Green: The Golf Card Game
Green: The Golf Card Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 4 "golf balls" for the players in 4 different colors (not spherical for game reasons)
- 20 caddie tokens
- 60 cards divided as follows:
- 45 golf clubs
- 8 course cards, each split by dotted lines into 3 or 4 spaces (a dotted line separates 2 adjacent spaces; each space has circles for golf balls; some spaces show a lake, bunker, etc.)
- 1 green card
- 1 scoring progression card
- 1 scoring table card
- 4 summary cards (front) / golfer (back: these are only used with the "Pro Golfers" variant)
- 1 six-sided die
- these rules
You also need pen and paper to write down the scores.
Goal of the Game
During your turn, choose either to draw new cards (each card represents a golf club, with special features) or shoot your ball to move it forward along the course. The lower the number of shots you use to "pocket" it, the higher your score. After three holes, the player with the highest score is the winner!
Preparation
Divide the cards by the symbol on the back. Each player chooses a color and takes the matching golf ball and summary card (the golfer on the back is only used with the "Pro Golfers" variant). Each player also gets 4 caddie tokens. Keep the leftover tokens in a pile near the center of the table, in a common supply.
Shuffle the golf clubs and place the deck on the table. Turn over the first 4 cards and display them face up in a row, next to the deck.
Now arrange the first hole: Place the green card on the table. Shuffle the 8 course cards, choose 3 at random and place them in a row below the green card, being careful with the orientation, as shown in the setup figure. Set the leftover course cards aside.
Note: The first hole is a "par 3", so you have a green card plus 3 course cards. During the game you will also play a "par 4" and a "par 5" hole, with 4 and 5 cards respectively.
Place your golf ball at the start of the hole (the "tee"). Roll the die and place it on its space on the green card. The number rolled is the "wind intensity".
Keep the scoring progression and scoring table cards handy. Choose a starting player at random. You're ready to tee off!
(Setup figure, 3-player game: club deck, club cards on display, caddie tokens common supply, die (wind intensity), golf course (par 3), balls starting point (tee).)
Playing the Game
The game is played in turns in clockwise order, starting with the first player. On your turn, choose and execute one of the following actions:
- Draw a golf club;
- Hit the ball;
- Retire from the hole.
Once you've finished your action, your turn is over and play continues with the player to your left.
1. Draw a Golf Club
Choose one of the four face-up golf clubs on display and add it to your hand. Then, replace the card you've just drawn with the top card from the club deck.
Before drawing, you may choose to pay one of your caddie tokens (put it back in the common supply) to discard all four clubs and replace them with four new ones drawn from the deck. You can do this as many times in a row as you wish, paying one caddie token each time. Discarded cards go to a discard pile. When the deck is empty, shuffle the discarded cards and form a new deck.
You may never have more than 8 cards in your hand. If you already have 8 cards in your hand, you cannot choose this action.
2. Hit the Ball
Play one golf club from your hand and place it face up in front of you. Read the strike value aloud (which may depend upon the wind intensity), then move your ball the same number of spaces towards the green along the course cards. You cannot choose to move fewer spaces than the strike value. Keep the clubs you play face up in front of you in an ordered row, so that it is always clear which was the last club played.
Example. Andrew plays this Iron club to start the course. The wind has an intensity of 4, so his shot has a strike of 3. Andrew moves his ball three spaces towards the green. If the wind had an intensity of 5 or 6, the shot would have a strike of 2.
The number of balls that can be in each space is equal to the number of circles in that space. If your ball ends its movement in a space where all circles are already taken, you must stop in the first previous empty space.
Example. William must move his ball 4 spaces: the space on which he lands is full, so he only moves his ball 3 spaces.
When you play a golf club, you may either activate its special power or pay one of your caddie tokens to an opponent to use the special power on the last golf club he played. If you do not use any special power (from your club or your opponent's), take one caddie token from the supply (if the supply is empty, you don't get anything).
The Clubs
Wood
- Strike - Depends on wind intensity: Find the matching die on the card, and read the strike at the bottom of the same column. In the example, with wind 1 or 2, the club has strike 1, with 3-4, it has 3, and with 5-6 it has 5.
- Special power - Gives you +2 to your strike value if it is the first club you play on a hole.
Putter
- Strike - You can choose any strike value from the numbers shown on the card, up to the maximum listed. In the example, you can choose strike 0, 1, or 2.
- Special power - Allows you to pocket the ball. If your ball ends its movement exactly on the green, and you activate a Putter special power, you immediately pocket your ball. Otherwise, your ball slips into the rough (see Rough, below).
Hybrid
- Strike - Has a fixed strike, as shown on the card. In the example, 3.
- Special power - You can play 2 Hybrid clubs together and add their strike values. At the end of the hole, Hybrid clubs played together are counted as one single club.
Iron
- Strike - There are two kinds of Iron clubs: The first has strike 2, 3, or 4 depending on the wind (see Wood); the second has strike 0, 1, 2, or 3, your choice (see Putter).
- Special power - Allows you to play another club from your hand to hit the ball again. If you play another Iron, you can play another club and so on.
Wedge
- Strike - There are two kinds of Wedge: The first has strike 2 or 4 depending on the wind; the second has a fixed strike of 3.
- Special power - Has 2 alternative powers: 1) if you land on an occupied space, place your ball in the next empty space, instead of the previous one (you may skip multiple occupied spaces in a row); or 2) you can ignore a bunker penalty.
Chipper
- Strike - Has a fixed strike of 2.
- Special power - You can discard this club after you have shot. If you choose to discard it, then the club is not counted when tallying your score.
Obstacles Along the Course
Some spaces on the course cards have obstacles that can affect your shots:
- Lake: A lake is an occupied space. You cannot end your movement here: you must stop on the first previous empty space.
- Bunker: The strike value of a shot starting from a bunker is reduced by the bunker's value.
- Height: The strike value of a shot starting from a height is increased by the height's value.
- Rough: The rough area is just before the die that shows the wind intensity. Balls end their movement in the rough if they go beyond the green, regardless of the number of extra spaces, or if they arrive exactly on the green but were shot without activating the special power of a putter. When your ball is in the rough, you can only pocket it by activating the special power of a putter. Otherwise, it stays in the rough. Remember that in order to pocket your ball, it must end its movement exactly on the green. The rough is 1 space away from the green.
3. Retire From the Hole
Take your ball off the course. Take all the clubs you played in front of you back into your hand (if this brings your hand above the 8 card limit, discard down to 8 cards). You will play again at the start of the next hole. During scoring, you suffer a -1 point penalty (see below).
End of the Hole and Scoring
When you pocket your ball, count the number of shots you played (i.e., the number of clubs in your play area). The following table shows the number of points you receive:
| Hole | 1 shot | 2 shots | 3 shots | 4 shots | 5 shots | 6 shots | 7+ shots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First hole (Par 3) | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Second hole (Par 4) | 11 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Third hole (Par 5) | 15 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Scoring is calculated based on the difference between the shots played and the hole's par. With 4 shots under par (this is called a "Condor") you get 15 points. With 3 under par (Albatross) 11, with 2 (Eagle) 8, with 1 (Birdie) 5, and with par you get 3 points. If you are 1 shot above the par (Bogie) you still get 1 point, while with worse results (n-Bogie) give zero points.
Place your ball on the scoring progression card, on the space matching your score. There can only be one ball on each space: if you need to place your ball on an occupied space, you must place your ball in the first previous empty scoring space.
Example: The first hole is being played, and it's par 3. Helen plays a putter and pockets her ball. She has 2 clubs in front of her (=2 shots), so her score is 5 (see the first row of the table, second column). Helen places her ball on the "5" space of the scoring progression card. It is now Luke's turn, who plays a Wood, then pays Helen one caddie token to activate her Putter's special power and pockets his ball too. He also has 2 clubs in front of him, and should get 5 points. But, the "5" spot is taken by Helen, so he must take the previous empty spot, and only gets 4 points.
Each time your turn comes around after you have already pocketed your ball, advance your ball one space on the scoring progression card. If your ball goes beyond the last space (16), the hole ends immediately, and all players who have not pocketed their ball must remove their ball from the hole (and take back into their hand all the clubs they played). Alternatively, the hole also ends when all players have pocketed their ball or have retired from the hole.
All players who pocketed their ball must now decide whether to take one or more of the golf clubs they have played back into their hand by paying caddie tokens. You can take back two different clubs or all the clubs you want of one single type. For each card you take back, you must pay one caddie token to the supply. Clubs you don't take back are discarded.
Write down the scores on a piece of paper and add them from hole to hole. If your ball is on the scoring progression card, you score the number of points stated in its space (score 16 if your ball went beyond 16). If you didn't pocket you score 0, and if you retired you score -1.
New Hole
Take back the course cards, shuffle all 8, and place 4 (for the second hole) or 5 (for the third hole) below the green. Roll the die to set the wind intensity. Balls are placed at the start of the course. Keep the cards and caddie tokens you have.
The player with the lowest score starts. If two or more players are tied for the lowest score, one of them chosen at random is the starting player.
End of the Game
The game ends after the third hole (after players have decided to take back their clubs or not).
Add 1 point to your score for each different type of club you have in your hand or 1 point for each matching club of a single type of your choice in your hand.
Example: 3 points for 3 Wood clubs are better than 2 points for Wood and Hybrid types.
The player with the highest score is the winner! In case of a tie, the winner among the tied players is the one with the most caddie tokens.
Game Variant: Pro Golfers
During preparation, each player chooses a pro golfer. Keep your golfer in front of you and take the matching golf ball. Keep any unassigned golfers face up in the middle of the table.
During your turn, in addition to the special power of the club you played, you may also activate the special power of one of the golfers. Your own golfer is free to activate; any other golfer costs 1 caddie token, to be paid to their owner or the supply if that golfer is unassigned.
When playing this variant, you cannot pay a caddie token to activate the special power of the last club played by another player.
Pro Golfers Special Powers
- From Far Away: You can pocket the ball without using a Putter.
- Sand King: A shot starting from a bunker has a bonus of +2 spaces. This may combine with the Wedge power.
- Wind Master: You may modify the wind intensity for the current shot (only) by 1 or 2 (up or down).
- Ultra Lob: If your ball ends its movement on an occupied space, place it on the next empty space instead of the previous one (you can skip multiple occupied spaces in a row).