Ratjack
Ratjack Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Objective
The game is played over several rounds. The player who reaches 3 Victory points is immediately declared the winner.
Victory points are earned by totaling a value of exactly 25 on your cards (which ends the round), by eliminating an opponent, by being the sole survivor of a round, or by having the highest value on your cards once the Draw pile is exhausted.
Components
- 2 identical "Rats" starter decks, each made up of 12 cards numbered 1 to 12
- 1 "Weasels" deck made up of 12 cards numbered 1 to 12
- 1 "Raccoons" deck made up of 12 cards numbered 1 to 12
- 9 Victory point tokens
- 6 double-sided Bonus tokens
- 16 "List of Effects" cards (4 per deck)
- 4 "Rules Reminder" cards
Choose 2 decks of 12 cards and shuffle them together to form a 24-card deck.
For a first game, we recommend playing with the 2 "Rats" starter decks. Once you're comfortable with the game, you can shuffle together 2 different decks of your choice to change the configuration of your games.
Setting Up a Round
A. Toss the 6 Bonus tokens in the air and let them land in a Reserve at the center of the table. Only their visible (face-up) effects are available for this round. You must never flip these tokens over during the round. B. Deal 2 cards to each player. C. The remaining cards form a face-down Draw pile in the middle of the table. D. Turn over the first card of the Draw pile and place it face up next to it to form the 1st card of the Discard pile. Cards in the Discard pile are always face up. E. Each player chooses one of the two cards in their hand and places it face down in front of them. They keep the other card in hand. F. Set the Victory point tokens aside, within reach. G. Randomly choose a first player and... let the Ratjack tournament begin!
Taking a Turn
Ratjack is played turn by turn, clockwise, until a player triggers the end of the round.
On their turn, a player must Draw, then Play a card.
1. Draw
The player takes into hand either the top card of the Draw pile, or the top card of the Discard pile.
2. Play a Card
The player chooses one of the two cards in their hand to carry out one of the following three actions:
- Place it face down in front of them. NOTE: a player may always look at their own face-down cards.
- Place it face up in front of them and trigger the card's effect. WARNING! If the effect cannot be carried out in full, this action cannot be chosen.
- Discard it (face up) to turn one of their face-down cards face up, and trigger the effect of the card that was turned over. WARNING! If the effect cannot be carried out in full, that card cannot be turned over.
Example Turn
The board is set up with a face-down Draw pile, a face-up Discard pile topped by an 8, and a Reserve of Bonus tokens showing -1, +2, -3, +5, /2, and a shield. Four players sit around the table: Mathieu, Maxime, Raphaël, and a fourth seat. Mathieu has one face-down card and one face-up 6 in front of him with a token effect noted on it; Maxime has a face-down card, a face-up 11 with a token effect noted on it, and a face-up 3 with a +10 token on it; Raphaël has a face-down card with a coin marker beside it.
The players have already taken one turn in this round, in which each of them chose to place an extra card (face up or face down).
Mathieu has a 2 in hand. He decides to draw the 8 from the top of the Discard pile and play it face up.
The 8's effect is to place a token on one of his cards. He chooses the +5 token from the Reserve and places it on one of his face-down cards (he could also have placed it on his 8).
The total value of his cards is 8 (the +5 will only count once the card it is on becomes visible) — see the Card Effects section below.
At his turn, Maxime takes the 1st card of the Draw pile.
He has a 9 and a 10 in hand. Playing either of these two cards face up would take him over 25 and get him eliminated. So he decides to place his 9 face down.
The total value of his cards remains 17.
Card Anatomy
Each card shows:
- Value: the card's number, printed large in a corner (for example, 5).
- Card effect: the text describing what happens when the card is played face up or turned face up (for example, "Secretly look at 1 hidden opposing card").
- Deck symbol: a small icon (rat, weasel, or raccoon) showing which deck the card belongs to.
Elimination
At the end of a player's turn, and after any effects have been triggered, if a player's total value on their visible cards exceeds 25 (face-down cards do not count), that player is immediately eliminated from the current round. Their cards, and any tokens placed on them, are removed from play until the end of the round.
If the elimination is caused by another player's action (which is usually the case), that player gains 1 Victory point.
NOTE: a player who eliminates themself does not gain a Victory point!
In every case, the round continues with the remaining players, unless only one remains.
Example: Elimination
Raphaël, who already won a Victory point during the previous round, takes the 1st card of the Draw pile.
He has a 4 and a 7 in hand. He decides to discard his 4 to reveal his face-down card (a 12) and apply its effect.
The effect is to turn an opposing card face up. He chooses to turn over Maxime's face-down card (a 9, though Raphaël doesn't know that before turning it) — "Turn 1 opposing face-down card face up without triggering its effect."
End of a Round
The round ends if one of the following conditions is met:
- If a player totals EXACTLY 25 on their visible cards at the end of their turn: Ratjack! They immediately gain 1 Victory point.
- When all players but one are eliminated. The remaining player gains 1 Victory point.
- As soon as a player takes the last card of the Draw pile. They finish their turn, then the player(s) with the highest total value on their visible cards (without going over 25, of course, since they would then be eliminated) gain 1 Victory point.
If no player has accumulated 3 Victory points, the players begin a new round. The last player to have won a Victory point becomes the first player.
End of the Game
As soon as a player has won 3 Victory points, they immediately win the game.
Example: End of Round
Maxime ends up with a total value of 26 on his cards, so he is eliminated from the current round because he went over 25!
Raphaël gains 1 Victory point because he is the one who triggered this elimination.
Furthermore, at the end of his turn, he totals a value of 25 on his cards: Ratjack! He therefore gains another Victory point and thus immediately wins the game, since he has now totaled 3 Victory points!
Card Effects
Each card has its own effect, which is triggered when the card is placed or turned face up on its owner's turn (a card turned over during an opponent's turn does not trigger its effect).
The effects use the following terms:
- Card: a face-up or face-down card placed in front of a player.
- Visible card: a face-up card placed in front of a player.
- Hidden card: a face-down card placed in front of a player.
- Bonus token: a Bonus token.
- Reserve: the reserve of Bonus tokens.
- Discard: to place a card on the Discard pile, face up.
- Draw: to take into hand the top card of the Draw pile or the top card of the Discard pile.
As stated in "2. Play a Card," to place or turn a card face up, the card's effect must be able to be carried out in full. Some effects allow you to place or turn a card face up "without triggering the effect," which in effect lets you ignore this constraint.
For example:
An effect states to shuffle the first 3 cards of the Discard pile: it cannot be carried out if the Discard pile contains fewer than 3 cards.
An effect states to turn one of your hidden cards face up and trigger its effect: it cannot be carried out if you cannot fully carry out the effect of the card being turned over.
An effect states to place 1 Bonus token from the Reserve on one of your cards: it cannot be carried out if the Reserve is empty, or if each of your cards already has a token on it.
Bonus Tokens
The effects of certain cards allow you to place Bonus tokens on a card. The Bonus is chosen from those in the Reserve, without flipping them over. WARNING! There can NEVER be more than one token on a card.
When a Bonus token is discarded, it returns to the Reserve, always on the same face it was showing.
If a card with a token on it is moved, the token moves with the card.
Some Bonus tokens modify the value of a card:
- a card value that becomes negative is counted as 0.
- they only affect a card's value while it is face up. (So a hidden card is always worth 0, regardless of any token placed on it.)
| Token | Effect |
|---|---|
| -1, +1, -3, -5, +5, +10 | Modifies the card's value. |
| =0 | The card's value becomes zero. |
| ×2 | The card's value is multiplied by 2. |
| /2 (half) | The card's value is divided by 2, rounded up. |
| lock | The card can no longer be turned over or discarded. |
| shield | The card cannot be targeted by another player. However, the token itself can still be targeted. |
| no-effect | The card loses its effect (it can therefore be turned over without the condition of being able to carry out its effect). |
FAQ
What happens if several players total 25 at the same moment? In this very rare case, each of them gains 1 Victory point. If this brings several players to 3 Victory points, they then share the win, and it's recommended you settle it by playing a new game!
If I eliminate a player by taking them over 25, but I eliminate myself at the same time (by swapping 2 cards, for example), do I gain 1 Victory point for eliminating that other player? Yes!