Orange Quest
Orange Quest Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Overview
Age: 14+
Players: 2-6
Duration: 15-40 minutes
Components
Playing cards: 145
Coin: 1
Rules of play.
6 Hero Cards
You will play as brave (and not so brave) heroes. Each hero has a unique ability.
The set contains 6 hero cards. The page illustrates three of them, and their abilities are:
- Joy (Джой): You do not lose candies. Does not apply to losing to a boss and in duels.
- Christian (Кристиан): Look at the top 2 cards of the action deck. If there are combat cards among them, take one into hand and place the other in the discard pile. (Read from a low-resolution print of the page; wording may differ slightly from the original.)
- Roy (Рой): Flip the coin.
Note: the page shows no ability text for the remaining three hero cards; they are not transcribed here.
If next to an ability's description there is an icon of a curved arrow (circular-arrow symbol), the ability can be used only once per game day. When using the ability, turn the hero card so it is clear the ability has been used. At the start of the next game day, return the card to its original position; the ability can then be used again. All three abilities above carry this icon.
10 Location Cards
The journey cannot do without new, unexplored places!
Each location has its own game conditions. The icons on the signpost tell you what to do. A detailed description of the actions can be found in the "Signposts" section on the last page.
6 Boss Cards
Think this will be an easy stroll? Not so! Dangerous bosses will be met along your path, whose aim is to take your candy away. Each boss has a health indicator and a list of rewards that players receive for defeating them.
Rewards can be candy and action cards.
Boss Strengthening Card
If you set out on the journey as a large team (5-6 players), use the double-sided boss strengthening card so that the bosses remain dangerous and you can receive additional rewards for them! If you consider yourselves a strong enough team, you may also use the boss strengthening card when travelling in a smaller group.
The card is placed under the boss card, thereby strengthening the boss and increasing the reward. The reward bonus for players who defeat the boss is added equally to each cell.
Action Cards
102 Action Cards
Here we are at the most varied and incredible arsenal of our heroes!
For the game you have 102 action cards. They are played from hand to carry out some action, for example to harm or help a companion (though harming is far more common, of course).
Action cards come in several types, which differ by frame colour.
Quick action cards (yellow frame). You can play them at any moment of the game. Try playing one as soon as the game starts and you will understand everything at once.
If a quick action card is already being played, you must wait until the previous card's action has been fully carried out before playing the next one. The exception is "Block" (Блок), which can cancel any action, including the action of another "Block".
Combat cards (red frame). Like fights? Then this section is for you! These cards deal or reduce damage. They are played only on your own turn during a fight with a boss and in duels.
Damage cards (with a minus) are placed in front of the player who played them, so that it is clear who dealt the damage.
Damage-reducing cards (with a plus) can be played once some hero has already dealt damage. They are placed under the played combat cards of the player whose damage is to be reduced, and they lower that player's total damage. Damage cannot be reduced by more than the player has dealt.
Example: Sylvester played the card "Gvozdar" (-40), dealing 40 damage to the boss. Arnold, on his turn, played "Dao-Cola" (+20) and placed it on the "Gvozdar" card played by Sylvester. Now Sylvester is considered to deal only 20 damage to the boss (-40+20 = -20). If Sylvester had played the card "Hook" (-10) and dealt 10 damage to the boss, then "Dao-Cola" would reduce 10 damage to the boss instead of 20, fully cancelling the damage from "Hook".
Party cards (blue frame). These are played only during a party (вечеринка). It is simple: during a party you may play as many of these cards as you like on your turn and enjoy their effects.
To make it easier to understand what happens when you play an action card, the cards carry icons showing what kind of effect the action will have.
Backpack icon (equipment). Equipment attached to a player. These cards are laid out next to the hero card and stay on the table until the end of the game, or until a certain moment when, under the game conditions, they must be removed (for example, they are destroyed by a "Block" card). They carry the circular-arrow icon and may be used at any moment of the game, but only once per game day. In short: these are like hero cards, but made of action cards.
Skull icon (curses). Curses attached to a player. By definition they bring nothing good. Such cards are placed next to the hero card and trigger when the event stated on them occurs; after their effect is resolved they are immediately discarded. For example, "Mark" (Метка) triggers as soon as a fight with a boss begins.
Button icon (mischief). Mischief (пакости). These actions, as a rule, harm players. It is hard to imagine a mischief that helps.
Yin-Yang icon (neutral). Neutral actions. Such actions may both help and hinder players. Their effect is entirely in your hands!
Candy
The sweetest part of the game! The reverse side (the backs) of an action card = 1 candy.
If during the game a player needs to receive candy, they take the required number of cards from the action card deck and place them face-down (back side up) in front of themselves, next to their hero card, in their candy stash (конфетный запас). If a player needs to take candy from another player, they take it from that player's candy stash. If a player loses candy, the card must be removed from the candy stash and placed in the discard pile.
Cards in the candy stash and cards in hand are not the same thing, and they must not be mixed. Trying to do so is like trying to open a door with a boot or to sail on a waffle. It has no point, trust us.
Cards may not be taken from the candy stash into hand. Players must not hide the number of candies in their candy stash. It is not allowed to look at which cards have become candy.
If you wish, you may use real candies in the game, but be careful: they may run out faster than you expect!
Auxiliary Damage Cards
Two-sided cards with a coin picture are used when you need to mark that the action of a card has been strengthened or weakened. As needed, they are placed on top of the original card.
Example: When playing "Gvozdar", Sylvester flipped the coin to strengthen the damage of his card. Luck smiled on him, so he takes an auxiliary card and places it on the "Gvozdar" card with the red side (-10) up, so that the total damage is 50 (-40 + (-10) = -50).
Coin
A flat round object with two sides. (The source text says "two (in fact three) sides"; the third side is not described further.) The coin determines the direction in which events unfold, takes part in fights, and settles all disputed questions.
Game Setup
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It would be strange to begin the journey unprepared, so each player is dealt at random:
- a) one hero card. These are your characters for the current game. The remaining hero cards can be returned to the box, because they are not needed for this game;
- b) 5 action cards, face-down. This is the starting set of cards in hand. From then on, the number of cards in hand must not exceed 7. More than 7 cards in hand is an unbearable burden, so part of them must be converted into candy at once.
If a player has more than 7 cards in hand, they must immediately (before any other actions) choose the surplus cards and place them from hand, back side up, into their candy stash, so that exactly 7 cards remain in hand.
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Create your future adventure! Shuffle and place face-down in the centre of the table the decks of action cards, locations and bosses. (The number of boss cards in the deck must equal the number of game days of the journey (see "Game Process"); unused boss cards go back in the box.) The "Joe" card must always lie at the very bottom of the resulting boss deck.
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Choose the player who will go first. This is a very responsible role, and we recommend choosing the most experienced Orange Quest player for it. You can also simply choose the first player at random and consider that they are the most experienced. The first player holds this title for one game day. When the day ends, the title passes to the next player clockwise.
Game Process
Your journey will last several game days. No need to worry: these are conditional game days, not real ones (1 conditional game day = 1 round). The maximum length of the journey is 6 game days. We recommend this duration, but you may decide for yourselves whether the journey will be long or short (for example, 4 game days).
The game ends when the last game day ends.
Each game day is divided into 4 phases. Next to each phase heading the source shows coloured tabs, which mark the types of action cards that may be used during that part of the day: yellow for quick action cards, red for combat cards, blue for party cards (see the "Traveller's Reminder" at the end). The row of small icons at the foot of the page appears to be a key to the signpost icons (see "Signposts"); it is not reproduced separately.
Morning: Preparation
Every game day begins with preparation. The heroes have rested and are full of strength, so they need to replenish their gear with new "toys". Each player must take 2 cards from the action card deck into hand, and return turned hero cards and attached cards to their original position.
Day: Journey
It is time to start moving, sleepyheads! Explore the location the heroes have arrived at: turn over the top card of the location deck and place it face-up on the table, after which you must carry out the actions marked on the signpost. Events are carried out immediately, from top to bottom, in order of their precedence (see the "Signposts" section).
Evening: Boss Fight
After the conditions of the all-powerful signpost have been met, the heroes unexpectedly (on the second game day this is already expected) meet a boss. Turn over the top card of the boss deck. You must fight it on this game day. The boss fight begins.
During the fight your task is to deal to the boss damage equal to its health or more. Each boss card shows its health (the droplet icon) at the top. If you manage to do this by the end of the fight, the distribution of rewards begins (see "Distribution of Rewards"). If not, then all players, regardless of whether they took part in this fight or not, lose to the boss and each lose 2 candies from their candy stash.
It is not enough just to defeat the boss! It is also important to deal it more damage than anyone else, to receive the tastiest reward, the leader's reward! After you learn who will oppose you, take turns (starting with the first player) dealing damage to the boss. In turn order, each player may play combat cards (one at a time, or all at once) in front of themselves to show how much damage they deal to the boss, or, having done nothing, pass, after which the turn passes to the next player.
The boss fight ends when all players have passed in turn. If someone decides to postpone their strike and passes, and everyone follows their example, then that player no longer gets a turn in this round and cannot strike in this fight. But if at least one player after the passing player does not pass and plays any action card, then the turn right returns to the player who passed, and that player can put their cunning plan into action.
Distribution of Rewards
Defeated the boss? Now is the time to show off your coolness and start the loot section! (In the source, the word "rest" in the opening line is struck through and replaced with "show off your coolness".)
Leader (crown icon). As a rule, every fight has a leader: the strongest, most agile, luckiest, handsomest or most flamboyant hero, who takes the biggest reward for themselves and, by virtue of their special status, can influence the distribution among the other players.
The leader is the one who dealt the boss more damage than anyone else. They receive:
- the reward indicated on the boss card in the cell with their icon;
- the boss card itself, which at the end of the game gives a certain number of victory points (the trophy icon) in addition to candies.
The boss card is not a reward and is an addition. It cannot be taken, moved or transferred in any way, so it is the most valuable trophy!
Even after you have dealt the boss more damage than its health, nobody will stop you from continuing to trample it into the ground in pursuit of leadership, by playing damage cards. If after the fight several players dealt an equal amount of damage, then there is no leader, and the leader's reward is added to the participants' reward. In this case, absolutely all players who dealt damage to the boss are considered participants.
Participants (sword icon). A player who did not become the leader but dealt some damage to the boss is a participant, who enters into sharing the reward. The participants' reward, indicated on the boss card in the cell with the participants' icon, is laid out on the table (action cards face-up, so that everyone can see what is being shared). Participants must agree how the reward is distributed, and try to make it as honest as possible. If they cannot agree, or simply do not feel like it, one of the options proposed in the section "Additional Rules" can always be used.
Others (dots icon). It sometimes happens that someone fell asleep during the fight, or simply was too lazy to deal damage to the boss. This reward is specially for these "fighting guys"! After the participants have shared their reward, the other players receive a reward. The distribution of the reward for the other players is made by the leader or, if there is no leader, by another player chosen at random or as a result of a contest. The leader, or the person replacing them, may distribute the reward as they wish, but must hand out all the cards.
Example: Players, playing as a group of six, defeated the boss named Andy. Sylvester and Arnold dealt the most damage, but in equal amounts, so they become participants together with Bruce and Jean, who also dealt damage to the boss. They share the reward between themselves, after which Arnold, having challenged his companion to "Rock, Paper, Scissors", distributes the reward between Dolph and Chuck, who dealt no damage in the fight.
Night: Party
What to do when the boss is down, the candies are jingling in your pockets, and the next morning is still a whole night away? Throw a party! Even if the fight was lost, it is better to throw a party just in case, lest things turn out otherwise...
After the boss fight is over, the party begins. There are no prohibitions at the party, so you can use the most varied cards!
The first player starts their turn. They may play action cards, challenge other players to a duel (see "Duel"), or pass, passing the turn to the neighbour clockwise.
After a player has carried out all the desired actions, they pass the turn to the player on the left. This continues until all players pass.
After all players have passed, the party ends. The rules for passing are the same as in the boss fight.
Duel
"Hey! That guy has too many candies, and candies must be shared!" If a player wants to get part of another player's candies, then during their turn at the party they challenge that player to a duel. A fight begins.
A player may not attack the same player twice during one party. A player may not start a duel twice during one party.
Players in turn, starting with the player who challenged to the duel, play combat cards from hand to deal damage to each other. In a duel all means are fair, because candy is at stake! You may play any cards of the permitted types from hand and use any equipment. The winner of the duel is the player who managed to deal more damage to the opponent. If no damage was dealt to anyone, or equal damage was dealt, the duel ends in a draw.
In case of victory, the player takes 3 candies from the losing player (or everything that the loser has, if they have fewer). In case of a draw, nobody receives a reward.
During the duel, other players may also play cards from hand to help one of the duellists. They are entitled to ask for help in return for a reward in the form of candies taken from the losing player of the duel (which may be refused), or to help free of charge.
Example: Arnold challenged Bruce to a duel, but underestimated his strength, and in the fight he needed help. He promised Chuck 2 candies from those he would take from Bruce in case of victory. Chuck agreed, but Arnold gave him only one candy, claiming that the victory was not decisive. Probably after such actions Arnold faces a forced revenge from Chuck.
To ensure that efforts to take sweets from a neighbour do not harm the common goal, after the duel ends each player who took part in it (and even one who merely helped) takes from the action card deck as many cards as they spent combat cards in this duel. To avoid getting confused about how many cards each player used, it is recommended to set aside one new action card from the deck immediately after each combat card is played, and after the duel simply take the resulting pile.
End of Game Day
The route is complete, the boss is down, and the party has ended with a magical finale: the day has come to an end. With the end of the party, the game day ends. On the following game day the first player is the player sitting to the left of the player who was first in the previous round. A new game day begins.
If on the last evening you fought Candy Joe, then that was the last game day: new game days do not begin, and the game goes to its finale.
End of Game
This is the finale! When you have finished the last game day, the scoring begins.
Put into your candy stash all the cards remaining in your hand, and also all the equipment cards attached to your hero. Count how many candies you managed to collect during the journey. Add to this number the victory points from the boss cards (the same ones marked with the skull icon), at the rate of 1 point = 1 candy.
The player who has collected the greatest number of candies in total at the end of the game becomes the winner!
If several players have collected an equal number of candies, this is an occasion to celebrate a double or even triple victory (or to quarrel over accusations of cheating).
Additional Rules
Here you will find everything needed to make the journey in your own style. To make play more convenient, you may use the additions below, or simply come up with your own rules!
The publisher welcomes feedback on how the game is played. (The source box gives a contact e-mail address for submitting house rules; the address is omitted here as publisher contact information.)
Sharing the Reward for Defeating the Boss Among Participants
Variant "Peaceable". Deal all the cards to the players evenly and at random (discard any surplus).
Variant "Let's play a game within the game". Decide the right to choose a card with a friendly game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors". You know the rules of this game, right?
Variant "I take what I want". Sharing takes place in several stages. In each stage:
- each player in turn says which card they intend to take;
- each player, simultaneously with the others, on the count of "three" points with a finger at one of the cards, and takes that card for themselves if they alone pointed at it. Cards pointed at by two or more players are discarded. If one card remains for sharing, it is automatically discarded.
Variant "We had better agree". This variant needs a clock. The players' task is to agree within 30 seconds on how they will distribute the cards. If they fail to agree within 30 seconds, all cards taking part in the sharing are discarded.
Two-Player Game
If you set out on the journey as a small group, i.e. just two of you, it may be quite difficult to overcome all the obstacles. Therefore, to simplify the task, you may halve the health of all bosses for two players. This lets you look effective in each fight, regularly receive the deserved reward, and save up action cards for hot duels.
The source box also points to an extended rules version and FAQ on the publisher's website and social media group; these links are omitted here as publisher contact information.
Traveller's Reminder
| Morning: preparation | Day: journey | Evening: boss fight | Night: party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turned-over hero cards and attached cards return to their original position. Each player takes 2 cards from the action deck into hand. | The top card of the location deck is revealed. The events marked on the signpost are carried out. | The top card of the boss deck is revealed. The boss fight begins. | Party! Action cards are used, and duels may be started. |
| Card types: quick action (yellow frame) | Card types: quick action (yellow frame) | Card types: quick action (yellow frame), combat (red frame) | Card types: quick action (yellow frame), party (blue frame); duels use quick action and combat (yellow and red frame) cards |
Signposts
The location deck's signposts (the "Указатели" page of the source). Each signpost icon marks one event, carried out during the Day phase in the order described in "Game Process".
Rage (flexed-arm icon). The boss receives a bonus to its health. The first player flips the coin: heads, "bonus +20"; tails, "bonus +40". You may use auxiliary cards to show the amount of the bonus.
Fair (card-stack icon). Each player, clockwise, starting with the first player, immediately takes two cards from the action deck into hand.
Fog of Generosity (sun-rays icon). All players simultaneously pass one card from their hand of their choice to their neighbour. The first player flips the coin to determine the direction: heads, "to the neighbour on the right"; tails, "to the neighbour on the left".
Sacred Place (crossed-out swords icon). Players may not challenge each other to a duel.
Loss of Losses (boss-creature icon with red lines). Each player loses one card from hand, randomly selected by their neighbour. The first player flips the coin: heads, "neighbour on the right"; tails, "neighbour on the left". Action cards lost in this way go to the discard deck.
Breakage (crossed-out equipment icon). Players may not use equipment cards with the backpack icon. Turn all such equipment as if it had been used. New equipment cards attached during these days are attached turned immediately.
Powerlessness (crossed-out icon). Hero abilities do not work. All hero cards are turned over, as if their abilities had already been used. They return to their original position at the start of the next game day.
Treasure (chest icon). The player (or players) with the greatest number of candies in their candy stash at that moment take from the action deck as many cards as there are players in the game, look at them, and distribute them among the other players at their discretion. If several players have the maximum number of candies, they share between themselves the cards to be distributed in the same way. All cards must be handed out. If nobody has any candies, or everyone has an equal number, simply deal each player one action card at random.
Chaos (card-stack icon, "Бардак"). Each player places in the centre of the table two cards from their hand of their choice. Then the resulting pile is shuffled, and all the cards are dealt to the players at random, one at a time, starting with the first player. If a player has fewer than two cards in hand, they place everything they have into the centre.
Candy Madness (candy icon). Each player in turn, starting with the first player, compares the number of candies in their candy stash with the candy stash of their neighbour. Players take turns flipping the coin: heads, "neighbour on the right"; tails, "neighbour on the left". Whoever ends up with fewer candies after each comparison receives two candies. If the players have equal numbers of candies, both receive two candies.