Welcome to Claim 2!

Claim 2 takes the beloved game of German Whist and amps it up with a thrilling sequel. Prepare to dive into an adventure filled with new factions: Gnomes, Giants, Dragons, Trolls, and Seers. Each faction brings its own unique powers that will shake up the game.

For those familiar with the original Claim, you’ll be happy to know that the 2 player game remains unchanged in Claim 2. However, for an exciting twist, we’ve included rules for a 3 and 4 player variant that I’ll describe shortly. We’ve also provided directions on how to incorporate other factions from Claim into a 2 player game for even more excitement!

What’s Inside Claim 2?

Inside this box, you’ll find a deck of 52 cards featuring five different suits. There are 13 Gnomes, 9 Giants, 10 Dragons, 10 Trolls, and 10 Seers, each with their own powers to unleash upon the game. Additionally, we’ve included handy reference cards for two players to enhance your gameplay.

FACTION POWERS

GNOMES

Hey there! Let’s talk about Gnomes and the awesome powers they possess! Gnomes can really help you score big points during Phase Two of the game. But, wait for it… they can also be squished by a Giant if you’re not careful. Ouch!

Here’s the scoop: when you capture Gnomes during Phase Two, instead of placing them in the Score Pile, you keep them face up in front of you. It’s like having your own little Gnome army! However, you can only add them to the Score Pile at the end of the game if they survive. So, you better make sure to protect those Gnomes like your life depends on it!

Gnomes are a unique and special power, giving you a strategic advantage. Just remember to think ahead, keep them safe, and watch those points pile up!

GIANTS

Hey there! Let me tell you about these incredible creatures called Giants. They’re like these huge, powerful beings that can totally wreck the game. When you capture a Giant during Phase Two, get ready for some serious chaos! It’s a total game-changer.

So, when you manage to capture a Giant, something amazing happens. You can use that Giant to smash one your opponent’s poor Gnomes. Yeah, it’s like a giant vs. gnome showdown! The Giant goes straight into your score pile, boosting your points and giving you a major advantage. But unfortunately for your opponent, their precious Gnome is out of the game for good. Bye-bye, little Gnome!

Imagine the look on your opponent’s face when you bring out a powerful Giant and obliterate their precious Gnome. It’s like the ultimate power move. They won’t know what hit them!

So, if you want to dominate the game and leave your opponents in awe, capturing those Giants is key. With their incredible strength, they can turn the tide of the game in your favor. Just imagine the satisfaction of smashing your opponent’s puny Gnome with a mighty Giant. Victory will be oh-so-sweet!

Hey there! Let me explain how this card game called “Gnomes and Giants” works. It’s pretty cool!

So, imagine you have a card called the “Giant 5.” If you play this card and win the trick, you get to smash your opponent’s “Gnome 5” card, but only if you have it. If you don’t have the “Gnome 5,” the Giant just goes into your score pile and nothing else happens. Easy, right?

Now, let’s say you win a trick with two Giants in it. Here comes the fun part! You can smash not just one, but two of your opponent’s captured Gnome cards. But remember, the Gnome you smash must be the exact same rank as the Giant card. So, keep an eye out for those matching pairs!

Oh, here’s another cool card called the “Dragon.” If someone plays a Dragon as the last card in a trick, they automatically get to lead the next trick, no matter if they won the previous one or not. It’s like having a super power!

For example, if Tommy plays a Gnome 5 and Willy can’t follow suit, he can play a Dragon 1 and take control of the next trick. It’s a sneaky move!

You know what’s interesting? If both players play a Dragon card on the same trick, the person who played the second Dragon gets to lead the next trick. Isn’t that cool?

Let’s talk about Trolls!

Here’s something to keep in mind: during Phase 2, you can only add one Troll to your Score Pile at a time. So, if you happen to have more than one Troll in a trick, just put aside the one with the lower rank. You’ll get to collect it later, along with the next trick you win. Speaking of winning, the player who wins the next trick also gets to nab that Troll. Pretty neat, huh?

When there are multiple Trolls in line, they can be captured one at a time. Let me explain with an example: In the first trick, Tommy starts with Troll 1 and Willy plays Troll 3. Willy wins this trick and adds Troll 3 to his score pile. The Troll 1 card is set aside. Moving on to the next trick, Willy leads with Troll 9 and Tommy follows with Troll 7. Once again, Willy wins and collects Troll 9. He places Troll 7 with Troll 1 because only one Troll can be added to the score pile per trick. Now, Willy starts the next trick with a Gnome 5 and Tommy plays Gnome 3. Willy wins this trick as well and collects Troll 1. The Troll 7 is still waiting to be collected.

The Power of Seers

During Phase 1, something magical happens with the Seers. When I win a trick with a Seer, I get to do something very special – I can take a quick peek at the top card of the draw pile! It’s like having a superpower! And guess what? If I like what I see, I can decide to take that card instead of the one that’s face-up on the table. It’s like having two options, and I get to choose the best one for me. But here’s the twist: if I do decide to take the top card after peeking, my opponent gets to take the face-up card instead. It’s a tricky choice, but that’s what makes it so exciting!

COMBINING FACTIONS

Hey there! So, when you want to combine factions from Claim and Claim 2, there are a few rules to follow to make sure the game stays balanced and fun.

First things first, your deck can only have 5 factions. Now, you have a choice to make. You can include either the Knights & Goblins from Claim or the Gnomes & Giants from Claim 2. Pick one of these options and then choose three more factions from either game. As for the rest of the cards, just put them back in their boxes.

3 AND 4 PLAYER GAMES

If you want to play with 3 or 4 players, you’ll need a total of 7 factions. Now, if you included the Knights & Goblins or the Gnomes & Giants in your deck, you can only include one of these sets. Choose five more factions to round out the deck. And yep, you know what to do with the extra factions – back in the boxes they go!

SETUP

When playing a game with 3 players, I start by shuffling the deck and dealing 12 cards to each of us. In a game with 4 players, we each get 9 cards. The remaining cards are placed face down to form a draw pile.

Speaking of 4 player games, we play in teams. Our partners sit across from us at the table.

It’s Time to Play!

We turn over the top two cards from the draw pile. The youngest player goes first. The rest of us will try to play a card of the same faction if we can, unless a faction’s power allows us to do something different.

The player with the highest number card in the faction that was led wins the trick. They get to take one of the face-up cards and add it to their Follower Pile. The player with the second highest card takes the other face-up card. The player with the third highest card gets to draw from the draw pile. And the last player also gets to draw from the draw pile.

So, here’s the deal: when you play cards that don’t match the leading faction, the order in which they’re played is determined by their rank. It’s pretty simple, really. And if there’s a tie, the player who played their card first wins it all. No hard feelings, right?

Now, once everyone has taken a card for their Follower Pile, we’re ready to move on. The trick is tossed aside, and we turn over two new cards from the draw pile. And guess what? The winner of the last trick gets to lead this time. Talk about an advantage!

Oh, and I almost forgot – those faction powers we talked about? Yeah, they can totally mess with who wins the trick and what card a player can actually take during Phase 1. So, don’t forget to keep that in mind!

Now, let’s talk scoring. In Phase 2, the trick-winner collects all the cards from the trick and adds them to their Score Pile. Simple, right? Well, not always. See, some faction powers can come into play and mess with this step. It’s like a little twist in the game that keeps things interesting.

Time to Score and Win!

When three players gather to play a game, victory goes to the one who conquers the most factions. In the event of a tie, the tied players must assess which factions they possess the most cards in and tally up those cards. The person with the greater number of cards will emerge victorious from the tie. Should the tie persist, each player must calculate the total value of the factions they have claimed, and the player with the highest total shall be crowned the winner.

Meanwhile, in a game with four players, a different set of rules apply. Each team must take stock of their cards for each faction. The team with the greatest number of cards in a particular faction earns a point for that faction. The team with the most points overall will claim victory in the game.