Goblin Teeth
Goblin Teeth Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 Altar Mat
- 31 Item Cards
- 30 Cheat Cards (21 action, 9 ongoing)
- 10 Double-Sided Offering Cards (5 red, 5 blue)
- 1 Offering Mat
- 15 Dice (3 each of 5 colors)
- 5 Reference Cards
- First Player Token
Setup
- Separate the item cards and cheat cards into 2 separate decks. Shuffle each deck and place them face-down at opposite ends of the table.
- Place the offering mat beside the Item deck. Place a random red and blue offering card on the offering mat. Return all other offering cards to the box; they will not be used this game.
- Place the altar mat beside the Cheat deck.
- Each player takes a reference card and draws 1 Cheat card into their hand.
- Each player chooses a color and rolls the 3 dice of that color. This will be your roll for the first round.
- The player with the highest sum of dice takes the first player token and will go first. In the case of a tie, the tallest player goes first.
Note: For a standard game, use offering cards without text.
Objective
Cheat, scheme, and outbid the other goblins so you can be the first to complete an offering for the Big Boss!
Gameplay
Overview
Goblin Teeth is played over a series of rounds. Each round, players bid on Items with dice, using Cheat cards from their hand to gain advantages and confound the other players. Each round ends when all players have placed all of their dice, and each Item is awarded to the player who bid the most for it.
At the end of a round, if a player has acquired all of the Items to complete any 1 of the 3 offering cards (orange, red, or blue offering), the game ends and they win!
A "?" symbol on an offering card can be fulfilled by any Item. A "?=?" symbol must be any 2 Items of the same type.
Starting a New Round
At the start of each round, deal 1 Item from the top of the deck face-down in the center of the table to start the pot (this is called the "hidden Item"). Then, place a number of face-up Items in a row next to the hidden Item, until the number of cards in the pot is equal to the number of players (including the hidden Item).
Then, each player rolls all 3 of their dice. If any player rolls 3 dice with the same value, they must reroll 1 of them until it has a different value. The final result is what they have available to bid with for the round.
Taking Turns
Players take turns in clockwise order, beginning with the first player. On your turn:
- You MAY play any number of Cheat cards from your hand; then,
- You MUST place 1 of your remaining dice on an Item in the pot or on the altar.
If a player does not have any dice, skip their turn. They cannot play Cheat cards.
Playing Cheat Cards
You may play any number of Cheat cards on your turn, but only before you place a die.
Resolve each Cheat card fully before playing the next one. You must complete as much of the card's text as you are able to.
Action Cheat cards are played, then discarded face-up next to the Cheat deck.
Ongoing Cheat cards may be placed in front of any player (including yourself). "You" on ongoing cards always refers to the player the card is in front of. Ongoing cards remain in effect as long as they are in front of a player.
Placing a Die
You may either A) place a die as a bid on an Item in the pot or B) place it on the altar.
A) Bidding on Items
You may place a die to make a new bid on an Item or to increase your current bid. The sum of all your dice on an Item is your total bid for that Item.
You may bid on any Item as long as your bid obeys the following restrictions:
- You may not place a die on an Item if your total bid would be more than 10. (Goblins can't count that high!)
- You may not place a die on an Item if it would cause a tie with another player. (Goblins hate ties. They never wear them.)
At the end of the round, the player with the highest bid on an Item takes it into their hand. All players get all of their dice back, including dice on the altar.
Example: Emilia and Henry are bidding for a teeth card. Emilia currently has a 3 and a 4 on the tooth, for a total bid of 7. Henry has a 5 on the tooth, and it is his turn to bid.
Henry cannot place a 6 (because that would make a total of 11 and break his feeble goblin brain) or a 2 (because that would make a total of 7 and tie him with Emilia). He can safely bid a 5, 4, 3, or 1. A bid of 1 is still legal, even though it wouldn't give him the highest bid... he could be setting himself up for next round!
Luckily, Henry has a 3, which he places to give himself a total of 8, giving him a lead over Emilia's 7. If he still has the highest bid at the end of the round, he will take the goblin tooth card!
B) Altar
Instead of placing a die as a bid on an Item, you may place a die on the altar. You may always choose to place your die on the altar, regardless of its value or how many other dice are there. When you do, take ONE of the following altar actions:
- Draw 1 Cheat card. There is no limit to the number of Cheat cards you can hold in your tiny goblin hands. If the Cheat deck is empty, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.
-or-
- Discard all ongoing Cheat cards in front of a player. This may be any player, including yourself. Place the discarded cards in the Cheat discard pile.
Cheat Card Rules
The bidding rules apply to Cheat cards as well. If playing a Cheat card would result in a bid of more than 10 or cause a tie, you can't play it!
Some Cheat cards tell you to reroll a die that you have already placed:
- If rerolling causes a tie, reroll again until you are no longer tied.
- If rerolling gives you a bid of more than 10, set the die so that your bid is 10. If this would cause a tie, instead set it to the highest number below 10 that won't cause a tie.
The Hidden Item
Players bid on the face-down Item the same way as other Items in the pot. You do not have to reveal the face-down Item to other players when you take it. The player who takes the hidden Item also gets the first player token for the next round.
End of Round
When the last die is placed, the round immediately ends. Each Item in the pot is awarded to the highest bidder. These Items go into player's hands, where they will hide among any unplayed Cheat cards. If any player has all of the Items on an offering card, the game ends.
If no one has won, all players take back their dice and reset for the next round:
- The player who took the hidden Item gets the first player token.
- If the hidden Item had no bids, the current first player keeps the token.
- If an Item in the pot had no bids, shuffle it back into the deck.
- If a player did not take any Items, they draw a Cheat card.
Then, start the next round!
Winning the Game
The game ends as soon as a player has a complete set of Items shown on a single offering card. Note that if an offering requires a specific number of teeth, each tooth on a card is counted separately.
If more than 1 player completes an offering at the same time, ties are broken based on which offering was completed, from left to right: completing the 6-Item orange offering beats an red offering, which beats a blue offering.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most goblin teeth is the winner. If there is still a tie, the ugliest player wins.
Advanced Variant
This variant is recommended for experienced players.
During setup, instead of placing offering cards on the offering mat, deal each player 1 random red offering and 1 random blue offering. Each player places their 2 offerings face-up in front of them.
Players can win by completing the orange offering printed on the mat or either of the offering cards in front of them.
Ties are broken in the same order as in the standard game: the orange offering beats a red offering, which beats a blue offering.
Reference Card
How Me Play Again?
Turn order: Roll. Cheat, Bid, Repeat. Resolve.
Each turn, play any number of Cheat cards before you play a die. When all players have played all dice, the round is over. If you do not win an Item, draw a Cheat card.
No forget! The sum of your dice can never create a tie with any other player. The sum of your dice on an Item cannot exceed 10.