Rick and Morty: The Pickle Rick Game
Rick and Morty: The Pickle Rick Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 25 Pickle Rick cards
- 25 Russian cards
- 28 hallway squares
- 4 action dice
- 3 character cards
- 2 round character tokens
- 1 Pickle Rick figure
- 1 Jaguar figure
- 10 cardboard operative tokens
- This rulebook
Setup
- Each player chooses the side they will play: Pickle Rick or the Russians.
- Place the "Toilet" square next to the player who chose Pickle Rick, and the "Roof" square next to the player who chose the Russians. Set aside the "Guard Post A" and "Guard Post B" squares, and shuffle the rest.
- Place 2 squares face down, continuing the hallway from the "Toilet" toward the player playing the Russians. Then place "Guard Post A" next to the square farthest from the "Toilet."
- Place 2 squares face down to the left or right of "Guard Post A," then connect "Guard Post B" to the square farthest from "Guard Post A."
- Place 2 squares face down, continuing the hallway from "Guard Post B" toward the player playing the Russians. Then place the "Roof" next to the last square placed. Stack the remaining squares face down next to the player playing Pickle Rick. This is the hallway stack.
- Take the 3 character cards (they are slightly larger than the rest). The player playing Pickle Rick takes the "Pickle Rick" character card. The player playing the Russians takes the other 2 cards. Place the round character token showing Pickle Rick on the value 10 of the health track on the Pickle Rick card, and the token with the Jaguar on the value 10 of the health track on the Jaguar card. Use these tokens to track the health of Pickle Rick and the Jaguar.
- Place the Pickle Rick figure on the "Toilet" square.
- Place the Jaguar figure on its character card.
- Place 2 cardboard operative tokens on each "Guard Post." Place the remaining operative tokens near their character card.
- Finally, each player takes their deck of cards, shuffles it, and draws 5 cards into their hand.
The middle hallway in the example above turns right from "Guard Post A," but you may lay it out either right or left. The main thing is that you must place 2 face-down squares between all four starting squares.
Reach the Roof in Time!
Find your way to the life-saving roof using cunning, ingenuity, and lethal weaponry. Scatter traps across the board and let the operatives finish themselves off! Slip past enemies and escape dead ends with the help of air ducts. And hold on to the cards in your hand — they're the only way you can deal damage to your enemies.
Pickle Rick is the only character able to move onto closed squares (that is, squares lying face down) — doing so flips them over. He is also the only one who can move onto empty spaces beyond the squares already laid out — in that case he immediately draws a new square from the hallway stack and places it face up on the space he wants to move to.
One more thing... Pickle Rick always goes first at the start of the game!
Objective for the Russians
The Russians win if, at the end of any player's turn, any of the following conditions are met:
- Pickle Rick has 0 health points;
- Pickle Rick has run out of cards in his deck;
- the hallway stack has run out of squares.
Use the cards in your hand to summon operatives and squeeze every last drop of brine out of Pickle Rick! Bring the Jaguar into play to open hunting season on talking vegetables! You can deal damage with dice. Just make sure the operatives and the Jaguar are in the right place at the right time!
Turn Order
A turn consists of the following steps:
- Roll 4 dice.
- Reroll dice, if needed.
- Spend dice.
- End of turn.
Symbols on the Dice
Various action symbols appear on the dice, which you spend to move, shoot, and play cards from your hand. All 4 dice are identical and carry the following symbols:
- Movement symbol. Spend a die with this symbol to move your character to an adjacent square. This symbol is also required to play some cards.
- Card symbol. Spend a die with this symbol to draw a card from your deck. There is no limit to how many cards you may hold in hand. This symbol is also required to play some cards.
- Tools symbol. Has no ability of its own, but is required to play some cards.
- Gun symbol. There are 2 of this symbol on each die. The player playing the Russians spends dice with the gun symbol to shoot Pickle Rick. For Pickle Rick, the gun symbol has no ability of its own — instead, Pickle Rick spends dice with this symbol to play weapon cards from his hand. This symbol is also required to play some other cards from both players' decks.
- Joker symbol. Can count as any symbol you need, so never reroll a die showing it! It has no ability of its own, but it can be spent as a die with any symbol you require. No cards in the deck specifically require the joker symbol.
1. Roll the Dice
On your turn, roll all 4 dice, preferably at the same time. Someone might be in a hurry, after all.
After rolling, compare the result to the situation on the board and the cost of the cards in your hand. Don't just blink in confusion — here's the explanation.
During Pickle Rick's opening turns, you'll mostly just need to move. There aren't many operatives nearby yet, and you can start making your way toward the exit on the roof. But this is exactly when you need to decide whether you'll follow the well-trodden path or blaze your own trail around the operatives.
During the Russians' opening turns, you don't need to move at all. Your operatives can't leave their posts yet, since all the adjacent squares are lying face down. But if Pickle Rick turns up nearby, he might flip open several adjacent squares.
After rolling, set aside the dice whose results you're happy with. If you're happy with the result of all 4 dice, skip the next step. If you're unhappy with the result of none of them, you may be able to reroll at least some of them successfully.
2. Reroll the Dice
By default, Pickle Rick may reroll all 4 dice if he wants to. However, if operatives and the Jaguar are nearby, the number of rerolls is reduced by 1 for each enemy who sees him. Characters can only see straight ahead of themselves (never diagonally) and cannot see through walls, closed squares, or air ducts. There is no limit to line-of-sight range.
Example: The Jaguar and an operative on the blue square see Pickle Rick. The operative on the red square does not see Pickle Rick, because it is diagonal to him. The operative on the gray square does not see Pickle Rick: a wall blocks him.
Walls are the thick black lines along the edges of most squares. None of the 4 starting squares have walls.
So in this example, Pickle Rick loses the ability to reroll 2 dice, leaving him with only 2 rerolls.
For the Russians, the number of rerolls equals the number of operatives in play (but no more than 4). The Jaguar has no effect on this number.
All dice are rerolled once and together. That is, you may reroll from 1 to 4 dice, once. For example, if you have 3 rerolls but have set 2 dice aside, you may reroll the 2 remaining dice once, simultaneously. You cannot reroll 2 dice in this case and then reroll 1 of them again.
3. Spending Dice and Symbols
During rolls and rerolls, you don't spend any symbols and don't play any cards. Only once you're done with the dice do you start spending them. You may spend symbols in any order. To spend a symbol, move the die showing it from your side of the table to your opponent's side. This helps you keep track of which symbols you have left for the current turn.
You are required to spend your dice if it's possible to do so. If you rolled a bunch of movement symbols, you must move your characters, unless there is nothing preventing that movement. If you rolled several card symbols, you must draw cards from your deck. If you're playing the Russians and rolled several gun symbols, you must shoot, if there's anyone to shoot at!
You may also spend symbols by playing cards from your hand instead of any of this, but nobody is forcing you to play cards just to use up the symbols on your dice.
If you cannot move, shoot, or draw cards*, simply pass the unused dice to your opponent.
So how will you spend 2 movement symbols, 1 tools symbol, and 1 card symbol on this turn?
* If Pickle Rick has run out of cards, he must reach the roof by the end of the turn, or he loses. If the Russians run out of cards, it's not much of a problem, but they can't start a new deck either.
Cards
In the upper left corner of every card (except character cards), you'll find its cost — specifically, the symbols you need to spend to play that card. The required number of each symbol is shown next to it. The card's name is printed above that — usually a funny quote from the source series. Below is a description of the effect you apply when you play the card. After playing a card, place it face up in the discard pile next to your deck.
For example, if a card costs 2 [gun symbols], you need to spend 2 dice showing that symbol to play the card.
On some Pickle Rick cards, there is no symbol in the upper left corner — instead, it says "any." This means you may play the card by spending the corresponding number of any symbols.
You may play any number of cards on a turn, as long as you have enough symbols for them. To draw new cards into your hand, you need to spend card symbols.
Movement
Whenever you spend a movement symbol, move your character to an adjacent square horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally. You may move back onto a square you occupied previously. Any number of characters may occupy the same square.
Russian Movement
The Russians move from one open square to an adjacent, also open, square, horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally. On a single turn, you may spend no more than 1 movement symbol per operative. However, you may spend 2 movement symbols on the Jaguar each turn. Unless stated otherwise, the Russians cannot move through walls or air ducts, or onto closed squares.
Example: The operative on the red square can only move to the adjacent gray square. A wall prevents it from moving to the blue square, and the square below is lying face down.
Pickle Rick's Movement
Pickle Rick has 4 ways to move. Unless stated otherwise, he cannot move through walls. By spending 1 movement symbol, Pickle Rick can:
Move to an adjacent open square
Just like the Russians can.
Move to an adjacent closed square
This lets Pickle Rick flip over squares that started the game face down. Whenever you want to move this way, choose an adjacent square lying face down, spend a movement symbol by placing the die with it in front of your opponent, and flip the square. Near one edge of the square is a white arrow. Place the square so that the white arrow faces the side touching the adjacent square Pickle Rick is moving from. Then move the Pickle Rick figure onto the now-face-up square.
Example: Pickle Rick flips over the blue square. He then places it so that the white arrow faces the side touching the adjacent square he's moving from. Now the Pickle Rick figure can be moved onto the new square.
Move to an adjacent empty space
Pickle Rick can also move into the unknown. The starting "Toilet" square has no walls, and from it Pickle Rick can move in any direction (except diagonally, but you already knew that). If you decide to move onto an empty space, choose the direction you want to move in, spend a movement symbol by placing the die with it in front of your opponent, and then draw a new square from the hallway stack. Place it so that the white arrow faces the side touching the adjacent square Pickle Rick is moving from. Then move the Pickle Rick figure onto the new square.
Example: Pickle Rick decides to move from the blue square onto an adjacent empty space. Note: he can't move left, because there's a wall there. The player draws a gray square marked "Summon 2 operatives" (don't worry, not every square has this), and places it so that the white arrow faces the side touching the adjacent square Pickle Rick is moving from. The player playing the Russians then takes 2 operative tokens and places them on the new square. After that, Pickle Rick moves onto it.
Move through an air duct, through walls
You may move through an air duct if there is one on the square Pickle Rick occupies. Spend a movement symbol by placing the die with it in front of your opponent, and direct Pickle Rick toward the edge of the square where the air duct is. If a closed square lies beyond it, flip it over. If the adjacent space is empty, draw a new square from the hallway stack. Then check whether there's an air duct on the square you're trying to move to. Two-thirds of all squares have one, so your odds are pretty good.
If there's no air duct there, Pickle Rick cannot move and stays where he was. Place the new square so that the white arrow faces the side touching the adjacent square Pickle Rick was trying to move from. Operatives are summoned onto this square as usual.
If there is an air duct there, you successfully move onto the new square. Regardless of the white arrow, place the new square so that the air ducts on the two squares line up against each other, then move the Pickle Rick figure onto the new square.
Note: if Pickle Rick wants to move through an air duct onto an already-open square, he cannot place a new square from the hallway stack there, nor rotate it so the air ducts line up. He'll have to make do with what's there. If the air duct doesn't line up with another air duct, he can only pass through it with the help of the "Parkour" card.
If the air ducts on adjacent squares already line up with each other, Pickle Rick can move through them just by spending movement symbols. He doesn't need to flip squares over or draw new ones from the hallway stack.
Example: You decide to move Pickle Rick through the air duct on the blue square. Spend 1 movement symbol to move from the "Toilet" onto the blue square, then spend 1 more to try to move through the air duct. You draw the red square with an air duct from the hallway stack, so you can successfully move through the air duct to the other side. Regardless of the white arrow, place the new square so that the air duct on it lines up with the air duct on the blue square. Then move the Pickle Rick figure onto the red square.
From now on, Pickle Rick can move through lined-up air ducts as though there were no wall there, but this still costs 1 movement symbol, or counts as 1 space when moving with the "Jetpack."
In Case You Didn't Notice...
Some people have trouble telling red, blue, and gray squares apart. For them, there's a letter — R, B, or G — in the upper right corner of each square to help identify its color. Most pickles, incidentally, have the same problem.
Shooting
Shooting generally requires gun symbols. The Russians don't need to play cards to deal damage to Pickle Rick. Pickle Rick, on the other hand, needs cards as well as gun symbols to deal damage to the Russians.
The shooting range of operatives and the Jaguar is 0 to 1. That is, they can shoot Pickle Rick if he's on the same square as them (range 0) or on an adjacent square (range 1). Each operative can spend only 1 gun symbol per turn. The Jaguar, however, can spend up to 2 gun symbols in a turn shooting at Pickle Rick. For every gun symbol spent shooting Pickle Rick, he loses 1 health point. If his health points drop to 0, the Russians win the game!
Example: For the operative on the red square, Pickle Rick is out of shooting range (he's also diagonal from it, not on an adjacent square). Of course, if it spends a movement symbol, it will then be able to reach Pickle Rick. The operatives below and to the right of it cannot shoot through walls. Pickle Rick himself cannot shoot through air ducts. The two operatives on "Guard Post A" are at range 1 from Pickle Rick, so both can take a shot if the player playing the Russians has gun symbols. Pickle Rick's own shooting range depends entirely on which weapon card he intends to play.
Screw Shooter lets you shoot an enemy on the same square as Pickle Rick. The Screw Shooter is a great choice if you've moved onto a square that operatives have been summoned to, since they'll be on the same square as you. This card costs "1 any," meaning you can play it by spending any symbol.
Blade Launchers have a shooting range of 0–1, meaning they can hit enemies on your square or an adjacent one (if there's no wall in the way). When fired, they deal 2 damage to 1 or 2 enemies, and you may deal damage to an enemy on your own square and on an adjacent square with a single shot. To play this card, you need to spend 1 gun symbol.
Shoulder Laser is your everything! It has a shooting range of 1–6, and within that range it can deal 3 damage to every enemy unlucky enough to be standing in a straight line. The laser cannot hit enemies standing on the same square as Pickle Rick, since its minimum range is 1. Before firing it, choose a direction to shoot. Every enemy in that direction, in a straight line, within shooting range takes damage! But walls and closed squares stop the laser beam.
Example: Rick turned himself into a pickle right where there are plenty of enemies. Luckily, you have the "Shoulder Laser" card in hand, plus 2 gun symbols to spend. You decide to fire north. The laser hits the operative on the adjacent gray square (range 1), the Jaguar, and the operative on the gray square behind the Jaguar. The operative on the blue square takes no damage: a wall saves it. Neither does the operative on the red square — the laser was fired in a different direction. Nor does the operative on the same square as Pickle Rick, since the laser's minimum shooting range is 1. All the operatives hit are blown to atoms, and the Jaguar takes 3 unbearable damage!
Winner Takes All
To win, Pickle Rick must reach the roof, but that's easier said than done.
The "Roof" square has no walls, so it can be approached from any side. However, it has no air ducts either, so don't count on reaching it that way. That said, the "Parkour" card lets you move through an air duct from your current square onto an adjacent one, even if there's nothing at the other end!
The check for loss conditions is only made at the end of a player's turn. If Pickle Rick draws the last square from the hallway stack, or the last card from his deck, and reaches the roof on that same turn, he's still the winner, down to the last drop of brine!
Character Cards
Pickle Rick
You may move Pickle Rick any number of times on your turn, spending 1 movement symbol for each move. Your shooting is limited by the cards in your hand and the symbols rolled on the dice. Pickle Rick also has a unique ability: he can convince the Jaguar to give up trying to kill him. This ability is available if the Jaguar has 5 health points or fewer, but it will cost you dearly. You must spend 2 card symbols, and you neither draw nor discard cards for it. You don't need to see the Jaguar to use this ability. If the Jaguar runs out of health points, or if you convince him to retreat, remove the Jaguar figure from the game. He cannot return to the game, even if a card played would require it.
Jaguar
The Jaguar figure isn't on the board at the start of the game, but there are several ways to bring him into play. The most reliable is by laying out squares. When the 3rd red or 3rd blue square appears on the board (whether you flipped it over or drew it from the hallway stack), you must place the Jaguar figure on it. But this only happens once, not every time you place a 3rd square of one of these colors on the board. Once the Jaguar is in the game, forget this rule (until your next game).
You can also bring the Jaguar into the game with cards. He appears if you spend 2 movement symbols to play the "Nothing Personal" card.
Note: the 2 movement symbols spent on "Nothing Personal" don't count as being spent "on the Jaguar." But if you spend 2 movement symbols on the Jaguar's ability to move through walls, he won't be able to move again on the current turn afterward.
Under no circumstances can the Jaguar return to the game once he has left it.
Operatives
If an operative is killed, place its token next to the operatives' character card. It can still come back! If you run out of operative tokens outside the board, you may simply move tokens already on the board when summoning operatives.
You may spend a maximum of 1 movement symbol and 1 gun symbol per operative per turn. If a played card lets an operative move or shoot, that counts as an additional action, so you can still spend 1 movement symbol or 1 gun symbol on that same operative on the same turn.
Solo Rules
You play as Pickle Rick. During setup, place 3 closed squares (instead of 2) between the starting squares that lie face up. For an even crazier challenge, place 4 face-down squares between all four starting squares. Your opponent (the Russians) doesn't use cards or roll dice. The Jaguar appears only when the 3rd red or 3rd blue square appears on the board.
- During the Russians' turn, each operative moves 1 space toward Pickle Rick by the shortest available path (unless it's already on the same square as Pickle Rick) and shoots once.
- During the Russians' turn, the Jaguar moves 2 spaces toward Pickle Rick by the shortest available path (unless it's already on the same square as Pickle Rick) and shoots twice. The Jaguar can move through walls, but it costs 2 moves — that is, he cannot move 1 space and then move through a wall on the same turn. He'll have to wait for the next turn.
If all 10 operatives end up in play at the same time, you lose. Otherwise, keep playing as normal.
Remember: you MUST spend your dice showing movement and card symbols!
Clarifications for Individual Cards
"Move 1 Space": this means you may move to an adjacent square just as if you had spent a movement symbol. Movement follows the normal rules unless the card states otherwise.
"Bribery": it's up to the player playing Pickle Rick to decide whether to accept or not. If he accepts, he wastes a pile of cards from his deck for nothing. If he refuses, the player playing the Russians gets a joker symbol and may spend it.
"Mustard Plaster," "Rapid-Fire," "Bribery": when you spend a card symbol to play one of these cards, you don't need to draw a card from your deck. Pickle Rick can have a maximum of 10 health points. You may play "Mustard Plaster" even if he's at maximum health.
"Is He Finished?": "X" is a number from 1 to 4 of your choice. You must spend at least 1 tools symbol to play this card. The number of tools symbols you spend equals the number of squares discarded from the top of the hallway stack. A great way to hurry Pickle Rick along!
"Jetpack": "was placed or flipped during this action" means either you drew and placed a new square, or you flipped a square you moved onto. You may attempt to move through an air duct, but doing so will prevent you from moving further with the "Jetpack" if you placed a new square or flipped a closed one. However, you may move through air ducts that already line up with each other — that won't stop your jetpack flight!
"What a Twist!": these powerful cards let you cut off the path Pickle Rick was heading for. Disregard the white arrow. You may even rotate the square Pickle Rick himself is standing on! If Pickle Rick becomes hopelessly stuck (this is possible only in extremely rare cases), the game ends immediately in a win for the Russians. However, if Pickle Rick has access to an air duct, he'll get out!
"Parkour": with this card you may move through an air duct regardless of what's on the other end: a face-up square, a closed square, or an empty space. If you flip over or place onto an empty space a square with an air duct, place it so that the 2 air ducts line up with each other. If you flip over or place onto an empty space a square with no air duct, place it so that the white arrow faces the side touching the adjacent square Pickle Rick is moving from. Pickle Rick will still be able to move there thanks to this card.
"Pickle": this card lets you spend any symbol to gain 2 joker symbols, which you may spend on your turn.
"Take Cover!": Pickle Rick cannot move through a wall unless there are air ducts on the adjoining sides of the squares.
"Nothing Personal," "Gunpowder": if the Jaguar has left the game, he doesn't come back. In that case, you may still play these cards (paying their cost) to draw a card from your deck. The Jaguar can have a maximum of 10 health points. You may play "Gunpowder" even if he's at maximum health.
Quick Reference
The back page of this rulebook reprints a condensed reference card, listing the die symbols (movement, card, tools, gun, joker) alongside the following summary.
Turn Order
- Roll 4 dice.
- Reroll, once, the dice you didn't set aside during the previous step.
- The Russians may reroll 1 die for each operative in play (maximum 4).
- Pickle Rick may reroll 4 dice, but the number of dice he may reroll is reduced by 1 for each enemy who sees him.
- Spend dice.
- End of turn.
Pickle Rick's Movement
Pickle Rick may move:
- to an adjacent square lying face up;
- to an adjacent square lying face down (and flip it over);
- to an adjacent empty space (draw a new square from the hallway stack and place it face up on that space);
- through walls, via an air duct, from his square to an adjacent square or empty space.
Russian Movement
Operatives:
- may move to an adjacent square lying face up;
- cannot move through walls or air ducts, or onto squares lying face down;
- may spend no more than 1 movement symbol per operative on a single turn.
The Jaguar:
- may move to an adjacent square lying face up;
- may move through walls, but this costs 2 movement symbols;
- may have no more than 2 movement symbols spent on him on a single turn.
Objective for the Russians
The Russians win if, at the end of any player's turn, one of the following conditions is met:
- Pickle Rick has 0 health points;
- Pickle Rick has run out of cards in his deck;
- the hallway stack has run out of squares.