Gravity Falls Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Goal of the Game
• Setup
• Turn Order
  • Turn Stages
• Character Phase
  • 1. Play an Action Card
  • 2. Move the Character
  • 3. Rumors
  • 4. Roll the Dice
  • 5. Place a Courage Die, Draw a Card, Discard Curses
• Curse Cards
• Courage Dice
• Rest
• Monster Phase
  • 1. Move a Monster
  • 2. Disorder
  • 3. Reveal a Card from the Monster Movement Deck
• Alarm Track
• End of the Game
• Simplified Rules for Young Players
• Notes on Individual Cards
  • Character Cards
  • Monster Cards
  • Event Cards
• Notes on Curse Cards
• Notes on the Alarm Track

Components

• 1 game board (23 locations connected by roads, with an alarm track on the right side)
• 5 character tokens
• 9 monster tokens
• 51 double-sided support and distrust tokens
• 5 character cards
• 9 monster cards
• 18 curse cards
• 30 action cards
• 23 monster movement cards
• 8 event cards
• 5 reference cards
• 20 courage dice
• 7 special yellow dice
• 8 stands
• 1 rulebook

Goal of the Game

The characters travel around Gravity Falls, trying to persuade the residents to help them. The board has 23 locations connected by roads. At the end of each round one of the monsters moves, and the residents' trust in the Pines twins falls. You must defeat all the monsters before the alarm marker reaches the bus space at the end of the alarm track. This is a cooperative game: the players win or lose together.

Setup

1. Lay out the board. Place in each location the number of support tokens shown on it.

2. Prepare the courage dice. Place one courage die on the lowest space of the alarm track. Put the remaining courage dice in a supply beside the board. Put the special yellow dice there too.

3. Choose three monsters. Together, choose the three monsters that will take part in the game. Place their cards to the left of the board. If you are playing for the first time, take one easy monster, one medium monster and one hard monster. Insert the monster tokens into their stands.

4. Place the monsters on the board. To begin, take the eight cards titled "Monster!" and set the event cards aside (they have the same back). Then, if you are playing two-player, remove the monster movement cards marked 3+ to the box; they are not needed in the game. If there are more than two players, use all the monster movement cards.

   Shuffle the resulting deck. Reveal 3 cards from it, one at a time, and place the monster tokens in order, following these steps:

   • a) Place the monster in the location shown on the card.
   • b) Take 1 token from each adjacent location. Usually in this step you take support tokens, but if two monsters start on adjacent locations, you may also take a distrust token.
   • c) For each distrust token taken this way, raise the alarm level by 1 (move the courage die on the alarm track in the right part of the board up 1 space).
   • d) Flip all support tokens in the location with the placed monster over to their distrust side.

5. Place the characters on the board. Each player chooses a character, receives its card and its token, and also a reference card. Place your character card and reference card in front of you, and insert your token into its stand. Reveal from the monster movement deck a number of cards equal to the number of players. In each location shown on a revealed card, place the character token and a courage die. The first revealed card shows where the first player starts, and so on. Put the cards revealed in this step and the previous step into the discard pile.

If there are very young participants in the game, try playing by the simplified rules described on page 11.

Turn Order

Players take turns clockwise. The player whose turn it is is called the active player. Each player must fully complete their turn, going through all of its stages, before another player begins.

On their turn, a player must play one card from their hand or declare a rest. At the end of each player's turn, one of the monsters moves.

Turn Stages

Character phase:

1. Play an action card.
2. Move the character.
3. Rumors.
4. Roll the dice:
   • a) Fight a monster; or
   • b) Persuade the residents.
5. Place a courage die, draw a card, discard curses.

OR instead of a turn, declare a rest and return all action cards.

Monster phase:

1. Move a monster.
2. Disorder.
3. Reveal a card from the monster movement deck.

Character Phase

1. Play an Action Card

The active player chooses one action card from their hand and plays it. The played card is placed face up beside the action deck, in a discard pile. The discard piles of different players must not be mixed.

Each action card has two numbers. The top number is the distance: the number of roads the character must travel. The bottom number is the resourcefulness: the number of dice the character rolls.

Each character's action deck contains cards "0–4", "1–5", "2–2", "3–1" and "4–0". Each character also has one unique Teleport card, which lets the character move to a location described in the card's text. If there is no suitable location on the board for a Teleport, the character cannot play the Teleport card. If the Teleport card is the only card in the player's hand and it cannot be played, the character must declare a rest (see page 9).

2. Move the Character

If the player played any card other than a Teleport card or the "0–4" card, they must move their character's token to another location along the roads. The top number on the action card shows how many roads the character must travel.

The character cannot:

• move along fewer roads than the action card's top number;
• pass along the same road twice in one turn;
• return to the location where the turn began.

The character may end its movement in a location where another character or a monster stands, and may pass through such locations, unless a card says otherwise.

The Teleport card is the only way for a character to move other than along a road.

Movement example. Dipper plays the card "3–1" and must travel along three roads. He wants to end up in Gideon's telepathy tent. The third route lets him end there by the rules. The second route cannot be chosen, because it has only two roads. The first route cannot be chosen, because a road cannot be passed twice in one turn.

3. Rumors

After the character has finished moving, rumors spread through the town. The active player must pull into the location where their character stands 1 token from each adjacent location. If an adjacent location holds both a distrust token and a support token, the active player decides which of them to pull. Tokens may be left in place when pulling from a location that holds a courage die.

Rumors example. Dipper pulls 1 token from each of four adjacent locations. From Letoyin's shop he pulls a support token, and from "From Dusk Till Dawn" he pulls a distrust token. The Arcade holds tokens of both types, and Dipper decides to pull a distrust token, hoping to flip it over to its other side later. The Gravity Falls junkyard holds a courage die, and Dipper decides not to pull a token from there.

4. Roll the Dice

By pulling tokens, the active player must carry out one of two actions:

• If a monster stands in the same location as the character, the character tries to defeat it.
• If there is no monster, the character tries to persuade the residents of Gravity Falls of its good intentions.

In both cases the player rolls dice. The player rolls as many dice as the resourcefulness value (the bottom number) on the played action card, and adds 1 more die for each support token in the location where the character stands. In a very rare case the player rolls no dice at all (if they played the "4–0" card and there was no support token in their location after pulling).

The player must then apply the results rolled. First all successes, then all movement, and at the very end all curses.

The symbols on the dice are:

• Success (a hand): on each die, 3 faces show this symbol.

  • If the character persuades the residents of Gravity Falls, then for each success rolled, the player flips 1 distrust token in their location over to its support side. If more successes are rolled than there are distrust tokens in the location, the extra successes are not counted.
  • If the character fights a monster, then to defeat it the player must roll at least as many successes as there are distrust tokens in the monster's location. If the player rolled fewer successes than needed to win, those successes do not count.
  • Important! When fighting a monster, the player cannot flip distrust tokens with successes, but the other results of the roll are applied as usual.
  • Important! If there is no distrust token in the location with the monster, the player must roll at least 1 success to defeat this monster.

• Movement (an arrow): on each die, 2 faces show this symbol. The player must move as many support and/or distrust tokens as the number of arrows rolled, from their location to adjacent locations (even if there is a courage die in the location with the character). The player chooses which tokens to move and to which locations.

• Curse (Bill Cipher's triangle): on each die, 1 face shows this symbol. If at least one curse symbol was rolled, Bill Cipher curses the character. The player takes a curse card, and its effect begins at once, as soon as it is taken. If several curse symbols were rolled, the player receives only one curse card, but for each extra curse symbol rolled, starting from the 8th die, the player must take an additional curse card (see the Important note below). Remember that curse results are applied after all successes and movement.

  • Important! A player cannot roll more than 7 dice at once. If the number of dice the player must roll is more than 7, the player still rolls 7, and after applying the roll's results takes 1 curse card from the deck for each die that could not be rolled because of the limit. Rolling fewer dice than the rules prescribe is not allowed; try not to expose the characters to danger beyond what is necessary.

Persuasion example. Dipper tries to persuade the residents of Gravity Falls to help him in the fight against the monsters. In the character phase, after the rumors stage, his location holds 4 support tokens and 3 distrust tokens. Dipper plays the card "3–1", so he rolls 4 dice for the tokens and 1 die for resourcefulness. The results are: success, success, movement, curse, curse. Dipper flips 2 distrust tokens, which now become support tokens. After that he must move 1 token to an adjacent location, and Dipper decides to move the last distrust token. Finally, he takes one curse card, even though 2 curse symbols were rolled, and applies its effect at once.

After the roll, there is no distrust token, monster or courage die in Dipper's location, so he places a courage die there. Dipper has fewer than 3 cards in hand, and his location holds no monsters and no distrust tokens, so he draws 1 card from his action deck. His location now holds 6 support tokens and a courage die, so he could roll 6 dice to get rid of his curse, but he received the curse this turn, so he cannot get rid of it yet.

5. Place a Courage Die, Draw a Card, Discard Curses

After all the results of the roll have been applied, if there is no distrust token, no monster and no courage die in the location of the active player's character, the player may place a courage die there from the supply.

Then, if the active player has fewer than 3 cards in hand, and there are no monsters and no distrust tokens in the location of their character, the player may draw 1 action card from their action deck. If the action deck has run out, shuffle the discard pile and make it into a new deck.

Also, if the active player's character ended its turn in a location with a courage die, the character may try to discard curses. To do this, the player must roll 1 die for each support token in this location. For each success rolled, the player may discard one curse card, except a curse received during this turn. The other results of the roll are not counted.

Fight example. Dipper tries to defeat Gideon-Bot. In the character phase, after the rumors stage, his location holds 4 support tokens, 2 distrust tokens and a monster. Dipper plays the card "3–1", so he rolls 4 dice for the tokens and 1 die for resourcefulness. The results are: success, success, success, movement, curse. Since only 2 successes are needed to defeat the monster in a location with 2 distrust tokens, Dipper defeats it. The monster figure is removed from the board. The third success does not count. Then Dipper must move 1 support or distrust token to an adjacent location, as the movement symbol requires, and he takes a curse card for the curse symbol.

After the roll there is a distrust token in Dipper's location, so he cannot place a courage die, does not draw an action card to replace the one he played, and, because there is no courage die, he cannot discard curses. After a fight with a monster, the character normally becomes tired.

Curse Cards

Bill Cipher has long watched Gravity Falls and the Pines family. When the characters try to free the town from monsters and rally its residents, Bill tries to weaken them by weaving schemes. Curse cards restrict the characters' actions: they prevent them from effectively flipping and moving tokens, receiving cards and fighting monsters. When a character receives a curse, the character immediately applies its effect.

If a character is dealt a curse and already has exactly the same curse, the character must discard the card just taken and draw a new one instead.

Curses can be removed (see Place a Courage Die, Draw a Card, Discard Curses above).

Courage Dice

Defying distrust, the characters help unite the residents of Gravity Falls against the monsters. This is represented by courage dice. If, on the next turn, a monster must move to a location with a courage die, then instead of moving, the monster simply removes that die. The monster's turn ends at that point.

Courage dice protect not only from monsters. During the rumors and disorder stages, moving tokens out of a location with a courage die is optional. Also, if a character ends its turn in a location with a courage die, the character may try to get rid of curses (see above).

Each location may hold only one courage die.

Rest

Instead of a turn, the active player may declare a rest. The character does not move, does not roll dice, does not place a courage die and does not get rid of curses, but may still use its character ability.

When declaring a rest, the player takes into hand all action cards of their character, from both the action deck and the discard pile.

A rest may be declared anywhere, even in a location with a monster. If the player has no action cards left in hand, the player must declare a rest.

Monster Phase

After any character has made its turn or declared a rest, the monster phase begins.

1. Move a Monster

Monsters do not move along roads. They teleport instantly from location to location.

Take the revealed monster movement card that is furthest from the deck. The monster closest to the active character moves to the location shown on that card. If several monsters are equally close to the character, the active player chooses which one moves.

If the location shown on the card holds a courage die, the monster removes that die, but does not move itself.

Discard the resolved monster movement card.

Monster movement example. The monster closest to Dipper is Gremoblin. The monster movement card furthest from the deck points to Babulita's House. There is no courage die there, so the monster moves there.

2. Disorder

Skip the disorder stage if, in the previous stage, no monster moved because of a courage die. If a monster did move, it creates disorder.

• If a character (or several characters) stands in the location to which the monster moved, each of those characters receives a curse.
• This monster draws 1 token into its location from each adjacent location. If there is a choice of which token to pull (a support token or a distrust token), the active player makes that choice. Tokens may not be pulled from locations holding a courage die.
• For each distrust token in the location with this monster, raise the alarm level by 1 (move the courage die on the alarm track on the right side of the board).
• Flip all support tokens in the location with this monster over. They now become distrust tokens.

Disorder example. Gremoblin from the previous example has moved to Babulita's House, and now pulls 1 distrust token from the Kordroy house and 1 support token from the Gravity Falls high school (Dipper and his friends chose exactly this token from the two available). The Gravity Falls History Museum holds a courage die, so no token is pulled from there. Gremoblin's location now holds 2 distrust tokens, so the alarm level rises by 2. After this, all support tokens in Gremoblin's location are flipped over.

3. Reveal a Card from the Monster Movement Deck

Move the 2 revealed monster movement cards further away from the deck, and reveal a new card from the deck.

• If it is a monster movement card, place it in the freed space.
• If it is an event card, it takes effect at once: carry out the instructions on it, discard the event card and reveal a new card from the deck.

Only one event can occur per turn. If during the same turn you reveal one or more additional events, discard them without applying their effect and raise the alarm level by 1 for each. The same happens if an event card is discarded by any effect.

Event example. The active player moves the 2 revealed monster movement cards and reveals a new card from the deck. It is an event: "Remove 1 courage die from the location of each monster (or an adjacent one)". The player carries out this instruction, then discards the event card and reveals another. That is also an event: "Each character moves one location further away from the nearest monster." Because only one event can occur per turn, this card is discarded and the alarm level is raised by 1. The player reveals one more card from the deck. This time it is not an event but a monster movement card, so the player places it in the free space next to the deck, and the monster phase ends.

If the monster movement deck has run out, shuffle the discard pile and form a new deck. Do not touch the 3 revealed cards unless an effect directly says to do so. After the deck has been reshuffled, the monsters become more dangerous: they can gather together and trouble the town even more.

After the new monster movement card has been revealed and placed, the turn passes to the next player clockwise.

Alarm Track

The alarm track shows how strongly the residents of Gravity Falls are troubled by the monsters.

• When the alarm marker reaches the space marked with the monster icon, all players immediately take one curse card each.
• When the alarm marker reaches the space marked with the three icons shown on the track, discard the revealed monster movement card that is closest to the deck. From this moment on, only 2 revealed monster movement cards remain in play, and the characters will find it harder to plan their turns.
• When the alarm marker reaches the bus space, the disappointed residents blame Dipper and Mabel for all the town's troubles, and the twins must leave Gravity Falls before the end of summer. The game is lost.

End of the Game

If the alarm marker reaches the bus space, you have lost. Try again.

If all the monsters are defeated, Gravity Falls is saved and you have won! Try again, choosing harder monsters or shuffling in more event cards.

Simplified Rules for Young Players

For play with children we recommend the simplified rules.

• During setup, put the monster cards and the event cards back into the box. They do not take part in the game. Let the players choose the monster figures that take part themselves. The monsters will have no special abilities.
• Also set aside the Teleport cards. Each player's action deck will then contain 5 action cards.
• When choosing a character, consider the following: the abilities of Dipper and Mabel are simple enough for children, and the same can be said of Soos. Stan is better chosen by an adult, because his ability requires planning several turns ahead.
• During the game, players ignore the effects of the alarm track. However, if the marker reaches the bus symbol, the game is lost.

Notes on Individual Cards

Character Cards

• Characters may use their abilities only on their own turn, including when they have declared a rest.
• If a revealed event or curse affects a character immediately, first carry out its effect in full. Only after that may the character use its own ability.
• Stan: At the end of his turn, when he must draw a card from the deck, he may take it from his discard pile instead. At the end of his turn, Stan himself decides whether to take the top card of the deck or any card from his discard pile. Stan may look through the cards in his discard pile, but not in the deck.
• Soos: Once per turn, he may remove a curse from another character in his location or an adjacent one. Soos cannot remove a curse from himself.
• Wendy: Once per turn, she may move a courage die from her location to an adjacent location, or the other way round. Wendy may also move a courage die into a location with a monster and/or with a distrust token.

Monster Cards

• If a character fights a monster that is not affected by this character's successes, the movement and curse results still count.
• Manotaur: This monster prohibits drawing action cards in the location where it stands and in all adjacent locations. Mabel and Stan cannot use their abilities if they are in a location with Manotaur or in an adjacent one.
• Gnome Giant: If a character moves through a location with this monster, the character must stop and fight it. The character does not pass along the remaining roads. The rumors stage must still be carried out.
• Rumble McSkirmish: In a fight with this monster, movement symbols count as successes, and ordinary successes do not count. Movement symbols that count as successes do not move tokens according to the normal rules.
• Time Monster: Successes do not affect this monster while there are other monsters in play. You may still fight the Time Monster and apply its movement and curse results.
• Letoyin Trickster: Only cursed characters are affected by successes against this monster. Even if you are not cursed, you may still fight the Letoyin Trickster and apply its movement and curse results.
• Pterodactyl: This monster pulls distrust tokens (but not support tokens), even from locations with a courage die. The Pterodactyl still pulls only 1 token from each adjacent location, and only when the rules require it.
• Zhivogryz: To defeat this monster, you need 1 more success. If during a fight with Zhivogryz there is no distrust token in the location, you need 2 successes to defeat it.

Event Cards

• If an event text says to remove a courage die or flip a token, but there are no such dice or tokens, nothing happens.
• Teleport event (each character with a Teleport card): Each character that has a Teleport card in hand must discard it and move according to its instructions, as if it had played that card. Support and distrust tokens do not need to be moved in this case. If the player cannot move according to this card's conditions (for example, because of an active curse), the player simply discards it. If the player has no such card in hand, nothing happens for them. The active character uses its Teleport card first, then the others in clockwise order.
• Choose-or-raise event (each character chooses): Each character chooses, one at a time, starting with the active player and going clockwise, either to discard 1 action card or to raise the alarm level by 1. For each character that does not discard a card, the alarm level rises by 1. If a character has no action cards, it must raise the alarm level.
• All monsters pull event: All monsters pull 1 distrust token into their location from each adjacent location, even from locations with a courage die. The alarm level does not rise because of this, and support tokens are not flipped. If an adjacent location has no distrust token, the monster pulls nothing from it.
• Remove a courage die from each monster's location (or an adjacent one): The active player removes 1 courage die from the location of each monster, or from an adjacent location. If there are courage dice both in a monster's location and in an adjacent location, the active player decides which one to remove.
• Remove a courage die from each character's location (or an adjacent one): The same as above, but the courage dice are removed from the location of each character, or from an adjacent location, with the active player choosing between courage dice in the character's location and in adjacent locations.
• Each character moves one location further from the nearest monster: Each character moves one location further from the nearest monster. It may happen that the character moves closer to another monster, or even into that monster's location. But if every available movement brings the character closer to the nearest monster, the character stays in place. If several nearest monsters are equally distant from the character, the character must move so that it ends one location further from each of them (if that is impossible, the character stays in place). If several locations meet the condition "one location further from the nearest monster", the character chooses which one to move to. If the character is under a curse that restricts its movement, that restriction still applies.

Notes on Curse Cards

• If a player rolls more than 7 dice (or more than 5 dice while under the corresponding curse), the player receives a curse card for each extra die, but only after the results of the roll have been applied. These curses take effect at once.
• If a curse's effect forces new cards to be revealed from the monster movement deck, first carry out that effect in full. Only after that, resolve the event (if one was revealed because of the curse) and the alarm level increase from any other events (if they were revealed).
• If events are revealed because of curse effects, remember that only one event is resolved per turn, whatever revealed it. All other events only raise the alarm level.

Curse cards:

• Draw 1 card fewer at the end of the turn (even after a rest): A character with this curse that declares a rest takes into hand all cards from its action deck and discard pile, except one random card. When Mabel receives this curse, she draws up to 2 cards each turn.
• At the end of the turn (after drawing a card, if the character did so), flip 1 support token in your location: The token is flipped after the card has been drawn and before the monster is activated.
• You cannot move support tokens: You are still obliged to move distrust tokens if tokens must be moved for some reason.
• You cannot roll more than 5 dice. The sixth and seventh dice each bring a curse: Curses for exceeding the limit are taken as usual, after the results of the roll have been applied.
• You cannot move into a location with other characters: A cursed character cannot choose a route that passes through locations with other characters, and cannot stop in a location with another character. If the effect of a curse or event forces the character to move, it must choose a location without characters, or stay in place if such a location cannot be chosen.

Notes on the Alarm Track

• If the alarm marker rises to the space marked with the monster icon because of an event or curse effect, first resolve the whole effect in full, and only then hand out the curses to the players, in order starting from the active character and going clockwise. These curses take effect during this same turn.
• If the alarm marker rises to the space marked with the three track icons after the disorder stage of a monster's turn, simply do not place a third monster movement card to replace the discarded one. If that space is reached because of a curse or an event, discard the revealed card closest to the deck.