OBJECTIVE OF RATTUS: The objective of Rattus is to be the player with the most cubes on the board when the game comes to an end.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 4 Players
MATERIALS: 1 Game Board, 20 Wooden Cubes of Each Color, 49 Rat Tokens, 6 Class Cards, 1 Plague Piece, and Instructions
TYPE OF GAME: Area Control Board Game
AUDIENCE: Ages 9 and Up
OVERVIEW OF RATTUS
The Black Death has reached Europe, and the players are attempting to keep the disease at bay. They can employ the farmers, the knights, or the nobles to help, but will it be enough? As long as the rats are still coming, the plague will keep decimating the population of Europe.
SETUP
The game board is placed in the middle of the playing area, and the class cards are placed beside it. Each player will choose a color to represent them throughout the course of the game, collecting all of the cubes of their chosen color. The first 12 rat tokens are shuffled, and one is randomly placed on each region of the board.
The other rat tokens are shuffled and placed beside the board, creating the supply. The starting rat tokens are then mixed with the regular rats. The plague piece is placed in a random region. The youngest player will begin the game, with turns continuing clockwise around the group. Each player will place two cubes on the board until they get to the last player, and then it will occur again in reverse.
After everyone has placed four cubes, the game is ready to begin.
GAMEPLAY
During their turn, the player will choose a new class card if they want, place their cubes, and move the plague piece. Choosing a new class card and placing cubes can be done in whatever order the player would like, but moving the plague piece must always occur at the end of the player’s turn.
To begin, players may choose a new class card if they wish from beside the board. These cards are to be kept visible to the other players. Every card has its own advantages, but they also increase the chance of the player being killed. Class cards must be kept unless another player takes them.
The player has to place cubes on the board during their turn. They may place their cubes in any region of the board. They must place the number of cubes equal to the number of rat tokens found in that region, therefore, no cubes can be added if there are no rat tokens.
The plague piece must also be moved to any neighboring space. It cannot stay in the same place, and it must be moved to a different space. If the plague region does not have any rat tokens, then nothing happens, but if there are, then a new rat token must be placed in any region that neighbors the plague piece. If it has two rat tokens, then two must be placed on the neighboring spaces.
If the plague region has a wooden cube and at least one rat token, then these tokens are flipped and evaluated one by one. The symbols on the tokens show which group is affected by the plague and the payment due.
END OF GAME
The game may come to an end because the rat token supply is empty, or a player has all of their cubes on the board when their turn ends. A final round will begin, and all players except the last player to have a normal turn will use their class abilities. The final round is played counterclockwise.
The rat tokens are revealed and counted. The player with the most cubes on the board when all of this is done, wins the game!
- TRIPLE SNAKES - February 15, 2021