Last Lemming
Last Lemming Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
Last Lemming is a drama in 4 acts. In each act you play 8 tricks. The tricks influence how far your lemmings run toward the cliff. At the end of each act you receive victory points according to the placement of your lemming. You want to stand as far forward as possible, but not fall over the cliff. The winner is whoever has the most victory points after 4 acts.
How does a trick-taking game work?
A trick is a round of play in which, in turn order, each of you plays one card from your hand. The first card played determines the trick colour (suit). All following players must follow this colour. That is, they must play a card of the same colour if they have one in hand. Anyone without a card of a matching colour may play any card.
Afterwards you check who wins the trick: normally this is whoever played the highest number in the trick colour. That person then starts the next trick. You repeat this until all hand cards have been played.
Components
- 4 double-sided track pieces
- 1 scoring board made of two parts
- 22 numbered rule cards
- 72 playing cards (in 4 colours, each with the values -5, -3, -1, 1 to 12; plus 12 X cards)
- 24 victory point chips (6 each of: 1, 2, 3 and 5)
- 6 character cards and
- 6 matching playing pieces (lemmings)
Setup
- Assemble the game track in the middle of the table by laying the four pieces next to each other in ascending order. Which sides are visible does not matter at first.
- Place the scoring board next to it. The side must be visible that matches the number of players (3/4 or 5/6).
- Choose four random rule cards and place one face down at the bottom of each act of the scoring board. The rest are not needed in this game.
- Shuffle the 72 playing cards and form a face-down draw pile.
- Place the victory point chips as a supply. At the start each of you receives 3 victory points. Note: You may keep your points secret during the game, e.g. by stacking them.
- Each of you chooses a character and places its card in front of you. Form a waiting line next to the game track, in front of space 1, from all the matching playing pieces. Whoever first thinks of a Latin proverb leads the line and will begin the first trick in Act 1. The rest of you line up behind in clockwise order.
Playing a trick-taking game for the first time? Then we recommend playing rule cards 01 to 04. Place them at the four acts accordingly (01 at Act 1, 02 at Act 2, etc.).
Play trick-taking games more often, but Last Lemming for the first time? Then start with cards 05 to 08 in this order.
Note: The rule cards are numbered according to their complexity. The higher the number, the greater the tactical challenge.
The Four Acts
At the beginning of each act, turn face up the rule card belonging to that act. Turn all track pieces to the sides indicated at the top of the rule card.
Then deal each person 12 hand cards from the face-down pile. You must now secretly choose which 8 cards you want to play the 8 tricks with. Put the remaining 4 cards back onto the face-down pile.
Tip: Take the current rule card into account when choosing your cards.
After all of you have settled on your 8 hand cards, the trick play begins. Whoever stands at the very front of the playing-piece waiting line begins. In clockwise order, each plays one hand card. The led trick colour must be followed if possible.
Exception: An X may be played at any time, even if you hold the trick colour in hand. Remember: X counts for nothing – it is not a number, has no colour and no value. Whoever plays an X can therefore never win the trick. Effectively "sitting out" like this gives you many tactical options. In addition, some rule cards refer to the X and extend its function.
After each of you has played 1 card, the trick is evaluated. Now move your lemmings according to the instructions on the rule card. Always begin with the person who won the trick. Unless stated otherwise, this is the person who played the highest number in the trick colour. All other persons follow in clockwise order.
Important: Do not place the played cards in the middle of the table, but keep them in front of you. This simplifies the evaluation.
Afterwards set the played cards aside. Whoever won the trick begins the next one and plays the first card. In this way you play 8 tricks in succession. Then the act ends and victory points are awarded.
Example
Rule card 01 (illustrated): "Whoever wins the trick moves by the value of their own card. Whoever plays the second-highest card in the trick colour also moves by the value of their own card."
Kleopatra played a yellow -3 as the first card, thereby setting yellow as the trick colour. Nero wins the trick, since his yellow 10 is the highest number in the trick colour. According to rule card 01, he moves by the value of his card, i.e. 10 spaces forward. Then Caesar, who played the yellow 5, moves 5 spaces forward, because his card is the second-highest number in the trick colour. The other lemmings do not move.
Movement Rules
- Unless stated otherwise, the full movement distance must always be moved. It is not permitted to let movement lapse in whole or in part.
- The lemmings mostly move forward toward the cliff, but sometimes also backward (e.g. when moving by the value of a negative number).
- Caution: Only one piece may be on each space of the track. If a piece lands on an occupied space, it pushes the piece there exactly 1 space further. If that space is also occupied, a chain reaction results. The pushed piece pushes the next one as well, and so on.
- If a piece is moved or pushed beyond the foremost space of the track, it falls off the cliff! The lemming must go back to the start and lines up at the back of the waiting line.
The waiting line
Any number of lemmings can stand in a row in front of the track. No pushing takes place there. If a piece moves forward out of the line, it always begins on space 1 of the track. If a lemming moves back to the start through a backward movement, the piece always goes to the last place of the line. The same happens if a piece moves backward within the line.
Holes
If a piece lands exactly on a space with a hole (or is pushed onto it), it also falls into the depths and returns to the end of the waiting line.
Important: Whoever falls into a hole or off the cliff must immediately put 1 victory point back into the supply. If you have no points left when you fall, you may of course keep playing. Your lemming must go back to the start as usual, but the point penalty does not apply. You have already lost enough.
Track piece 2
Here the path forks. You choose which way you want to go – running over the hole is a shortcut that brings you forward faster. If a piece is pushed forward onto space 7, the pushing person chooses the direction. Likewise when a piece is pushed backward onto space 12. Pushing into the hole is therefore allowed.
End of an Act
After you have played and evaluated 8 tricks, the act ends. Now victory points are awarded according to the placement of your lemmings. Look at the scoring board for this.
Whoever stands furthest forward receives as many victory points as are indicated for 1st place in the current act. The second playing piece receives the points for 2nd place, etc. Lemmings in the waiting line are not disqualified. They too can receive points for their placement. Of course only if further lemmings stand behind them in the line. Therefore make sure of a clear order!
Example
At the end of Act 1, Kleopatra is in first place; she receives 3 victory points. Nero receives 2 points for second place. Maximus and Hymnia receive 1 point each for places three and four. Caesar unfortunately goes away empty-handed.
Preparing the Next Act
Put all pieces back into the waiting line. Keep the current order of the pieces. Whoever took 1st place in the last act leads the line and begins the next trick.
Shuffle all played cards back into the pile and deal each person 12 new cards.
Finally, turn the played rule card back to its reverse side. The curtain closes over this act. Turn up the next rule card – the next act can begin!
End of the Game
After the 4th act the game ends. Count your victory points. Whoever has the most wins! In case of a tie, the person with the better placement in the last act wins.
Variant for 2 to 3 Players
With slight changes you can also play with two. This variant is also suitable for making the game with three more interactive, as more lemmings are on the board:
At the start of the game each person chooses 2 lemmings, but places only 1 of them in the waiting line. You play and score the first act as usual. Afterwards, however, leave your lemmings standing at their position on the track and turn the matching character cards sideways. If you must turn over track pieces with lemmings on them for the next act, briefly lift the pieces and put them back to the same position after turning.
You play the second act with your second piece, which you now put into the waiting line (whoever won Act 1 stands at the front).
The lemmings on the track continue to take part in the game – you can push them, but not move them. You always move only your active lemmings, unless a rule card explicitly states otherwise.
Important: At the end of the act you score all 4 or 6 lemmings according to their positions. Use the scoring board as if you were playing with four or six players. From Act 2 on you receive victory points accordingly for both of your lemmings.
In Acts 3 and 4 you freely choose which of your two lemmings you want to play. The other one stays on the track. Always turn sideways the character cards that are currently taking a break; this way you can better remember which piece you move in each act.
Frequently Asked Questions
1: What counts as the trick colour if the first card played in a trick is an X? Nothing yet. The first person in clockwise order who plays a number then sets the trick colour with their card.
2: What if everyone plays an X in a trick? Then nobody wins the trick. Whoever started the last trick also starts the next one.
3: If I do not hold a colour in hand, must I play an X? No, if you cannot follow the trick colour, you may play any card.
4: Can pushing also go backward? Yes. If your lemming moves backward onto an occupied space, you push the piece there one space backward as well.
5: Does the waiting line in front of the track also count as a "space"? Can I move back there? No, the waiting line does not count as a space. However, your lemming can certainly leave the game track again, e.g. when it stands on space 1 and moves backward through a played minus number. In such a case – and also if you would move backward within the waiting line – you always place your piece at the very back of the line.
6: What do I do if my lemming is supposed to jump to "the next occupied space" ahead of or behind it, but there are no occupied spaces there? Then your lemming does not move. Note that the waiting line is not a space (see question 5), so with such an instruction you never land back at the start.
7: Can my lemming move several times within one trick? Yes. For example in rule card 03: Whoever wins the trick moves by the value of their own card. Then the lemming that stands furthest back moves by the value of its own card. If you win the trick but after moving are still furthest back, you move again by the same value.
8: My lemming was moved beyond the cliff with a high number. May I continue moving the remaining value from the start? No, if you fall off the cliff the remaining movement lapses. However, if the rule card lets your lemming move again (see question 7), you carry this out as usual.
9: We have run into an unsolvable special case. What to do? Do it like the ancient Romans and vote democratically. If that leads to no agreement, you can for example duel in the arena.