Frantic
Frantic Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 72 colour number cards
- 9 black number cards
- 24 plain-coloured special cards
- 23 wish special cards
- 1x "Fuck You" card
- 20 event cards (white backs)
- 1 rules + 1 rule card with a QR-code
Special cases and digital rule search: rulefactory.ch/rulebook/frantic
Game Preparation
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Shuffle the playing cards (black backs) and deal 7 cards to each player. Set the remaining cards aside as a face-down draw pile.
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Shuffle the event cards (white backs) and place them in a separate pile, face down.
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Prepare a pen and paper and set a point limit. We recommend the following:
Players short medium long 2 to 4 137 154 179 5 to 8 113 137 154 -
In the first round, the owner of the game is the dealer. In the following rounds, the person who lost the last round deals the cards.
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Turn over the top playing card in the draw pile and treat the card as if you had played it – with all the effects and consequences it entails. This card becomes the discard pile.
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The game is played anticlockwise. The player to your right starts the game and has to play a card on the most top card of the discard pile.
Taking Turns
- During your turn, you can play one card from your hand.
- You can generally play colour on colour and number on number (or symbol on symbol). Which cards you can play from your hand depends on the top card of the discard pile. More details are available in the descriptions of each type of card.
- If you can't or don't want to play a card, draw a card from the draw pile.
- Even after drawing a card, you can still play a card. The one drawn or another one.
End of a Round
The round ends when:
- One of you no longer has a hand of cards.
- One of you wants to/has to draw a card, but the draw pile has been used up.
Important: special and event card effects are played to the end. The round only really ends when it is the next person's regular turn and at least one player still has no cards.
Scoring
Every player who still has cards in their hand at the end of the round adds up the points on their hand cards and adds that number to their total score.
The points count as follows:
- coloured and black number cards: numerical value on the card
- plain-coloured and wish special cards: 7 points
- the "Fuck You" card: 42 points
The player with the highest score in this round deals the cards in the next round.
End of the Game
Rounds are played until someone exceeds the set point limit. The person with the lowest score wins the game.
Playing Cards
Coloured Number Cards
- Playable on the same number or same colour
- Playable on the colour or number that was wished for
Black Number Cards
- Playable on the same number
- Playable on the number that was wished for
Effect: immediately turn over the top event card and execute it.
Note: black is not a colour and can therefore not be wished for or followed by another black card!
Plain-Coloured Special Cards
- Playable on the same symbol or same colour
- Playable on the colour that is wished for
Note: the effects of these cards have to be executed.
2nd Chance Play a matching second card on "2nd Chance". If you can't play an appropriate card or don't have a second card in your hand, you have to draw one card from the pile.
Exchange Give someone two cards from your hand and draw two cards from the same person without looking before they put your cards in their hand. Note: if you or your victim only have one card left in your hand, the exchange will be two for one, one for two or one for one. If you play "Exchange" as your last card, still draw two cards from someone.
Gift Give someone two cards from your hand. Note: if you only have one card left, give just that card away. If you play "Gift" as your last card, still select a potential victim. It might be possible to counter the attack.
Skip Select a person to be skipped in the next round. Note: you are not allowed to select a player who is already being skipped in that round.
Troublemaker Trigger an event immediately.
Wish Special Cards
Playable on all playing cards.
- These special cards have an obligatory wish effect and a special effect. The special effect is – if not specified otherwise – optional.
- With the wish effect, choose a possible colour. For wish cards with numbers in the background (e.g. "Fantastic"), you may alternatively wish for a number.
- Wishes must either be fulfilled or overridden with another wish card.
- There are also wish special cards which you can toss in as a !Reaction even when it's not your turn.
Note: black is not a colour and cannot be wished for!
Fantastic No special effect → Wish for a number or colour
Equality Select a person with fewer cards than you. That person has to draw cards from the draw pile until they have the same number of cards in their hand as you. → Wish for a colour
Counterattack Tossed in as a !Reaction: If you were selected as a victim of an attack special card, you are allowed to immediately toss in "Counterattack". This immediately ends the effect of the special card. You can now carry out the effect of the card you stopped on any player(s) as if you had been the one to originally play the special card. → The attack you execute as a counter can also be countered with a "Counterattack" card. → Tossing in "Counterattack" does not count as a turn. Still wish for a colour.
When played normally: → Wish only for a colour
Fantastic Four It is mandatory to select one or several players who have to draw a total of four cards from the pile. You determine how the four cards are allocated. Select all of your victims before they start drawing cards. Note: this effect has to be executed. → Wish for a number or colour
Nice Try Tossed in as a !Reaction: After one or several players have run out of cards in their hands and all special effects and events in the current turn are complete, you can toss in "Nice Try". → All players who just got rid of their cards have to draw three new cards from the pile. The round then continues without interruption. → Tossing in "Nice Try" does not count as a turn. Still wish for a colour.
When played normally: → Wish only for a colour
Unique Special Cards
Fuck You You are only allowed to play this card when you have exactly ten cards in your hand (including "Fuck You"). If you play this card, slide it under the top card of the discard pile. The game then continues with that top card. Note: you are not allowed to employ special card effects to specifically pass the "Fuck You" card on to other players (for example, "Gift" / "Exchange"). If someone draws the "Fuck You" from your hand, lucky you!
During an event, "Fuck You" is treated like any other playing card, so you're allowed to discard it, pass it on, etc.
Event Cards
- Every time you play a black number card or a "Troublemaker", an event card is activated. To do so, turn over the top event card of the pile and execute its effect.
- If an effect impacts several players, the effect is executed according to the order of play starting with the person on your right.
- If several players are potential candidates for an effect, it affects the first person in the order of play.
- If you have to discard cards from your hand due to the event, slide them under the top card of the discard pile.
- If one or several of you get rid of your hand of cards due to an event, the round only ends after the effect has been executed completely or at least as well as possible.
Note: only read through the individual events when they are activated during a game. This will save you time.
Charity Look for the person with the most cards in their hand. Every other player now draws a card from that person without looking. Note: if several players are potential candidates, the rest of the players have to draw a card from every player with the most cards (players with the most cards, however, do not draw cards from each other).
Communism Draw cards from the draw pile until you all have the same number of cards as the person with the most cards in their hand.
Doomsday The round ends immediately. Everyone scores 50 points. The points on your hand of cards are not counted.
Earthquake Pass your hand of cards to your right.
Expansion Draw cards from the draw pile according to the order of play: the first person draws one card, the second draws two, the third draws three, etc.
Friday the 13th It's Friday the 13th. A mass murderer is running about in a hockey mask ... but only in the film. It's a regular day like any other. Nothing happens and the round continues as usual.
Gambling Man Place any card from your hand face down on the table. Now turn your cards over at the same time. The person with the second lowest point value on their card now has to put all of the cards in their hand. If there's a tie, it affects the first person in the order of play. Note: players without any cards to place down have to automatically take the cards that were placed on the table.
Lost & Found Search the discard pile and choose 3 playing cards. Deal out the selected cards as you wish. You can also give yourself cards. Then turn over the top card from the draw pile. Treat this card as if you had played it yourself. The game continues on this card.
Market Turn over one card for each player from the draw pile. In the order of play, each player puts one of the cards in their hand.
Mating Season Discard all number cards with a numerical value that you have at least twice in your hand. This also applies to black number cards.
Merry Christmas In the order of play distribute all the cards in your hand to the players of your choice face down. How you distribute the cards is up to you. Once all of the players have distributed their cards, pick up the cards given to you by your fellow players as your new hand of cards.
Mexican Standoff Discard your entire hand of cards and draw three new cards from the pile in the order of play.
Recession Discard in the order of play the cards of your choice: the first person discards one card, the second discards two, the third discards three, etc.
Robin Hood Figure out which person has the most and which has the fewest cards in their hands. These two now have to swap their hands of cards. Note: if several players are potential candidates, it applies to the first person in the order of play. If everyone has the same number of cards, nothing happens.
Surprise Party In order of play give one card from your hand to the person of your choice. Note: the gifted cards are only put in the hand of cards after the event.
The All-Seeing Eye Place all of your hands of cards face up on the table. Once everyone has looked at the cards to their satisfaction, pick the cards back up and resume playing.
Third Time Lucky In order of play draw three cards from the pile.
Tornado Put all of your hand cards together. Shuffle the cards and redeal them face down – card for card – around the table until they have all been distributed.
Upside Down Immediately turn over the draw pile. From now on, you can see which cards are drawn. The pile remains turned over until the end of the round.
Vandalism Determine which colour was played last (except for black). All players now have to discard all cards in their hands in that colour. Note: if a colour has not been played yet, this event has no effect.
Credits
Frantic – 4th Edition © 2025. Authors: Fabian Engeler, Pascal Frick, Pierre Lippuner, Stefan Weisskopf. Layout & illustration: Pierre Lippuner. Rulefactory AG, Güterbahnhofstrasse 7, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland.