DOUC IN DANGER Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Preparation
  • Game Material
  • Game Overview
  • Game Objective
• Danger Level 1
  • Beginning of the Month
• Danger Level 2
  • Additions to the Beginning of the Month
  • Additions to the Day Phase
  • Additions to the Night Phase
• Danger Level 3
  • Additions to the Beginning of the Month
  • Action Cards
  • Additions to the Day Phase
  • Additions to the Night Phase
  • Additions to the End of Month
• Day Phase
  • Save DOUCs
  • Put More DOUCs in Danger
  • Ending the Day Phase
• Night Phase
• End of the Month
• Game End
• Symbols

Game Preparation

Game Material

• 6 Roles: 1 Ranger, 1 Poacher, 4 Tourists
• 36 DOUCs in 3 colors with strengths 1-12
• 12 Trump DOUCs with strengths 1-12
• 1 Rainy Season card, placed at the end of the draw pile
• 1 Treetop, inside the lid
• 11 Actions: 6 Traps, 3 Donations, 2 Rescue Teams (only needed for Danger Level 3)

If you have trouble distinguishing the DOUCs' colors, the symbols are: yellow (star), blue (water drop), green (leaf), gray (rock).

Game Overview

This game takes place over 3 months, each of which is divided into turns that represent one day in the life of the DOUCs. Each day is divided into a day phase and a night phase. In the day phase the DOUCs might be endangered, saved or even lost. In the night phase, players' hands of cards are replenished and roles change. A month ends when the deck of cards is used up and all cards have been played.

In each game, the deck of cards will be played through 3 times (months). Before starting the players must decide how difficult to make their game, as determined by the 3 DANGER LEVELs. Players may choose a single DANGER LEVEL, or they may mix and match DANGER LEVELs in each month of their game.

The first time you play DOUC IN DANGER, start with LEVEL 1. This will give you an idea of what the game is all about. After you've played LEVEL 1 a few times and gotten the hang of the game, you can move up to LEVEL 2 or 3 for increased difficulty, intensity, and excitement.

Game Objective

Try not to lose any DOUCs. The player with the fewest lost DOUCs after 3 months wins.

Danger Level 1

Step into the jungle to see the DOUCs for the first time. Impressed by their beauty, you want to get closer to them, but beware! As you venture deeper into the jungle, things will become more dangerous for the DOUCs.

Beginning of the Month

The month begins with the distribution of roles. For the first month, the player with the smallest ecological footprint takes the role of the Ranger. In all other months, give the Ranger role to the player with the fewest lost DOUCs. If there is a tie, apply the first month's rule. In any case, the Ranger must assign the Poacher role to the player of their choice. Everyone else receives a Tourist role. All players must keep their role cards face-up in front of themselves.

The Poacher shuffles the DOUCs and Trump DOUCs into a single deck. The deck size depends on the number of players:

Players	2	3	4	5-6
DOUCs and Trump DOUCs	strengths 1-7	strengths 1-9	strengths 1-10	strengths 1-12

Then, the Poacher deals 5 cards to each player before arranging the remaining game materials as shown in the diagram below. Place the Rainy Season card at the bottom of the deck, face-up. Set the action cards aside - these are only used at DANGER LEVEL 3.

Diagram key:

• DRAW PILE = DOUCs + Trump DOUCs; RAINY SEASON CARD goes at the bottom of the draw pile.
• DANGER ZONE = playing area.
• TREETOP = inside the lid.

Danger Level 2

Read this section once you are comfortable playing LEVEL 1.

After your initial experiences, your curiosity grows and you are ready to dive deeper into the DOUCs' territory, but this may lead to dire consequences for the DOUCs! With a little luck and some quick thinking, you'll be able to rise to the challenge of DANGER LEVEL 2!

DANGER LEVEL 2 is played as DANGER LEVEL 1 plus Jungle Cards.

Additions to the Beginning of the Month

After the Poacher deals cards to the players, they must place 6 face-down cards around the draw pile. These are Jungle Cards.

Diagram key:

• JUNGLE CARDS: the 6 face-down cards placed around the draw pile.
• DRAW PILE = DOUCs + Trump DOUCs.
• RAINY SEASON CARD sits at the end of the draw pile.
• DANGER ZONE = playing area.
• TREETOP = inside the lid.

Each player may look at one Jungle Card and then return it to its original position, face-down. Multiple players may look at the same Jungle Card.

Additions to the Day Phase

The Ranger and Poacher may turn over a Jungle Card at any time, instead of playing a card from their hand. This may or may not match the appropriate action (saving or endangering a DOUC).

Tourists may not use Jungle Cards, as they lack the necessary knowledge about the jungle.

• If the revealed card matches the player's intended action, it must be played like a hand card. This also applies to the first card the Poacher places into the Danger Zone. Any remaining Jungle Cards may still be played.
• If the revealed card does not match the appropriate action, it must be shown to all players and returned, face-down, to its original place.
• If this affects the Ranger, the day phase ends immediately and all DOUCs in danger become their lost DOUCs.
• If this affects the Poacher, they will not be able to put any DOUCs in danger for the rest of the day phase. Tourists can still do that.

Additions to the Night Phase

Before dealing cards to players, the Poacher must first refresh the Jungle Cards to a total of 6, or until the draw pile is exhausted.

If dealing cards to players exhausts the draw pile, players must draw from the Jungle Cards, beginning with the first player to be owed a card and going clockwise until each player has 5 cards in hand or the Jungle Cards have been exhausted.

Danger Level 3

Read this only after you've played LEVEL 2.

As you travel deep into the jungle, things become even more unpredictable. Even as some players bring help, others may bring unexpected dangers.

DANGER LEVEL 3 is played as DANGER LEVEL 1 plus Action Cards.

Additions to the Beginning of the Month

Before shuffling the cards, the Poacher must first add action cards to the deck according to the number of players:

Players	2	3-4	5-6
Trap	4	5	6
Donation	1	2	3
Rescue Team	1	1	2

Draw pile = DOUCs + Trump DOUCs + Traps + Rescue Teams + Donations, with the Rainy Season card at the end of the draw pile.

Can also be combined with DANGER LEVEL 2 (Jungle Cards).

Action Cards

A player may play action cards from their hand during the day phase, as long as the symbols (heart) or (crosshair) on those cards match the symbol on their role card.

• Donation (heart action): Place the Donation on a DOUC in danger. This DOUC is immediately saved.
• Trap (crosshair action): Place the Trap on a rescuing DOUC. That DOUC is now in danger.
  • A DOUC that has already been saved remains saved.
  • Traps cannot be placed on Donations.
  • Remember: there can never be more DOUCs in danger than the total number of cards in the Ranger's hand.
• Rescue Team (heart action):
  • The Rescue Team passes the responsibility of saving DOUCs in danger to another player.
  • To do so, one player plays the Rescue Team in the middle of the Danger Zone. All other players try to put a hand on the Rescue Team as quickly as possible.
  • The final player to place their hand on the Rescue Team must then save as many remaining DOUCs in danger as possible, and place any unsaved DOUCs in front of themself as lost. That player may use Jungle Cards and play action cards with a heart symbol (Donations or another Rescue Team), even if their role does not normally allow them to do so. In any case, the day phase ends immediately after this step is complete.
  • Note that playing a second Rescue Team will cause these steps to repeat.
  • The other players may not use any role abilities or play any action cards once the Rescue Team has been played.

Additions to the Day Phase

If the Poacher is unable to put a DOUC in danger at the beginning of a day phase (because they only have action cards in their hand and the Jungle Cards are depleted), the day phase ends immediately. The Poacher must place one of the action cards in their hand into their lost DOUC pile.

Action cards on the lost DOUC pile count as lost DOUCs.

Only in combination with DANGER LEVEL 2: If the Jungle Card revealed by the Poacher at the start of a day is an action card, that card is placed into the Treetop and the day phase ends immediately.

Additions to the Night Phase

Place all played action cards into the Treetop.

If the Rainy Season card is revealed, Tourists may not play any action cards marked with a heart in the next day phases. In this case, only the Ranger may play cards with that symbol.

Additions to the End of Month

Any action cards held by the last remaining player are added to their pile of lost DOUCs.

Day Phase

Poacher: The Poacher puts DOUCs in danger, which in turn puts pressure on the Ranger.

Ranger: The Ranger must save endangered DOUCs. Each unsaved DOUC is considered lost, and will have a negative effect on end-game scoring.

Tourists: Tourists may save DOUCs or put DOUCs in danger or even try to do both! Tourists never lose DOUCs. A Tourist may also choose to remain uninvolved.

Each day begins with the Poacher playing any card from their hand into the Danger Zone, which places a DOUC in danger. Once this is done, cards may be played in any order, and by any player (there are no turns). All players may now save (heart) DOUCs or put them in danger (crosshair), according to their roles and their cards in hand.

Save DOUCs

A player with a heart on their role card may save DOUCs. A DOUC in danger may be saved by playing a rescuing DOUC, which can be EITHER a stronger (higher-numbered) DOUC of the same color, OR any Trump DOUC. In either case, place that card on top of the DOUC in danger, making sure that both DOUCs' strengths remain clearly visible. The previously endangered DOUC is now a saved DOUC and is no longer in danger.

Trump DOUCs are stronger than all other DOUCs. If a Trump DOUC is in danger, it can only be saved by a stronger Trump DOUC.

Put More DOUCs in Danger

A player with a crosshair on their role card has the option to put more DOUCs in danger, by placing a DOUC next to those that have already been played. To do so, the new DOUC's strength must match that of any DOUC already within the Danger Zone. There may never be more DOUCs in danger than the number of cards in the Ranger's hand - the Ranger must always have the theoretical possibility of saving DOUCs with the cards in their hand.

Example: The Poacher puts a yellow DOUC of strength 2 in danger. The Ranger rescues this DOUC with a yellow DOUC of strength 4. The Poacher and the Tourists can bring more DOUCs (of any color) of strength 2 or 4 in danger.

Ending the Day Phase

The day phase can be ended if:

• All DOUCs have been saved and none of the players can or want to put another DOUC in danger.
• OR the Ranger declares that they consider all remaining DOUCs in danger as lost.

In either case, the Ranger must ask if any other player wants to play a card. If all players decline to do so, the day phase ends.

Night Phase

Darkness falls in the jungle and silence returns. Each night, perform the following actions in order:

1. Place all saved DOUCs and their rescuers into the Treetop.
2. Any DOUCs that are still in danger become lost. The Ranger must place lost DOUCs in front of themselves until the end of the month.
3. The Poacher, starting with themself and going clockwise, deals each player one card at a time from the draw pile until every player has 5 cards in their hand, OR the Rainy Season card is revealed. As long as this card is visible, no more cards may be dealt and the Tourists lose their ability to save DOUCs.
4. A player who has no cards in their hand after cards have been dealt is eliminated from the current month. That player's role card is removed from the game. If the Ranger or Poacher are eliminated, they must swap their role card with a Tourist role card belonging to a player of their choice.
5. Each remaining player then passes their role card to the player on their left.
6. A new day can begin.

End of the Month

A month ends when no more cards can be drawn during the night phase and either ...

• none of the players have cards left in their hand.
• OR only one player has cards left in their hand. That player adds those cards to their lost DOUC pile.

Each player announces and makes note of the number of cards in their lost DOUC pile. Then a new month can begin.

Game End

The game ends after the third month has been completed and each player has totaled their lost DOUCs from all 3 months. The winner is the player who has the fewest lost DOUCs. In case of a tie, the tied players share their victory!

Symbols

• Day phase
• Night phase
• Save
• Endanger
• Action
• Saving action
• Endangering action
• Hand stack
• Treetop
• Danger Zone / playing area
• Draw pile
• Rainy Season
• Jungle Cards
• Or
• DOUCs in danger
• Saved DOUCs
• Rescuing DOUCs
• Lost DOUCs
• Becomes ...
• Ranger, Poacher, Tourist (role symbols)
• Gray, Blue, Yellow, Green, Trump (color and Trump symbols)