Some Rulings for Groo: the Game

Clarifications

• Winning: A player wins by having seven victory points at the end of his turn only. It doesn't matter if someone has more points. This is after replenishment phase, so Groo could die and wreak havoc, wresting defeat from the jaws of victory.
• Pawnshop/Marketplace: The Pawnshop can be used during Leftover Phase. The Government Building and all other buildings that multiply or create resources that "cannot be passed on" do not function during leftover phase. The Marketplace only works on your turn, so it's irrelevant during leftover phase.
• Groo is Dead: During the resolution of the Groo is Dead event, effects that move Groo do not occur, and the cards with these effects are just discarded unheeded.
• Building and Troop Special Powers: Building and troop cards that need to be discarded to get some bonus (such as the Wizard's Keep) must be played into the player's town first.

Interpretations

• Last Turn: When the second deck runs out, no second reshuffle is done. The players may use only the cards remaining in their hands.
• Event Procedure: Event is drawn, then resolved, then replaced. We draw multiple cards at once; if one draws multiple events, one may choose the order in which they are resolved. They are replaced immediately upon resolution. Moreover, one must draw multiple cards. If one needs to replenish three cards and draws an event on the first card, one does not resolve the event until all three cards are drawn.
• Destruction: When Groo destroys buildings, the owner of the buildings chooses which he destroys. Same goes for armies.
• The Fray: The Fray kills all troops actually involved in the battle, but none who are watching drunken on the sidelines. It kills the troops before they have a chance to knock down buildings, so it's a good defensive card. Watch out for the Fray/Taranto combination.
• Timing: There are no interrupts. Once a card is faced or announced, it resolves before any other cards are played. Wild cards may be played in response to any other card; time must be given by players for this to happen. For example, if Rufferto moves Groo, players must be given a chance to play another Rufferto card before the active player plays Did I Err?. Troop and building special effects have the same timing as Wild Cards.
• Timing, continued: Phases are not atomic. That means one can play Wild Cards during Replenish Phases. As a result, one can continue drawing. For example, one may discard a card, draw Cheese Dip, play it, then replace it. I'm not sure this is best, but it is simplest. Otherwise, one needs a more detailed turn order and timing rules. Ugh.
• Combat Values: To find the final combat value of a troop card, first add all bonuses on the card. Then double if appropriate. Then add all other bonuses.
• Double Trouble: Nothing can be doubled more than once. For example, Groo Heads cannot be quadrupled due to event cards.
• Rules Questions and The Minstrel: The Minstrel's owner need not rhyme when discussing rules problems/questions/arguments or while doing anything outside of the game (e.g. getting beer, answering the phone).
• Dice Results: There are four types of dice results: Supplies, Labor, Kopins, and Groo Heads. Regardless of how they are obtained, they are still dice results. So, if one plays a card to obtain two Groo Heads, one can use the Pawnshop to convert them into a Kopin. If a card says, "rolled," however, that means "rolled dice results," so the Tax Collector cannot take that Kopin. If "Groo Heads are doubled," then twice as many dice results are available; the Marketplace can convert a doubled Groo Head into whatever it pleases.
• Groo and Shipyards: We play that Groo destroys any Shipyard that pre-existed when Groo came to town. If a new Shipyard is built while Groo is there, it can continue to exist (in secrecy), but if Groo leaves and comes back, even within the same turn (perhaps by the play of two Rufferto cards, it implodes. This doesn't seem all that realistic (Groo-istic?), but Shipyards are such bad cards that we figure they need some sort of a break.
• Building Effects: There are two types of such effects. "Mandatory effects" are effects that are always active, such as the Shipyard's vulnerability or the Ophanage's Groo repellant. Optional effects are powers that the player may invoke, such as the Pawnshop's ability to convert dice or the Wizard's Keep's extra turn. Mandatory effects begin immediately upon playing the card. Optional effects cannot be used the turn the card is played, but can be used during the next player's turn.
• Groo's Dead and Befuddled: Befuddled does not apply if Groo's Dead occurs.

Variants and Optional Rules

• Events in Initial Draw: If someone is originally dealt an event card, it is reshuffled into the deck and replaced.
• All Players Draw?: Some play that the end-of-turn draw phase applies to all players. With only one deck, I think this rule will cause players not to have enough turns to make warfare at all viable except in some rare situations (such as the last turn). A variant with two or more decks will be interesting, I think. With the expansion set, adding this rule is a good idea. Players replace starting with the phasing player and continuing clockwise. This may make some events' durations very short.
• Limited Pawnshop: Instead of its printed abilities, The Pawnshop can only convert two of the same type of resource (including Groo heads) into one of another type. The new resource must be spent this turn. Even with these changes, the Pawnshop is one of the most powerful cards in the game. Woe to the player on the Pawnshop's left.
• Limited Pawnshop 2: The pawnshop is the same as The Marketplace; that is, it does not work in leftover phase.
• Limited Residences: Two Residences are worth only 3 VPs. We had four games in a row won by someone's playing two Residences on the last turn. Three Residences are worth 4 VPs. Anyone who manages all three of the Butcher, Baker, and Candlestick Maker deserves to win, so they are worth the six points originally stated.
• Deck Composition: If the expansion set is included, I suggest removing the following cards:
  • 1 Pikesman
  • 1 Guard Tower
  • 2 School of Arms
  • 1 Residence
  • 1 Shipyard
  • 1 Befuddled
  • 1 Groo's Confusion (the one-time only one)
• Two-Player Game: With two players, play to ten points.

See Also

• Steffan O'Sullivan's Groo Page