Bad Trevor
Bad Trevor Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
How to Play
Bad Trevor is a card game for 3-5 players, set in a world of brave superheroes, evil supervillains and the hapless civilians caught in-between.
The aim is to get rid of all the cards in your hand, while trying to stop your opponents from doing the same - and to avoid being the last player left holding Bad Trevor! During your turn you must play an 'attack hand' against your opponent - three cards selected from your hand, which are placed face-down in front of them. Your opponent must then take a blind pick of one of these cards and carry out the instructions on it - the remaining cards are then returned to you.
The consequences of your opponent choosing a certain card will vary depending on whether it is a hero (blue), villain (red) or civilian (green) card.
There are 52 cards in total, so plenty of opportunities for momentum to swing from person to person throughout the game. The key to winning is judging which attack hand to play and when - and to hope that your opponents fall for your dastardly plans!!
Villain Cards
These cards will make your opponent's life a real nightmare. If someone draws a villain card from your attack hand, they must:
- Read the action out loud.
- Place the card face-up on the discard pile.
- Carry out that action.
- Discard civilians from their hand, if they wish.
- End their turn by playing an attack hand against the next player.
Hero Cards
These cards will make your opponent's life easier. If someone picks up a hero card from your attack hand, they must once again:
- Read the action out loud.
- Place the card face-up on the discard pile.
- Carry out that action.
- Discard any of their civilians, if they wish.
- End their turn by playing an attack hand.
Note 1: Remember, after a player has picked up a card from an opponent's attack hand, the remaining cards must be returned to them and not placed on the discard pile.
Note 2: Some hero or villain cards may require a player to meet certain criteria in order for the card to take effect. If a player doesn't meet those criteria, they can simply read the card out loud and place it face-up on the discard pile, without performing any action.
Note 3: If a player doesn't have enough cards left to lay down an attack hand of three, they should lay down as many cards as they're able to at that stage.
Civilians
Civilian cards have no immediate benefit, but must remain in a player's hand until they're matched with an identical card of the same name and picture. Once paired up they are considered 'rescued' and can be placed on the discard pile, face-up. When a player does this, they are then granted one of three options.
- Carry on as normal and play an attack hand against the next player.
- Choose to reverse the order of play, from clockwise to counterclockwise, or vice versa. This means they will then play their next attack hand against a different opponent. Play will then continue in that direction unless someone pairs up two matching civilian cards and decides to reverse play again.
- If they're feeling lucky a player can point at an opponent of their choice and ask them to hand over a specific civilian card.
If they guessed correctly, they can take it from that opponent, pair it up with the matching card from their own hand and discard them. They then have a choice of carrying out options 1, 2 or 3 again. However, if they guessed incorrectly and the opponent they pointed at does not have that civilian card, their go is over! They lose their opportunity to play an attack hand and the game moves on to the next player.
Note 1: Options 2 and 3 can only be played when there are more than two players still left in the game. Once only two players remain, play simply goes back and forth between them.
Note 2: Civilians can only be paired up and discarded during a player's turn. For example, there may be instances where a player is handed a civilian card during someone else's go. If this happens, they must wait until it is their turn in order to 'rescue' them.
Note 3: Players are under no obligation to rescue civilians the moment they receive a matching card. In fact, they can hold onto as many matching pairs as they like, for as long as they like. This tactic can be used to reverse play when it's more advantageous, such as keeping that dastardly Bad Trevor away from you!
Bad Trevor: The Ultimate Villain
Unlike other cards, Bad Trevor can never be discarded. He will move from player to player throughout the game, slowing them down and making them more vulnerable to certain attacks. To make matters worse, if Bad Trevor is picked up by a player, they must also pick up all the other cards laid down in their opponent's attack hand and add them to their own! If these are hero or villain cards, the player does not carry out the instructions on those cards - as they now belong to them, along with Bad Trevor! However, if they now have a matching pair of civilian cards, they are permitted to pair them up and rescue them if they want to.
Important
- Each turn, three cards are offered to the next player...
- ...who picks one without peeking.
- If Bad Trevor is chosen, the picker must add all three cards to their hand.
As Bad Trevor can never be discarded, the last person holding him is THE LOSER OF THE GAME!
Kamikaze Kevin: The High-Stakes Hero
As Bad Trevor's arch nemesis, Kamikaze Kevin doesn't move from player to player throughout the game. Instead, he sits in the middle of the table, face-up from the very start. At any point in the game, if someone suspects that a particular card in a player's attack hand is Bad Trevor, they can pick up Kamikaze Kevin and slam him down on top of that card while shouting "Take that, Bad Trevor!" Their opponent must then flip over that card and reveal if the player was right or wrong.
- If that player turns out to be correct, they immediately exit the game and hand all their remaining cards to the accused player!
- But, if the accuser was wrong, their opponent can leave the game instead and hand all their cards to their accuser!
Kamikaze Kevin can only be used once in the entire game - after which he must be placed face-up on the discard pile. So players must decide very carefully when to use him, if at all!
And remember, Bad Trevor can never be discarded. So even if Kamikaze Kevin's attack was successful, Bad Trevor must still be returned to whoever laid him down, along with the other cards from that player's attack hand.
Note 1: Kamikaze Kevin can only be played on an attack hand of 2 or more cards. If an opponent is in a position to lay down a single card, they are immune to attack.
Note 2: Anyone can jump in and use Kamikaze Kevin at any point in the game - you don't have to wait until it's your turn to make an accusation!
Note 3: The player slamming down Kamikaze Kevin must shout "Take that Bad Trevor!" in order for the attack to work. If they do not shout it, or deviate from those exact words in any way, Kamikaze Kevin is returned to the middle of the table, face up. As punishment, the guilty person sacrifices their opportunity to use him for the rest of the game!
Starting the Game
At the start of the game, the entire deck is shuffled and dealt out evenly between all the players, face-down. Once everyone has picked up their cards, they have an opportunity to pair up any matching civilian cards in their hand and place them face-up on the discard pile. Doing so has no effect at this stage - i.e. they cannot reverse the play or demand a civilian from another player. Therefore, they can hold on to these civilians for later in the game - although there's a chance they could lose one of these cards at some point, so they must decide carefully!
Whoever was dealt Kamikaze Kevin must then place him, face-up, in the middle of the table, next to the discard pile. The game then starts with this player, in a clockwise direction. They must lay down their first attack hand of three cards and...
Let the madness begin!
Ending the Game
The winner of the game is the first player to get rid of all the cards in their hand. This happens the moment an opponent takes the last card, or cards, from that player's attack hand. Even if that opponent picks up a card which would impact that player, it has no effect, as they're already out of the game!
Of course, there's a second way of getting rid of all your cards... with Kamikaze Kevin! But this high-risk, high-reward move is not for the faint of heart!
The game doesn't stop once the winner is crowned though. Every game needs a loser! So, play always continues until only one player is left - the unlucky player who still has Bad Trevor in their hand!
Note 1: When playing Bad Trevor, bluffing, reverse-psychology and general skullduggery are widely encouraged when playing an attack hand. Anything that might trick an opponent into picking up the card you want them to!
Note 2: Take care of your cards! There's nothing more annoying than people being able to guess which card is which because it's damaged or defaced in some way. So we recommend always playing on a clean, dry surface and asking players not to bend or fold the cards. However, we understand that accidents can happen, which is why every deck has two spare 'Bad Trevor' cards in it. Just make sure you leave the spares in the box before dealing out the cards!
Quickstart Guide
The game is only played with ONE Bad Trevor card, so return any spares to the box before starting. Shuffle all the cards and deal them out evenly between the players, face-down.
At this stage players can inspect their cards and rescue any matching civilians if they want, by placing them face-down on the discard pile.
The player with Kamikaze Kevin then places him face-up in the middle of the table. Play then begins with this person in a clockwise direction.
This first player lays down an attack hand of three cards, face-down, against player two.
Player two takes a blind pick of one of these cards. If it's a villain or hero card, they must read the instructions out loud, discard the card and then carry out that instruction.
If they pick up Bad Trevor they must pick up the other two cards as well, adding all three to their hand. Otherwise, the remaining two cards are returned to player one.
If they pick up a civilian card, this can be discarded providing they have a matching card in their hand. If they do have a matching pair, both civilians can be rescued by placing them face-up on the discard pile. Player two can then choose to reverse the order of play, demand a certain civilian from another player, or continue playing towards player three. Remember - if they ask an opponent for a civilian card that they don't have, their go is over and play moves to the next player.
Each player always ends their turn by playing an attack hand against their next opponent.
The game continues until only one player is left - the one still holding Bad Trevor!
Remember - Kamikaze Kevin can be played at any time by any player - but they must shout "Take that Bad Trevor!" when slamming him down on their card of choice. This move will end the game for either the accuser or the accused, depending on whether that player was right or wrong!
(The Quickstart Guide says matched civilians are discarded "face-down" at the start, while the Starting the Game section says "face-up"; both are transcribed as printed.)