Tic Tac K.O.: Cute vs Evil
Tic Tac K.O.: Cute vs Evil Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What's in the Box
- Cute deck (40 cards)
- Evil deck (40 cards)
- Objective deck (12 cards)
- 1 Grid
How to Start
Divide players into two equal teams. If you have 3 players, you'll find a modification at the end of these rules.
Next, each team selects a Character deck. The team with the youngest player chooses their deck first. Note: You may mix and match your Tic Tac K.O. Cute vs. Evil decks with other Tic Tac K.O. decks for even more exciting matchups!
Teammates should sit next to each other, and the other team should sit across from them. Unfold the Grid and place it in the center of the table. In Standard gameplay, use the 3 by 3 Grid with spaces marked 1-9. In Advanced gameplay, expand the Grid to 4 by 4 by using the spaces marked A-G.
Each team shuffles their team's deck and places it face down in front of them. Each player draws 5 cards from their team's deck. Leave space next to your team's deck for a discard pile.
Next, shuffle the Objective deck and place it to the side of the Grid, where both teams can reach it.
Each team must take an Objective card in secret and place it in front of them -- you and your teammate may look at your Objective card, but make sure the opposing team does not see it. In Standard gameplay, look only at the numbered spaces on your Objective card corresponding to the 3 by 3 Grid; these represent the spaces you need to claim on the Grid in order to complete an Objective. If you want to play the Advanced version, you must claim both the lettered and numbered spaces marked on your Objective card to complete an Objective.
The team who chose their deck second starts the game, and the player on that team who last took out the trash goes first. The opponent sitting across from that player goes second. Continue alternating teams until the remaining players have gone, and then repeat this order for the rest of the game.
Now you're ready to play Tic Tac K.O.!
Table Setup
Player 1 and Player 3 (the Evil deck team) sit on one side with the Evil deck and a Team Objective card in front of them; Player 2 and Player 4 (the Cute deck team) sit on the other side with the Cute deck and a Team Objective card. The Grid is in the center, and the Objective deck is beside it. Turn order follows the arrows in the diagram (Player 1, Player 2, Player 3, Player 4), and then repeats.
How to Play
Your turn consists of two phases:
- Draw phase: Draw a card from the top of your team's deck and add it to your hand.
- Action phase: Play a Character or Magic card from your hand. If you cannot or do not want to play a card, you may draw a second card instead.
At the end of each turn, either team may reveal an Objective card if they have successfully completed its Objective on the Grid. That team keeps the Objective card face up in front of them to keep track of completed Objectives. When you complete an Objective by claiming the required spaces on the Grid, clear those spaces by moving the corresponding Character cards from the Grid to your team's discard pile. After your team completes an Objective, take a new Objective card (and don't let the other team see it!)
Grid
The Grid is where you will play cards to complete Objectives. The spaces numbered 1-9 are for Standard gameplay. The spaces marked with the letters A-G are for Advanced gameplay and can be ignored for Standard gameplay. Each Objective card includes an Objective for Standard gameplay (the numbered spaces only) and one for Advanced gameplay (both the numbered and lettered spaces).
Types of Cards
Tic Tac K.O. includes four types of cards:
CHARACTER CARDS are cards that you play to claim spaces on the Grid. These cards count toward your Objective. There are two types of Character cards:
Basic Character cards are used to claim spaces on the Grid, but they do not have special effects. The Cute deck includes Basic Cute cards, and the Evil deck includes Basic Evil cards. (Examples: Scutters, Lil' Red, Mumbles.)
Special Character cards are used to claim spaces on the Grid, and they also have effects. Some effects are ongoing, meaning that their effects are active as long as they are on the Grid. Other effects are used just once, as soon as the Special Character card enters the Grid. The Cute deck includes Special Cute cards, and the Evil deck includes Special Evil cards.
- Example Special Evil card (King Creepy): When this card enters the Grid, you may DESTROY any Character card on the Grid.
- Example Special Cute card (Hare Raiser): When this card enters the Grid, you may DISPLACE any adjacent Character card.
MAGIC CARDS feature one-time use effects. Magic cards may allow you to AWAKEN, DESTROY, HYPNOTIZE, REPEL, or DISPLACE cards on the Grid to give you an edge or help you complete an Objective. After you play a Magic card, immediately move it to your team's discard pile.
- Example (Free Hugs): REPEL any Character card on the Grid, then play a Basic Cute card.
- Example (Evil Spawn): DRAW 3 cards and DISCARD a card.
- Example (Stink Bomb): REPEL or AWAKEN any Character card on the Grid.
INSTANT CARDS disrupt another player's actions. They can be played immediately when their conditions are met, even on another player's turn. Any number of Instant cards can be played during a single turn.
- Example (Cave of Nightmares): Play this card when a player hypnotizes a card. DESTROY that card. You may play a Basic Evil card from your hand.
- Example (Friendship Circle): Play this card when any other player tries to play a card. Stop that player's card from being played and send it to their discard pile.
- Example (Creeping Doom): Play this card when any other player tries to play a card. Stop that player's card from being played and send it to their discard pile. This card cannot be stopped.
OBJECTIVE CARDS highlight which spaces on the Grid your team needs to claim to complete an Objective. Each shows the Standard gameplay spaces (numbered) and the Advanced gameplay spaces (numbered and lettered).
Winning the Game
The first team to complete 3 Objectives wins the game! But beware: if your deck runs out of cards, your team loses the game immediately.
Important Terms
Adjacent: Only Grid spaces that are next to each other in any cardinal (up, down, left, or right) direction count as adjacent. Diagonally touching spaces are not considered adjacent.
DRAW: Add the top card in your team's deck to your hand.
DISCARD: Move a card from your hand to your team's discard pile.
DESTROY: Move a card on the Grid that belongs to the opposing team to that team's discard pile.
DISPLACE: Move a card to an open space on the Grid.
SACRIFICE: Move one of your team's cards from the Grid to your discard pile.
REPEL: Remove a faceup card from the Grid, then choose a player on the corresponding team and add that card to their hand.
HYPNOTIZE: Flip a Character card face down on the Grid.
- You cannot complete Objectives using hypnotized Character cards.
- Hypnotized Character cards have no effects.
- Hypnotized Character cards can still be destroyed, sacrificed, swapped, displaced, or repelled.
AWAKEN: Flip a hypnotized Character card face up on the Grid.
- Once per turn, at the start of your turn, you may DISCARD a card to AWAKEN a hypnotized Character card.
- If a Character card states "When this card enters the Grid..." in its effect, you cannot use that card's effect when you AWAKEN that Character card.
Gridlock
If there are no empty spaces on the Grid at the start of your turn, and you cannot or do not want to play a card, the game is Gridlocked. Each player has one turn to attempt to resolve the Gridlock by playing cards. If Gridlock has not been resolved after all players have taken a turn, each team must SACRIFICE all of their Special Character cards.
2-Player Rules
If you are playing with two players, make the following modifications to gameplay:
- Each player starts by taking a team deck.
- At the beginning of the game, each player draws 6 cards instead of 5.
- During your action phase, you may play 1 Character card or up to 2 Magic cards. If you cannot or do not want to play a card, you may still draw a card instead.
3-Player Rules
If you are playing with three players, make the following modifications to gameplay:
- One team will have two players while the other has one.
- The solo player will take a turn in between each of the other two players' turns.
- At the beginning of the game, the solo player should draw 7 cards instead of 5. The other two players should still draw only 5 cards.