The Game Rules for Saboteur

Welcome to the world of Saboteur! This thrilling game puts you right in the middle of a treacherous gold mine, where hidden roles and secret agendas make for an exciting and unpredictable experience. In Saboteur, you can play as a miner, making your way through the tunnels in search of precious gold, or you can take on the sneaky role of a saboteur, determined to thwart your fellow miners at every turn.

The objective of Saboteur is simple: as a miner, you want to work together with your teammates to build a pathway to the hidden gold. But be careful, because lurking among you are saboteurs, whose goal is to prevent you from reaching your prize. The game is played over three rounds, with each round testing your ability to communicate, strategize, and deduce who is on your side and who is working against you.

At the start of the game, each player is dealt a role card: either a miner or a saboteur. The miners’ goal is to reach the gold by playing path cards, while the saboteurs’ goal is to destroy the path and keep the miners from reaching their destination. Throughout the game, players take turns playing path cards, creating a network of tunnels that can either help or hinder the players’ progress. But be mindful, because not all path cards are what they seem! Some may contain dead ends, collapses, or even hidden shortcuts.

As you play, you’ll need to pay close attention to your fellow players’ actions and use deductive reasoning to figure out who is on your team and who might be a saboteur. Communication is key in Saboteur, as you’ll need to work with your teammates to build a successful path to the gold. But be careful who you trust, because the saboteurs are always looking for an opportunity to throw a wrench in your plans.

The game ends when the gold is reached or when the path is blocked and the miners can no longer progress. At the end of each round, players reveal their role cards, revealing whether they were a miner or a saboteur. Points are awarded based on the outcome of the round, and the player with the most points at the end of three rounds is declared the winner.

Saboteur is a game of intrigue, strategy, and teamwork. It challenges you to think critically, communicate effectively, and adapt to changing circumstances. Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or new to the world of tabletop games, Saboteur offers an immersive and engaging experience that will keep you coming back for more.

So, here’s what you need to do to get started with the game:

First, separate the cards into different categories: path, action, nugget, and dwarf cards. This will help you keep everything organized.

Now, let’s talk about the number of gold miner and saboteur cards you’ll need. The number of cards used depends on the number of players in the game. Don’t worry, I’ll break it down for you:

• If you have 3 players, you’ll need 1 saboteur card and 3 gold miner cards.
• If there are 4 players, you’ll need 1 saboteur card and 4 gold miner cards.
• For 5 players, you’ll need 2 saboteur cards and 4 gold miner cards.
• If you have 6 players, you’ll need 2 saboteur cards and 5 gold miner cards.
• With 7 players, you’ll need 3 saboteur cards and 5 gold miner cards.
• And if you have 8 players, you’ll need 3 saboteur cards and 6 gold miner cards.
• For 9 players, you’ll need 3 saboteur cards and 7 gold miner cards.
• And finally, if you have 10 players, you’ll need to use all the dwarf cards.

Make sure to put any remaining dwarf cards back in the box— you won’t need them for the rest of the game.

So here’s the deal: we shuffle a bunch of gold miners and saboteurs together. Each of us gets a card, but don’t peek or spill the beans about what it says. Keep it face down in front of you. The very last card gets put aside, also face down, until the round is over.

Now we need to find the special cards. There’s one with a ladder, that’s the start card, and three others with goals – one has the precious gold treasure, while the other two are just plain ol’ stones. Out of all the path cards, we shuffle those goals and place them face down on the table. The start card goes face up. Check out the illustration below for a visual. As we play, we’ll create a maze of pathways from the start card to the finish cards. Just so you know, those pathways might go beyond the 5 by 9 card pattern shown in the picture.

Let’s get the game started by mixing all the action cards with the remaining 40 path cards. This will be our draw pile for the game. Now, depending on the number of players, I’ll give you each a certain number of cards:

• If we have 3 to 5 players, you’ll get 6 cards.
• If we have 6 to 7 players, you’ll get 5 cards.
• If we have 8 to 10 players, you’ll get 4 cards.

We’ll keep the rest of the deck next to the goal cards for now. Remember, we want to shuffle the gold nugget cards and put them face down next to the leftover dwarf card.

Now, it’s time to decide who goes first. The youngest player will start, and then we’ll take turns going clockwise.

What’s the Game About?

Hey there! Ever wondered what gets the heart of a dwarf race pumping? It’s those shiny gold nuggets, of course! And as one of these brave adventurers, you’ll want to get your hands on as many of those golden goodies as you can.

Now, here’s the twist – are you ready? Are you a gold digger or a sneaky saboteur? Picture this: you and your fellow players are all dwarves. You’ll either be hard-working gold miners, digging deeper into the mountains in search of treasure, or devious saboteurs aiming to throw a wrench in the miners’ plans.

Here’s the tricky part – each group will need to work together, but here’s the catch – you won’t always know who your buddies are! It’s a guessing game, my friend. If the gold miners can successfully navigate their way to the treasure, they’ll be rewarded with those precious gold nuggets. But if they fail, the saboteurs will swoop in and claim all the riches for themselves!

Now, here’s where it gets really interesting – the identities of all the dwarves won’t be revealed until the gold is split up. So, it’s a game of intrigue and strategy as you try to figure out who’s on your team, all while collecting as many nuggets as possible. And after three intense rounds, the dwarf with the most nuggets in their pocket wins!

How the Game Works

When it’s my turn, I have to do something before anything else. I can choose to:

• Add a path card to the maze.
• Put an action card in front of one of the players.
• Take a break and pass my turn by discarding a card face down.

After I’ve taken my action, I have to draw a card from the path deck and add it to my hand. This marks the end of my turn, and then it’s the next player’s go.

Oh, and a quick note: when the draw deck runs out of cards, we don’t draw anymore. In that case, each turn only consists of playing a card.

Playing a Path Card

The path cards I’m talking about are used to create a path that starts from the start card and leads to the goal cards. You can only play a path card if it connects to a card that’s already on the table, including the start card.

When you play a new card, you have to make sure that all the paths on its sides match with the other cards on the table. You can’t play the card sideways or in a way that doesn’t fit.

It’s really important to remember that the new path card you play must always have a direct connection to the start card. You can’t have any gaps or interruptions in the path.

Here’s a helpful hint: The gold miners are trying to build an uninterrupted path from the start card to one of the goal cards. But the saboteurs are trying to stop them. However, you don’t want to be too obvious about your role, or it will be easy for others to guess who you are!

Now, let’s talk about playing an action card.

When playing the game, you want to keep in mind some important details about action cards. First of all, they are always played face up in front of a player, whether it’s you or someone else. This way, everyone can see what actions have been taken.

Action cards serve different purposes in the game. They can either help or hinder the players, depending on the card’s effect. For example, some action cards allow you to remove a card from the pathway maze, which can be really helpful in creating new paths or blocking other players’ routes.

In addition, certain action cards can provide valuable information about the goal cards. This can give you an advantage, as you can strategically plan your moves based on this information.

Remember, action cards are a crucial part of the game and can greatly impact the outcome. So, use them wisely and think carefully about the best time to play them.

Tools That Don’t Work

If I have one of these cards in front of me, I can’t play any path cards. But don’t worry, I can still play other cards! I just need to remember that I can only have one card of each type in front of me at a time. So, if I want to add a path card to the maze, I need to make sure I don’t already have one in front of me when my turn starts.

Tool Fixes

These cards fix broken tools, which means they remove a broken tool card from a player’s collection. You can use them on yourself or on another player.

When you play a repair card, you place both the repair card and the broken tool card in the discard pile. It’s important to note that the repair card must match the type of broken tool. For example, if there is a broken mine cart in front of you, you can only fix it with an unbroken cart card, not with a lantern or pick card.

When I’m playing the game, I sometimes come across repair cards that show 2 tools. It’s a bit confusing at first, but I’ve figured it out. If you play one of these cards, you can choose to use it to repair either one of the tools shown, but not both. So, you have to make a decision and think carefully about which tool to repair.

But here’s the thing – you can only use a repair card if you already have the matching broken tool card in front of you. It’s like a rule or something. So, before you can fix anything, you need to have the broken tool card in your possession.

Rockfall

When I play this card, I get to choose any path card, except for the start and goal cards, and remove it from the maze. I discard both the rockfall card and the chosen path card. Later on, I can fill the gap with another path card.

Hint: If I’m a saboteur, I can use this card to block the path from the start card. And if I’m a gold miner, I can get rid of a dead end and create a new path.

Map

Hey there! When I play this card, I carefully choose one of the three goal cards, sneak a peek at it, then slide it back into its spot and place the map on the discard pile. Now, I know if I should bother digging a path to that goal card (because only one of the three reveals the treasure)!

Passing

If I can’t or don’t want to play a card, I have to pass. I do this by placing one card from my hand facedown on the discard pile without showing it to anyone else. It’s totally fine if the discard pile ends up with face-up and face-down cards!

Oh, and here’s a heads up: Towards the end of a round, some players might run out of cards in hand. If that happens, they’ll have to pass (without discarding anything, of course).

The Game Round Comes to a Close

When I play a path card that connects with a goal card, forming a continuous path from the start card to that goal card, something important happens:

• If the goal card happens to be the treasure card, the round is finished!
• If the goal card is a stone, the round goes on. I place the revealed goal card next to the last path card played, making sure the paths align nicely.

Keep in mind: there may be rare instances where it is impossible to position the goal card in a way that perfectly aligns with the adjacent path cards. However, this is an exception that only applies to the goal card.

Furthermore, the round is also brought to a close if the draw deck is emptied and no player has any playable cards remaining in their hand. At this point, all dwarf cards are revealed to unveil who among us was a diligent gold miner and who was a cunning saboteur.

Time to Distribute the Gold

In the game, the gold miners aim to win by creating a path that leads from the start card to the goal card with the treasure. The path must be unbroken for them to succeed. If they manage to achieve this, the player who played the last path card that connected to the treasure has the opportunity to draw a number of gold nugget cards face down. The number of cards drawn is equal to the number of gold miners in the game. For example, if there are 5 gold-diggers, the player can draw 5 cards. The player then looks at these cards secretly and chooses 1 card to keep. The remaining gold nugget cards are then passed to the next gold miner in a counter-clockwise direction. This gold miner also chooses 1 card and passes the rest to the next player, and so on, until each gold miner has 1 card.

The saboteurs, on the other hand, can win the round if the gold miners fail to reach the goal card with the treasure. If there is only 1 saboteur in the game, they receive gold nugget cards from the deck that are worth a total of four nuggets. This is their reward for successfully sabotaging the gold miners’ efforts.

If there were 2 or 3 saboteurs, each of them receives 3 gold nuggets. If there were 4 saboteurs, each of them gets 2 nuggets.

Keep your gold nugget cards hidden from others until the game ends!

Remember: In a game with 3 or 4 players, there might be no saboteur in a round. If the treasure is not reached in such a case, none of the dwarves receive any gold nuggets!

A New Round Starts

Once the gold nuggets are distributed, it’s time for the next round. Place the start card and goal cards on the table, just like in the beginning. Shuffle the same dwarf cards, including the one that was put aside, and deal them again. Shuffle the path and action cards to form a new draw deck, and deal the initial hands.

So, here’s the deal: When we’re talking about the game, us players get to keep the gold nuggets we found in the previous rounds. Now, there’s some more gold nuggets to be found, so we shuffle them up along with the extra dwarf card and put them next to each other.

Alright, then it’s time to start the next round! The player to the left of whoever played the last path card in the previous round gets to kick things off this time.

Game Over

After playing three rounds, it’s time to wrap up the game. Now it’s time to count the gold nuggets on your cards. The player who has collected the most nuggets emerges as the champion! In case of a tie, the victory is shared among the winners.