Robin Hood (Ravensburger 1990) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Object of the Game
• Setup
  • The Castle
  • Castle Cards
  • Event Cards and Gold Coins
  • Game Board
  • The Sheriff Pawn
• Starting the Game
  • How Is the Game Played?
  • Landing on an Occupied Space
  • Special Spaces
• The Sheriff Card
  • What Happens When the Sheriff Card Appears?
  • Encounter with the Sheriff Pawn
  • Archery Duel
• Settlement
  • The 4 Gathering Points and the Gold
  • The Loot Is Distributed
  • Bonus for the First Arrival
  • Next Section
• End of the Game

Contents

• 1 game board
• 1 castle
• 1 hill
• 6 castle cards (5 arrow cards, 1 sheriff card, 2 reserve cards) (as printed on the box and rulebook list; the parts listed add up to 8)
• 7 wooden pawns
• 42 event cards
• 80 gold coin cards (30 of value 1, 30 of value 5, 20 of value 10)
• 1 rulebook

Object of the Game

The object of the game is to steal as much gold from the sheriff's tax collectors as possible, in 4 different places. But beware! Do not get caught by the sheriff! The hero of the day who has gathered the most gold will be declared the winner of the game and will be the friend of Robin Hood.

Setup

Before playing for the first time, carefully detach the event cards and the gold coin cards from their backing.

The Castle

The green hill is placed on the game board by fixing its two feet into the two holes provided for this purpose. The castle is then placed on the hill.

Castle Cards

The 6 castle cards represent the messages coming from the castle. They show arrow patterns of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 cells, plus the sheriff card.

The 5 castle cards with arrows are slid, face up, into the 4 slots provided for this purpose at the foot of the hill. No card may stick out.

The sheriff card stays beside the castle until the start of the game.

Event Cards and Gold Coins

Shuffle the event cards well, then place them in a single face-down pile beside the game board.

Put the event cards and the gold coin cards in separate piles. One player manages the gold coin cards: they represent the taxes levied by the sheriff, which are to be stolen.

Each player receives 5 gold coins as starting capital.

Game Board

The route of the game is divided into 4 sections, each ending at a gathering point from which the players set off in the next direction.

To begin, each player chooses a pawn and places it on the starting gathering point at the foot of the oak tree.

The board's labelled points are:

• Start: the gathering point at the foot of the oak tree.
• 1st gathering point: the inn (l'auberge).
• Starting position of the sheriff pawn: beside tent no. 1 (see below).
• 2nd gathering point: the clearing (clairière).
• 3rd gathering point: the farm (ferme).
• Finish: the 4th gathering point, the fisherman's hut (cabane du pêcheur).

The Sheriff Pawn

The sheriff pawn has its own starting space on each section of the route. It is always the space beside the tent (see illustration).

At the start of the game, the sheriff pawn is placed beside tent no. 1, near the inn.

Starting the Game

Play proceeds clockwise, and the youngest player begins.

How Is the Game Played?

The first player carefully slides the castle card showing the sheriff into one of the slots of his choice, at the foot of the hill. A different card then appears on the opposite side. The player advances his pawn by as many spaces as there are arrows on the card that appeared.

The next player then takes this last card and slides it, in turn, into a slot of his choice, except the slot where the card had appeared previously.

Rules on movement:

• Moving backwards is not allowed.
• There may be no more than one pawn on a space.
• When advancing, each occupied space passed over counts as one point.

Landing on an Occupied Space

When a pawn finishes its advance on a space already occupied by another pawn, it passes over that pawn and is placed on the next free space.

The next gathering point must be reached with an exact number of points. If the castle card that appeared shows more arrows than are needed to reach it exactly, the player must leave his pawn where it is. He may try again on his next turn.

Special Spaces

When a player finishes his advance on a special space, one of the following happens, according to the symbol on the space:

• Event symbol: the player takes the first event card from the pile, reads it aloud and carries out what it says.
• Castle card symbol: the player immediately slides another castle card into the slot of his choice and advances by the number of spaces matching the number of arrows on that card.
• Shortcut symbol (signpost): the player may take the shortcut and land immediately on the space at the end of the dotted line. He will leave from that space on his next turn.

The Sheriff Card

What Happens When the Sheriff Card Appears?

The sheriff enters play in two cases:

• One of the players makes the sheriff card appear: the sheriff pawn advances.
• The pawn of one of the players arrives on the space where the sheriff pawn is: the two must fight with bows and arrows.

When a player makes the sheriff card appear, it is a sign of great danger for Robin Hood's friends. The player carefully slides this card into a slot of his choice. The card that appears on the opposite side indicates by how many spaces the sheriff pawn must advance.

• The sheriff pawn always moves in the direction of the pawn of the player who made the card appear. If that pawn had previously passed the sheriff, the sheriff now catches up with it.
• The sheriff pawn can advance only as far as the next gathering point. In this case, the player may not move his own pawn.
• The sheriff pawn is not affected by the special spaces of the game board.

Encounter with the Sheriff Pawn

When a pawn finishes its advance on the space occupied by the sheriff pawn, it may not jump over it. The two must fight with their bows and arrows.

Archery Duel

The player whose pawn has landed on the space occupied by the sheriff pawn must make two castle cards appear. The first is for his own pawn, the second for the sheriff pawn. The card showing the greater number of arrows designates the winner of this archery duel. If one of the two cards drawn shows the sheriff, the sheriff is the winner of the duel.

When the player wins:

• The sheriff pawn is returned to its starting space for this section of the board.
• The player's pawn remains on the space where it won the duel.
• The player receives a reward of 5 gold coins, taken from the sheriff's reserve.

When the sheriff pawn wins:

• The player's pawn is sent back to the gathering point that was the starting point for this section of the board.
• The sheriff pawn remains on the space where it won the combat.

If the sheriff pawn finishes its advance on a space already occupied by another player's pawn, the same combat rules apply. It is then the turn of the player who is on the same space as the sheriff pawn. Thus it happens that some players miss their turn.

If the confrontation takes place on the sheriff's starting space and the player wins, the player is allowed to place his pawn directly on the next gathering point.

Settlement

The 4 Gathering Points and the Gold

Panicked at the sight of Robin Hood and his friends, the sheriff's tax collectors have fled, leaving behind them, at the 4 gathering points, all of the taxes and levies collected.

This is where Robin Hood and his friends have a good chance of finding the gold they can redistribute to those most in need.

As soon as one pawn reaches the next gathering point with an exact number of points, this section of the route is over for all the other participants.

The Loot Is Distributed

• The first player to arrive receives as many gold coins as there are spaces separating him from the last player. In addition, he receives a bonus because he is first.
• The second player receives as many gold coins as there are spaces separating him from the last player.
• The same applies to each following player, in order.
• The last player, of course, receives no gold coins.

Bonus for the First Arrival

The bonus for the first arrival depends on the gathering point reached:

Gathering point	Bonus for the first arrival
1st: the inn (l'auberge)	5 gold coins
2nd: the clearing (clairière)	10 gold coins
3rd: the farm (ferme)	15 gold coins
4th: the fisherman's hut (cabane du pêcheur)	20 gold coins

Next Section

When everyone has been rewarded, the players return to the gathering point. The next section begins from this space. The player who owns the fewest gold coins has the right to begin this new section. The sheriff pawn is placed on its reserved space beside the tent for this new section.

At the next gathering point, things proceed in the same way: each player obtains as many gold coins as there are spaces separating him from the player directly behind him.

End of the Game

The friend of Robin Hood who has gathered the most gold coins, once the fisherman's hut is reached, will be declared hero of the day and winner of the game.