Dino Dude Ranch

Dino Dude Ranch Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components
Getting Started
Gameplay
Collecting Resources
Tar Pits
Hired Hands Cards
- The Hired Hands
Capturing Dinosaurs
End of Game
Winning
Dinosaur Fun Facts

Components

5 Player Boards
1 Jurassic Hunting Grounds Board
52 Dinosaur Tiles: 14 Triceratops, 9 Apatosaurus, 9 Stegosaurus, 10 Plesiosaurus, 7 Pterodactyl, 3 Tyrannosaurus
25 Tar Pit Tiles
2 Resource Dice
45 Food Tokens: 20 Leaf, 15 Fish, 10 Meat
7 Rancher Bonus Cards
44 Hired Hands Cards
1 Parts Bag
1 Rules Booklet

Getting Started

Place the Jurassic Hunting Grounds Board in the middle of the playing area, within reach of all players.
Shuffle the Hired Hands Cards and place them face-down on the Jurassic Hunting Grounds Board, in the space labeled "Draw".
Place the Leaf, Fish and Meat Tokens near the Jurassic Hunting Grounds Board. This is the bank.
Place the Tar Pit Tiles next to the bank of Food Tokens.
Place the Dinosaur Tiles inside the Parts Bag.
Randomly select 4 Dinosaur Tiles from the Parts Bag and place them on the square spaces on the Jurassic Hunting Grounds Board.
Give each player 1 Player Board.
- A 2-4 player game uses the "day" sides of the Player Boards that contain 15 squares to house the Dinosaur Tiles.
- For a 5-player game or a quicker 2-4 player game, flip the Player Boards to the "night" sides that contain 11 squares.
Shuffle and randomly deal out 1 Rancher Bonus Card to each player.
- Players should look at their Rancher Bonus on the back of the card, but keep it hidden from the other players. These Rancher Bonuses provide players unique scoring opportunities at the end of the game.

Gameplay

At the start of the game, each player reaches into the Parts Bag and pulls out 1 Dinosaur Tile.
- The player who selects the highest valued dinosaur goes first.
- If there is a tie, the tied players keep drawing until there is a clear winner.
- Place the Dinosaur Tiles back into the Parts Bag.
A turn begins with the player rolling both the green and black dice.
The player then collects the resources that correspond with the dice roll.
After rolling, a player can choose to perform any, all, or none of the following actions:
- Capture up to 2 dinosaurs from the Jurassic Hunting Grounds.
- Buy up to 2 Cards.
- Play 1 Card.
After the first player has taken their turn, gameplay moves to the left.

Purple boxes throughout the rulebook contain gameplay variants that adjust for younger players, add more take-that, and increase replayability.

Collecting Resources

At the start of a player's turn, the player rolls both the green and black dice.

The two symbols that are rolled are the resources the player collects.
If two of the same resource are rolled, collect two of that resource.
Leaf: take 1 leaf token from the bank.
Fish: take 1 fish token from the bank.
Meat: take 1 meat token from the bank.
Hired Hand Card: add the top card from the Hired Hand Deck to your hand.
Tar Pit: see below.
If a player rolls a Leaf, Fish, or a Meat and there are none of the corresponding tokens left in the bank, that player may steal the resources they rolled from any other player.

Tar Pits

The Tar Pits are spreading on each player's land!

If a player rolls the Tar Pit symbol on the black die, they must place a Tar Pit Tile on any empty space on their Player Board.
Tar Pits are worth -1 point each.
If Tar Pit Tiles run out, players perform no action when the Tar Pit is rolled.

Tar Pit Attacks! Rules Variant: Players that roll the Tar Pit symbol on the black die during resource collection take 1 Tar Pit Tile from the bank and have the option to place it on an empty space of ANY player's Player Board, including their own. All other rules of the game remain the same.

Hired Hands Cards

Hire some help to work on your ranch for a turn and reap the benefits of their expertise.

Hired Hands Cards are received when the Hired Hands Card symbol is rolled during resource collection.

Players may also pay 2 food tokens (ANY combination of Meat, Leaf, or Fish) to buy cards from the Jurassic Hunting Grounds. Up to 2 cards may be purchased per turn in addition to any acquired during resource collection.

There is no limit to the number of cards a player can have in their hand.
Players may play 1 card from their hand at any point during their turn.
Players may also play 1 OUT OF TURN card during each other player's turn. These cards are specifically labeled "Play On Any Player's Turn".
A card can be played regardless of what resources were rolled or if the player chose to capture any dinosaur(s) or purchase any card(s).
After a card is played, it is immediately discarded (with the exception of the Dino Deni Cards that are worth +2 points at the end of the game).
Discarded cards are placed face-up on the Jurassic Hunting Grounds Board, in the space labeled "Discard Pile".
Dinosaurs that are discarded from ranches by Hired Hands Cards are removed from the game entirely and are not returned to the Parts Bag.
Dinosaurs that are obtained by playing cards DO NOT count towards the limit of 2 dinosaurs captured per turn.
- Dinosaurs that are purchased at a discount due to the effects of a card DO count towards the limit of 2 per turn.
Tar Pit Tiles discarded from ranches by cards are returned to the bank.
Hired Hands Cards are not re-shuffled after the deck is depleted.

Younger Player Rules Variant: Remove all of the Hired Hands Cards from the game. If a Hired Hands Card is rolled during resource collection it is treated as a "Wild" and the player may select any 1 food resource from the bank. All other rules of the game remain the same. For really young players, remove the Rancher Bonus Cards as well and consider adding them back in as players get comfortable with the gameplay.

The Hired Hands

Big Ross Orus, Master Hunter: Big Ross is a Master Hunter and he works to help you easily capture dinosaurs.
Dr. Tilton Rex, The Meddler: Dr. Tilton's cards all directly affect another player or their ranch.
Dino Deni, Jack of All Trades: Deni is a born natural, her cards cover a variety of abilities.
Kendra Zoar, The Agriculturist: Kendra is good at acquiring food resources.
Tara Dactyl, Environmentalist: Tar Pits are Tara's specialty.
Herb E. Vore, Human Resources: As a Human Resource Specialist, all of Herb's cards affect other Hired Hands Cards.

2 vs. 2 Gameplay Variant: Looking for a new way to create the best Dino Dude Ranch? Try teaming up with your favorite rancher for this fun alternative gameplay for four players only.

Players split into teams of two ranchers. Partners should sit across from each other as to alternate turns between teams.
The basic rules of Dino Dude Ranch remain the same (see pages 2-9).
Teammates cannot reveal their secret Rancher Bonuses to each other.
During a turn, a player may choose to swap 1 dinosaur on their ranch for any dinosaur on their partner's ranch (only if the partner agrees).
- If this action is taken, the current active player cannot purchase dinosaurs.
- The player still rolls for resources and may purchase or play cards.
At the end of the game players total up their points as usual. Partner ranchers add both of their scores together for the team total.
The team with the highest team total wins! If there is a tie between the two teams, the team with the fewest combined tar pits wins.

Capturing Dinosaurs

The only way to capture more dinosaurs for your ranch is to go to the Jurassic Hunting Grounds and lure them with their favorite foods!

Only the 4 dinosaurs on the Jurassic Hunting Grounds Board can be captured.
Players can each capture up to 2 dinosaurs from the Jurassic Hunting Grounds per turn.
To capture a dinosaur, the food that the dinosaur likes to eat (found on the right side of the Dinosaur Tile) is paid to the bank.
- Examples: Triceratops requires 2 Leaf Tokens; the Tyrannosaurus requires 2 Meat Tokens and the player must discard (remove from the game) a Triceratops from their ranch.
The captured Dinosaur Tile is then placed on any empty square on the player's Player Board.
The newly emptied space on the Jurassic Hunting Grounds Board is immediately filled with a Dinosaur Tile randomly selected from the Parts Bag.
Players may capture the newly selected dinosaurs as soon as they are placed on the Jurassic Hunting Grounds Board as long as the total number of captured dinosaurs for the turn does not exceed 2.
If 4 of the exact same dinosaur are ever in the Jurassic Hunting Grounds at the same time, the current player may choose to return all 4 dinosaurs to the Parts Bag and then randomly select 4 new dinosaurs to refill the Jurassic Hunting Grounds at no cost.

End of Game

There are two ways in which the game can end:

All 52 dinosaurs are captured from the Jurassic Hunting Grounds.

Any one player fills up all 15 day or 11 night spaces on their Player Board with any combination of Dinosaur Tiles and Tar Pit Tiles.

Winning

Be the rancher with the most valuable ranch!

At the end of the game, players total up the values of the dinosaurs on their Player Boards (values can be found in the top right corner of the Dinosaur Tiles) and subtract one point for each Tar Pit Tile on their Player Boards.
Players reveal the Rancher Bonus on the face of their Rancher Bonus Cards and add additional points to their total score accordingly.
- Each Dinosaur Tile only counts once towards the Rancher Bonus. All dinosaurs pictured in the set must be present on the ranch to earn the points, no partial points are awarded.
- Players earn bonus points for each set of required dinosaurs (or tar pits) they have on their ranch.
The player with the most total points wins! If there is a tie, the player with the fewest Tar Pit Tiles on their Player Board wins!

Dinosaur Fun Facts

Triceratops (Cretaceous, 65 million years ago; N. America)

Triceratops grew to ~7.5m (25 ft.) in length and 3m (10ft.) in height.
Triceratops was an herbivore.
Triceratops had anywhere between 400 and 800 teeth that were constantly replaced throughout its lifetime.

Apatosaurus (Late Jurassic, 150 million years ago; N. America)

Apatosaurus grew to ~23m (75 ft.) in height.
Apatosaurus was an herbivore.
The Apatosaurus was one of the largest creatures to ever roam the earth and it is believed it used its massive tail like a whip to defend itself.

Stegosaurus (Late Jurassic, 150 million years ago; N. America and Europe)

Stegosaurus grew to ~9m (30 ft.) in length and 4m (13ft.) in height.
Stegosaurus was an herbivore.
Although Stegosaurus was very large, its brain was about the size of a dog's brain.
It is believed that the plates on the Stegosaurus were used for either regulating its temperature or for protection.

Plesiosaurus (Early Jurassic, 200-175 million years ago; England)

Plesiosaurus grew to about 20m (65 ft.) in length.
Plesiosaurus is believed to have been the apex predator of the oceans, eating fish and cephalopods. They could not breathe underwater, so they surfaced for air.
Stones have been found in the stomachs of Plesiosaurus and it is believed the stones may have been used to aid in digestion.

Pterodactyl (Late Jurassic, 150 million years ago; primarily Germany)

Pterodactyls are officially named Pterodactylus and are a genus of Pterosaurs, or "winged lizard" and are not a dinosaur.
A Pterodactyl's wingspan was ~1m (3 ft.) and was formed by a skin and muscle membrane.
Pterodactyls were carnivores and most likely preyed on fish and small animals.

Tyrannosaurus (Cretaceous, 65 million years ago; N. America)

Tyrannosaurus grew to about 12m (40 ft.) in length.
Tyrannosaurus had many hollow bones to reduce its weight without loss of strength.
Tyrannosaurus was a carnivore, believed to act as both a predator and a scavenger, and its powerful jaws could bite through bones.