It Was Bigfoot

Thank you so much for checking out our submission to the 2020 Folklore Game Jam! We did as much work as we could to get it ready in time for the submission, but it's still not quite where we'd like it. Look out for future updates where we'll jazz up the rulebook, add new cards, and update the existing ones with some flavor text. 

If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to reach out! I'm active on Twitter but you can also email me at goatwrighter@gmail.com. 

Rules:

In It Was Bigfoot, you play a cryptozoologist investigating Bigfoot sightings with the hopes of being the first to find them. But competition is stiff - your fellow cryptos are searching just as hard as you are, and they're willing to throw wrenches into your research just to get the upper hand. To win, you'll have to beat them at their own game while managing your investigations. Whatever it takes to be recognized by the scientific community, right?

There are four types of cards in It Was Bigfoot: Sightings, Evidence, Hoaxes and Leads.

• Sightings are cards you want to prove in order to earn points in the game, with each Sighting being worth different point values. Each Sighting requires specific Evidence in order to be proven, up to a total of 5 depending on the card. To play a Sighting, you must place it face up with one relevant Evidence or Hoax, and then continue adding Evidence in order to prove the Sighting. Once every piece of Evidence is flipped face up on a Sighting, you earn the points. 15 points earned from proven Sightings gets you a win!
• Evidence cards are used to successfully prove a Sighting. Sightings have requirements for specific Evidence, and one Evidence has to be put down along with a Sighting in order to play it. Evidence cards are placed under Sightings face down, and stay face down for two turns after they've been placed. Afterwards, they are flipped face up, and may not be removed from the Sighting. If, however, an Evidence card is falsely accused of being a Hoax, you may flip the card face up and lock it in prior to the two turns passing. 

• Hoaxes are cards meant to throw off other cryptos and are used to bluff your way to a successful Sighting. Like Evidence, they are placed face down underneath a Sighting, and may be used to fulfill any two Evidence requirements that you may be missing to complete a Sighting. Opponents have the opportunity to call out one of your Evidence as a Hoax while the card is face down. If they're correct, you take a Discredited penalty as described on the card and you lose the Hoax. If, however, your hoax survives two turns after they've been placed, the card is flipped face up and you receive its Credited bonus and the card may not be removed from the Sighting.

•  You must decide which requirements you'll be covering with a Hoax once you put it down, and you cannot change those requirements while the Hoax is played. Hoaxes may also be placed with a Sighting as its first Evidence.

•  Leads are cards meant to provide you with an array of options on your quest to prove your Sightings. Each Lead has a special effect, ranging from fighting new Sightings in the deck, stealing cards from opponents, finding hoaxes among evidence, and so on.

 

Play Instructions:

The group plays with a single deck, and each will draw from the main deck. The deck should have two copies of each Sighting, three copies of each Evidence, two copies of each Lead and two copies of each Hoax.

 At the start of a game, each crypto draws five cards. You may determine who goes first randomly, though it's recommended you let the player with the best Bigfoot story go first - afterwards, turns move clockwise. 

During your turn, you draw a new card and have one action to make. This can be either placing a Sighting down with its first Evidence, placing additional Evidence or Hoaxes, using a Lead, or making a callout. Evidence or Hoaxes that've been down for two turns may be flipped over without using an action.

 You keep Sightings you've successfully completed on your side of the table, and return all cards to a discard pile after they've been used. If all the cards in the deck have been used and the game isn't over, you can shuffle the discard pile and continue with the new deck. 

This continues on until the first person has earned a total of 15 points from Sightings to win the game!