Troublez
Troublez Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Thoroughly shuffle all 83 cards to create a draw deck. Put it face down on the table where everyone can reach it. Leave space next to it for a discard pile. The player who was last bitten will go first.
Gameplay
Players take turns in a clockwise manner.
During your turn you must draw at least 1 card from the deck. Play the card face up on the table into the playing area, placing it into an existing row or creating a new one (see 'Placing Cards'). There can be a maximum of 3 rows.
After drawing a card and placing it on the table, you may decide to end your turn and receive your reward (see 'Rewards'). You may instead decide to push your luck and draw another card. Repeat this process until you decide to stop or are unable to legally place a card.
If you are unable to legally place a drawn card into any of the rows, you must discard it and you receive no rewards. Your turn ends.
Upon ending your turn (with or without a reward), each other player must take 1 card from the playing area (if any remain) in turn order. They must take cards from the sides, not the middle, of a row.
The turn then goes to the next player.
Placing Cards
Players work together to create 3 rows of cards in the playing area. Every drawn card must be added into a row. You can place your card on the left or the right side of another card in a row but never between two already placed cards. These rules must be followed when playing cards into a row:
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The cards in a row must be arranged from lowest to highest value. Two cards of the same value cannot be placed next to each other.
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Two cards of the same colour cannot be placed next to each other in a row.
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There must only be 1 copy of the same action card (no matter the colour) in the same row.
Barricade
If you draw the Barricade, you must place it on top of a card already placed on the table. The covered card loses its value and colour. Due to this effect you may be able to bend some of the placement rules. If you decide to take the covered card as a reward, discard the Barricade card.
The Barricade isn't an action card (see 'Action Cards') and can appear in the same row more than once.
Rewards
Choose 1 row from the playing area and gain all of its cards. Play all action cards immediately and then divide the zombiez by their value into your collection (see 'Player's Collection').
Example: If the current player decides to end their turn, they would most likely collect the middle row. In a game of 4 players, each other player would get 1 card. The last player would be forced to acquire the Axe and therefore discard 1 card from their collection.
(The printed example illustrates a playing area of 3 rows.)
Action Cards
Action cards must be placed in the playing area following the standard rules. They have no numerical value for the purposes of placement, but they do have colours so they cannot be placed next to a card of the same colour. Also, you must not place more than 1 copy of the same action card in the same row.
Action cards must be played immediately when you acquire them, before placing the rest of the cards into your collection.
AXE Discard a zombie card of your choice from your collection. Then discard the Axe card.
NET Steal a zombie card of your choice from another player's collection. Then discard the Net card.
SHOTGUN Choose a number (1 – 5). All other players have to discard a zombie card of that value. If they don't possess a card of said value, they don't discard anything. Then discard the Shotgun card.
Player's Collection
Each player has a collection of all the zombiez cards they have acquired. Cards are separated by their value into columns (no matter the colour).
Leave some space for the horde sets.
Creating a Horde Set
You may create a horde set at any time after obtaining a card. This gets you 10 VP. A horde set can consist of:
- 1 zombie card per each value (from 1 to 5), for a total of 5 cards, or
- 4 cards of the same value (example: 4 cards of the value '2')
When you complete a horde set, take any one card from the completed set and place it face down next to your collection. This card is worth 10 VP at the end of the game, and cannot be lost. Place the rest of the cards from the completed horde set into the discard pile.
Ending the Game
- In a game of 2 to 3 players the game ends when the draw deck is depleted for the first time.
- In a game of 4 to 5 players, once the draw deck is depleted, shuffle the discard pile to create a new draw deck. The game ends once the draw deck has been depleted for a second time.
- In a game of 6 players, once the draw deck is depleted, shuffle the discard pile to create a new draw deck. The game ends once the draw deck has been depleted for a third time. Game ends once it's depleted for the third time.
The game ends after the player who draws the last card gains their reward and all players acquire their 1 card.
Scoring
Every player counts their victory points (VP) for completed horde sets (cards placed face down). Each horde set is worth 10 VP.
Any other card left in their collection is worth 1 VP.
Player with the most VP wins the game.
Example of final score: 20 + 3 = 23 points.