Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Catastrophic Card Game
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Catastrophic Card Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
Sadly, the object of this game is not to have a pleasant experience, for any game involving the Baudelaire Orphans will surely end in disappointment. However, should one chose to play anyway, his or her objective is to be the first player to collect a majority of the seven VICTORY CARDS. One VICTORY CARD is awarded to the winner of each round.
Contents
The game contains 112 cards as follows:
- 24 Baudelaire Orphan Cards
- 24 Baudelaire Confidant Cards
- 24 Count Olaf in Disguise Cards
- 24 Count Olaf's Minion Cards
- 9 Special Cards
- 7 Victory Cards
- 1 Instruction Sheet
How to Play
Game Set Up
Place the seven Victory Cards face-up between the players.
After shuffling the remaining cards, deal 7 cards to each player (oldest player deals first).
Place the remainder of the deck face down to form the DRAW pile. Turn over the top card and place it beside the DRAW pile to begin the DISCARD pile.
The person to the left of the dealer begins play, and play proceeds clockwise around the table.
Let's Play
The Catastrophic Card Game consists of a series of rounds. The object of each round is to win one VICTORY CARD.
On their turn, each player draws one card from either the DRAW pile or the DISCARD pile.
Players then attempt to arrange the cards in their hands into TWO SETS: one THREE-CARD SET and one FOUR-CARD SET (see SETS).
When a player completes a set, they must place that set face up on the table; however, a player may only play one set per turn.
Players end their turn by discarding one card to the DISCARD PILE. SPECIAL CARDS are played as the discarded card. These cards help you and hinder your opponents (see SPECIAL CARDS). Once played, Special Cards cannot be picked up from the Draw Pile.
When the DRAW pile is emptied, reshuffle the DISCARD pile, place it face down to form a new DRAW pile, then turn the top card up beside it to form the new DISCARD pile.
The first player to complete and play both a THREE and FOUR-CARD SET wins that round and may choose any VICTORY CARD on the table – from either the center of the table or from another player that has already won a VICTORY CARD.
When the final VICTORY CARD has been removed from the center of the table, the player with the most VICTORY CARDS wins the game.
Sets
During each round, players must arrange the cards in their hands into TWO SETS: one THREE-CARD SET and one FOUR-CARD SET.
Three-Card Set
A THREE-CARD SET may be arranged by GROUP or by SEQUENCE.
A GROUP SET consists of three-of-a-kind of any card (example: Klaus-Klaus-Klaus). These cards will all be the same color category.
A SEQUENCE SET consists of three different character cards from the same category (example: Violet-Klaus-Sunny). The four color categories from which to form a SEQUENCE SET may be identified as follows:
- Baudelaire Orphans (GREEN)
- Baudelaire Confidants (BLUE)
- Count Olaf in Disguise (GOLD)
- Count Olaf's Minions (PURPLE)
Four-Card Set
A FOUR-CARD SET may be arranged by GROUP or into TWO PAIRS.
A GROUP SET consists of four-of-a-kind of any card (example: Klaus-Klaus-Klaus-Klaus). These cards will all be the same color category.
A TWO PAIR SET consists of any two pairs, both from the same category (the same color) (example: Klaus-Klaus-Sunny-Sunny). The four categories from which to form a TWO PAIR SET are the same as listed under SEQUENCE SET above.
NOTE: Each color category also includes three WILD CARDS. These may be used to complete any set of cards in the same color category as the WILD CARD.
Wild Cards
Whenever a player completes either a THREE-CARD SET or a FOUR-CARD SET that they wish to play, the player may lay that set face up on the table. However, as mentioned above, only one set can be played per turn. You cannot play both sets on the same turn.
Special Cards
Players may play SPECIAL CARDS as their discard to affect the game:
- OLAF'S EYE – when played, this card allows a player to choose one other player and look at all the cards in that player's hand.
- BURNING HOUSE – when played, this card allows you to take one SET that another player has laid on the table and remove it to the DISCARD PILE. The player whose SET has been 'burned' must draw an equal number of cards from the DRAW PILE as those that have just been removed to the DISCARD PILE. That player must play a new set to replace the one that was burned.
- MR. POE – when played, this card forces one other player to take three cards from the DRAW pile; this player will now have to complete an extra set of three in order to win the round.
- LEMONY SNICKET – a player may use this card to disable any SPECIAL CARD played against them. This is the only SPECIAL CARD that may be played when it is not your turn. You must immediately take another card from the DRAW pile to replace it. Play then resumes to the left of the player whose turn was just completed.
- BEATRICE – functions as a WILD CARD and may be used to complete any set, no matter the category or color.
Winning a Round
The first player to arrange and play all the cards in their hand according to the required sets wins that round.
The winner of each round receives one VICTORY CARD. The VICTORY CARD may be chosen from those that remain in the middle of the playing area, or one can be taken from any player who has already won a VICTORY CARD.
Winning the Game
When a player removes the last remaining VICTORY CARD from the middle, the game ends. Whichever player possesses the majority of VICTORY CARDS wins the game.