The Princess and the Goblin Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • First Time Playing?
• Goal
• Play
  • Phase 1 - Explore
  • Phase 2 - Escape
• Goblins!
• Game End
• Variants
  • Advanced Rules
  • 1-Player Rules

Components

• 36 Tiles
• 16 Breadcrumb Tokens (4 of one colour per player)

Setup

1. Place the 4 Goblin Palace tiles face-up in a stack nearby.
2. Place the 6 Home tiles face-up in a stack nearby.
3. Shuffle the rest of the tiles and place them face-down in one stack in the middle of the table to form the Mountain.
4. Draw 4 tiles from the Mountain and place one face-down on each side of the Mountain to form the Caves as shown above.
5. Give each player 4 breadcrumbs of the same color (see Example 2). Leave the rest in the box.

Example 2: Breadcrumbs

First Time Playing?

Before you start, look through all the tiles. Line up tiles to form a path from the Goblin Palace to a Home tile using as few or as many tiles as you can.

Goal

Escape the goblin kingdom and discover more clues (see Example 3: Clues) than your opponents.

Example 3: Clues - Each scroll represents one clue and counts for 1 point at the end of the game. [Any symbols (e.g. ruby ring, etc.) you find inscribed on a scroll are for Advanced and 1-Player rules only (see Advanced and 1-Player Rules later in this rule book once you've mastered the basic version).]

Play

The first player to shout "Goblins!" plays first. Play in clockwise order from this player. The game plays in two phases: "Explore" and "Escape." You may Explore as many turns as you would like, but once you choose to Escape, you may never Explore again!

Phase 1 - Explore

Draw the top tile from the Mountain. After carefully examining it, place it face-down in the Caves so it shares at least one side with other tiles. Then, you may secretly peek at each face-down tile adjacent to the one you just placed (see Example 4).

Example 4: Place a tile in the Caves and peek at each adjacent tile.

Then you may move one of your breadcrumbs to any tile in the Caves (see Example 5). Your breadcrumbs can help you remember what you saw.

Note: Breadcrumbs remain on the tile even if the tile is moved, flipped or used in an Escape Path.

Example 5

Then, after placing a breadcrumb (or choosing not to), end your turn.

Phase 2 - Escape

1. You begin Phase 2 when you announce "I'm going to escape!" at the beginning of your turn. Select a Goblin Palace tile and place it in front of you face-up. This begins your Escape Path.

Remember: After beginning your Escape, you may never go back to Phase 1 for the rest of the game!

Example: Start your Escape...

2. Flip any tile in the Caves (or the top tile of the Mountain) face-up. If this tile continues your Escape Path (i.e. the symbols on the signposts match when lined-up), place it next in-line in your Escape Path and take another turn by flipping another tile to see if it too continues your path.

Example: You chose correctly! Flip again!

3. If you place a tile in your Escape Path that shows green grass you may take any available Home tile and place it at the end of your path. You've escaped!

Example: You made it home! Good job!

4. If you flip a tile that does NOT continue your Path, return it face-up to where it was in the Caves and lose your turn. You must begin your next turn at the same spot in the path where you ended this turn.

Note: Players may use face-up tiles in the Caves to build their Escape Path on later turns.

Example: The tile you flipped does NOT continue the path. Lose your turn and return this tile to the Caves face-up.

5. Capturing Breadcrumbs: If you use a tile with a breadcrumb on it (even an opponent's breadcrumb!) in your Escape Path, you capture that breadcrumb! Keep it on the tile you used. It is worth 1 bonus point at the end of the game.

Goblins!

There are 5 Goblin tiles in the game. The goblins cause mischief in several ways:

Example: Goblin tile

1. If you flip a Goblin tile while you are trying to Escape, you are caught! Return all the tiles in your Escape Path (except for the Goblin Palace) to the Caves face-up! Next turn, begin your Escape again, starting from the Goblin Palace.

Note: You may choose which spaces to fill with your tiles when you return them to the Caves.

2. You may shout "Goblins!" at any time on a player's turn who has started their Escape Path. Then, flip any tile in the Caves. If you reveal a Goblin tile, that player loses their turn. If you reveal any other tile, the player whose turn it is may finish their turn without further interference from you or other players. Any tile flipped remains face-up for the rest of the game.

3. If you are the first player to get Home, you have a special job to do. Every time it's your turn, flip any one of the remaining Home tiles (see Example 6) to reveal the Goblins on the back. Players trying to escape may not use Home tiles that have been flipped to the Goblin side! If you don't escape before all the Home tiles are flipped, you are trapped in the goblin kingdom forever!

Each of the 6 Home tiles has Goblins on the back. A flipped Home tile means that exit to the mountain has been sealed. (The number on the back of each Home tile is for Advanced and 1-Player rules only).

Example 6

Game End

The game ends whenever all players have escaped or when all remaining Home tiles have been flipped to show Goblins. Only players who escaped earn points.

You earn 1 point for every clue (i.e. scroll) in your Escape Path, plus 1 point for every breadcrumb you captured. You win the game if you escape and earn the most points! In case of a tie, the player who escaped first is the winner. In Example 7 below, Jaliel wins!

Example 7: John escaped and earns 4 points: 1 point per clue in his escape path (3) + 1 point per captured breadcrumb (1).

Example 7: Jaliel escaped and earns 7 points: 1 point per clue in her escape path (4) + 1 point per captured breadcrumb (3).

Escape Again? Reset the game and play again. The first player to win twice is the overall champion!

Variants

Advanced Rules

Ready for a greater challenge? Try these rules for advanced play. The advanced game plays exactly like the standard game, with a couple differences, noted below:

Advanced Gameplay:

1. You may choose to secretly swap the locations of the face-down Cave tiles you peek at during the Explore phase.
2. You may not swap the locations of any tiles with breadcrumbs on them.
3. When choosing a Goblin Palace tile, look at the back of those available and choose one with a symbol you think will match the most symbols in your Escape Path. At game end, you earn one bonus point for every symbol (e.g. ruby rings, etc.) in your Escape Path that matches the one on the back of your Goblin Palace tile, including symbols on the signposts, on clues and on breadcrumbs you've captured.
4. To win you must score higher than the other players AND higher than the highest numbered Goblin tile revealed on any flipped Home tiles. If no player wins, the Goblins ransack the village! (see Example 8).

Example 8: Jaliel escaped and earns 13 points: 1 point per clue in her escape path (4) + 1 point per captured breadcrumb (3) + 1 point per symbol matching the back of her Goblin Palace tile (6). Since 13 is not greater the highest revealed Goblin (14), Jaliel does not win the game.

1-Player Rules

Exploring the Mountain alone? Try these 1-Player rules. The 1-Player rules play exactly like the standard game, with a couple differences, listed below:

1-Player Setup:

1. Shuffle the Home tiles face-up and set them in a row as shown in Example 9.
2. Choose one Goblin Palace tile and place it face-up in front of you. Peek at the back of the tile to see the symbol on the back.
3. Set the rest of the Goblin Palace tiles and all the breadcrumbs in the game box.
4. Do not start with any tiles in the Caves.

Example 9: 1-Player Setup (Mountain, Discard Piles)

1-Player Gameplay:

1. When you Explore, draw 1 tile and place it face-up in the Caves.
2. During the Explore phase you may "Chart Your Path": Take half (rounded-down) of the tiles in the Caves and set them face-down beneath your Goblin Palace tile. This is your Escape Pile. You may not look at tiles in your Escape Pile until you choose to Escape. Set the tiles you did not select in a discard pile nearby.
3. Any time you Chart Your Path, you must immediately flip a Home tile of your choice to its Goblin side.
4. If you draw Goblins while Exploring, immediately discard all of the tiles in the Caves to a new discard pile away from the play area. Place the Goblin tile on top so you can see it.
5. Whenever there are exactly 3 discarded Goblin tiles (see Example 10), shuffle all the discard piles together and place these tiles underneath the Mountain face-down. Then flip one of the Home tiles to the Goblin side!

Example 10: Discard Piles, Mountain, Escape Pile

1-Player Game End:

When you choose to Escape, reveal all of the tiles from your Escape Pile and place them in the correct order on the table to connect the Goblin Palace tile to any one of the Home tiles still face-up. If you are able to make a complete path, you've escaped!

You earn 1 point per clue (i.e. scroll) in your path plus 1 point for every symbol on a signpost or clue that matches the symbol on the back of your Goblin Palace tile. If your total score is higher than the revealed Goblin tile with the highest number, you win! If your score is not high enough or if you fail to make a complete Escape Path, the Goblins ransack the village and you lose!

Note: You are not required to use all of the tiles in your Escape Pile to escape, but you only get to count points from tiles included in your path for your score.