Ratland Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Set Up
• Rules
  • Phase 1 — Event
  • Phase 2 — Rats
  • Phase 3 — Attack
  • Phase 4 — Nursery
  • Phase 5 — Return
  • Phase 6 — Looking for Cheese
  • Phase 7 — Feeding
• Winning the Game
• Event Cards
  • Starting Events
  • Final Events
• Aggressive Board (Optional)
• Clan Rules (Optional)
• Quick Reference — Game Phases
• Credits

Contents

• 55 single rat tokens and 30 double rat tokens.
• 80 cheese pieces in different colors (11 white, 4 black, 44 yellow, 11 orange, 4 purple and 6 blue).
• 6 sewer boards.
• 6 sewer screens.
• 48 cards (14 Event cards, 9 Food cards, 12 Clan cards, 6 Graveyard/Lost cards, 6 Quick Reference cards and 1 Active Player card).
• 1 turn marker.
• 1 nontransparent bag.
• 1 rulebook.

Set Up

Each player takes a sewer board, a screen, 7 rats and 2 pieces of yellow cheese. Now, it is time to prepare the Event deck.

There are 2 types of Event cards, denoted by the manhole cover on the back: Starting Events (closed) and Final Events (open).

Randomly take 4 Final Event cards, and add the End of Game event. Shuffle these 5 cards.

Then, randomly take and shuffle 5 Starting Event cards. Place them on top of the 5 Final Event cards previously put aside. This will be the Event deck. Remove the remaining cards from the play area. A game of RatLand takes between 5 and 9 turns.

Now shuffle the Food cards and place them face-down in the middle of the play area. For your first games, we recommend sorting the Food cards in ascending order (1 to 9), using the number located in the top-right corner.

Each player places their 7 rats in the pantry, along with 2 pieces of cheese. The rest of the rats are placed in a common pile outside the sewers, within easy reach of all the players. Finally, form a general supply with all the cheese.

The player who most recently saw a rat or rodent will be the starting player. If players cannot agree or remember, the youngest player will start the game. They receive the Active Player card (or cardboard rat marker).

Rules

The game is played over a variable number of turns (between 5 and 9), and each of them is divided into 7 quick phases.

The starting player is the first Active Player. In subsequent turns, the Active Player card will rotate to the next player to the left (i.e., in clockwise order).

The Active Player wins all ties (good or bad results) so it is important to know who they are at all times. If the Active Player is not involved in a tie, the next player to their left will break it, and so on.

Each phase is resolved simultaneously. These are all the different turn phases:

Phase 1 — Event

The Active Player card passes to the player to the left (except in the first turn). Reveal the next Event card and then the Food card.

The Event card shows on its back whether it is a Starting Event (closed manhole cover) or a Final Event (open manhole cover), a picture, and the effect for the current turn. The Food card shows a card number and the amount of cheese available at each of the three food areas: dump, city and field.

Phase 2 — Rats

Behind their sewer screens, each player distributes their rats among the available areas in their sewers:

• The three outside exits: dump, city and field.
• The two side pipes: attack your neighbors (the players to the left and right).
• The pantry: defend your cheese.
• The nursery: increase your clan.

If asked, players must answer truthfully how many pieces of cheese they have.

When players are finished placing their rats, they put their screens aside.

A sewer board is laid out with the dump, city and field exits along the top, the left pipe and right pipe on the sides, the nursery at the bottom left, the pantry at the bottom right, and the infirmary (for poisoned rats) across the middle.

Phase 3 — Attack

Resolve attacks (if any). Compare the number of attacking rats (right pipe for the player to the right and left pipe for the player to the left) with the number of rats defending the other player's pantry. If the result is positive, the attacking player steals that many pieces of cheese from the other clan.

In case of a tie, or if the defending player placed more rats, no cheese exchanges hands. Rats placed in the pantry defend their cheese from attacks from both neighbors separately. Rats do not die as a result of an attack.

Since all attacks are resolved at the same time, only consider the cheese that each player had at the beginning of this phase. If two clans steal from the same player, but they do not have enough cheese, distribute it among the attackers one piece at a time, starting with the clan that attacked with the most rats.

Example: this player has 3 pieces of cheese and placed 2 rats in the pantry to defend them. The player to their left attacks them with 4 rats, and the player to their right with 5. They would lose a total of 5 pieces of cheese, but do not have enough. In that case, starting with the player that sent the most rats, the attackers take all of their cheese, one piece at a time. The player to the right gets 2 pieces and the other player, one.

2-player variant: in games with 2 players, the side pipes are used to both attack and defend. Rats placed on the right pipe block attacks coming from the opponent's left pipe. The results of the attacks on both sides determine the amount of cheese that both players steal from their opponent.

Phase 4 — Nursery

The clan is increased by as many rats as there are in the nursery. New rats must be placed in the nursery.

Example: if the player placed 3 rats in the nursery, they will get 3 new rats in this phase.

All rats must be added, as long as there is enough in the common pile. There is no limit to the number of rats a clan may have, except for the total number of rats included in the game. Should the common pile run out during this phase, the order for breeding goes from the player with the fewest rats in the nursery to the one with the most.

Phase 5 — Return

Each player moves their poisoned and lost rats to their pantry, if any.

Phase 6 — Looking for Cheese

Fill the bag with the amount of cheese corresponding to the dump as shown in the Food card. Then, players draw as many pieces of cheese as the number of rats sent to that area. Players take turns, starting with the one that sent the fewest rats to the player that sent the most.

Example: players sent 3, 2, 6 and 5 rats to the dump. The player who sent 2 rats reaches into the bag and draws 2 pieces of cheese. Next is the player who sent 3 rats, followed by the player who sent 5 rats. Lastly, the player who sent 6 rats reaches into the bag and tries to get 6 pieces, but she can't! There are only two pieces left in the bag since all areas contain 12 pieces of cheese (in 4-player games).

For 5-6 players: in all areas, add 1 piece of cheese of each type. Example: if the Food card indicates 6 white cheese and 6 yellow cheese, the bag will be filled with 1 additional piece of cheese of both colors (7 and 7).

For 7-12 players: it is possible to play this game using two boxes. For these games, at the beginning of each turn, reveal 2 Food cards instead of 1. Fill the bag with the total number of cheese indicated in both cards. When playing with 11 or 12 players, follow the 5-6 players rule described above and add 1 piece of cheese of each type to both Food cards.

Repeat the same process for the city and field, emptying the bag each time. Each piece of cheese triggers the following effects:

• A piece of cheese: add it to your pantry.
• Worth two pieces of cheese: exchange it for two pieces of yellow cheese. Add them to your pantry.
• The rat did not find anything: return one of your rats to the common pile. This rat is not considered dead from starvation and therefore must not be placed in the graveyard.
• Poisoned rat: place the rat in the infirmary. This rat must be fed in phase 7, same as the others. However, it cannot be deployed on your next turn and will remain in the infirmary until phase 5 (Return). Do not add any cheese to your pantry.
• Lost rat: place the rat on the graveyard/lost card (do not feed it in phase 7). It cannot be deployed on your next turn and will remain there until phase 5 (Return). Do not add any cheese to your pantry.

Phase 7 — Feeding

Each player must spend the required amount of cheese to ensure their clan's survival, depending on the number of rats in their sewers. Use the reference card for this purpose.

Rats in clan	Cheese required
1-3	0
4-6	1
7-9	3
10-12	4
13-15	5
16-18	6
19-20	7
21-22	8
23-24	9
25+	9, +1 for each additional rat

Example: if our clan has 26 rats, we need 11 pieces of cheese (9 because we have at least 24 rats + 1 for each additional rat).

If any player does not have enough cheese to feed their clan, they must spend all their cheese and then place on their graveyard card 1 rat per piece of cheese they could not pay. Only rats in the sewers can be moved this way (lost rats cannot be moved).

Rats removed during this phase score negative points at the end of the game.

Example: a player has 11 rats and 2 pieces of cheese. In phase 7, she moves two rats to the graveyard card because that is the amount of cheese she can't pay to feed her clan.

Winning the Game

The game ends immediately when the End of Game card is drawn from the Event deck. Skip the turn and move on to final scoring.

Each player gets 1 point for each rat (including poisoned and lost rats), and subtracts 1 point for each rat in their graveyard (dead from starvation).

The winner of the game is the player with the most points.

In case of a tie, the player with the most pieces of cheese in their pantry wins the game. If still tied, those players share the victory.

Event Cards

The effect of the event cards is only applied during the current round.

Starting Events

The back of these cards shows a closed manhole cover.

• Abundance: immediately when drawn, each player adds a piece of cheese from the general supply to their pantry.
• Massive Attacks: all attacks are resolved as if there was one more rat attacking. At least one rat must be placed in either pipe.
• Visiting "Cousin": immediately when drawn, each player adds a new rat to their clan. It can be deployed normally this turn.
• Rat with a Helmet: each time a player takes one or more pieces of cheese from the bag, they can ignore one of them and put it back inside. This applies to all three areas.
• We Did It!: black cheese is considered yellow cheese.
• Dr. Cheese: when taking cheese from the bag, players may trade two pieces of white cheese for one yellow, if they come from the same area.
• Tacticians: during phase 6 (Looking for Cheese), each player gains one piece of yellow cheese for each location they did not send any rats to.

Final Events

The remaining events, with an open manhole cover on the back.

• Drunk: immediately when drawn, the player with the most rats must give one of them to the player with the fewest (it cannot be lost or poisoned).
• Sound the Alarm: each player may hide one of their pieces of cheese in their nursery.
• Just in Time: poisoned and lost rats can be deployed normally this turn.
• Holy Rat: immediately when drawn, each player moves one rat from their graveyard card (if any) to the common pile.
• End of Game: the game ends immediately and scores are calculated: +1 point per rat (including poisoned and lost rats) and negative points for the graveyard card.
• Rattibal Lecter: during phase 7 (Feeding), players may trade one rat for one piece of cheese.
• Locked and Loaded: players may deploy up to a maximum of three rats in the nursery and pantry. Those rats will both defend and breed.

Aggressive Board (Optional)

Players may choose to play RatLand with these optional rules, but it is not recommended until players are familiar with the standard game. There are two ways to play with this variant: all players use the aggressive boards, or each player (secretly behind their screens) chooses the board they want to play with.

Players using the aggressive board must follow these rules:

Attack: when attacking an opponent's pantry with more rats, one of the defending rats (if any) is killed. If the attack fails (equal or higher number of defending rats), the attacker loses 1 rat.

Looking for Cheese — Combat: before drawing cheese from the bag, resolve a Combat phase. If the aggressive player sent the most rats to that area, an enemy rat is wounded. Choose any rat sent to the same area to be placed in its owner's infirmary. Wounded rats cannot get any cheese. In all areas, the aggressive player(s) always take one less piece of cheese.

Clan Rules (Optional)

Players may also play RatLand using a specific Clan. At the beginning of the game, deal two clan cards to each player - they choose one to keep and discard the other. Clans have an ability that is used during the initial stage (closed manhole cover); this ability is improved during the final stage (open manhole cover, on the other side of the card).

• Recycler Clan: in the dump, take one more piece of cheese. Improved: you may trade up to two pieces of white cheese taken from the dump for yellow cheese.
• Mutant Clan: poisoned cheese (purple) is considered yellow cheese. Improved: poisoned cheese (purple) is considered orange cheese.
• Explorer Clan: if one or more rats get lost, return them the following turn along with exactly one piece of cheese. Improved: each of your lost rats returns the following turn with one piece of cheese.
• Scavenger Clan: in one area you did not send any rats to and after all players have finished taking cheese, you may draw one piece of cheese from the bag (if possible). Improved: in each area, after all players have finished taking cheese, you may draw one piece of cheese from the bag (if possible).
• Alchemist Clan: at the end of the turn, after feeding your clan, you may transform exactly one piece of cheese into one rat. Improved: at the end of the turn, after feeding your clan, you may transform one piece of cheese into one rat twice.
• Ninja Clan: if you attack only one neighbor with exactly 2 rats, you may steal a piece of cheese regardless of the number of defending rats. Improved: each time you attack with exactly one rat, steal a piece of cheese regardless of the number of defending rats.
• Family Clan: during phase 4, if you did not send any rats to the nursery, add a new rat to your clan. Improved: always breed as if you have one more rat in the nursery (even if it is empty).
• Warrior Clan: ignore black cheese. Improved: ignore black cheese, and always defend as if you have two more rats.
• Musician Clan: at the end of the turn, the player with the most cheese must give you one piece. Improved: at the end of the turn, the three players with the most cheese must give you one piece each.
• Sports Clan: at the end of phase 2, after all players have removed their screens, you may redeploy one rat to a different area. Improved: at the end of phase 2, after all players have removed their screens, you may redeploy up to three rats to different areas.
• Corrupt Clan: in one area, you may place into the bag one additional piece of cheese of any color (before any player starts drawing cheese). Improved: in all areas, you may place into the bag one additional piece of cheese of any color (before any player starts drawing cheese).
• Seer Clan: at any point during the round, you may look at the next Event card. at any point during the round, you may look at the next Event and Food cards.

Quick Reference — Game Phases

1. Event phase: the Active Player card or rat marker passes to the player to the left (except in the first turn). Draw the next Event card and then the Food card.
2. Rats phase: each player distributes their rats among the available areas in their sewers (Nursery, Pantry, City Exit…). Use the screen to hide your moves.
3. Attack phase: resolve attacks (if any).
4. Nursery phase: the clan increases by as many rats as there are in the nursery.
5. Return phase: each player moves their poisoned and lost rats to their pantry, if any.
6. Looking for Cheese phase: for each of the 3 areas, players draw as many pieces of cheese from the bag as rats they sent.
7. Feeding phase: depending on the number of rats in their clans, players must spend the required amount of cheese. The turn ends after this phase.

Credits

• Designer: Eduardo García Martín
• Illustrator: Ramsés Bosque
• Graphic design: Matías Cazorla
• 3D modelling: Pablo Miras
• Translators: Jesús Sánchez López, Jaime Devesa and Charles Reeder
• Collaborators: José Manuel Moreno, Miriam Pamos and Jaime Devesa

© Copyright 2018 - Eclipse Editorial - All rights reserved. No part of this product may be reproduced without specific written permission from the authors. "RATLAND" and its logo are registered marks. Not suitable for children under 5 years as it contains small parts which can be swallowed. Actual components may vary in the final product.