TROLL
TROLL Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1. Set Contents
- 7 Troll Cards (3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15)
- 30 Thief Cards (1 each of 0-5 in 5 colors)
- 11 Position Chips (0 through 5, two rows)
- 25 Markers (x2 marker front, -2 marker back)
- 40 Jewels (5 points, 1 point)
2. Preparations
Shuffle the Troll cards and put them in a pile face down. Use all Troll cards when playing with 5 players. When playing with 4 players remove card 15, and when playing with 3 players remove cards 15 and 13.
Arrange all Position Chips as shown where all players can see them. Lay out a chip for each player on the top row, and put the rest away (the order does not matter). Line up 0-5 vertically on the left-hand side.
Each player picks a color and takes the Thief cards (0-5, six total) of that color. Players should hold their cards so that no other player can see them.
3. Game Objective
3 players play over 3 days and 4 or 5 players play over 2 days, competing to take as much treasure away from the Trolls' lair as possible. It's important to guess the Troll card's number, and to use the other players' remaining cards, actions, and expressions to anticipate their moves.
4. Stealing Jewels
Following the rules under "5. Turn Progression", each player declares how many jewels they will attempt to escape with. Each Thief uses the following rules to determine if they escape or not.
- Each player plays 1 Thief card, and then all cards are totaled in ascending order. The player whose card exceeds the value of the Troll card is caught and fails to escape. This ends in tragedy (-2 points).
- The Thieves whose cards were totaled before the captured Thief's escape successfully. Jewels the Thieves escape with are treated as points gained.
- Any Thieves whose cards were totaled after the captured Thief discard their jewels and run away, earning 0 points.
Example: The Troll card is 7. Players play cards totaling 1, 3, 6, 10, and 15 in ascending order (starting totals of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Start totaling the points from the smallest, and only the Thief that exceeds the Troll's number is captured. The player who reached a running total of 10 exceeds 7 and is captured (-2 points). The players before that point had a successful escape and earn their points; the players after run away for 0 points.
Important Rule: When multiple players play Thief cards with the same number, these are totaled at the same time. When the same number is played, all identical numbers are totaled at the same time. If they exceed the Troll's number, all players who played that number are captured.
5. Turn Progression
The youngest player becomes the first Scout and starts the first day.
(1) The Scout
The Scout takes the top Troll card of the deck, looks at it, and puts it back on top without showing any other player. Then, they decide how many jewels to escape with and play 1 Thief card with that number on it face up.
(2) Cautious or Daring
Beginning with the player to the left of the scout, and proceeding clockwise, each player selects either action from (a) or (b) listed below, and escapes. Proceed to (3) after each player has played a Thief card.
- (a) Cautious Action: Similar to the Scout, the player looks at the top card of the Troll deck, decides how many jewels to escape with, and places a Thief card with that number on it face up in front of them.
- (b) Daring Action: A risky gamble where the player decides how many jewels to take without looking at the Troll card. The player places a Thief card face down in front of themselves and then places a x2 marker on top of the card. If that player successfully escapes, they earn double jewels. However, if they are captured, their loss is doubled.
However, when the last player is making their choice, if all other players chose a Cautious Action, that player must choose a Daring Action.
(3) Escape Time: Who Did the Troll Catch?
The top card of the Troll deck and all face down Thief cards are revealed. Determine who successfully escaped according to "4. Stealing Jewels", and place the Thief cards in their proper locations. The game is over after the third day for 3 players, or after the second day for 4 or 5 players. The player with the most jewels is the winner. In the event of a tie, the player with whose remaining Thief cards have the lowest total at the end of the last day is the winner. When that number is the same, the game ends in a draw.
- Thieves who successfully escaped place their card face up in the proper color and number location. If the player chose "(b) Daring Action" they keep the x2 marker that they placed beforehand on top of the card.
- Thieves who failed to escape place their card face down in the proper color and number location and place a -2 points marker on top of it. If they chose "(b) Daring Action", then both a -2 and x2 marker are placed on top.
- If the Thief ran away, they place their card face down in the proper color and number location. If they chose "(b) Daring Action", the x2 marker is removed.
Scoring reference: a face-up card with no marker earns points equal to its number; a face-up card with a x2 marker earns double its number; a face-down card with no marker earns 0 points; a face-down card with a -2 marker earns -2 points; a face-down card with both a -2 and x2 marker earns -4 points.
(4) Coming Back for More
After placing the Thief cards, discard the Troll card. Repeat (1) through (3) with the next player clockwise as the Scout. As play continues with the Thief cards left where they are, the players' cards in hand will decrease. After each player has had a turn as the Scout the day ends. Proceed to (5).
(5) The Day's End and Jewels Gathered
Players receive jewels according to the Thief cards laid out. Orange jewels count as 1, and red count as 5. If a player's score is less than zero, remove jewels earned on previous days. However, a player cannot have fewer than 0 jewels.
- Face up cards earn a player jewels equal to the number on the card. If there is a x2 marker on the card the player earns jewels equal to double the number on the card.
- Face down cards count as 0. A -2 marker counts as -2 points, and if there is also a x2 marker the player's score for that day is -4.
After players receive their jewels, all Thief cards are returned to the players. The next day begins with the player who earned the most jewels on the previous day as the Scout. Repeat (1) through (5). In the case of a tie for most jewels earned that day, the closest player clockwise from the first Scout of the previous day is chosen as the first Scout.
6. Game Conclusion and Victory
The game is over after the third day for 3 players, or after the second day for 4 or 5 players. The player with the most jewels is the winner.
In the event of a tie, the player with whose remaining Thief cards have the lowest total at the end of the last day is the winner. When that number is the same, the game ends in a draw.