Huzzah! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Winning
• Notes
• Included with this Game
• You Also Need
• About the Board
• Jump Gates
• The Cards
• The Counters
• Beginning The Game
• On Each Turn
  • The Turn Order, in Brief
  • {1} Draw
  • {2} Move Performers
  • {3} Play One Show Card
  • {4} Move Richard
  • {5} Reveal Show Cards
• Show Cards
  • 2–, 3–, and 5–Crowd Cards
  • Finale Cards
  • Huzzah! Cards
• Heckling
• {6} Discard

Winning

The game continues until one player has scored 50 points. If more than one player goes over 50 in the same turn, the player with the highest score is the winner. Congratulations, you're the sole performer at next year's King James Faire!

Notes

The time between step {4} and step {2} of the following turn is usually pretty quick; people just need to deal with their own crowds, discard, and draw. You can let everyone cruise through those steps at their own pace and come together again on the following step {2}.

If Richard gets bumped along several times , he only has his effects at the spot where he finally stops. He does not, for example, knock out the audience on every square on which he pauses, just on the one where he comes to rest.

If there are only a few players, you can make the game more interactive by closing down a few stages (for repairs). For example, in a four-player game, try closing down the Swag Cart, Boars Hede, and Cathedral Stage, and fighting over the rest.

Included with this Game

The Huzzah! Board (6 pieces), 90 Cards, and this Rulebook. If you need help assembling the board, look at the snapshot on the back of this booklet. You might want to tape the board to a stiff piece of cardboard; the finished size is about 16" square.

You Also Need

One Pawn for each player, plus one more Master Pawn to represent Richard; three 6-sided Dice; and several Counters in denominations of one and five (pennies and nickels work fine.)

About the Board

The Huzzah! Board is just a linear path, composed of 51 steps. There are nine stages around the faire, each of which overlooks 3, 4, 5, or 6 steps on the path. Each step in a stage area can hold a maximum of five audience counters, so performers on the larger stages can attract larger crowds. The steps between stages are blank, and don't hold any audience.

Richard moves around the board on every turn, and players can move around between their shows. Everyone moves clockwise, in the direction of the arrow at the Main Gate. When Richard moves, he goes exactly the amount rolled on 3 dice, and he sometimes jumps around via his Jump Gates. When the players move, they also roll 3 dice, but they can stop anywhere they like along that distance.

Jump Gates

There are six "Jump Gates" around the trail where Richard can take a shortcut through the center of the grounds. If Richard stops on a Jump Gate, roll one die to move him to a random gate, then roll three dice and move him normally again. Performers can't use these Gates, because they don't have the keys.

The Cards

There are two types of cards in the Huzzah! deck: Show Cards and Bump Cards. You will play Show Cards face down during step {3} of the turn, and reveal them in step {5}, as described below. You play Bump Cards immediately after someone moves, to bump them three spaces further. You can bump Richard, yourself, or the other players, but you must play the Bump card just after they finish their move (or after another Bump).

The Counters

Counters represent audience. One counter on the board actually stands for ten people, only one of whom will bother to give you a good word in the King James Royal Comment Booke. (The "capacities" marked on the stages refer to counters, not people.)

As mentioned above, the stage areas can only hold five counters. If more than five counters are placed on the same spot, the extra people disappear back into the Faire, because they can't see. Also, you can't move audience counters around once you've placed them, so gather your crowd with care.

When you finish your show (with a Finale card) you gather the counters from your audience and keep them as points. Gathering up your counters is a handy way of remembering your score, but if you don't have a whole lot of counters, you can also just keep score on paper.

Beginning The Game

Shuffle the Huzzah! deck and put it on the Tournament Stand. You will play discards in a pile next to the deck, and when the deck runs out, shuffle the discards and put them back on the Tournament Stand. You will probably reshuffle two or three times in every game.

To begin, players choose stages. Each player rolls three dice, and the highest roller chooses his stage first. You show that you are performing at a stage by putting your pawn right on that stage. You'll gather your audience in the spaces around your stage.

Next, place Richard in a random spot on the board. To do this, treat him as if he's just landed on a Jump Gate: i.e., roll one die to put him on a random Gate, then roll three dice to move him forward.

On Each Turn

The game turn is composed of several steps, which everyone takes at the same time.

The Turn Order, in Brief

{1}: Draw {2}: Move Performers {3}: Play Show Cards {4}: Move Richard {5}: Reveal Show Cards {6}: Discard.

{1} Draw

Every player fills their hand up to five cards.

{2} Move Performers

Any performers who are on the path can move now. This won't happen until someone plays a Finale; at the beginning, everyone's on stage.

If there are multiple performers acting in step {2}, they must take turns. Each active player rolls one die to see who will move first.

To move yourself along the track, roll 3 dice. You can take your entire roll, or stop anywhere along the way. You can even stay right where you are, if you like.

If you stop at an empty stage, you can take it right away, or you can stay on the path. If you stop at an occupied stage, you can heckle the performer who is there and try to steal the stage. See below for the heckling rules.

Anyone can play Bump cards on any performer who has just moved. However, you can't bump someone who hasn't moved at all.

Sometimes you will stop on a "full" space, and have to slide forward. A space is considered full if has another player in it, or if it contains five audience counters. You also slide forward if you land on Richard.

{3} Play One Show Card

Every player who is on a stage must play one Show Card face down on the table. These cards will be revealed in step {5}, after Richard moves. You must play a Show card if you are on stage; if you don't have one, you must show that your hand contains nothing but Bump cards, discard the hand and draw five new cards, and play a Show card.

Heckling: A player who is standing in the audience of another performer may try to play a matching Show card now, in hopes of taking over the stage. This is called "heckling," and the results are described below.

{4} Move Richard

Roll the three dice and move Richard by exactly that amount.

If Richard comes to rest in an occupied stage area, he annoys the audience members on the space he lands on, and they disappear.

If Richard stops on a player, he bumps that player forward one space. If he stops in a performer's stage area, he will affect the result of that player's Show Card.

If Richard lands on a Jump Gate, he moves again. Roll one die to move him to a random gate, then move him again with 3 dice. It's possible for Richard to hit several Gates on one turn.

Players may usually bump Richard further along with Bump cards; however, Richard can't be bumped off a Gate. In other words, the Bump card isn't strong enough to prevent Richard from jumping.

{5} Reveal Show Cards

Players now turn over their Show Cards. Show Cards have two possible outcomes, both of which are described on the cards. The first result is the normal effect of the card; the second is what happens if Richard is in the audience when the card is revealed. The Show Cards are:

Show Cards

2–, 3–, and 5–Crowd Cards

Little tidbits in your act which Richard hates, but which grow your audience. Normally, these just add audience counters to your crowd. But Richard hates these cards so much that you actually lose points if he sees them.

The counters you earn from a single Crowd card must all be played into the same space on the Board. So, if you play a 3-Crowd into a spot which already has 4 audience, you only add one more counter to that space. The other people wander away because they can't see.

Finale Cards

Flamboyant, exciting, and totally unperiod, your finale can make or break your show.

Whether Richard is there or not, a Finale clears your audience and jumps you down off your stage. Move your pawn to the first space beyond your stage area. Normally, a Finale converts your audience to points, as good words in the Comment Booke. However, if Richard is there, you just lose the crowd and get nothing.

Huzzah! Cards

A bit of forsoothly fluff which you know the Director will like. Aha, you knew there was some way to make Richard happy. Normally, these cards just make people bleed away. But if Richard sees them, you'll earn 12 points instead, directly from him.

Heckling

Players may "heckle" other performers by standing in their audience and trying to play the same Show Card.

If the heckler plays a Show Card which matches the performer's card (by name; the art doesn't have to match), then the two cards cancel out, nothing happens to the crowd, and the performers switch places. The heckler jumps onto the stage, and the performer takes the heckler's place in the crowd. Furthermore, the heckler earns three points, from audience members who are impressed by all the hilarity.

If two people heckle the same player successfully, they must roll dice to determine who will succeed.

{6} Discard

At the end of the turn, players may discard up to two cards, just to clear them out of their hand. This will give them a better chance of drawing something else on the next turn.