Curse You, Robin Hood!
Curse You, Robin Hood! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Cards: 50 Goods cards in 5 suits: Ale, Bread, Cloth, Gems, Meat. There are 10 cards per Good, ranked 1-10. Each card has 0-3 Target symbols. Rank 1 has none; ranks 2-5 have one; ranks 6-9 have two; rank 10 has three.
- Legends: 7 Legends (virtual opponents): Friar Tuck, Little John, Will Scarlet, The Prince, Maid Marian, the Sheriff, and Robin Hood.
- Score tokens: Keep score with gold coins or chips.
Game Overview
A full game is one round per player. A round is composed of turns. Each turn is composed of three types of trading. The player at the end of the game with the most points wins!
Setup
Set Up a Game
Depending on the number of players, some Legendary characters from Sherwood Forest will join your game as virtual opponents. If learning the game, play with Friar Tuck or the Sheriff. Otherwise, decide as a group who to play with.
- 1 Player: Three Legends arrayed in front of you.
- 2 Players: Two Legends, one between each player.
- 3-5 Players: One Legend to the dealer's left.
- 6 Players: Do not play with a Legend.
Put away any remaining Legends. Each player and Legend will have a stockpile of cards in front of themselves, visible to all. Your stockpile begins each round empty.
Set Up a Round
- Shuffle all the Goods cards.
- Deal x Goods cards to each player's hand, kept secret.
- Deal y Goods cards to each Legend's "hand." Their hand is actually just a stack of face-down cards beside them.
- Deal z Goods cards face-up to the center of the table. This area is called the Market.
The number of cards dealt depends on the number of players:
| 1P | 2P | 3P | 4P | 5P | 6P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x: Each Hand | 9 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| y: Legend | 8 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 7 | - |
| z: The Market | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
- 1 Player: 9 cards to your hand. 8 cards to each Legend. 6 cards to the Market.
- 2 Players: 9 cards to each hand. 8 cards to each Legend. 6 cards to the Market.
- 3 Players: 12 cards to each hand. 11 to the Legend. 3 cards to the Market.
- 4 Players: 9 cards to each hand. 8 cards to the Legend. 6 cards to the Market.
- 5 Players: 8 cards to each hand. 7 cards to the Legend. 3 cards to the Market.
- 6 Players: 8 cards to each hand. 2 cards to the Market.
How to Play
Each turn is composed of three steps:
- Step 1: Each Legend plays the top card from their stack. See the Legends rules below for further details.
- Step 2: Each player simultaneously chooses one card from their hand and holds it out face-down.
- Step 3: Each player reveals their card simultaneously. Three types of trading may then occur, in the order noted below. Put any card you receive from a trade into your stockpile face-up. Sort your stockpile by Good, with Targets and ranks visible. Once you trade, you are no longer eligible for any further trades this turn.
Trading
A) Match: Players who reveal the same rank must trade with each other. These players pass their card to the nearest matched player to their left.
B) High-Low: From amongst the remaining players, the player who revealed the highest rank must trade their card with the player who revealed the lowest rank.
C) Market: Any remaining players must each, in descending order of rank, take a card from the Market and replace it with the card they played this turn.
Legends may Match and High-Low trade just like any player. Instead of Market Trading, Legends add the card they played directly to their stockpile.
Example: In this example turn, the three 5s trade clockwise with each other. Then the 4 and the 9 trade with each other because they were the lowest and highest remaining cards. Finally, that leaves the 7 to trade with the Market.
End of Round
Take turns until each player has one card in hand. Discard this card.
Curse You, Robin Hood!: If a player or Legend has more Targets in a type of Good than any other player or Legend, they must discard all cards of that Good from their stockpile. If tied for most Targets, all tied players or Legends must discard those cards from their stockpiles.
Scoring
From the remaining cards in your stockpile, your base score is 1 point per card in your stockpile. Then add the highest rank from each Good in your stockpile. You do not have to tally the Legend's stockpile as part of the scoring, but some players may still be curious how they performed against the Legends.
Example: Ann scores 14 points. Bob scores 13 points. Cat scores 21 points. Dev scores 31 points. Eve scores 23 points. (The printed example shows each player's stockpile cards with their per-card values and a running total; the per-card breakdown is in the rulebook's image and is not reproduced here.)
Pauper Victory: If you have no cards in your stockpile at the end of the round, score 50 points. This is difficult to do, but competitive players may enjoy the challenge.
End of Game
A full game is one round per player. Tally your points from round to round. The player with the most points after the final round is the winner! If tied, the player with the most Targets in their stockpile wins. If still tied, tied players engage in a contest of card archery: Throw cards at a target.
Legends
Friar Tuck: Play a card face-up.
The Sheriff: Play a card face-down. Reveal this card in step 3 along with all other players' cards.
The other Legends may bluff during the game. They reveal the top card of their stack face-up in step 1. In step 3, they reveal a second card from the top of their stack, which may change the Legend's actual play:
- Little John: If it's lower, play it instead.
- Will Scarlet: If it's higher, play it instead.
- Robin Hood: If it's gem or cloth, play it instead.
- The Prince: If it's a different Good, play it instead.
- Maid Marian: If it's the same Good, play it instead.
After all trades resolve, return the Legend's unplayed card to the bottom of their stack face-down.
Legend tendencies: Friar Tuck is always honest. The Sheriff is always secretive. These Legends only play one card during a turn. Little John usually plays low. Will Scarlet usually plays high. Robin Hood shuns precious goods. The Prince is usually lying. Maid Marian is usually honest.
Negotiation, Table Talk, and Tips
It takes a few plays to find the nuances of negotiation. You may negotiate with other players before choosing a card during step 2, arranging beneficial trades. Be subtle in these discussions, as other players could interfere in early rounds. No agreement is binding, but it's generally best to be honest. And remember, avoid Targets!