Hatflings!
Hatflings! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
About the game
In a game of Hatflings! you and your opponent are the captains of the two teams of halflings competing in the hat dance. As a result, you choose which members of your team go onto the dancefloor, at what exact moment, and how they move around it.
At the end of the game, the team with the most halflings on the dancefloor wearing their colour hat, wins the game.
Before playing for the first time, remove the different pieces from their cardboard frame and put them together to set up the scene. You can use the image on the back of the box as reference.
Preparing for the dance
- Both captains choose a colour for their team and take their special halflings tokens.
- Leave the rest of the tokens to one side, making up the general pool of halflings. The general pool is shared by both teams.
- Place the board on an even surface, within reach of both captains. Choose the side you like best!
- The last player to have worn a hat is chosen as the starting captain.
- Place at least 3 objects on the board to make up the scene. Beginning with the starting captain, each captain chooses an object from those available and places it on the board in any empty square outside of the start zones.
- Finally, the captain who doesn't start places the little pig token on any available free square.
In the first game, we recommend using a tree or a column, a box and a barrel as objects in the scene. In later games, you can choose as many objects as you wish.
Rules
In Hatflings! games are split into turns. These alternate between the two captains. The starting captain takes the first turn.
During the course of the game, the captains introduce new halflings on the board when they see fit. These are always chosen from either the general pool or the special halflings pool. When a new halfling is placed on the board, the token must have the team colour facing upwards. When a halfling changes team, its token is turned over to show the colour of the opposing team.
On the first turn, the captains place a new halfling in one of the spaces in their start zone.
In successive rounds, the captains can choose one of the following actions:
- Introduce a new halfling
- Move one of their team's halflings on the board
Take note!
An empty square is one which is not occupied by any element of the game.
A free square can be empty or occupied by a box or a barrel.
One square surrounds another if it is vertically, horizontally or diagonally adjacent to it.
Introducing a new halfling
- The captain chooses a halfling either from the general pool or from his or her special halflings pool.
- This halfling is then placed on any free square which surrounds another halfling on their team.
(In the example illustration, the captain of the yellow team could place the halfling in any square marked with an arrow.)
Moving a halfling
- The captain chooses a halfling from his or her team which is currently on the board.
- The captain can make halflings jump, in a straight line, over any rival halfling on a surrounding square, to land on a free square.
It is not possible to jump over a halfling who is sitting on a box or a barrel.
(In the example illustration, the two possible movements that the captain of the yellow team can make are illustrated.)
Take note!
When halflings land on a square, by either being placed or moved there, they change the colour of the hats (change the team) of all the rival halflings in the surrounding squares.
(In the example illustration, the captain of the yellow team places a new halfling in the square marked with an arrow, therefore changing the colour of the rival halflings which are highlighted.)
End of the dance
The game finishes when a captain cannot introduce or move any more halflings. When this happens, the captains count how many halflings on the board belong to each team. The captain with the most, wins the game. In case of a draw, the winner will be the captain who has the most halflings in the start zone of the rival team.
The scene
Each edition of the hat dance is celebrated in a different scene. Therefore, when preparing the game, the captains can choose one and then personalize the board with objects such as trees, columns, boxes or barrels. Changing these objects around each time means every game of Hatflings! is always different!
Here we describe them in more detail:
- Trees and columns: these are obstacles which occupy a square. A halfling cannot sit on top of one, nor can they pass through these objects.
- Puddles: these, regardless of why they appear, are always removed from the board when the captain who placed them starts her next turn. A square with a puddle is not considered a free square.
- Boxes: a captain can place or move a halfling on top of a box. Doing so changes the colour of the hats of the rival halflings on the surrounding squares. The advantage of sitting on top of a box is that nobody, except a halfling with stilts (see The teams section) can change their hat colour. A halfling who is on top of a box can move following the normal rules of movement.
- The little pig: the little pig likes cavorting among the halflings. When a halfling is placed or moved to a square which surrounds the little pig, the captain of that halfling has to move the little pig to a surrounding empty square, if it is possible. The square occupied by the little pig is not considered a free square.
- Barrels: these are like boxes, with one difference: before a halfling gets on top of one, they have to check whether it can support them or if it will break. To verify this, the captain of that halfling must take a puddle token which is not on the board and toss it in the air. If it falls on the side which shows the same background as the board, it means the barrel breaks. In this case, the halfling is eliminated from the game and the barrel is withdrawn, leaving a puddle in its place. If the barrel doesn't break, the halfling can sit on top of the barrel, as if it were a box. In both cases, the captain's turn ends.
Take note!
Whenever special halflings are eliminated from the dance, they are returned to the box with their tail between their legs. This means that they cannot return to the game.
Any normal halflings who are eliminated are returned to the general pool of halflings.
Halflings can be eliminated from the game by the barrel, the firebug halfling or the greedy halfling.
The teams
The teams have one special halfling of each type in their ranks.
These special halflings have to follow the same rules as their fellow halflings (those who are not so special) as far as the rules for introducing and moving them, and changing their hat colour is concerned. The only differences are the following:
- Joker halflings: these halflings wear a hat of their colour... on top of another hat of their colour! When their hats are changed for the first time, their tokens are turned over to show a normal halfling of the rival team's colour. When their hat is changed again, they have lost both hats. In this case, the joker halfling token is replaced with one of the rival team's normal halfling tokens. The joker halfling is eliminated from the game.
- Cheating halflings: these halflings wear a hat which is firmly placed on their head and there is no way it can be removed. Cheats never change hat colour. Cheating halflings are so busy making sure their hat is on properly, that their captain cannot move them around the board.
- Firebug halflings: when they are placed on the board, they launch their giant firework which rattles the ears of all the halflings on surrounding squares. All the halflings who are affected by this loud crackle and bang are eliminated from the game.
- Clumsy halflings: when they are placed on the board, their captain places a puddle on any surrounding empty square.
- Greedy halflings: in contrast to the others, greedy halflings can be introduced on any of the squares around the edge of the board which are already occupied by a member of their team by pushing them. When this happens, they push all the other halflings in the same row or column one square forward. If they are introduced on a corner square, the captain decides whether they push forward by row or by column. If, as a consequence of this movement, a halfling falls off the edge of the board or collides with a part of the scenery, that halfling is eliminated. The greedy halfling then changes all the hats of the rival halflings who are on surrounding squares. (In the example illustration, the greedy halfling on the purple team enters the board and moves the column forward.)