#THE FOX IN THE FOREST HEARTS HOW TO#

The goal of The Fox in the Forest is to gain points, but that doesn’t mean, winning every trick you can, necessarily. This can mean losing your Ten at an inopportune time. Finally, Elevens (the Monarch), when played, force the other player to either play the One of the same suit or their highest card in the suit. Nines (the Queen) is considered to be trump, if it’s the only Nine played that trick. Sevens (the Treasure) are worth one point (more on that later) for each one won in the trick. Fives (the Woodcutter) allow you to draw a card from the deck and then discard a card. This can change trump mid- round, or have no change if the player chooses not to use its effect. They allow you to swap the Decree card with one from your hand. Ones (the Swan) allow you to lead the next trick whether you win or lose. All the even cards are normal suited cards, but all of the odd numbered cards are characters with special abilities that play with the regular rules of a trick taking game. You must follow suit, highest card wins unless it’s trumped, the winner leads the next trick, etc. Now, the normal rules of a trick taking game apply. If you didn’t lead the trick, then you are definitely last to act…which can be helpful when knowing what to play. To win a trick you only have to consider the cards of one other person. Here is where you really feel that it’s a two-player game. Starting with the non-dealer, players play one card per trick, with the winner leading the next round. The top card of the draw pile is flipped, becoming the Decree card, essentially trump. Each round, 13 cards are dealt to each player and the leftovers form a draw pile. The deck is made up of 33 cards in three different suits numbered 1-11 Bells, Keys, and Moons. It’s a nice touch if you want a little theme added to the game. The story gives a bit of context to the special cards and how they play in the game.

In fact, there is a whole story you can read here. The Fox in the Forest is a fairy tale of a game. The next pretty neat feature of the game, is that it’s a trick taking game for two players only. For a little box game, Renegade Games and Foxtrot Games spared no expense with the illustrations by Jennifer L. Before anything else, I was struck by the art of the game. So, I came to The Fox in the Forest with a good deal of experience with trick taking games. It’s a genre I return to again and again. These are just a few of the trick taking games that have made an impact on my life. The rest of the game hinges on finding out who that is. One player makes the highest bid and calls a King, giving them a secret partner. It’s a game best played with five in my opinion.

#THE FOX IN THE FOREST HEARTS HOW TO#

I feel in love with the concept of ‘shooting the moon.’ I learned how to play the game version of Tarot in my 20s. I learned how to play Hearts on the computer and that was a consistent time-killer for me. We spent countless nights at the cottage playing and still play a few social tournaments a year. I grew up with a family of game players and one of our favourite go-tos was Euchre. I was really happy when we decided to do a special trick taking week on the DWP.

The fox in the forest hearts