2021 · Maple Forged
Grab Your Goat! is a board game for 2 to 4 players and takes an average of 30 to 45 minutes to play – your rascally goats depending! Play as one of four goatherds whose prized goat has escaped atop the nearby mountain. The paths are constantly shifting and the mountain full of pitfalls and perils, preventing you from quickly bringing your beloved goat home. Using your wits, and a bit of luck, you may just be the first to win bra-a-a-aging rights over your fellow shepherds!
To begin, each player should choose their house. Place the 'Top of the Mountain' card in the center of the play area. Create the game deck by shuffling together the directional and effect cards. Building outwards from the 'Top of the Mountain', deal a 7x7 grid from the game deck with the cards dealt face down. Place the houses as the corners of the square grid.
Finally, deal each player 3 cards as their hand. Place all goats on the 'Top of the Mountain'. Place each shepherd on their respective house.
ON EACH TURN:
1) Move your goat
Roll the directional dice. Move your goat in the direction rolled. The 'Top of the Mountain' acts as the game's compass.
2) Your move (choose one of the following)
Option 1: Move your shepherd
Shepherds can only move in the four cardinal directions, following the path formed by face-up cards. If you move onto a face-down card, reveal it and align two arrows to discover the path. If it is an effect card, resolve its effects immediately.
Option 2: Play an advantage card
You may exchange a card in your hand for any face-down card on the board. Play it face-up and keep the face-down card in your hand. If the card played is an effect card, resolve its effects immediately.
Option 3: Rotate your current card
You may rotate your current card by 90 degrees. This can break existing paths and need not form new paths.
MONARCH OF THE MOUNTAIN (Resolving collisions)
If a goat enters an occupied space...
...with another goat, nothing happens. Goats love to hang out together!
...with a shepherd, the goat does not move from its original space. The shepherd is instead moved in the direction rolled (think of it as the goat headbutting the shepherd to the adjacent square).
If a shepherd moves into a space with...
...a goat that is their goat, you win if the occupied card isn't an effect card that will cause you to lose your footing.
...a goat that is not their goat, throw that goat onto an adjacent card of the shepherd's choice.
...another shepherd, throw that shepherd onto an adjacent square of their choosing.
The entering shepherd always throws the occupying player or goat.
The game ends when a shepherd has caught his/ her accompanying goat!
-description from designer
