The Goblin King is Angry Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Objective
  • Winning the Game
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • Goblin Phase
  • Movement and Attack Phase
  • Castle Phase
  • Conflict Phase
  • End Phase
• Castle Units
• Castle Unit Iconography

Components

• 4 12mm cubes per color (24 total) – Ogrins
• 5 10mm cubes per color (30 total) – Hobgoblins
• 30 8mm cubes, 6 different colors (180 total) – Goblins
• 1 King's Ear token
• 50 hex cards (3-inch):
  • 6 Goblin Generals
  • 4 Tower cards
  • 4 Knight cards
  • 4 Archer cards
  • 4 Wizard cards
  • 4 Cleric cards
  • 4 Wall cards
  • 4 Good Defense cards
  • 4 Offense cards
  • 4 Over Here! cards
• 50 Castle Unit tokens (1-inch):
  • 4 Tower tokens
  • 4 Knight tokens
  • 4 Archer tokens
  • 4 Wizard tokens
  • 4 Cleric tokens
  • 16 Wall tokens
• 30 Stone tokens
• 1 Board (24" x 24")
• 1 Rule Book

Ogrins count as 4 goblins. Hobgoblins count as 2 goblins.

Objective

Your only goal is to destroy their castle. It will be scary, with lots of danger, but you can do it. For Glorp!

Winning the Game

The player whose Goblins causes the Castle to topple (by reaching the base level of Goblins surrounding it) wins the game.

The number of Goblins needed to topple the Castle is five times the number of players (i.e. 15 Goblins for a 3-player game, 20 Goblins for a 4-player game, etc.). These Goblins must be in the hexes surrounding the center Castle at the end of a player's Movement and Attack phase.

Example: If, in a 3-player game, you have 1 Goblin next to the Castle and end your movement, and another player has 14 Goblins next to a Castle, you gain all the glory (i.e. win the game) because the Castle now has a total of 15 Goblins next to it. To increase the length of play, you may increase the victory condition by requiring up to 18 additional Goblins as the requirement to topple the Castle.

Figure 1. Winning the game with 3 players. The 3-player game requires 3 x 5 = 15 Goblins surrounding the Castle to topple it.

Setup

Kligs asked me what the plan is. I guess I should put one together. You keep roaring in anger until it is ready.

Figure 2. Example of a 6-player setup.

1. Place the game board in the center of the table.
2. Deal a Goblin General card at random to each player. Return the remaining Goblin General cards to the box.
3. Each player chooses a starting encampment. If there are 3 players, players should have 1 unused encampment between them; no two players may have encampments immediately adjacent to each other (i.e. there must be an unused encampment separating them). If there are 4 players, there should be 2 players each on opposite sides of the board (i.e. 2 players sitting across from 2 other players).
4. Each player takes a set of colored Goblins (the cubes) matching their encampment color. Return the remaining Goblins to the box.
5. Shuffle the Castle deck and place it on the large Castle tile in the center of the board.
6. Separate the Castle Unit tokens by type and set them next to the board, within reach of all players (icon-side up).
7. Give each player 3 Stones (the gray wooden pieces). Place the remaining Stone tokens next to the board.
8. Randomly determine who will have "the king's ear" at the start of the game. That player is the starting player and is given the King's Ear token.

Gameplay

The game is played in a series of rounds, with 5 phases in each round, as follows: Goblin Phase, Movement and Attack Phase, Castle Phase, Conflict Phase, and End Phase.

Goblin Phase

Each player places 4 Goblins in their starting area, denoted by the two colored hexes matching their Goblin tokens on the outside of the board (see Figure 2).

In a 3-5 player game, the player with the King's Ear may place their Goblins in any unused starting encampment.

Players may spend up to 4 Stones to place 1 additional Goblin per Stone spent (up to 4 additional Goblins by spending up to 4 Stones).

Players may not generate more than 8 Goblins during this phase. A player may choose to buy an upgraded unit during this phase.

Callout: Place 4 Goblins into your starting area. (This may be in any way you choose: 3 in a hex and 1 in the other or 2 and 2.) You may also buy additional Goblins and buy upgraded Goblins during this phase.

Hobgoblin Counts as 2 Goblins for hex space and being killed. To buy this unit, pay 2 Stones and discard 1 Goblin you control.

Ogrin Counts as 4 Goblins for hex space and being killed. To buy this unit, pay 3 Stones and discard 2 Goblins you control.

Upgraded units enter play in that player's starting encampment.

Movement and Attack Phase

Figure 5. Example of a move during the Movement and Attack phase.

Move all of your Goblins in play 1 hex closer to the Castle, if possible. Goblins next to a Castle unit cannot move.

Once all of a player's Goblins have moved, and that player has at least one Goblin next to the Castle or a Castle Unit token, that player counts ALL players' Goblins around those Castle Unit tokens and the Castle itself.

If the number of Goblins around a Castle Unit meets or exceeds the unit's Goblin Icon Number, remove it from the board and this player collects one (1) Stone as a bounty.

Example: Taylor moves 4 Goblins next to a Wall; other players already have a combined total of 6 Goblins next to the Wall, which makes a total of 10 Goblins next to the Wall (or next to other Goblins adjacent to the Wall token). At the end of Taylor's movement, because he now has at least 1 Goblin next to the barricade, he counts his Goblins and the other Goblins adjacent to it and the Castle Unit. Ten Goblins are enough destroy a Wall, so Taylor gets a Stone for killing the Castle Unit token.

If a player ends their movement next to the Castle, and the number of Goblins around the Castle is enough to topple it, this player wins the game instantly (see Figure 6).

"OK, the plan is ready. First, we roar in anger. Then, we march. But we keep making angry sounds. Angry sounds scare humans. After that... we fight. And topple the castle. And roar!"

Castle Phase

The player who has the King's Ear draws the top card of the Castle deck and reveals it, performing any actions listed on the card.

Castle cards with Castle Units will show an icon which represents a hex token. Grab the appropriate Castle Unit token (you may look at the mechanics side before placing it) and place it on any of the light-green hexes on the map in any direction you choose. Make sure to flip the unit's hex so that the icon matching the card is now face-down and the game mechanics side is face-up.

A Castle Unit may not enter a hex occupied by Goblins or other Castle Units.

Starting with the player who has the King's Ear and going clockwise, players may buy Castle cards from the top of the Castle deck.

The first card bought costs 1 Stone.

The cost increases by 1 Stone for each additional card purchased by all players.

Example: If Taylor buys a card for one Stone, the next player must pay 2 Stones to draw a card. If they do, the next player must pay 3 Stones, etc.

This continues until all players pass.

If a player would have more than 2 cards in their hand after buying a card, they must play a card to bring their hand back down to 2. After playing these cards, the player may buy additional cards when it is their turn to buy.

Next, players who have cards in their hand may play them.

Card actions are resolved in the order they are declared (i.e. played) by players.

If more than one player declares at the same time, the player with the King's Ear decides in what order the actions occur.

Conflict Phase

Figure 7. Resolution of Castle conflicts. The Castle destroys 1 Goblin in each hex surrounding the Castle.

Once all cards have been played, the Castle and all Castle Units activate simultaneously.

Castle Units kill Goblins based on their hit regions and range (see Castle Units below).

Dead Goblins are removed from the board instantly.

Place any killed Goblin cubes back into their appropriate supply.

If there is more than one color of Goblin in a hex, Castle Units will first kill Goblins of the player who has the most Goblins in that hex.

If there are an equal number of Goblins, the player with the King's Ear decides which Goblins are killed.

Castle Unit attack values do not add together to combine to kill larger units.

Example: The Archer kills up to 2 Goblins per hex, and the Knight also kills up to 2 Goblins per hex. If both attack the same hex, they still may not kill an Ogrin (which counts as 4 Goblins). However, they may kill a Hobgoblin and 2 Goblins, or 4 Goblins.

Castle Units attack all hexes within their ranges, regardless of whether there is another Castle Unit or other Goblin unit in their lines of sight.

If there is an Archer behind a Wall, the Archer still shoots and kills Goblins in each hex up to and within its range.

Goblins do not block line of sight; therefore, if an Archer is shooting at a Hobgoblin in the closest hex to it, and there are other Goblins in a continued line within range past it, the Archer will still kill Goblins in the hexes beyond the Hobgoblin.

"There is lots to study. Lots to learn. You will die if you do not study hard. Learn what the nasty humans can do and use it against them."

End Phase

Pass the King's Ear token to the left. Each player gains 1 Stone.

Castle Units

Knight

Figure 8. The Knight kills 2 Goblins in each hex adjacent to its red border.

The Knight kills 2 Goblins in each hex adjacent to each of its red borders. The Knight requires 6 Goblins adjacent to it at the end of a player's Movement and Attack phase for it to be destroyed.

Archer

Figure 9. The Archer kills 2 Goblins in each hex within range 5 of the unit's red border.

The Archer kills 2 Goblins in each hex within a range of 5 of its red border. The Archer requires 2 Goblins adjacent to it at the end of the Movement and Attack phase for it to be defeated.

Priest

Figure 10. The Priest kills one Goblin and increases the defense of adjacent friendly units.

The Priest kills 1 Goblin in the hex adjacent to its red border. Each blue border increases the required number of Goblins to destroy the adjacent unit (or the Castle) by 2. The Priest requires 4 Goblins adjacent to it at the end of the Movement and Attack phase for it to be destroyed.

Wall/Barricade

Figure 11. One Wall unit consists of 4 tokens.

Walls are placed in a line with 2 middle pieces and 2 end pieces connected to each other (see Figure 11). These 4 Wall tokens represent a single unit, meaning the requirement to destroy the Wall is 10 Goblins per Wall (not 10 Goblins per hex). The Wall does not attack.

Castle Unit Iconography

Each Castle Unit hex is divided into areas with colors and iconography.

• Goblins (Small Cube), Hobgoblins (Medium Cube), Ogrins (Pronounced Aw-Grins) (Large Cube): the goblin types that the icons on a Castle Unit refer to.
• Goblin Number: indicates how many Goblins are needed adjacent to this Castle Unit to destroy it.
• Kill Number: indicates how many Goblins this unit kills.
• Range Value: indicates how many hexes this unit attacks.
• Health Boost: indicates an increase in the number of Goblins required to defeat an adjacent target.
• Puddle: any Goblinoid that is now on a hex with this symbol may not move during its next movement phase. This effect lasts for only one turn per group of Goblinoids.
• Red Line: the line or direction in which the hex attacks (defined by the hex's red borders).
• Blue Line: adds to the number of Goblins required to destroy adjacent Castle Units or the Castle itself.
• Gray Line: does not attack but still halts movement.
• Purple Line: does not attack or halt movement.