Space Sheep!
Space Sheep! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
Return all of the SpaceSheep and Shepherds to their Home (matching color) Systems before all Tactics Cards are exhausted from the Draw Pile, the Players' Hands, and the Defense Console.
Components List
- 8 SpaceSheep (in 8 colors)
- 8 Shepherds (in 8 colors)
- 1 Wolf Ship
- 8 System Mats (in 8 colors)
- 1 Neutral System Mat (Note: Not used – for future expansions)
- 1 Defense Console
- 32 Color Chits (in 8 colors)
- 23 Instruction Tiles
- 4 Wolf Strength Counters
- 90 Tactics Cards (10 in each of 8 colors, 10 Wild)
- 11 Allegiance Cards (8 Defender, 3 Infiltrator)
- 1 Supreme Commander Card
- 8 Reference Cards
- 1 Cloth Bag
- 1 One-minute Sandtimer
- 1 Eight-sided Die
- 1 Rulebook
Note: The symbols shown on the Color Chits and the System Mats correspond to the colors in the game. These are to make the components more "colorblind friendly". They do not serve any other game purpose.
Overview
Space Sheep! is a very customizable game. There are many different preparation choices that may be made in order to make your game different every time.
We strongly recommend that your first play sessions use the "Family Game", which is an introductory version of Space Sheep! that will give you a good idea of the strategy and gameplay, and make future customization more understandable. Modifications necessary to play the Advanced Game follow the Family Game below.
Family Game
Preparation - Family Game – for 2-4 players
To setup for the Family Game, do the following:
- Select 4 colors that you enjoy.
- Select the following components in each of the 4 selected colors:
- 20 Tactics Cards (4 of each color, plus 4 Wild)
- 16 Color Chits (4 of each color)
- 4 System Mats (1 of each color)
- 4 SpaceSheep (1 of each color)
- 4 Shepherds (1 of each color)
- Select these components as well:
- Wolf Ship
- Defense Console
- Wolf Strength Counter #4
- Supreme Commander Card
- 1 Reference Card per player
- Cloth Bag
- One-minute Sandtimer
- Eight-sided Die
- The following 4 Instruction Tiles:
- Move 1 Past [color] Shepherd
- Move 2 Past [color] Shepherd
- Move 1 Behind [color] Shepherd
- Move 2 Behind [color] Shepherd
- Place the Defense Console in the center of the playing area.
- Place the Wolf Strength Counter #4 onto the Defense Console in the upper left corner.
- Shuffle the selected Tactics Cards and place them in the center of the play area, forming the Draw Pile.
The Family Game is ready to begin!
Sample Family Game setup for 4 players (illustration).
Playing the Game – Family Game
Space Sheep! is a real-time, cooperative game. Players will discuss ways to solve the problem, coming up with a solution together. Players may discuss their Tactics Cards and their plans, but must keep their cards hidden in their hands. It is a race against the clock, so be ready to act fast! The goal is to get all SpaceSheep and Shepherds back to their matching Systems before there are no Tactics Cards remaining in the Draw Pile and in all players' hands. When all players are ready, do the following to begin the game:
- The Supreme Flock Commander flips the Sandtimer over.
- The Supreme Flock Commander rolls the Die and moves the Wolf pawn clockwise the number of Systems indicated.
- Each player may now look at their own Tactics Cards in hand, being careful not to show others.
After these steps are taken, the Supreme Flock Commander takes the first turn, and play continues to the left (clockwise) for the duration of the game.
Turns in Detail
On a player's turn, the player must do one of the following:
1. Activate a System: Play a Tactics Card matching the color of the SYSTEM you wish to activate, and perform one of the following:
- A. Move the Shepherd that is present, according to the System's Instruction Tile, OR...
- B. Move the SpaceSheep that is present, according to the System's Instruction Tile, OR...
- C. If the SpaceSheep present is with its matching Shepherd, BOTH may be moved together according to the System's Instruction Tile.
Very Important: Only a single SpaceSheep and a single Shepherd may be in a given System at any time. Once you move a Shepherd onto the desired System, it will displace the Shepherd currently on that System. Place the displaced Shepherd on the System that currently has no Shepherd. Essentially, you are swapping the pieces. The same rule applies if you are moving Spacesheep, or if you move both pieces (per "C" above) at once.
...OR...
2. Activate a Shepherd: Play a Tactics Card matching the color of the SHEPHERD you wish to activate, and then: Move the Shepherd one space CLOCKWISE. Note: this action is only available for the SHEPHERDs, not the SPACESHEEP!
Very Important: As above, only a single Shepherd may be in a given System at any time. Once you have moved a Shepherd clockwise to the next System mat, swap the Shepherd that was originally sitting there onto the System that currently has no Shepherd.
...OR...
3. Play Defense: Play a Tactics Card face-down onto the Defense Console. This has no immediate effect, but it will help later for "Defense Against Wolf".
Example of Play
A player plays a Red Tactics Card. This player either:
- Activates the Red System. If he does, he may move either the Shepherd or the SpaceSheep in the Red System per the Instruction Tile in the Red System. HOWEVER, since the matching Shepherd and SpaceSheep are in the Red System, he may perform option "C", moving BOTH the Blue Shepherd and Blue SpaceSheep using the Instruction Tile in this System. He elects option "C" and performs the "Move 1 Behind [BLUE] Shepherd". He then moves both of these pieces back 1 System to the Blue System, since the Blue System is 1 behind the current position of the Blue Shepherd. He then must immediately move the pieces in the Blue System (both the Red Shepherd and the Yellow SpaceSheep) to the Red System, since there may never be more than one of each piece in any System.
...OR...
- Move the Red Shepherd. If he does, he moves the Red Shepherd one System forward (clockwise), which places the Red Shepherd in the Red System. He then must immediately move the Blue Shepherd to the Blue System, since there may never be more than one of each piece in any System.
Which of the above was a better play? Most likely #1, since in #1 both the Blue Shepherd and Blue SpaceSheep are now in their Home System, and the Red Shepherd is also in its home System. In #2, the Red Shepherd and the Blue Shepherd are in their Home Systems, but the Blue SpaceSheep is not.
FINALLY, to end their turn, the player:
- Redraws to four Tactics Cards in hand (if available) from the Draw Pile.
ALSO… on a player's turn, that player may do the following in addition to the prior:
At any time during a player's turn, if the Wolf Ship is standing up, that player may knock the Wolf Ship onto its side (thematically, the player is attacking Wolf) by playing a Tactics Card matching the System where the Wolf Ship stands to the Face-Up Discard Pile. This will assist the Supreme Flock Commander in the "Defense Against Wolf". See the section "DEFENSE AGAINST WOLF (managing the Sandtimer)".
Defense Against Wolf (managing the Sandtimer)
While the game is in progress, the Sandtimer is always running. The players do not want the Sandtimer to run out. To aid in this, the Supreme Flock Commander may do the following at any time:
If the Wolf Ship is knocked onto its side, the Supreme Flock Commander may, at any time on any player's turn, do the following:
- Flip the Sandtimer over,
- Roll the eight-sided die,
- Advance the Wolf Ship that many spaces clockwise, and
- Stand the Wolf Ship up on the destination space.
In this way, the Supreme Flock Commander keeps the Sandtimer from running out (flipping it before the top empties).
HOWEVER, if the Sandtimer ever does run out (thematically, Wolf is making an attack on the System), the Supreme Flock Commander must immediately do the following:
- Flip the empty Sandtimer over, and
- Discard a number of cards equal to the Wolf Strength Counter in play (which in the Family Game is 4, but may differ in the Advanced Game). Cards are discarded in this order:
- a. Discard cards from the Defense Console... and if more are required, then
- b. Discard cards from the Draw pile... and if more are required, then
- c. Discard cards from players' hands. In this case, the Supreme Flock Commander decides who discards cards and instructs the players to do so.
If there are not enough cards to discard, the game ends in a loss for all the players!
End of the Game - Family Game
The Family Game ends in one of two ways:
- A. All Shepherds and SpaceSheep are at their matching Systems at the same time – all the players win.
- B. The Sandtimer runs out and there are not enough cards to be discarded for defense (meaning the Defense Console, Draw Pile, and all players' hands are out of cards) – all the players lose.
Advanced Game
Once you have played your first Family Game, you may want to enjoy the Advanced Game of Space Sheep! You can play with more Systems, fewer Tactics Cards, and a stronger Wolf. You can also add Infiltrators, who are players secretly plotting against the SpaceSheep.
Use the following modifications to the Family Game to play the Advanced Game:
Preparation – Advanced Game - 1-8 Players
Prior to starting the game, you must choose the following:
- How many Systems are in Play: more Systems = greater complexity.
- How many Tactics Cards are in the Tactics deck: fewer Tactics Card = greater difficulty.
- How strong is Wolf: stronger Wolf = greater difficulty.
- Which Instruction Tiles to use: provides variability to the game.
- The distribution of Allegiance Cards: changes the balance between cooperation vs competition.
These decisions are detailed below, along with recommendations for your first Advanced Game play:
-
How many Systems are in Play:
- a. The more Systems in play, the more complex it is to achieve victory for the Defenders.
- b. Recommendation for your first Advanced Game: use 5 System Mats.
- c. Take the number of System Mats chosen and the corresponding colored SpaceSheep, Shepherds, and Color Chits, removing all non-chosen System Mats, SpaceSheep, Shepherds, and Color Chits from play.
- d. Place the chosen Color Chits in the Cloth Bag.
-
How many Tactics Cards to use in the Tactics deck:
- a. Use more cards for an easier game, use fewer for a more difficult game.
- b. Use an even distribution of colors for a more predictable game, or have a random distribution for a less predictable game.
- c. Add Wild cards to reduce difficulty.
- d. Recommendation for your first Advanced Game, as well as a good rule of thumb for most games: Square the number of Systems in play, and use that many cards, evenly distributed across all included colors. Add one Wild Card per System in play as well. Remember to use only the colors of the Systems in play (plus possibly some Wild cards).
-
How strong is Wolf:
- a. The higher the Wolf Strength, the greater the difficulty for the Defenders.
- b. Recommendation for your first Advanced Game: if you are increasing the number of Systems to 5 or more, and/or you are using Allegiance Cards (below), select a Wolf Strength of 4.
- c. If an infinite Strength Wolf ever attacks successfully, all Tactics Cards in the Draw Pile, players' hands and on the Defense Console are discarded, and the players (the Defenders) lose!
Advanced Game Setup
After the above selections are made, setup for the Advanced Game as follows:
- Place the Defense Console in the center of the playing area.
- Select the Strength of Wolf. Take the corresponding Wolf Strength Counter, and place it onto the Defense Console in the upper left corner.
- Select the total number of Tactics Cards in play and then choose the actual Tactics Cards. Shuffle these cards and place them in the center of the play area, forming the Draw Pile. NOTE: space for TWO Discard Piles is required in this area as well, one FACE-DOWN Discard Pile, and one FACE-UP Discard Pile.
- Select the number of Systems in play and choose that number of System Mats, any colors. Take the chosen System Mats, and place them in a circular manner to form the general play area.
- Randomly place 1 Instruction Tile into the rectangular area on each System Mat.
- Randomly place 1 SpaceSheep on each System Mat. Important: make sure that no SpaceSheep is on its same color System Mat.
- Randomly place 1 Shepherd on each System Mat. Important: make sure that no Shepherd is on its same color System Mat, and make sure that no SpaceSheep is with its matching color Shepherd.
- In the Cloth Bag, mix all Color Chits matching the colors of the Systems in play. Randomly select and place one Color Chit in each of the circular areas on the Instruction Tiles. The Instruction Tiles will now read as instructions for each System. For example, you may now have "Move 1 Past Blue Shepherd" as an Instruction Tile for one of your Systems.
- If you are playing with Allegiance Cards, create a set of Allegiance Cards for the game, per the above. Deal one Allegiance Card to each player, who may look at the card. No other player may ever look at another player's Allegiance Card, until and unless it is revealed by gameplay. Players may discuss each others' cards, bluff, lie, or anything else they like, as long as they do not physically reveal their cards.
- Choose one player to be the Supreme Flock Commander, and give that player the corresponding Card.
- Deal 4 Tactics Cards to each player, forming their initial hand of cards. Player should not look at their hand of Tactics Cards yet.
- Give each player a Reference Card.
The Advanced Game is ready to begin!
Playing the Game – Advanced Game
Play the Advanced Game in the same manner as the Family Game with the addition of VOTING / OUSTING and the modified END OF THE GAME conditions.
Voting / Ousting
If playing with Infiltrators, during the game players may point at each other in an accusatory fashion. By doing so, the player believes the indicated player to be an Infiltrator.
If at any time greater than 50% of the players remaining in the game are simultaneously pointing at one player, that player is ousted from the game. The ousted player reveals his Allegiance card, and if the player was a:
- A. Infiltrator: The player's cards in hand are shuffled and go to the bottom of the Draw Pile.
- B. Defender: The player's cards in hand go to the Face-Down Discard Pile. Whenever it would have been the turn of the ousted player, Wolf makes an attack as if the sandtimer had run out, as described under "Defense Against Wolf", above.
If the ousted player was Supreme Flock Commander, then the Title and responsibilities pass clockwise.
End of the Game – Advanced Game
The Advanced Game ends in one of three ways:
- A. All Shepherds and SpaceSheep are at their matching Systems at the same time – all the Defenders win (and all the Infiltrators lose, if any).
- B. The Sandtimer runs out and there are not enough cards to be discarded for defense (meaning the Defense Console, Draw Pile, and all players' hands are out of cards) – the Defenders lose (and all the Infiltrators win, if any).
- C. If playing with Infiltrators, if there are an equal number of Defenders and Infiltrators still in the game, the Defenders lose and the Infiltrators win.
In all cases, if there are Infiltrator(s) in the game, Infiltrators win when the Defenders lose, and vice-versa. An ousted player wins if their faction wins.