Holly Jolly
Holly Jolly Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
110 cards:
- 35 ornament cards
- 15 present cards
- 9 stocking cards
- 46 tinsel and lights cards
- 4 star cards
- 1 tree base card
Setup
- Place the tree trunk card in the center of the play area.
- Shuffle the tinsel and lights cards together. Place three cards from the deck face up above the tree trunk as shown.
- Draw three more cards from the top of the tinsel and lights deck and place them face up near the tree to create your draw queue. Place the rest of the deck face down next to them.
- Shuffle the ornament cards, then draw eight cards. Arrange them face up around the three tinsel and lights cards as shown to set up the Christmas tree. Place the rest of the ornament deck face down nearby.
Note: In a two-player game, remove all of the Snowflake or Toy Soldier ornaments from the game.
- Place the star cards in a pile face up at the top of the tree.
- Shuffle the present and stocking cards together. Place two cards on either side of the tree trunk. Present cards are always placed item side face up, while stocking cards are placed with the item side face down. Players will not see what is in a stocking until they choose the card during play.
- Select a start player through any method of your choosing.
Gameplay
Holly Jolly is played over several turns. After the start player takes the first turn, play continues in a clockwise direction until the game ends. On each turn, a player will ALWAYS:
- Choose a tinsel or lights card from the draw queue
- Place the chosen card onto the Christmas tree
- Select an ornament, present, stocking, or star
1. Choose a tinsel or lights card
Select one card from the three available in the draw queue, then replace the card with one from the draw deck.
2. Play the card onto the Christmas tree
Place the card you selected on top of one of the three tinsel and lights cards already on the tree, covering the card. The card types don't have to match - you can cover any of the three cards on the tree!
3. Select an ornament, present, stocking, or star
Add up the total value of the cards that match the type of the card you just added to the tree. This total will determine what ornament, present, stocking, or star card you can collect this turn.
Example: Noel chooses the "5" lights card from the draw queue. She then chooses to place her card on top of the "2" lights card (A). She adds up the value of all the lights cards and has a total value of 9. If she had instead chosen to cover the "5" tinsel card (B), she would have had a total value of 11.
Ornaments
Examine the ornaments on the tree. If any of the ornament values match your tinsel/lights value, you MUST choose one of those ornaments with the matching value and remove it from the tree.
Bonuses from Santa and Rocking Horse cards should be resolved immediately when they are selected.
Keep your ornament cards face up in front of you in matching sets. This will help you keep track of your score as the game progresses.
Should the tinsel and lights draw deck run out, keep the current top three cards on the tree in place, remove all of the cards below, and shuffle them to form the new draw deck.
Example: Continuing the example, Noel has a total value of 9 from the lights cards on the tree, so she could take the 9 Snowman or the 9 Santa. She chooses the 9 Santa, places it in her play area then resolves the Santa bonus by immediately choosing a present or stocking from under the tree.
If an ornament of value 9 was not available, she instead chooses a present or stocking from the 6+ side under the tree.
Presents and Stockings
If no ornaments match a player's tinsel/lights value, they will instead take a present or stocking from under the tree to add to their collection. If the total value of your tinsel or lights is between 0 and 5, take a card from the left side of the tree. If the value is 6 or higher, take a card from the right side of the tree.
Presents, like ornaments, should be kept face up in matching sets. Stocking cards remain face down to keep their value secret from other players, though you are allowed to look at your own stocking cards.
After taking an ornament, present, or stocking card, replace it with a card from its respective draw deck.
Remember, presents and ornaments are always placed face up, while stockings are always placed face down.
Note on the Rocking Horse and Santa Ornaments:
If a Rocking Horse ornament ability is to take a Stocking and none are available under the tree, you only collect the ornament.
When collecting a Santa ornament, choose any item below the tree which can be either a present or a stocking.
Stars
If the total tinsel/lights value is 11, you may take a star card from the top of the tree. Each player may only ever collect one star. If you already have a star, you instead will choose a present or stocking from the 6+ (right) side of the tree.
Game End
When either the ornament draw deck or the present and stockings draw deck run out, the final round is triggered. Play continues until all players have had an equal number of turns. All players then tally up their points, and the player or players with the most points wins!
Scoring
Ornaments
Santa: Each Santa ornament scores one point.
Snowflake and Toy Soldier: The more of these collected, the more points they are worth. Each set scores separately. For example, a player with 4 Snowflakes and 2 Toy Soldiers would score 19 points.
| # of Matching Cards | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 2 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 20 | 27 | 35 |
Snowman: The player or players with the most Snowman ornaments score 4 points per Snowman. All other players score 2 points per Snowman.
Rocking Horse: Each Rocking Horse has a unique scoring condition or bonus listed on the card. Any ties both get the points.
Presents
Toys: Each toy is worth the number of points printed on the card.
Train: If you have both the engine and the caboose, you score 8 points. If you only have one part, you score no points.
Stuffed Animals: There are three unique stuffed animals that score based on their unique sets. For example, if you have 2 bears, 1 bunny, and 1 elephant, you would score 16 points.
| # of Unique Stuffed Animals | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1 | 5 | 15 |