Golf 'n' Roll Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Course, Green and Flag cards
  • Golf ball tokens
  • Skill cards
  • Power and Direction dice
• Basic Concepts
  • Hole par / Field par
• Game Rules
  • Game setup
  • Hole setup
• Striking from the Course
  • Distance roll
  • Direction roll
  • Obstacle test
  • In trouble!
  • Hole in one!
  • Counting the number of strikes
• Strike from the Green
  • Putt
  • Putt modifiers
• End of the Hole
• The Objective
• Multiplayer
• Weather Events (Optional)
• Quick Game Guide

Components

Golf'n'Roll has a Strike counting card, 4 Golf ball tiles, 4 Circular golfer tiles, 4 Golfer cards, 12 Golf club cards, 9 Hole cards, 62 Course cards, 13 Green cards, 9 Flag cards, 12 Weather cards, 4 Skill cards and 4 Multi color dice (white, green, yellow and red).

Course, Green and Flag cards

Each Course/Green/Flag card includes a gem in three different colors, that shows the difficulty of the section (green, yellow or red) and a mark that indicates the presence of obstacles (flat, stripe or cross).

Golf ball tokens

Golf ball tiles have two sides:

• Front, in white: Represents a player striking normally.
• Back, in black: Indicates the player striking under the In trouble! effect.

Skill cards

Skills are special techniques that give players significant advantages towards ending the course successfully. Each Skill card only can be activated once in each hole.

The Skill card wording is printed in small type on the card illustrations. The four Skills read as follows:

1. Lucky: You may repeat a [word illegible in the source] dice roll (once), or any Out of the field result.
2. [Name illegible in the source]: Before rolling for [word illegible in the source] you may use this skill and get a chance to re-roll (once).
3. [Name illegible in the source]: Before rolling for distance, you may use this skill and add +1 to the value obtained.
4. [Name illegible in the source]: Before rolling for [word illegible in the source], you may use this skill and get one chance to re-roll.

Editor's note: the rulebook's Skill card page is printed at a resolution where the names of three of the four Skills and several words of their wording cannot be read. Those words are left marked as illegible rather than guessed; check the physical Skill cards to fill them in.

Power and Direction dice

All dice are 6 faced and come in 3 colors, but have the following peculiarities:

• Green: One flat side (0), four 1 sides, one 2 side.
• Yellow: One 1 side, four 2 sides, one 3 side.
• Red: One 1 side, two 2 sides, three 3 sides.
• White: Standard die with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 sides.

Basic Concepts

Golf consists of striking the golf ball into a series of Holes on a course in as few strikes as possible. In Golf'n'Roll the different Holes of the field are represented with cards.

Hole par / Field par

In each golf course there are Holes classified by a Par value (3, 4 or 5). This value depends on the length of the course and the number of strikes it is expected to take to put the ball into the Hole. If the player completes the Hole in the established number of strikes (Par), he accomplishes the Hole's Par. The total sum of all the Hole's Pars is the Field Par.

If a player finishes the Hole one strike under the Par, he achieves a Birdie. Two strokes under is called an Eagle, and three strikes under is called an Albatross. In the rare event that the player puts the ball in the Hole in one single strike, he achieves a Hole in one!

On the contrary, if the player completes the Hole one strike over the Par, he makes a Bogey. If two or more strikes over the Par are required, it is then called a Double Bogey, Triple Bogey and so on.

For gaming purposes, in Golf'n'Roll players making a Triple Bogey finish the Hole automatically, and are assumed to have finished the Hole four strikes over the Par.

Game Rules

Game setup

First of all, each player chooses a Golfer, taking the character and Skill cards, their numbered Golf ball, their round character tokens and three Golf club cards (Short, Medium and Long). Once players are ready, the Hole deck must be stacked in order from Holes 1 to 9 (with Hole number 1 first)* and they must shuffle separately the Course, Green and Flag decks. The four decks must be placed on the table, with the last three face-down.

Next, players follow this mechanic:

1. Draw the first card of the Hole deck.
2. Set the hole up.
3. Strike from the Course.
4. Strike from the Green.
5. End the Hole.

*Players may prefer to change the configuration of the field, by shuffling the Hole deck too.

Hole setup

Each Hole card includes the following information: the Hole's number (1 through 9), the Hole's Par (3, 4 or 5 strokes) and its configuration, represented by how many Course, Green and Flag cards are needed, in an exact order that players will follow by drawing cards from their respective decks and setting them on the table in order.

Example: This Hole card has instructions on how to set up Hole number 3, which is a Par 3. According to this, three Course cards, one Green card and one Flag card must be drawn and set in order.

The Course/Green/Flag cards are drawn and placed on the board close together, making a serial line. These cards represent squares along which the Golfers move while hitting the ball. The Golfer cards are then placed close to the first card of the Golf course, which is called the Teeing ground (Hole start). Finally, Golf ball tokens are placed on top of the starting card.

Once the Hole is finished, the Course/Green/Flag cards used are placed in their own separate discard piles.

Striking from the Course

In order to simulate hitting the ball, players must roll the dice in each strike to determine the Distance and Direction that the Golf ball will take.

Distance roll

In order to determine the Distance reached by the ball, players must choose one Golf club card and apply Strength to their hit. Golf club cards have different effects on the dice roll:

• Long club: +2 to the distance rolled.
• Medium club: +1 to the distance rolled.
• Short club: The player may re-roll their Direction check (once).

Strength is applied by choosing one of the colored dice (Red is Strong, Yellow is Normal and Green is Soft). The chances of obtaining a certain value (0, 1, 2 or 3) depend on the color of the die. By choosing the Strength of their strike, the player will have some control over the distance reached.

The value obtained in the colored die, plus the Golf club effect, will indicate the distance reached by the Golf ball this strike. This Distance is the number of squares that the ball moves before landing. It is important to move only the ball and keep the character in its position, because after this the player must roll for Direction.

Example: One player chooses a Medium Golf club and hits the golf ball Strong (red die). He rolls a "2", so the ball lands 3 squares away (2 rolled + 1 given by the Medium club).

Direction roll

Once the Distance reached by the golf ball is established, players must roll to check the Direction it will take.

The roll for Direction is a test done with the white die (1d6). Its level of difficulty is given by the color of the gem at the top of the card where the character is placed.

The minimum value required when rolling for Direction depends on the color of the gem, and is classified as follows:

1. Green: The player needs to roll a 2 or more.
2. Yellow: The player needs to roll a 3 or more.
3. Red: The player needs to roll a 4 or more.

If the Direction check is successful, the golf ball will land in the square determined previously by the Distance check. On the other hand, if the Direction roll fails, it represents that something went wrong and the golf ball has a chance of landing in undesired terrain. If this happens, the player must roll immediately for Obstacles.

Example: After checking for distance and moving the golf ball to its new square, Val rolls for Direction. She is striking from a square with a green gem, so Val needs a 2 or more on the white die in order for the ball to follow the right Direction and land properly.

Obstacle test

If a player fails a Direction roll, then an Obstacle test must be taken in order to see where the golf ball will land.

When taking an Obstacle test, the player must roll the white die (1d6) and look at the mark placed on the new square where the golf ball is placed. The difficulty to avoid the Obstacle on this card is given by the black marks on the gem located at the top of the card. The gems may have the following marks:

1. Clear (flat gem): Player needs to roll a 2 or more to avoid the Obstacles.
2. Dense (Stripe): Player needs to roll a 3 or more to avoid the Obstacles.
3. Very dense (Cross): Player needs to roll a 4 or more to avoid the Obstacles.

Example: After failing the Direction roll, Player 1's golf ball ends in a square with a very dense terrain (cross mark). In order to avoid this Obstacle, he must roll a 4 or more on the white die.

If this Obstacle test is passed, the Obstacle is avoided and the player may continue normally. However, if this test is failed, the golf ball lands in an Obstacle, like sand or rocks. This brings some consequences and effects known as the In trouble! state.

In trouble!

When the golf ball lands out of the golf course or in an Obstacle (such as rough grass, sand or water) the player is In trouble!, and it complicates his next strike.

The magnitude of the In trouble! state is given by the number of points by which the player failed the Obstacle test:

1. Failed by 1: Out of the fairway. The golf ball is placed face-down on the square reached, indicating that it is In trouble!. The player may not use the Short golf club and his or her next strike will get a -1 to the Distance roll.
2. Failed by 2: Out of the course. The golf ball is placed face-down out of the square it reached, indicating that it is In trouble!. The player may use neither the Short nor the Medium golf clubs and his or her next strike will get a -2 to the Distance roll.
3. Failed by 3 or more: Out of the field. The golf ball lands out of the field. The player must add one strike to his or her Strike counting card and then strike again (normally, without the In trouble! state) from the square where he or she previously was.

If a golfer In trouble! strikes successfully the second time (by passing the new checks for Direction or Obstacle), then the Golf ball token is flipped face-up again.

Hole in one!

When hitting the Golf ball from the course it might happen that the ball lands directly inside the Hole. If the Golf ball reaches exactly the square of the Flag and the player gets a 6 when rolling for Direction, then a Hole in one! test must be taken.

The lucky player then rolls the white die (1d6). If the value obtained is higher than the distance traveled by the Golf ball, it will land inside the Hole. Additionally, a roll of 6 in this test is always considered a success, regardless of the distance traveled by the Golf ball.

Example: The ball reaches the flag from a distance of 3 squares. Luther rolled a 6 for Direction, so he can try a Hole in one! Since the golf ball traveled 3 squares, he will need a 4 or more on the white die to achieve a Hole in one!

Counting the number of strikes

Once the player finishes a strike (either from the Course or the Green), he must advance his character token one step on the Strike counting card. By doing this he keeps track of the number of strikes spent while playing the current Hole.

Strike from the Green

When the golf ball is on a Green square, the player must try to pocket it more accurately by doing a special roll, called Putt.

Putt

This test is done by rolling the white die (1d6), and the difficulty is given by the obstacles (bunkers, cliffs, etc.) of the Flag square, indicated by the number of stripes on the gem at the top of the card:

1. Clear (flat gem): The player needs to roll a 2 or more.
2. Dense (Stripe): The player needs to roll a 3 or more.
3. Very dense (Cross): The player needs to roll a 4 or more.

If the roll is successful, the Golf ball enters the Hole, and the player may then move on to the next Hole. If the test is not passed he must try again, and depending on how much the test was failed by, he will have the following consequences:

1. Failed by 1 or 2: The Golf ball ends up on the Flag square.
2. Failed by 3 or more: The Golf ball ends up on a Green square. If there is more than one Green square, throw a 1d6 to randomly determine in which one the Golf ball lands.

Example: Luther has the Golf ball on a Flag square with a crossed jewel (Dense terrain: 4+ Putt roll on the white die), so he needs to roll a 4 or more to pass the Putt test. He gets a 2 on the die, failing by two points (4-2=2), and the ball ends in the Flag square, but out of the Hole.

Putt modifiers

The Putt test's difficulty depends on several factors. The following modifiers must be applied:

1. Putt from the Flag square: The die roll is not modified.
2. Putt from the Green square: Subtract 1 to the value obtained in the die roll for each square to the Flag.
3. Putt with ball Out of the Fairway (see In trouble!): Subtract 1 to the value obtained in the die roll.
4. Putt with ball Out of the course (see In trouble!): Subtract 2 to the value obtained in the die roll.

Putt modifiers are cumulative, but a result of 6 is always considered a success.

Example: Val has the ball Out of the Fairway in a Green square. The Flag square has a stripe (dense terrain), so she needs a 5 to put the ball in the Hole (roll of 3 or more for dense terrain, subtracting 2 to the result obtained on the die for being on the Green and Out of the Fairway). It is not easy... but she rolls a 6 and the ball goes in!

End of the Hole

Once the ball gets inside the Hole, the player checks the difference between his or her Strike counter and the Hole's Par. The player then gets a Point marker (+1 or -1) to keep track of the number of strikes above or below the Par that he or she required to complete the field.

This procedure is repeated in each Hole, until there are no more cards in the Hole deck. Then the field is completed, and the game ends.

The Objective

Casual Golf'n'Roll players can go through the holes without worrying about the number of strikes they need, while other more competitive ones may enjoy trying to beat the record of the field or recreating a match against other Golfers. The objective in a Golf'n'Roll game depends on the game mode chosen by players:

1. Training: The player, alone or with other golfers, finishes the Holes and does not keep track of the strikes needed.
2. Challenge: The player challenges other golfers to a game, trying to beat the Par of the field and claim the record. Keep track of the results with the Point markers after each Hole. The player with the fewer strikes at the end of the field wins.
3. Player vs player: Two players play the Holes simultaneously. The player that ends the Hole with the fewer strokes gets one point. The player with more points at the end of the field wins the game.

Multiplayer

In multiplayer games, only two Golfers may play a given Hole simultaneously. If three or more Golfers are playing, then the first couple will go through the first Hole, and only once they are done will the next player (or couple) be able to start. If there is enough space on the table, several couples may play different Holes at the same time.

Weather Events (Optional)

Weather conditions may arise during a golf match, making the game more difficult. Players can choose to use the Weather deck to represent this factor. Should this be the case, at the start of the game players must shuffle the Weather deck, revealing the top card at the beginning of each Hole.

These cards have an illustration and four icons that explain the different effects of this Weather condition on the player's dice rolls (Distance, Obstacle, Direction and Putt). The value of each icon is a modifier that must be applied to the dice roll as long as the Weather card is on the table, or in other words, until the Hole is completed and players move on to the next one.

For example, the Soft rain card subtracts 1 to the Distance and Putt rolls.

Editor's note: the rulebook does not print the icon values for the other Weather cards; they appear only on each card's own icons.

Quick Game Guide

The poster printed on the last page of the rulebook, transcribed as printed.

1. Distance: Choose a Hit die (Soft, Normal or Strong) and a Golf club card (Short, Medium or Long).
2. Direction: Roll the white die against the colour of the starting square: Green needs 2 or more, Yellow needs 3 or more, Red needs 4 or more. Failed with: 1 (Green), 1-2 (Yellow), 1-2-3 (Red). A pass means "OK! Keep playing".
3. Obstacle: Roll the white die against the mark of the square reached: Clear (flat) needs 2 or more, Dense (stripe) needs 3 or more, Very dense (cross) needs 4 or more. Failed with: 1 (flat), 1-2 (stripe), 1-2-3 (cross). A pass means "OK! Keep playing".
4. In trouble!: Failed by 1, Out of the Fairway: -1 to Distance. Failed by 2, Out of the Course: -2 to Distance. Failed by 3, Out of the Field: add +1 to the Strike counter.
5. Putt: Roll the white die against the mark on the Flag square: Clear needs 2 or more, Dense needs 3 or more, Very dense needs 4 or more. Failed with 1 or 2: the ball stays on the Flag. Failed with 3 or more: the ball goes to Green. Passing means IN: end of the Hole.