Heroes and Tricks Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Components
• Setup
• Standard Play
• Winning a Trick
  • Gear Cards and Trick Winning
  • Trick Example
• Winning the Hand
• Extended Play
  • First Hand
  • Second Hand
  • Third Hand
• 2-Player Variant
  • Additional Notes
  • 2-Player Setup
  • 2-Player Gameplay
  • 2-Player Scoring

Objective

The objective of Heroes and Tricks is to gain the favor of the most Heroes. Players do this by winning a series of Tricks through the game. A "Trick" is one round where each player places a card(s) in front of the Hero Card in the Deck Box, after which the entire Trick is revealed to determine the winner.

Components

• 64 Play Cards
• 16 Hero Cards
• 30 Gear Cards
• 1 Game Box

Setup

1. Divide the cards into 3 separate decks, shuffling all individually:

   • Play Cards (Black backs)
   • Hero Cards (Gold backs)
   • Gear Cards (Gray backs)

2. Shuffle and place the Hero Cards behind the back divider in the Game Box. Do so in a manner that does not reveal the cards to any player (including yourself).

3. Deal 3 Gear Cards face down to each player. Set all undealt Gear Cards aside without looking at them.

4. Deal out the Play Cards in the following numbers, per player count:

   • 2 Players, see 2-Player Variant (p.17)
   • 3 Players, 11 cards each
   • 4 Players, 10 cards each
   • 5 Players, 12 cards each
   • 6 Players, 8 cards each

5. Collect all of the undealt Play Cards & Gear Cards and place them into in the middle section of the Game Box (labeled "Discards"). During play, discarded cards from Tricks go into this section.

Standard Play

The player who most recently lost a game goes first.

Before starting the first Trick:

• Each player passes 2 Play Cards and 1 Gear Card to the left. This only occurs once per hand (so only one time in Standard Play). For faster play, the group may skip this step.

At the start of each Trick:

• Any player may play 1 Gear Card that says "Play Before Trick." This happens before the lead player draws the Hero Card.

1. The lead player of the Trick takes the back Hero Card from the stack behind the divider and places it facing forward in front of the front divider. Only they see the Hero Card.

2. That player then plays 1 Play Card in front of the Hero Card, so that their Play Card is the only card exposed.

   In addition, they may add in 1 or more Gear Card(s) that says "Play in Trick" behind their Play Card. This card's effect triggers when the Trick is revealed. This card is hidden from all other players as it is behind the Play Card.

3. The lead player passes the Game Box to the left. That player looks at only the front Play Card. This means they do not see the Hero Card leading the Trick.

   Repeat steps 2-3 until all players have played a Play Card into the Game Box to complete the Trick. Again, each player only knows the card played by the preceding player.

4. The last player removes all cards in front of the front divider (including the Hero Card) and hands it to the starting player. That player then fans the cards out to players and announces the winner (see Winning a Trick).

   Any Gear Cards that were played into the Trick should be splayed on with the card they were played behind.

   Important: If more than 1 Gear Card was played into the Trick, they resolve in the order they were played.

   That player gives the Hero Card to the winner and gives the rest to the last player to place in the discard pile in the middle section of the Game Box. All won cards face forward in players' hands.

5. Play resumes with the player who just revealed the Trick (the previous "last player") and progresses until players have played all but their last 2 Play Cards from their hand. Those two cards are never played.

Winning a Trick

Use the following process to determine the Trick winner:

• The Player who played the highest card matching both Color and Suit wins the Trick.
• If no cards matching both Color and Suit were played, then the player who played the highest card of the Color wins the Trick.
• If no cards matching the Suit were played, then the player who played the highest card of the Suit wins the Trick.
• If no cards matching Suit or Color were played, then the player who played the highest card wins the trick.

If more than one player would win at this point, or in the case of a tie, the player whose card was last in play order (furthest from the Hero Card) wins.

Gear Cards and Trick Winning

Gear Cards can impact winning a Trick. When determining the winner of a Trick, Gear Cards trigger in order starting with the one closest to the Hero Card.

Trick Example

In this example, the Hero is "Chaos," a Green-Card Hero.

The first player, Antone, played a Green-Card-7 and also the Gear "Opal Ring," which allows him to receive one extra point if he wins the Trick.

The second player, Mika, played a Green-Dice-5. She is hoping that the hero is actually Green-Dice suit and that Antone was bluffing, trying to win the trick with just the color green.

The third player, George, thinks that maybe Mika played her card based on Dice suit and plays an Orange-Dice-6.

And finally the fourth player, Helene, plays a Blue-Chip-1 and the Loot Card "Vorpal Dagger" which states "if your card is the lowest card played, you win."

Initially, Antone's Green-Card-7 would have won this trick because his card matches Chaos's Color and Suit and is the highest number. He also would have received an extra point for winning the suit with his "Opal Ring." However, Helene's "Vorpal Dagger" allows her lowest card, Blue-Chip-1 to win the trick instead.

Winning the Hand

When all but 2 Play Cards have been played into Tricks, the Hero Cards and any point related Gear Cards are scored to determine the winner. Each Hero Card is worth 1 point. The value of the point related Gear Cards are listed in their text.

• If there is a tie, the player with the most Hero Cards that have a shared Color wins.
• If there is still a tie, the player with the most Hero Cards of a shared Suit wins.
• If there is still a tie, the player with the Highest remaining Play Card wins.

If the players are still tied, they give each other a high five and both win that hand.

Extended Play

This play version consists of three hands of play. The first hand of play is the same as Standard Play, but there are adjustments in subsequent rounds. Each hand of cards is scored individually using Standard Play rules. The player with the highest combined score at the end of three hands wins. In the case of a tie, the player who won the most amount of individual hands wins.

First Hand

• Same as Standard Play.

Second Hand

• Last player with the Game Box (who scored the final Trick of the last round) goes first.
• All cards* are reshuffled and the game is set up again.
• Card Passing and Game Play proceeds to the right (opposite of the First Round).

Third Hand

• Last player with the Game Box (who scored the final Trick of the last round) goes first.
• All cards* are reshuffled and the game is set up again.
• Card Passing and Game Play proceeds to the left (same as the First Round).

*Note: Players keep existing Gear Cards when dealt back up to 3 Gear Cards. They always start the round with 3 Gear Cards (no more, no less).

2-Player Variant

A 2-player game of Heroes and Tricks is played over three hands like Extended Play. However, the players are going to play 4 Tricks in a row before revealing (rather than revealing after each Trick). An additional Hero Card is set aside as a Bonus Hero. All rules around Trick resolution are the same as Standard Play.

Additional Notes

• When Card Passing, only 1 Play Card and 1 Gear Card is passed each hand.
• Between hands of cards, the player with fewer points goes first.
• Remove the 7 Gear Cards with the "Not for 2-Players" Icon in the lower-right corner.
• The "Bonus Hero" is not affected by Gear Cards.

2-Player Setup

Players are dealt 6 Play Cards each and are then each dealt 3 Gear Cards.

2-Player Gameplay

1. The lead player takes 2 Hero Cards instead of 1 from behind the back divider at the start of the hand (looking at both). They choose 1 to place facing the players and the other is placed behind it facing backwards. The Hero Card not facing the player, is considered the Bonus Hero for the hand.

2. The players play 4 Tricks instead of 1 before revealing. They each still only play 1 Play Card into the Game Box in each Trick. After each player has played a Play Card into the Box, the last player to play into it moves a new Hero Card to the front, as in normal play (just without revealing the Trick first).

3. At the end of the 4 Tricks, the additional Bonus Hero is set aside, and the Tricks are resolved as per normal. The Bonus Hero is awarded to the Player who played the "best" Play Card out of the 8 cards played, resolving as a normal Trick. For example if the Bonus Hero was Blue Meeples, the player who played the Highest Blue Meeple card would win it.

4. After revealing the 4 Tricks and resolving the Bonus Hero, deal each player 4 additional Play Cards (back up to a 6 Play Card hand). Players are then dealt back up to 3 Gear Cards.

5. Card Passing occurs and then the leading player begins (Step 1).

2-Player Scoring

Play continues for 3 hands of cards, so a total of 15 Hero cards are awarded.

Note: Heroes are not reshuffled between rounds. Heroes and ties are handled per normal play.