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Official Unstable Unicorns Rules
Unstable Unicorns is a strategic card game with a delightful dash of chaos, where you build a stable of unicorns and use special cards to hinder your opponents! Here's a breakdown of the rules:
Objective
Be the first player to collect a 7 unicorns in your stable. You'll achieve this by acquiring unicorn cards and using magic cards to your advantage, while strategically hindering your opponents' progress.
Number of Players: 2-8 players (more players require purchasing additional decks)
Components:
Deck of Unstable Unicorns cards (contains Basic Unicorns, Upgrade/Downgrade Cards, Magic Cards, Instant Cards, and a few special cards)
Stable Zones (designated areas in front of each player)
Nursery Deck (separate deck containing Baby Unicorn cards)
Neigh Pile (discard pile)
Unicorn Horn Tokens (scoring tokens)
Setup
1. Unicorn Deck: Shuffle the deck and place it in the center of the table.
2. Deal Cards: Each player draws 5 cards to form their starting hand.
3. Baby Unicorns: Each player starts with 1 Baby Unicorn in their stable. The remaining Baby Unicorns go into the Nursery (a pile of Baby Unicorns placed aside).
Types of Cards:
Baby Unicorns: Start with 1 in your stable; more can be added through certain card effects.
Basic Unicorns: These unicorns don't have special powers but count toward your unicorn goal.
Magical Unicorns: These unicorns have special abilities that can help you or harm your opponents.
Upgrade Cards: Give you ongoing benefits when placed in your stable.
Downgrade Cards: Harm your opponents by imposing negative effects on their stables.
Magic Cards: These are one-time use cards with various effects.
Instant Cards: Played in response to another player’s action to block or alter their move.
Gameplay
Beginning of Turn (Optional): If you have any special cards in your Stable Zone that have a "beginning of turn" effect, you can choose to use their abilities now.
Draw Phase: Draw one card from the top of the Draw Pile and add it to your hand.
Action Phase: This is where the real fun (and potential betrayal) begins! You can take one of the following actions (or choose to do nothing at all):
Play a Unicorn: Play a Unicorn card from your hand into your Stable Zone. Basic Unicorns have no special abilities, but some might have special names that can trigger other card effects.
Play a Magic Card: These cards allow you to do various things, like stealing unicorns from other players' stables, upgrading your unicorns, or downgrading your opponents' unicorns.
Play an Upgrade/Downgrade Card: These cards can be used to enhance (upgrade) your unicorns' power or weaken (downgrade) your opponents' unicorns. Different upgrade/downgrade levels exist, with higher levels having stronger effects.
Play an Instant Card: These one-time-use cards can be played at any point during your turn or even in response to other players' actions, allowing for quick strategic plays.
Draw Another Card: If you want more options, you can choose to draw another card from the Draw Pile instead of taking any of the above actions.
End Phase: After taking your chosen action (or none at all), discard a card from your hand face up to the Neigh Pile. This ends your turn, and play proceeds to the next player in clockwise order. Special Rules:
Neigh Pile Power: The top card of the Neigh Pile can be used by any player during their turn (including the current player) to activate its effect. However, using the Neigh Pile card requires discarding another card from your hand.
Unstable Unicorns: These special cards (usually just one or two in the deck) have powerful and often game-changing effects when played. Read the card text carefully to understand its impact.
Winning the Game
The first player to have seven unicorns in their Stable Zone wins the game and is crowned the ultimate (and possibly slightly unstable) Unicorn Master!
Notes/Variations
1. Rainbow Apocalypse Mode:
This mode introduces a new "Apocalypse" card to the deck. When drawn, the Apocalypse card triggers the end of the game immediately, and the player with the most unicorns in their stable wins.
This mode adds a sense of urgency and unpredictability to the game, as players must race to build their stable before the game abruptly ends.
2. NSFW Expansion:
The NSFW (Not Safe For Work) expansion introduces a new set of unicorn and magical cards with mature themes and humor.
This expansion is intended for adult players and adds a more risqué and irreverent element to the game.
3. Unicorns of Legend Expansion:
This expansion introduces legendary unicorn cards with powerful abilities that can significantly impact gameplay.
Legendary unicorn cards provide new strategic options and add depth to the game as players strive to collect and utilize these powerful creatures.
4. Control and Chaos Mode:
In this mode, players can choose between playing with the "Control" deck or the "Chaos" deck.
The Control deck contains cards that provide strategic advantages and opportunities for long-term planning.
The Chaos deck contains cards that introduce random events and chaotic effects, adding an element of unpredictability to the game.
5. R-Rated Mode:
Similar to the NSFW expansion, R-Rated mode introduces a set of unicorn and magical cards with mature themes and content.
This mode is intended for adult players and features more explicit and graphic content than the standard game.
6. Rainbow Sprinkles Expansion:
This expansion adds new rainbow unicorn cards with unique abilities that can influence gameplay in various ways.
Rainbow unicorn cards introduce new strategic considerations and add variety to the game as players compete to collect and utilize these special unicorns.
That's the basic gameplay of "Unstable Unicorns"! It's a whimsical and strategic card game that combines elements of set collection, hand management, and player interaction.
