Quickshot Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Components
• Setup
  • Anatomy of a Card
• Game Flow
• Elimination
• Game End
• How Cards Work
  • Camouflage (1)
  • Trap (2)
  • Ploy (3)
  • Reinforcements (4)
  • Explosion (5)
  • Targeting (6)
  • Poison (7)
  • Assault (8)
• Extra Info
• Game Variant: Adding Bots
  • Setup
  • Rules Adjustments
• Playing Solo or with Two Players

Goal of the Game

Have the Leader card at the end of the fourth round… or eliminate all your opponents!

Components

• 40 Strategy cards (8 cards in 5 copies each)
• 1 Leader/Round Tracker card
• 7 Player Aid cards

Setup

1. Shuffle all Strategy cards into a deck.
2. Deal 5 Strategy cards, face down, to each player.
3. Put 4 Strategy cards back into the box, face down. (These cards won't be used in this game.)
4. Put the leftover deck of cards face down in the center of the table.
5. Pick a player (either randomly, or by a method of your choosing). That player takes the Leader card showing "1" to indicate that the first round is about to start and that they are the Leader.

The game can now begin!

Anatomy of a Card

Each Strategy card shows a Strength (the number in the corner), a Name, and an Ability. All cards with the same name have the same strength and ability.

Game Flow

A game of Quickshot plays in maximum 4 rounds. Each round follows this sequence:

1. The player with the Leader card draws a Strategy card from the deck and adds it to their hand.
2. The player with the Leader card plays a Strategy card from their hand, face up.
3. Each other player plays a Strategy card from their hand, face down. (Each player should now have a card in front of them.)
4. Players with a face down card flip their card face up.
5. Then, all players with identical cards flip their cards face down.
6. Resolve the ability of each face up card, from the lowest value to the highest (from 1 to 8).
7. The strongest player takes or keeps the Leader card.

The strongest is, by default, the highest visible value. However, some abilities may change the value of cards or even change the strength order!

Each player discards the card in front of them, whether face up or down.

If this is not the fourth round (the Leader card does not show "4"), the Leader increases the Leader card count by 1, either by rotating or by flipping the Leader card. Then start a new round! If it was the fourth round, the game now ends.

Elimination

A player is eliminated from the game if certain card abilities apply, or if a player has to play or discard a card, and they cannot.

Once eliminated, a player is out for the remainder of the game. When you are eliminated, you must discard the card in front of you as well as all your remaining hand. If your card was supposed to have an effect after you were eliminated, it does not trigger.

Quickshot is a game that puts players in a very vulnerable position! Multiple players can be eliminated in a single round, and a game can be over in a flash. Make the best choice, and enjoy that high-octane action!

Game End

A game can end in two cases:

• There is only one player left. That player wins the game.
• The fourth round ends. In this case, the player with the Leader card wins the game.

How Cards Work

The deck contains 8 different cards, 5 copies of each. Each card's Name, Strength and Ability are listed below.

Strength	Name	Ability
1	Camouflage	You cannot be eliminated nor poisoned this round.
2	Trap	Eliminate all 4s and 5s. If you eliminate a card this way, your strength becomes 9.
3	Ploy	Invert strength order.
4	Reinforcements	You may discard one of your cards. Add its strength to your card's.
5	Explosion	All players with their card face down are eliminated.
6	Targeting	The player with the weakest strength is eliminated.
7	Poison	The player with the weakest strength discards a card from their hand.
8

Camouflage (1)

Surviving is the number one win condition. The hideout only has room for one, though…

• You cannot be eliminated nor poisoned this round.
• You may be eliminated by an Explosion (5) if multiple players have played Camouflage.

Trap (2)

Brute force? Bah. Two birds, one stone…

Eliminate all 4s and 5s. If you eliminate a card this way, your strength becomes 9.

• If you eliminate no one with the Trap, your strength remains a 2!
• If multiple Reinforcements (4) or Explosions (5) have been flipped face down, you cannot eliminate them with the Trap's ability.
• Whether you eliminate one or two cards, your strength, once changed, is 9.

Ploy (3)

The mind is a powerful weapon, but it can prove oh so vulnerable…

Invert strength order.

• Ploy does not change the resolution order (always from 1 to 8). However, any other ability that considers the weakest strength (6, 7) treats the highest value as the weakest strength. The player who takes the Leader card this round is the player with the lowest value (now highest strength).

Reinforcements (4)

All for one and one for all… to the last!

You may discard one of your cards. Add its strength to your card's.

• You do not have to discard a card from your hand. You choose to do it or not when you apply Reinforcements' ability, and not when it is revealed. If the discarded card ties you with another player's strength, do not flip your cards face down: Reinforcements is always stronger than the card that is tied with it.

Explosion (5)

When you can't take the lead, you ought to seize the day and instead take out any opposition.

All players with their card face down are eliminated.

This ability can (and should) eliminate multiple players.

Targeting (6)

If you've never managed to gain a badge for being nice or gained brownie points, this should be your go-to strategy.

The player with the weakest strength is eliminated.

• If you are the player with the weakest strength, you are eliminated.
• If the player with the lowest strength has played Camouflage (1), Targeting eliminates no one.

Poison (7)

If it works, it works… Ethics? Collateral damage? Who cares.

The player with the weakest strength discards a card from their hand.

• The player who discards chooses which card to discard.
• If you are the player with the weakest strength, you discard a card.
• If the player with the lowest strength has played Camouflage (1), they are protected from Poison's ability and do not discard any card.

Assault (8)

Some believe strategy has its limits. (These people often have big muscles, and they desperately want to prove it to you.)

No ability. This card has no ability (but has strength 8).

Extra Info

• Cards have abilities only if they are face up.
• The discard pile is face up and can be looked at if a player wishes to do so.
• If there is only one player left in a round, they are the strongest and the weakest at the same time.
• If all cards are face down after phase 3 of a round, the player with the Leader card keeps it and a new round starts (except if this was the fourth round). In such a circumstance, if the player with the Leader card has no cards in hand, they are eliminated and the player to their left becomes the Leader.
• When the draw pile is empty, shuffle all the discarded cards into a new face down deck.

Game Variant: Adding Bots

If you play with three or four players and want more uncertainty, you may add one or more bots.

Should you wish to play with bots, we recommend adding bots to bring the player count to 5 total players.

Setup

During setup, deal 5 cards to each bot, like what you would deal to human players. However, these cards are kept secret. Bots are placed around the table.

Rules Adjustments

• Whenever a bot plays or discards a card, it is taken at random from its hand.
• Whenever a bot is eliminated, it reveals and discards all cards from its hand, as a human player would do.
• A bot can win the game!

Playing Solo or with Two Players

You can also play Quickshot solo or with two players! Just add bots to bring the player count to five. This allows you to get familiar with the game rules or play with less than three players, but this is not our favorite version of the game!