OBJECTIVE OF GRINCH GROW YOUR HEART: Be the player with the most points after the final round
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 – 6 players
CONTENTS: 48 cards, score pad, Grinch tile, 2 heart tokens
TYPE OF GAME: Set Collection Card Game
AUDIENCE: Ages 6+
INTRODUCTION OF GRINCH GROW YOUR HEART
Grinch Grow Your Heart is an asymmetric set collection card game for 2 – 6 players. Each round, one player will be the Grinch, and the other players will be Whos. Players will draw and discard multiple times during the round and attempt to build the best scoring hand possible. While the Whos may only draw from the draw pile, The Grinch may draw from the draw pile as well as any of the Whos’ discard piles. Each round ends with Yahtzee style scoring. Players pick one row to score their hand, and they may not use that row again. The player with the most points at the end of the final round wins the game.
CONTENTS
The game is played with a 48 card deck. The deck has four suits (Wreathes, Noise, Ornaments, & Presents) with 12 cards in each suit – two copies of ranks 1-6 in each. Some cards have special bonuses at the bottom that allow players to earn extra points when the bonus requirement is met.
The Grinch tiles and heart tokens are used to track how many turns have passed, and it reminds players how many cards they should have in their hand.
SETUP
Determine the first dealer. That person deals two cards to each player. The rest of the cards are placed face down as a draw pile.
The oldest player is the Grinch first. They take the Grinch tile and heart tokens. The Grinch tile starts the game with the 3 in its heart showing. At the end of Grinch’s turns, they will add one heart token to the tile (4 then 5). This is to help track how many turns have passed as well as remind players how many cards they should have in their hand.
THE PLAY
Each round consists of three turns. During each turn, both the Whos and the Grinch will draw two cards and discard one – ending the round with a bigger hand of cards.
WHOS TAKE THEIR TURN
All of the Whos draw two cards from the draw pile. They end their turn by discarding one face up onto their own personal discard pile.
THE GRINCH’S TURN
Now the Grinch takes their turn. They also draw two cards, but they may take these two cards from the draw pile or any Who’s discard pile. They may also take the top card of their own discard pile if desired. For example, the player might take one card from the top of the draw pile and one from the top of a Who’s discard pile. The Grinch ends their turn by discarding one face up into their own discard pile.
At the end of the first turn, all players should have 3 cards in their hand. Once this is confirmed by the Grinch, the 4 heart token is placed on the Grinch tile for the next turn.
This process is repeated two more times. At the end of the final turn, all players should have five cards in their hand. The round is over, and it is time for each player to score their hand.
PASS THE GRINCH
Once hands are scored, the roll of Grinch passes one player to the left. Shuffle all of the cards together and deal out two to each player. The number of rounds played depends on the number of players.
2 players = 6 rounds
3 players = 6 rounds
4 players = 4 rounds
5 players = 5 rounds
6 players = 6 rounds
SCORING
The score pad has seven different rows, and each row is a different way to score a player’s hand. The player must choose one row each round, and a row can only be used once.
Wreaths: Add up the total value of all your Wreath cards.
Noises: Add up the total value of all your Noise cards.
Ornaments: Add up the total value of all your Ornament cards.
Presents: Add up the total value of all your Present cards.
Rainbow: Identify the highest valued card of each color and add them together.
Match: Three cards of the same number earns 10 points, four of the same number earns 20 points, and five of the same number earns 30 points.
Run: A run of four cards in sequential order earns the player 15 points. A run of five earns 25 points. Cards in a run can be any suit.
BONUS POINTS
Some cards allow the player to earn bonus points. Bonus +5 cards will earn the player 5 extra bonus points if they have one card of the required suit. Bonus +10 cards will earn the player an extra 10 points if they have three cards of the required suit.
After adding up the total scores for the round, add them to the designated row for each player. Remember, each row can only be scored once per game.
WINNING
The player with the most points at the end of the final round is the winner.
- TRIPLE SNAKES - February 15, 2021