THE FOX IN THE FOREST DUET

GETTING TO KNOW THE FOX IN THE FOREST DUET

The Fox in the Forest Duet is a game created and released by Foxtrot Games and Renegade Game Studios in 2020. Unlike the original version where two players compete against each other, in Duet, both players work together as a team.

In this game, players take turns building sets of cards, moving through the forest game board, and collecting gem tokens. Communication between players is not allowed, so they must use their wits and strategy to play cards that won’t cause their team token to move too far in either direction. As the game progresses, the forest gradually closes in, restricting player movement even more and raising the tension.

WHAT YOU NEED

Hey there! Let me tell you all about this awesome game called the Game Deck. It’s got 30 playing cards divided into three suits, each suit having 10 cards numbered from 1 to 10. The cool thing is that the odd numbered cards have special abilities that affect the way you play. And don’t forget about those paw prints on some cards – they can make the team tracker token move!

The Forest Board is the heart of the game. It’s where all the action happens! You’ll find gem locations and spaces for the team tracker token to move on this board. And get this – there are two sides to the board. Side A is easier than Side B, so you can choose your level of challenge!

Now let’s talk about the Gem Tokens. There are a total of 22 gems that you need to collect during the game. The fun part is that you can adjust the difficulty settings to have more or fewer gem tokens on the board. So, if you’re feeling adventurous, crank up the difficulty!

And what’s a game without some Forest Tokens, right? Well, fear not! We’ve got you covered. These magical Forest Tokens help shrink the playing space each round, making things more exciting!

Lastly, we have the Team Tracker token. It represents the two players in the forest. Remember, your job is to move this token strategically to claim those precious gems. So, get ready for an adventure like no other!

Hey there! Have you ever played a game with reference cards that give you all the important details? Well, I’ve got two reference cards that do just that for the odd number cards in this game. They give you a quick summary of each card’s special ability and tell you what to do at the end of the first two rounds. Pretty handy, right?

Getting Set Up

First things first, let’s set up the playing space. Take the Forest Board and put it in the middle of the table. Make sure the narrow ends of the board are facing the two players. Now, each gem space on the board needs a certain number of gem tokens. Some spaces need zero gems, while others need one, two, or three. Just stack the gems on the corresponding space.

Next, grab the Team Tracker. It starts on the starting space, which is the one with a circle around it. This is where all the action begins!

So here’s how it goes: we start off with the dealer shuffling and handing out 11 cards to each player. Keep your cards a secret, no peeks allowed. The remaining cards go into a pile called the kitty. Then, we reveal the top card from the pile to determine the Decree for the round. Think of it like the trump suit.

LET’S GET STARTED

Each turn has two parts. First, everyone plays a card to the trick. Second, based on how the trick went, we move the Team Tracker token along the path. We keep doing this until all the tricks are done.

THE TRICK IS ON

When I’m playing a game as the non-dealer, I have to choose a card and play it to the trick. The next player also has to play a card, but they have to follow suit if they can. If they don’t have a card in the led suit, they can play any card from their hand. The player who plays the highest-ranking card in the suit that was led, or the highest trump card, wins the trick. If a special card was played, things get a bit different. In that case, the player who played the special card collects the trick and gets to lead the next round after moving the Team Tracker.

Now let’s talk about moving the Team Tracker.

To figure out how many spaces to move the Team Tracker, we simply add up the total number of paw prints in the trick. Then, we move the Team Tracker piece that many spaces in the direction of the player who won the trick – it’s usually towards them. But, every now and then, a special card can change this rule.

When I play the game, I have to be attentive. If my Team Tracker lands on a space that’s connected to Gem Tokens, I get to collect one of them. I love collecting Gems! Even if my Team Tracker starts on a spot with Gems and doesn’t move after the trick, I still get to collect one. It’s so exciting!

But I have to be careful, because if my Team Tracker goes beyond the board’s boundary, something not good happens. The token has to be reset and placed back on the starting spot. Uh-oh! When this happens, I have to put a Forest Token on the uncovered path space that’s farthest from the center. If I run out of Forest Tokens, the game ends. I don’t want that to happen!

Now, let’s play the next trick!

So, here’s what you do. First, you move the Team Tracker and maybe grab some Gems. Then, set aside the two cards from the trick, face down. Remember, the player who won the last trick gets to go first. Keep playing like this until someone wins, loses, or the round is over.

When the round ends

When all 11 tricks have been played, the round is done. Now it’s time to prepare for Round 2. Check any Gem Spaces on the board with a plus sign – those need a Gem Token added to them.

Next, put a Forest Token on the open path space that’s the farthest away from the starting space. But wait! If the Team Tracker is already on that space, put the Forest Token on the other end of the board instead. Oh, and one more thing: if there are Gem Tokens next to a path space that’s covered by a Forest Token, move those Gems to the next Gem Space closer to the center. But hey, don’t forget, when a new round starts, the Tracker Token stays where it is – it doesn’t reset.

Keep on Playing!

I’m in charge of dealing the cards for round two since I wasn’t the dealer in round 1. We’ll keep playing the same way as before until we either win, lose, or the round comes to an end. And if we make it to round 3, we’ll just repeat the setup process we talked about earlier. But remember, if we don’t collect all the gems by the end of round 3, we lose the game.

How to Score

There’s a cool way to keep track of our score when we win the game. By keeping a record of it, we can see if we’re getting better.

If we manage to collect all the Gem Tokens, we earn 10 points for completing Level 1, 20 points for Level 2, and a whopping 30 points for Level 3. We also get 1 point for each card we have left in our hands. Oh, and if we win in the second round, we add 10 extra points! But hey, don’t forget about the Forest Tokens. For every unused Forest Token, we add 3 points to our score.

How to Win

Our mission is to collect all the Gems before we run out of Forest Tokens or before the end of the third round. That’s the big goal, so let’s give it all we’ve got!