Last Updated on April 4, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

In Saboteur, players are secretive dwarves digging their way through a maze of tunnels in search of gold—but not everyone is on the same side. Some players are gold miners trying to reach the treasure, while others are saboteurs out to block their path. With hidden roles, shifting strategies, and teamwork built on suspicion, only the cleverest dwarves will come out rich.

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How to Play Saboteur

Objective

Dwarves love gold—and you’re no different. Each player takes on the hidden role of either a gold miner digging tunnels toward treasure, or a saboteur secretly working to block their progress. Miners win by building a path to the hidden gold. If they fail, the saboteurs win instead. Roles are revealed only after each round ends. After three rounds, the player with the most gold nuggets wins the game.

Setup

Separate the Cards:
Divide the cards into four types: path, action, nugget, and role (dwarf) cards.
Choose Roles Based on Player Count:
Use this chart to determine how many miners and saboteurs are in play. Return any unused dwarf cards to the box.
- 3 players: 1 saboteur, 3 miners
- 4 players: 1 saboteur, 4 miners
- 5 players: 2 saboteurs, 4 miners
- 6 players: 2 saboteurs, 5 miners
- 7 players: 3 saboteurs, 5 miners
- 8 players: 3 saboteurs, 6 miners
- 9 players: 3 saboteurs, 7 miners
- 10 players: Use all role cards
Distribute Roles:
Shuffle the selected dwarf cards and deal one face down to each player. Everyone checks their role but keeps it secret. Set aside the remaining dwarf card face down—it won’t be revealed until the round ends.
Prepare the Board:
Locate the Start card (with a ladder) and the three Goal cards (one gold treasure, two stones). Shuffle the goal cards and place them face down on the table in a line, leaving space for card placement. Put the Start card face up, spaced as shown in the rulebook.
Create the Draw Deck:
Shuffle the 40 remaining path cards and all action cards together. Deal starting hands based on player count:
- 3–5 players: 6 cards each
- 6–7 players: 5 cards each
- 8–10 players: 4 cards each
Place the rest of the deck face down as a draw pile.
Set Up the Gold Nugget Cards:
Shuffle the gold nugget cards and place them face down next to the extra dwarf card.
Choose the Starting Player:
The youngest player goes first. Play proceeds clockwise.

Gameplay

On Your Turn:

You must play one card, then draw one card (unless the deck is empty).

You can:

Place a path card to build the tunnel.
Use an action card to help or hinder.
Or pass by discarding a card face down.

Once you’ve played, draw the top card from the draw pile (if available). Your turn is over.

Playing Path Cards

Path cards connect the Start card to the Goal cards.
They must connect to an existing card and continue a valid tunnel.
All connections must line up—no broken paths or crosswise placement.
Each card played must trace back uninterrupted to the Start card.

Tip: Miners want to reach the gold; saboteurs want to mislead or block. But don’t be too obvious!

Playing Action Cards

Broken Tools

Place these in front of a player to block them from playing path cards. A player can only have one of each type (e.g., broken lantern) in front of them.

Fix Tools

Play these to repair a broken tool. They must match the broken tool card and remove it when played. Some cards show two tools—use it to repair one matching tool.

Repair cards only work if the matching broken tool is already in play.

Rockfall

Remove one path card (not the Start or Goal cards) from the maze. This can disrupt a route or clear a dead end. Discard the Rockfall and the removed path card.

Map

Privately view one face-down Goal card. Return it without revealing it, then discard the map.

Passing

If you can’t or don’t want to play a card, discard one face down to pass. If you have no cards left, just skip your turn—no discard needed.

End of the Round

The round ends when:

A valid path is built to a Goal card and it’s revealed to be the treasure, or
The draw deck is empty and no one can play.

If a player connects a path to a Goal card, they reveal it:

If it’s gold, the round ends.
If it’s a stone, the round continues. Place the card so the path connects properly, if possible.
Exception: If it’s impossible to connect a revealed Goal card cleanly, just place it as best as you can.

Reveal Roles

After the round ends, flip all dwarf cards face up. Find out who were miners and who were saboteurs.

Distributing Gold

If the Miners Win:

The player who placed the final path card draws gold nugget cards equal to the number of miners. They choose one card to keep, then pass the rest to the next miner clockwise. This continues until all miners have one card.

If the Saboteurs Win:

Each saboteur gets gold based on how many saboteurs were in play:

1 saboteur: 4 nuggets
2–3 saboteurs: 3 nuggets each
4 saboteurs: 2 nuggets each

Gold values are kept secret until the end of the game.

Note: In games with 3–4 players, it’s possible there’s no saboteur in play. If the gold is not reached in such a round, no one gets any gold.

Starting a New Round

Reset the board: Start and Goal cards back in place.
Shuffle and re-deal the same set of dwarf roles (including the one set aside).
Shuffle the path and action cards to form a new draw deck.
Deal new hands.
Shuffle unused gold nugget cards and set them out again.
The player to the left of the one who ended the last round goes first.

End of the Game

After three rounds, players total the gold on their nugget cards. The player with the most nuggets wins. In case of a tie, those players share the victory.