The Fox in the Forest Gameplay Overview

Actions

Lead a Trick

The lead player plays any card from their hand face-up to the center.

1. Choose any card from your hand.
2. Play it face-up to the center of the table. This card determines the lead suit.
3. If the card has a special ability, resolve it now.

Follow a Trick

The following player must play a card that matches the lead suit if possible.

1. If you have a card matching the lead suit, you MUST play one of those cards.
2. If you have no cards of the lead suit, you may play any card from your hand.
3. If the card has a special ability, resolve it now.

Determine Trick Winner

Compare the two cards to determine who wins the trick.

1. If a trump suit card was played, the highest trump card wins the trick.
2. If no trump was played, the highest card of the lead suit wins.
3. The winner takes both cards and places them face-down in their scoring pile.
4. If the trick contains any 7s (Treasure), the winner immediately scores 1 point for each 7 in the trick.

• A 9 (Witch) played alone acts as if it were in the trump suit.
• If both players play a 9, they cancel out and act as their actual suits.

Key Concepts

• Trump Suit: The suit of the Decree Card is the trump suit. Trump cards beat any card of another suit, regardless of rank.
• Following Suit: You must play a card of the lead suit if you have one. If you cannot follow suit, you may play any card (including trump to win, or discarding an unwanted card).
• Special Abilities: Odd-numbered cards (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11) have special abilities that activate when played. Even-numbered cards have no abilities.
• Greedy vs Humble: Winning too many tricks (10+) is 'Greedy' and scores 0 points. Winning very few tricks (0-3) is 'Humble' and scores the maximum 6 points. The sweet spot is 7-9 tricks for 6 points.