Roaring River
Roaring River Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 2 Raft cards (double sided)
- 40 River cards — River cards vary from calm to turbulent water indicated by 1 drop to 4 drops and may show a terrain feature or animal.
- 60 Paddle cards (6 sets of 10 identical cards)
- 6 Motivation cards (for 3-6 players)
- 2 Motivation cards (double sided, for the 2 player variant)
Goal of the Game
You all have your own motivation for taking part in this rafting experience, so paddle strategically to navigate through your favorite parts of the river. Would you enjoy a relaxing ride on calm waters, or are you more into fast-flowing, turbulent waters? The player who enjoys their trip the most wins! Unless you are not happy with your trip at all... Then you can try to flip the raft and win with this cheeky move.
Set Up
The setup diagram shows the Raft card (1) with the second Raft card nearby (2), two River cards in front of the Raft and three River cards in front of these (3, 4), the draw deck for River cards and the discard pile for River cards.
- Shuffle the six Motivation cards and deal one to each player. Each player places their Motivation card faceup in front of them.
- Give each player a set of 10 Paddle cards (distinguishable by the back).
- Place the Raft card on Danger level 1 (green) on one end of the table. Keep the second Raft card nearby.
- Shuffle all River cards. Place two River cards in front of the Raft and place three River cards in front of these.
Gameplay Overview
In Roaring River you will move to a new River card every round, until you reach the end of the river or the Raft flips. Every round consists of three steps:
- Play Paddle cards
- Raft direction and Danger level
- Move the Raft
At the end of the game all players score hearts (victory points) according to their Motivation card and any additional hearts for each card scored by their Paddle 2 cards. If you reach the end of the River, the player with the most hearts wins. But if the Raft flips, the player with the least hearts wins!
Step one: Play Paddle cards
All players simultaneously select and reveal one Paddle card from their hand. Note: Your previously played Paddle cards are open information to all players. Place your played Paddle cards partly overlapping with the icons on top visible.
There are three special paddle cards, which will be explained later.
Step two: Raft direction and Danger level
You determine the direction of the Raft by counting the total value of the revealed cards pointing to the right (right arrow) and the cards pointing to the left (left arrow). If the total for left is higher than right, move left. If the total for right is higher, move right. If left and right are equal, move straight ahead. Important: You do not retrieve played Paddle cards to your hand unless you play the Rest card!
The Raft has four Danger levels (1, 2, 3 & 4), which represent how unstable the Raft is. When the difference between the left and right paddle cards is equal or higher than stated on the Raft card (1), you increase the Danger level (either by flipping the Raft card or taking the next Raft card). The required difference may depend on player count.
At Danger level 3 the Raft can also become more stable, decreasing the Danger level (if the difference between left and right is three or less (2)).
When you are at Danger level 3, and you have to increase the Danger level, the Raft flips and the game is immediately over. The player with the least hearts wins!
Step three: Move the Raft
Option A: Moving the Raft left or right
Move the Raft to the River card according to the Raft direction. Then, discard the card next to the Raft and the card not directly in front of the Raft. Finally place three new cards in front of the River.
Example: The Raft moves left (to the card with 1 drop), then the two cards with an X are discarded (1). Finally three new cards are added to the River (2). Note: Do not discard River cards previously moved over! (3)
Option B: Moving the Raft straight ahead
Move the Raft to the center River card in the furthest row, passing over the two cards directly in front of the Raft. Then, discard the two cards passed over and the two cards to the left and right of the Raft. Finally place five new Raft cards in front of the Raft.
Example: The Raft moves straight ahead, then four cards are discarded (the Raft will not be able to move there anymore). Finally five new cards are added to the River. First a row of two, then a row of three (same as the setup).
Game End & Victory
The game can end in two different ways. Usually you reach the end of the River, but sometimes the Raft flips upside down!
Reach the end of the River
When the deck does not have enough cards to place all required River cards, the game ends. Discard any remaining River cards in front of the raft, and count hearts. The player with the most hearts wins! If multiple players have the most hearts, they share the victory.
Flipped Raft
When you increase the Danger level from 3 to 4 (skull) the game ends. Discard any remaining River cards in front of the raft (do not Move the raft this turn), and count hearts. The player with the least hearts wins! If multiple players have the least hearts, they share the victory.
Counting Hearts
At the end of the game your Motivation card will score you hearts (victory points) for all River cards the Raft moved over. The River cards vary from calm water (1 drop) to turbulent waters (4 drops). River cards may show a terrain feature (forest / mountain) or an animal (deer / bird). Your Motivation card determines which of these characteristics are relevant for your score. The order of the River cards does not matter for scoring. Add hearts earned from Paddle 2 cards for your total score.
Hidden information and table talk: The Paddle cards in your hand and the card you play are hidden information. The Paddle cards which you have played previously and your Motivation card are open information to all players. You are free to discuss the game with your fellow players, but any deals are non-binding. You may not mention the numbers on the Paddle cards you want to play.
Special Paddle Cards
Rest card: When you play the Rest card, you do not contribute to the direction of the Raft. Instead you focus on recovering previously played Paddle cards to your hand. After the Raft has moved (and new River cards are placed), you may choose to return either one played Paddle 4 card to your hand or two Paddle 2/3 cards (two 2's, a 2 and a 3 or two 3's). In addition, you always return your Rest card to your hand. Note: you can never return a Paddle 5 card or a Paddle straight ahead card to your hand. You can use these only once during the game!
Paddle 2 card: When you play a Paddle 2 card, and the Raft moves in the direction you paddled, you gain one heart. You track this by taking a River card from the discard pile (or from the River deck if the discard is empty). Store these River cards under your Motivation card until the end of the game.
Paddle straight ahead card: When you play a Paddle straight ahead card, you spend your efforts to go straight ahead. The Paddle straight ahead card adds up to two to the lower total of the left or right numbers up until left and right are equal.
For example: In a game with four players two players played a Paddle 2 card left (making a total of four for left). The third player played a Paddle 3 card right. The fourth player played the Paddle straight ahead card. This card now adds one to the right total of three, making it four. Now the total of right and left are equal at four resulting in the Raft moving straight ahead. Note: Multiple Paddle straight ahead cards are cumulative!
Motivation Cards
The Thrill-seeker — You are only here for the thrill! You score 1 heart for each River card with 3 drops and 2 hearts for each River card with 4 drops.
The Adventurer — You love a more challenging route. You score 1 heart for each River card with 2 drops and you score 3 hearts for each set of River cards with 3 drops.
(The card itself shows the set as 2 drops + 3 drops.)
The Beginner — You want to take it easy. You score 1 heart for each River card with 1 drop or 2 drops and one additional heart for every set of River cards with 1 drop and 2 drops.
I want it all! — You came here for action and nature. You score 3 hearts for each set of mountain and forest and 1 heart for each River card with 4 drops.
The Wildlife Spotter — Let's take an easy route and check out all animals! You score 2 hearts for each River card with 1 drop and you score 3 hearts for every set of deer and bird.
The Nature Lover — It's all about nature for you. You score hearts for sets with unique terrain and animal icons. The more unique icons in a set, the higher the points. (The card shows: 1 different icon = 0 hearts, 2 = 2 hearts, 3 = 4 hearts, 4 = 7 hearts.)
Example: If there are 2 mountain, 3 forest, 1 deer and 1 bird you score 9 hearts (7 hearts for a set of the four different icons, 2 hearts for a set of two different icons (mountain and forest) and 0 hearts for the remaining forest).
Two Player Motivation Cards
The Wild Woodland Enthusiast — You love a wild ride through forests while spotting wildlife.
- Side 1:
- 1 heart for each River card with 3 drops
- 2 hearts for each River card with 4 drops
- 3 hearts for each set of forest and deer
- Side 2:
- 3 hearts for each set with 3 drops and 4 drops
- 2 hearts for each River card with deer
- 5 hearts if at the end of the game there are more River cards with forest than mountain
The View Fanatic — Take it easy to enjoy the mountains and spot birds.
- Side 1:
- 1 heart for each River card with 2 drops
- 2 hearts for each River card with 1 drop
- 3 hearts for each set of mountain and bird
- Side 2:
- 3 hearts for each set of 1 drop and 2 drops
- 3 hearts for each set of mountain and mountain
- 3 hearts if at the end of the game there are more River cards with bird than deer
2 Player Variant
You can also play Roaring River with two players if you use these variant rules. Note that the game will be a bit more complex and more confrontational. You follow all the rules for the 3-6 player game unless otherwise noted.
Setup changes
- When dealing Motivation cards, deal each player a (double sided) 2-player Motivation card instead. You may choose which side you will use for the game.
- Give each player two sets of ten Paddle cards. Important: During the whole game these two sets of Paddle cards should be kept separate.
Gameplay changes
- During step one: 'Play Paddle cards' both players select and reveal one card from their first set of Paddle cards. Then, both players select and reveal one card from their second set of Paddle cards. The direction of the Raft is determined by all four cards. When you play a Rest card you can only recover Paddle cards of the same set of Paddle cards. You always use your sets of Paddle cards in the same order.
- The Paddle 2 card only gives 0.5 heart if the Raft moves in the direction you paddled. You still track this by taking a River card from the discard pile (or from the River deck if the discard is empty), but these are worth 0.5 heart each at the end of the game.