The Great Snowball Battle
The Great Snowball Battle Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
Be the last kid standing! Hit your opponents with snowballs, while running around trying to not get hit yourself. Each hit knocks off a piece of gear; lose all your gear and get sent inside. Last one with the most gear wins!
Components
See card details section for additional information.
- Snowball Deck: 61 cards made up of Snowballs, QuickShots and Events
- Location Deck: 20 Location cards, with varying cover numbers (reflecting how difficult it is to hit a player there)
- Item Deck: 20 cards which modify the game play
- Gear Deck: 18 cards which keep track of both lost and remaining gear
- Kid Deck: 8 cards, each with a different Kid and his/her special ability
Setup
Shuffle all Snowballs, QuickShots and Events together (the Snowball deck) and place them face down in the center of the playing area. Shuffle the Item and Location decks and place them next to the Snowball deck. Discards will be piled face up beside each draw deck.
Each player: Select 1 Kid and 3 Gear cards to place in front of you. Draw 1 Item and 1 Location; place them between your gear and the draw decks. A sample 3-player setup is pictured below.
The area beside each player's location card will be referred to as a Thrown stack (where snowballs that are thrown at them are played).
Finally, each player draws 2 cards from the Snowball deck. (Any Event cards which are drawn should be shuffled back in.) At all times during the game you should have 2 cards in your hand. Anytime you have less than 2 cards (e.g. because you threw a snowball, played an Event, or something made you discard), draw to fill your hand to 2 cards.
The player with the lowest cover number showing on their Location should start. In case of a tie, play Rock/Paper/Scissors for it. Play proceeds clockwise around the table.
How to Play
On your turn you may choose to either Throw, Clear Out or use an Item that has the Action keyword. (You may also need to play an Event card before play continues to the next player).
Throwing – Choose a snowball (or QuickShot) card from your hand and place it next to the location card of your intended target, building a Thrown stack. Additional snowballs thrown at this location go here (no matter who throws them). All snowball numbers should be visible so that the total can be easily calculated. Items with the Modifier keyword (such as the Pinecone) also go into the Thrown stack along with the snowball it modified, adding to the total. Once the total of all the cards in the Thrown stack is equal to or greater than the location's cover number, you have HIT your unfortunate opponent. Once the cover number is reached, each successive snowball will hit also. (Hint: time to clear out!)
When you are hit, immediately flip over a piece of Gear. If you flip over your last piece of Gear, your mom calls you inside and you are out of the game. Regular hits and QuickShot hits (see card details) are resolved simultaneously, so it is possible for two people go out of the game at the same time.
Clearing Out – When your cover is nearly blown, it's time to stop throwing and get out of there. Remove all Items/Locations/snowballs from in front of you and put them in the appropriate discard piles. Then draw a new Location and Item and place them in front of your kid card.
Using an Action Item – If you have an Item that has the Action keyword on it, use it by placing it in the Item discard pile and doing whatever the card says.
Once you have either Thrown, Cleared Out or used an Action item, your turn is over and the next player takes their turn. Be sure to draw up to 2 cards!
Playing an Event – Whenever you draw an Event (no matter whose turn it is) IMMEDIATELY suspend normal play and resolve the event. Do whatever it says on the card, discard it, and draw another snowball card. Then resume play as normal.
Winning and Losing the Game
Continue around the table with each player taking turns until they are "sent inside". When there are two kids left, the one with the most Gear remaining wins! If there is a tie, the game continues using the 2-player variation (below) until someone gets hit and the tie is resolved. If the last two kids get sent inside at the same time, the game ends in a tie.
2-Player Variation – When playing with 2 players (or when a multiplayer game gets down to 2 players), there is one change in the rules: no player may Clear Out twice in a row. This includes using an Action Item that causes you to clear out. The player must throw at least one snowball before clearing out again. In a 2-player game, the game ends when one player is sent inside. In a multiplayer game, the game ends as soon as one player has more Gear than the other remaining player.
5-6 Player Variation – When playing with more than four players, there is a slight adjustment to the rules – as soon as a player is hit, he/she immediately Clears Out. This limits the possibility of players from getting knocked out of the game before they get another turn.
Card Keywords
- Modifier – Play in conjunction with a Snowball
- Condition – An effect that remains active until the item is discarded (usually upon Clearing Out)
- Response – Play during other players' turns when someone throws a snowball, or when you get hit (depending on the card)
- Action – Occurs instead of Throwing or Clearing Out
Card Details
Snowball – The basic ammunition of the game. Snowball numbers range from 1 to 8.
QuickShot – Can be thrown as a regular snowball OR as a response to someone else throwing a snowball. A QuickShot thrown as a regular snowball is treated as if it were a normal snowball of that number. However, if you have a QuickShot with the same number as a snowball that has just been thrown (at you or anyone else), you may immediately play the QuickShot and score a HIT on the thrower. His throw is still resolved as normal. When used as a response, Items that effect snowballs (e.g. Log Bat) can NOT be used against a Quickshot.
Location – Each location has a Cover Number in the upper right corner that determines how hard it is to hit a player hiding there. Numbers range from 8 (open) to 17 (fort).
Item – Items can be used to help you win. Each has a description of its power and a keyword to dictate when it can be played. New items are drawn only when you Clear Out to a new location.
Gear – Each player gets 3; flip one each time you get hit.
Kid – Each Kid's special ability is described on the card.
Event – Adds random bonuses and penalties to the game. You may play with as many events in the deck as you wish. The more events you have, the more surprises!
Event Card Clarifications
Snowplow – The person who played the Snowplow does not draw a second card before shuffling the hands together, so they will receive only one card.
Mom Hollering – As designed, players who have been sent inside are out of the game. For a longer game, allow players with no Gear to count as 'less gear than you have'.
Example of Play
Round 1
- Guff: Is at an Open location, so he goes first and decides to clear out right away. He discards his location and item (an icicle) and draws new ones. He gets a Woodpile (9) and a Trashcan Lid.
- Cat: Throws a 5 snowball, along with a +2 pinecone, at Tilde, who is at a Tree (12). Cat then draws a card to fill her hand to 2 cards.
- Fesht: Seeing that Tilde is weak, Fesht throws a 6 snowball at her. This makes the total of Tilde's thrown pile 13 (5 + 2 + 6), so she gets hit and flips over a piece of gear. However, Guff has a 6 QuickShot card, which he flings at Fesht, who ALSO gets hit and loses a piece of gear. The QuickShot goes into the snowball discards, and Fesht and Guff both draw from the snowball deck.
- Tilde: Clears Out, since her cover has been compromised. She discards the location, item, and everything in her thrown stack, then draws a new location and item.
Round 2
- Guff: Throws a 2 snowball at Cat, who is at the Fence (9). He then draws a card.
- Cat: Throws a 4 snowball back at Guff. She draws a card.
- Fesht: Throws a 5 snowball at Guff. Guff's thrown pile total now matches his cover number (4+5=9) so he gets hit. BUT, he discards the Trashcan Lid to avoid losing gear.
- Tilde: Tilde capitalizes on Guff's vulnerability and pegs him with a 2 snowball. Guff's thrown pile now equals 11, which is higher than his cover number of 9, so Guff gets hit again. This time, there is no Trashcan Lid to protect him, so he loses a piece of gear. Tilde draws a card to fill her hand, and draws the 'Lucky Find' event. She immediately flips a piece of lost Gear back over, discards the event, and draws another card to fill his hand.