Tricksters
Tricksters Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
90 Annukuh Cards - [45 Light cards (White Corners) and 45 Dark cards (Black Corners)]
16 Two-sided Energy Tokens
1 Oversized Time Counter
1 Custom Mat
1 Instruction Booklet
Gameplay & Setup
Decide randomly who goes first. Turn order follows counter-clockwise. Shuffle all the cards and deal 7 cards to each player. Put the rest of the deck aside and reveal the top two cards (these 2 cards are called the Cub cards). Place the Cub Cards face up, next to the deck. Each round will consist of three phases: 1. The Playing Phase, 2. The Special Effects Phase, and 3. The Scoring Phase.
Each card has 3 key pieces of information: 1. Background color, 2. Light/Dark alignment, and 3. effect (if any).
Playing Phase
In a turn, a player can choose between two actions:
- Draw two cards from the Deck and/or Cub Cards (the face-up cards next to the main deck) in any combination (but not one at a time). If you take any Cub cards, replenish them with cards from the top of the deck. (16)
OR
- Place into the pool one card from your hand into the center of the table, face down.
Once 4 cards have been added to the pool, the special effects phase begins. The player who adds the fourth card of each round must reveal which card it is.
Special Effects Phase
To begin the special effects phase, all players must choose and reveal one card from their hand at the same time. The card you reveal represents your Avatar for this round, and should remain revealed until the end of the round. This chosen Avatar gives access to special effects, and earn points during the Scoring Phase. (1)
Shuffle the 4 cards added and the rest of the pool together, then set X cards aside and reveal the rest. (X will always be the number of the round in which players are in. So, in the first round, set aside one card, in the second round, two cards, and so on.) (2)
Resolving Special Effects
After revealing all but X cards, special effects do their trick.
Each player will have one turn to resolve effects. The first player to take that turn is the player who put the fourth and last card into the pool.
During your effects turn, activate all effects on the revealed cards (excluding Avatars) that match the color of your Avatar. For example, if your chosen Avatar is green, then you get access to all green effects, but none of the blue or red effects (4). Resolve all effects (activating them is not optional) one by one, in any order.
The list of effects is as follows:
- Eye → Look at a player's hand and steal one card from it. (9)
- Swap Arrows → Change your avatar with one card from your hand, then end your turn immediately. (8)
- Skull → Destroy one card in the pool and place one card from your hand into the pool. (7)
- x3 → This card always counts as 3 when determining which color is the Majority (Perceivers), Middle (Keepers) or Minority (Tricksters). (6)
When all players have taken their special effects turn, the scoring phase begins.
Scoring Phase
First, determine the color with the least, the middle, and the most number of revealed cards. Count only the cards revealed in the pool. (Avatars, Cubs or players' hands don't count toward this). (3) (12).
The color with the minority of cards will be considered the Tricksters (12). If your avatar is a Trickster, then score one point of your choice (either 1 light point or 1 dark point).
The color in the middle will be considered the Keepers (12). Each player with a Keeper as an avatar will score no points this round.
The color with the majority of cards will be considered the Perceivers (12). If your avatar is a Perceiver, count how many light cards and how many dark cards are in the pool. (Including cards from Keepers (Middle) and Tricksters (Minority)) (13). This round you are earning Light points if there are more Light cards, or Dark points if there are more Dark cards.
How many points? Well, count how many cards are in the Tricksters (minority). Earn 1 point for each Trickster (minority) card in the pool.
The Perceivers (Majority) will score 0 points if there are no cards in the Tricksters (Minority).
Opposite Points
Players can't have points from both sides, Light or Dark. If you have Light points, and earn Dark points (or viceversa), then some or all points are going to cancel. This is better explained with an example: if you have 3 dark points and you gain 2 light points this round, then you only keep 1 dark point and lose 2 dark points. It's a subtraction: 3 dark - 2 light = 1 dark).
End of the Scoring Phase
First, all cards with special effects must be discarded (even if their effects were not used).
Then, concerning Avatar cards:
- If your Avatar is a Perceiver (Majority), you must discard your avatar card.
- If your Avatar is a Keeper (Middle) put your avatar card back into your hand.
- If your Avatar is a Trickster (Minority) shuffle your avatar card with the rest of the pool.
Lastly, all remaining cards in the pool must be turned face down again, along with the cards left unrevealed. These cards will now form the pool. A new round will happen until someone scores enough points (7 light or 7 dark points) to be named the winner. A good strategy is to keep mental notes of what has been added to the pool, since that might come out again!
Summary of Steps
Players must take a turn deciding from the 2 possible options: drawing 2 cards or adding 1 card to the pool. When 4 cards are added, every player must reveal one card from hand to choose an avatar. Take the whole pool, shuffle it, reveal all but X cards, resolve any effects player by player, score points, discard cards with abilities, and discard/return-to-hand/add all avatar cards, then repeat all phases again. Keep going until a player has got a total of 7 points from any one type of energy. Easy!
Special Cases and FAQ
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I don't have a card in my hand to choose as my avatar. In that case, you cannot participate in the scoring phase during this round. Try not to fall into this situation! (If, in the extremely rare case that a player has no cards in hand to play an avatar, that player will not participate in the scoring phase for this round).
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How do I keep track of the round we are in? To keep track of the rounds, we recommend placing the cards that are set aside horizontally and the ones that were revealed vertically. That way, during each following scoring phase, before shuffling all cards, count the number of cards placed horizontally. A way to keep track of turns is considered to be added during the Kickstarter campaign through stretch goals.
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How can I easily count how many cards are in each race (color)? Preferably arrange the cards by color. Make 3 piles and place cards on each pile of the same color. It is easier to count them that way.
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Can I apply my avatar's printed effect? No. The only effects you are allowed to activate are the ones from cards revealed in the pool. The avatar only works to specify which color you are aligned to.
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My avatar is Light/Dark, does it affect anything? No. Your avatar's Light/Dark alignment is irrelevant and must NOT be considered when counting. The avatar only works to specify which color you are aligned to.
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Specifications on a "x3" effect card. This card does not count as 3 of light/dark alignment (counts as only 1). If this card is in the Minority (Tricksters), it counts as only 1 point when determining how many points the Majority (Perceivers) will receive.
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Specifications on a "Skull" effect card. If you don't have a card in hand to put after destroying, It's ok.. you just destroy a card normally, but don't add anything new. If you add a card with an effect of your Avatar color, you get access to that effect after applying EVERY other effect. (Careful, Swap Arrows end your turn immediately. Meaning that you don't get access to effects after swapping your avatar). See 10.
Same thing with minority (Tricksters): if they are tied, consider both races as minority (Tricksters). (Meaning that this round will be NO Middle (Keepers).)
Perceivers will only score equal to the amount of cards of a single race; and that race must be the one with the least cards. (So, if Tricksters are tied with 3 cards each, Perceivers will only get 3 points, not 6).
In the case where Keepers and Tricksters are tied, but the number of cards is different, Perceivers score points equal to the least number of cards. (This can happen with a "x3" special effect card).
In the rare case that the 3 races end in a tie, just reveal one card from the ones left unrevealed. The color of the card determines the Majority (Perceivers) and the other 2 races are considered Minority (Tricksters).
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Tie breaker between Energy. If a tie between Light and Dark cards happens, take one card from the ones left unrevealed. Perceivers will earn that kind of energy. (In case no cards are left unrevealed, take one from the deck and then discard it).
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Tie breaker between players. If more than one player get 7 or more points tying with other players, then only the players involved in the tie will continue playing until the tie is broken.
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What happens if you add to the pool an avatar card with a special effect at the end of the round? Do you discard it or shuffle it with the others? Cards with special effects that are added to the pool this way won't have to be discarded, since that step already happened.
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Can I see first which cards I draw, then take Cub cards? No. You decide whether to draw 2 random cards, 2 Cub cards, or 1 and 1. After that decision, you immediately draw them (For example, you cannot draw 1 random, and then decide whether you want another random or a Cub).
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When do I replenish the Cub cards? Right after you have finished drawing. Only replenish the amount of Cubs you drew. If you only drew random cards, you don't have to replenish anything.
Alternate Gameplay: Team Play
The team play will have to be played with an even number of players. Players will have to seat on the other side of the table of his/her own team player. (So, for a turn order, each team will have one turn before any team gets their other player to have a turn).
To win, a team must reach 14 points (20 if it's a 3 player team, 24 for a 4 player team) instead of just 7. The team score will always be the sum of the two players' score. The score is shared, so no matter who wins the points, the final sum is what matters. (So, if Ned and Rob are a team, Ned gets 4 light points and Rob 1 dark point, the team will gain a total of 3 light points).
Teams cannot show what they are playing, or see each other's hands. They can speak, of course. But that will make everyone in the table aware of what they will play or what they have.
Alternate Gameplay: 5-8 Players
For a 5 to 8 player game, 2 copies of Tricksters are going to be needed. The rules are the same, except for two rules: the unrevealed cards rule and the number of cards needed in the pool to pass from the playing phase to the scoring phase.
Pass to the Scoring Phase Alt Rule
The cards needed to pass from the playing phase to the scoring phase will be equal to the number of players. (So, if it's a 7 player game, when there are 7 new cards in the pool, the scoring phase will begin).
Unrevealed Cards Alt Rule
Instead of X being the round in which players are in, X will be twice the number of the round in which players are in. (So, if it's the 4th round, 8 cards will be left unrevealed).
Alternate Gameplay: Solitaire Mode
Tricksters Solo Mode Rules
Solo Mode Option # 1
(For this mode you will have to choose a difficulty level - Easy, Normal, Hard)
Objective of the Game: Reach to 7 points of either Light or Dark before you run out of time counters.
Setup
- Separate all cards into two piles:
First pile will ONLY contain cards without effects AND cards with the "x3" effect. Shuffle the pile and draw 7 cards from it.
Hence, the second pile will only contain cards with effects. Shuffle it and place the top 3 cards beside it and face up (These 3 cards are called Cub Cards).
- Place 7 time counters in the center.
Gameplay
Player Phase
In your turn, you can choose between 2 possible actions:
Draw two cards from between the two decks and/or the Cub cards (The face up cards beside the deck),
OR
Place into the pool one card from your hand.
Once you have taken 4 actions in total (doesn't matter which combination you chose), proceed to the next phase.
Cub Phase
First, count how many cards you added to the pool this round.
If you added exactly 4 cards, proceed to the next phase.
If you added less than 4 cards, fill the difference with the face up Cub cards until there are 4 new cards in the pool, starting from the oldest Cub to the newest, and then the top deck. (So, if you only added 1 card to the pool this round, place the next 3 Cub cards into the pool. These 3 cards are added in order of appearance).
Now, you must choose and reveal one card from your hand. The card you reveal represents your Avatar for this round, and should remain revealed until the end of the round.
After choosing an Avatar, shuffle the 4 cards added and the rest of the pool together, then set X cards aside and reveal the rest. (X will always be the number of the round. So, in the first round, set aside one card, in the second round, two cards, and so on.)
Now that all but X cards from the pool are revealed, proceed to the next phase.
Special Effects Phase
In the Solo mode, this phase means very bad news for you.
We have 3 levels of difficulty for this phase:
- Level 1 (Easy): If an effect that matches the color of your Avatar is revealed, apply its negative effect. For example, if your chosen Avatar is green, then apply all green effects, but none of the blue or red effects. Apply them one by one, in any order. (Swap arrows last)
- Level 2 (Normal): Apply all effects that DO NOT match with your Avatar's color. For example, if your chosen Avatar is green, then apply all blue effects and all Red effects, but none of the green effects. Apply them one by one, in any order. (Swap arrows last)
- Level 3 (Hard): Apply ALL effects revealed, one by one, in any order (Swap arrows last).
The list of effects is as follows:
- Eye → Reduce the number of revealed Cub cards by 1. (The face up cards next to the pile)
- Swap Arrows → Change your avatar with other card from your hand that has a different color. (This effect must be taken last always)
- Skull → Immediately lose one time counter.
- x3 → This card always counts as 3 when determining which color is the Majority (Perceivers), Middle (Keepers) or Minority (Tricksters).
Scoring Phase and Opposite Points
(Exactly the same as in Tricksters 2-4 player mode).
Discarding Effect Cards
For this part, we also have 3 levels of difficulty:
- Level 1 (Easy): Remove from the pool all cards with effects (Including "x3" cards).
- Level 2 (Normal): Remove from the pool all cards that applied an effect. (And all "x3" cards)
- Level 3 (Hard): Do not remove any card from the pool. (Not even "x3" cards)
Then, concerning Avatar cards:
- If your Avatar is a Perceiver (Majority), you must discard your avatar card.
- If your Avatar is a Keeper (Middle) put your avatar card back into your hand.
- If your Avatar is a Trickster (Minority) shuffle your avatar card with the rest of the pool.
Lastly, all remaining cards in the pool must be turned face down again, along with the cards left unrevealed. These cards will now form the pool. Remove 1 Time counter and a new round will happen until you score 7 points, or your 7 time counters are gone.
Solo Mode Option # 2
Objective of the Game: Reach to 7 points of either Light or Dark before your mighty abstract opponent: The Deck.
Setup
Shuffle all the cards in one pile, then draw 7 cards.
Each card has 3 key pieces of information: 1. Background color, 2. Light/Dark alignment, and 3. effect (if any).
Gameplay
Player Phase
In your turn, you can choose between 2 possible actions:
Draw 4 cards from the pile
OR
Place 2 cards into the pool from your hand.
Each time you take any action, the deck will have a turn. The only thing it does is add the top 2 cards from the deck into the pool. (Face down).
Once 4 cards have been added to the pool, the special effects phase begins.
Special Effects Phase
To begin the special effects phase, you must choose and reveal one card from your hand. The card you reveal represents your Avatar for this round, and should remain revealed until the end of the round. This chosen Avatar gives access to special effects, and earns points during the Scoring Phase.
Shuffle the 4 cards added and the rest of the pool together, then set X cards aside and reveal the rest. (X will always be the number of the round you are in. So, in the first round, set aside one card, in the second round, two cards, and so on.)
After revealing all but X cards, activate all effects on the revealed cards (excluding your Avatar) that match the color of your Avatar. For example, if your chosen Avatar is green, then you get access to all green effects, but none of the blue or red effects (4). Resolve all effects (activating them is not optional) one by one, in any order.
The list of effects is as follows:
- Eye → Look at the top 2 cards of the main deck, keep one in your hand and discard the other.
- Swap Arrows → Change your avatar with a card in your hand. After taking this, you can't resolve any more effects.
- Skull → Destroy one card in the pool and place one card from your hand into the pool.
- x3 → This card always counts as 3 when determining which color is the Majority (Perceivers), Middle (Keepers) or Minority (Tricksters).
When you have no more effects to activate proceed to the scoring phase.
Scoring Phase
(To determine which race is Minority (Tricksters) Middle (Keepers) or Majority (Perceivers), it is exactly the same as in the 2-4 player mode).
If your Avatar ends up being a Trickster (Minority): Score 1 point of your choice. (Take 1 light or 1 dark point)
If your Avatar ends up being a Keeper (Middle): Give 1 point to the deck.
If your Avatar ends up being a Perceiver (Majority): Score 1 point for EACH card in the Minority (Tricksters). And then give the 2 points of the same type to the deck.
Points scored by the deck when your Avatar ends up being a Keeper (Middle), or a Perceiver (Majority), are defined by the majority of Light/Dark cards in the pool. If there are more light cards in total, earn light points, and viceversa.
Opposite Points
You or your invisible opponent can't have points from both sides, Light or Dark. If you have Light points, and earn Dark points (or viceversa), then some or all points are going to cancel. This is better explained with an example: if you have 3 dark points and you gain 2 light points this round, then you only keep 1 dark point and lose 2 dark points. It's a subtraction: 3 dark - 2 light = 1 dark).
End of the Scoring Phase
(Exactly the same as in the 2-4 player mode).