GoTown
GoTown Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1. Game Material
32 floor cards numbered from 1 to 8 (4 of each card), 4 question mark cards (jokers), 18 special cards (4 dogs, 2 bones, 3 jack-hammers, 1 wrecking ball, 3 milk-shakes, 1 donut truck, 3 thieves, 1 super-thief).
Goal of the Game
Each player has to build their own tower. Each floor is made of 2 floor cards placed side-by-side. The first player to build a 5-story tower wins the game.
Setup
- Deal 5 cards to each player.
- The remaining cards are the draw pile, placed in the center of the table.
- The discard pile will be placed next to the draw pile.
- Decide who will be the first player.
2. Playing the Game
Players take turns playing in a clockwise manner.
1. Starting a turn
The player's turn begins by drawing a card from the draw pile. If the player already has eight cards in their hand, which can occur during gameplay, he or she doesn't draw a card.
2. Playing cards
Each player may use as many cards as they want to perform different actions on their turn. Actions can be performed in any order.
NOTE: The player may also choose NOT to play any cards.
3. End of turn
When the player is done with their turn:
- If the player has less than three cards in their hand, additional cards are drawn from the draw pile until the player has three cards. This ends the player's turn.
- If the player has more than 3 cards in their hand, they just tell the next player that their turn is over.
If the draw pile is empty, shuffle the discard pile and use it as the new draw pile.
3. Winning the Game
As soon as a player completes five floors of their skyscraper, he or she is declared the WINNER!
SHORT GAME OPTION: The first player to build four stories is the winner.
4. Available Actions
1. Building floors
To build a floor, play two cards that add up to nine placed side-by-side in front of each player (ex: a "3" and a "6"). If the player already has a floor completed, they can proceed to build the next floor on top of it.
Example: 6 + 3 = 9 = one floor.
2. Stealing floors by playing 1 floor card
A player can also build a floor by playing only one floor card from their hand, and stealing a card from an opponent's top floor. The played card and the stolen card still must add up to nine. The opponent's remaining floor card is discarded, and their floor is gone. This is an important action, as it kills two birds with one stone.
IMPORTANT: Cards can only be stolen from a top floor, and only if that floor is not guarded by a dog (this is written as Securing floors later on). When a card is stolen, it must be played immediately, and cannot be saved for later play.
3. "?" cards (Joker cards)
Joker cards are WILD, and may be played with any other floor card to build a floor, but not with another Joker card.
A Joker card may not be used to steal a card from an opponent's top floor. However, a player may steal a Joker from an opponent's top floor. The stolen Joker keeps the original represented value. For example, an opponent has a floor containing a Joker, along with a "3". The Joker is being used as a "6". So, the stolen Joker can only be used with an accompanying "3", since it maintains its value of "6".
4. Securing floors: Dog and Bone cards
A floor can be protected by placing a guard dog card next to any previously built floor. We recommend the top one. This floor is now guarded and cards cannot be stolen or jack-hammered (this is referred to as Destroying a floor later on).
A guard dog can be lured away by a bone-card. Both cards are then placed in the discard pile.
5. Destroying a floor: Jack hammer and Wrecking Balls
An opponent's top-floor can be destroyed with the jack hammer or the wrecking ball cards. In either case, only the top-floor is destroyed. The card is played, and the floor's two cards are placed in the discard pile.
The only difference between the cards is that a jack-hammer card CANNOT be used to destroy a floor with a guard dog, whereas the wrecking-ball card can destroy guarded floors (the guard dog is also discarded).
6. Stealing cards: Thief and Super-Thief cards
When a Thief card is played, the player may choose an opponent and steal a card from his/her hand (without looking at it). The stolen card goes into the player's hand, and the Thief card is discarded.
The Super-Thief card is used in a similar way, however, the player using the Super-Thief card steals one card from EACH of their opponents. After being played, the Super-Thief card is discarded.
The stolen card(s) may be played during the turn when they were stolen, or kept for later.
7. Skipping turns: Milkshake and Donut Food Truck cards
A player may force an opponent to skip their turn by playing a Milkshake or Donut Food Truck card.
The Milkshake card is played by being placed in front of an opponent. On the opponent's next turn, their only option is to discard the Milkshake card.
NOTE: The player that received the Milkshake card cannot draw cards during that turn.
When the Donut Food Truck is played, ALL of the player's opponents must skip their turn. Play the Donut Food Truck card by placing it on the table. The player can still play additional cards after playing the Donut card, and then complete their turn normally. For example draw cards to have 3 cards in hand if needed. The Donut card is then discarded, and the SAME player plays again (two turns in a row).
5. Strategy Tips
Try to combine complementary actions. Some examples are:
- Use a bone to remove a guard dog. Then use a jack-hammer to destroy the top floor, revealing the floor below. Steal a card from that floor (which is now the top floor) to build a new floor on your own skyscraper.
- Use a thief at the beginning of the turn, so that more options are available to play the stolen card.