found, Link is free to move on a regular turn by die count toward an Entry space and the next world. For example: Once the Fairy Magic tile is turned over in the 1st World, Link can move toward the Fairy Entry space and into the 2nd World.
However, even when a Magic tile is found, Link can stay in the same world and fight any remaining monsters. The decision is yours!
If you turn over a Monster tile, all players must team up to battle the monster by rolling their attack dice. Follow these steps:
- All players roll their attack dice simultaneously.
- Count the number of swords rolled. To defeat a monster, the total number of swords must match or be greater than the number shown on the Monster tile.
For Example: If the Monster tile has a number 3 on it, at least 3 of the 4 attack dice rolled must show a sword to defeat the monster. See Figure 6.
Figure 6: Attack dice.
Battle Results
If your group fails to defeat a monster, every player must give up a heart chip to the drawpile. This includes players who rolled a sword.
If your group defeats a monster that displays a heart, every player who rolled a sword takes a heart chip from the drawpile. However, players who rolled a red square do not get any hearts.
If your group defeats a monster that doesn't display a heart, no one can collect a heart. (But no one loses a heart either!)
After battling a monster, leave the Monster tile faceup on the gameboard. Whether the monster was defeated or not, players will not battle it again. Your turn is then over. The next player rolls the numbered die and moves Link the number of spaces indicated on the die.
The game continues as players move Link from world to world and battle monsters.
Ending the Game
The game ends when a player captures the Triforce tile that's hidden in the 6th world.
Figure: Triforce Tile (Princess Zelda).
If you are the player who turns over the Triforce tile, you must try to keep it by doing the following:
Take all 4 attack dice and roll them yourself. If you roll 4 swords, the Triforce is yours! It's worth 2 hearts!
If you didn't roll 4 swords, you still have a chance to keep the Triforce. First, count up any swords that you did roll. Then roll the remaining red square dice again. If, after the second roll, you have rolled a total of 4 swords, the Triforce tile is yours.
If you fail to roll 4 swords after two rolls, you cannot keep the Triforce tile. Your turn is then over. The next player rolls the attack dice as described above. The first player to roll 4 swords within 2 rolls gets to keep the Triforce.
Transcriber note: the printed phrase "If you fail! 'o roll 4 swords" contains a print/scan glyph error; it is transcribed here as "If you fail to roll 4 swords".
Another Way to End the Game
The game also ends if any player runs out of hearts (and doesn't have any Magic tiles). This could happen in any of the 6 worlds.
Winning the Game
When the game ends, all players count up their heart chips. Remember, each Magic tile counts as 1 heart. The Triforce tile counts as 2 hearts. The player with the most hearts wins.
In the event of a tie, each player tied for the lead rolls all 4 attack dice. First person to roll the most swords wins.
1, 2 and 3 Player Games
When there are less than four players, follow the rules previously described, with the following exceptions:
3-Player Game:
- On your turn, when battling a monster, roll 2 attack dice while the other players roll just one.
- If a monster displaying a heart is defeated, you win a heart as long as you rolled at least one sword.
2-Player Game:
- Each player starts the game with 4 heart chips.
- Each player rolls 2 attack dice when battling monsters.
- If a monster displaying a heart is defeated, you win a heart only if you rolled 2 swords.
1-Player Game:
- You roll all 4 attack dice when battling monsters.
- Magic tiles can be lost when battling monsters in the same way that heart chips can be lost.
- When you find the Triforce tile, you can immediately keep it. (You don't have to roll the attack dice as in a multi-player game.)
NOTE: In a 1-player game, see how many worlds you can move through before running out of hearts. Count up your hearts at the end of each game for the "score to beat" in future games.