Tricks or Treats
The board game tricks and treats is a game I developed for a course that eventually took off on it own. Based around my own experiences with trick or treating when my friends and I would switch masks to continually revisit certain houses, Trick or Treats adds an interesting twist to the experience.
Place tricks on the board for your friends to step on all so that you can compete for the neighborhood’s candy. Or, have a nice treat that will boost your performance ahead of your peers. Battle your friends in a game of wits and luck to win the most candy.
This board game is currently undergoing development and continuous tweaks to smooth out the gameplay, and I will keep this updated to reflect all of those changes.
Gameplay
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to this year’s trick or treat competition! Compete against your friends to get the most candy and to see who become this year’s champion. Play tricks on your friends or buy treats to from houses to increase your chances of victory. For those brave enough to go down the haunted house path, race your friends and claim your reward from the collection bowl!
PLAYERS
3-4
EXPECTED PLAY TIME
2 hours
COMPONENTS
4 player characters
5 player masks
4 Mask Counters
4 decks of Tricks color coded for each player
4 Player candy baskets
1 Deck of Treats
1 Game Board
1 Bag of Candies (540 pieces, I used corn kernals)
1 Die
1 Community Collection bowl
SETUP
Board set up: Each Trick deck is place on their player’s house. Each player’s candy basket is placed on their own house. Players get 10 candies in their candy bowls to start. The Treat deck and Community Collection Bowl are placed on the Haunted House.
How to play:
How to start: Players will start the game at their own house. Players will roll the dice to determine who goes first. The lowest roll starts. At the start of the game each player draws 4 Tricks from their deck and they each take turns placing 1 Trick card face down on any blank tile on the Game board until they no longer have cards in their hand to place. Then each player draws 4 treat cards and places them on any open tile. Then each player chooses their mask and play begins.
Movement: Players will start the game at their own house. They will roll the dice to advance that number of spaces on the game board. Players must stop at houses even if their roll would take them past a house. If a player starts their turn in a house, they can advance in either direction around the game board.
Houses: If players start their turn in a house, they may do a few actions. They may buy up to two treat cards for 2 candies each, and they can buy up to 2 Trick cards for 3 candies each, they may also change their mask to the unused mask for 5 candies. Trick cards purchased at a house must be placed immediately and can only be placed on blank tiles up to the next house in either direction including the Haunted House path. Any candies used to purchase items at houses are placed in the Community Collection Bowl in any partition. The other action players can do is roll the dice and move around the board in the direction of their choosing, but they must maintain that direction until they reach the next house. During normal play, players cannot bypass houses even if their roll would normally take them past the house. Once a player lands on a house they receive candy based on how many times that mask has visited the house and they increase the Mask Counter for that house. 1st time 10 candies, 2nd time 8 candies, 3rd time 6 candies, 4th time 2 candies, 5th time 1 candy.
Trick Cards: Each player chooses 20 trick cards from their deck with which they will play the game. At the start of the game each player draws 5/4 (5 for 3 player, 4 for 4 players) Tricks from their deck and they each take turns placing 1 Trick card face down on any blank tile on the Game board. During gameplay when a player lands on a Trick Card they must follow the rules specified on the Trick Card. LET THE GAMES BEGIN! Trick cards must be played face up and they cannot be removed from the board.
Treat Cards: Treat cards must be used at the beginning of your turn before you roll the dice. The rules of that treat card apply until the end of your turn. Players may only use one Treat card per turn. If you buy at least one treat card at a house, place 1 treat card on the board. Any treat that is on the board and landed on by the player is picked up by that player.
Masks and Mask Counters: Each player will have a mask that they have on their character. Masks will determine how much candy your character gets upon visiting a house. Mask Counters will keep track of how many times a mask has visited a particular house. Once each House’s mask counter has 3+ visits from at least one mask please see the rules for LET THE GAMES BEGIN!.
Haunted House Squares: On the board there will be 4 haunted house squares. There will be a path to the Haunted House; players may place Trick Cards along this path, but they cannot proceed down this path normally. If a player lands on the Haunted House square they must call odds or evens then roll the dice, if it lands what you have called, each player must move to the closest Haunted House square available. Players will then proceed to roll the dice and advance along the path to the haunted house starting with the next player in the turn order. A player can take all of one partition in the community bowl. After a player has reached the Haunted House, they return to their own house and proceed to play from there. A player must reach the Haunted house to return them to the normal game board.
Landing on the same space: When players land on the same square the and there is a trick card it does not flip over. Players can then trade Treat cards with each other or buy them from each other. Players may also swap masks if each player agrees with it.
Community Collection Bowl: When players buy traps or tricks. Any candy spent in this way is paid to the community collection bowl. There are four partitions in the bowl, players can place the candy in any partition they want to. Keep in mind any player can take all the candy from the partition once they reach the haunted house so you might want to spread out the candy in the event that you lose the race to the haunted house!
LET THE GAMES BEGIN:
Everyone generously donates ALL of their candy to the Community Collection Bowl and everyone immediately moves to the nearest haunted house path.
How to win and ending the game: The game is ended when one of the masks visits the same house 5 times. The player with the most candy is the winner. If there is a tie the younger player is the winner.
Expected play time: 120 Minutes+
Trick cards effects:
1. The Slight Spook: Move back 2 spaces. If you land on another trick card flip over that card as well. Stop at houses, but do not collect the candy.
2. A Hop and a Skip: Move forward 2 spaces. If you land on another trick card flip over that card as well. Stop at houses, but do not collect the candy.
3. Wardrobe Malfunction: red/blue/green/purple player swaps your mask with another player’s mask.
4. Witchcrraaaaaft! : Swap positions with red/blue/green/purple player
5. Doppelgangers: Swap positions and mask with red/blue/green/purple player.
6. Charity case: Give 5 candies to the player in last place. Give 5 candies to red/blue/green/purple player.
7. Sellers’ market: You must show the red/blue/green/purple player your treat cards. Give them a Treat card of your choice from your hand.
8. Sugar rush! : Give 10 candy to red/blue/green/purple player.
9. Angelic Charity: Give out 12 candys split between the other players evenly.
10. Muddy Puddle: Skip your next turn.
11. Hi Buddy! : Move to red/blue/green/purple player’s location. You give them a treat of their choice.
12. Mask Hysteria: Everybody trade masks with the person to their left.
13. Spooky Scarecrow: Start moving in the opposite direction until you reach a house. (Cannot be placed on the haunted house path)
14. Trip and fall: Leave 5 candy on this tile the next person who lands on this square takes it. Nobody can set a trick card on this tile.
15. Boo! : Move back 1 space. If you land on another trick card flip over that card as well. Stop at houses, move the mask counter down but do not collect the candy.
16. Pushed: Move forward 1 space. If you land on another trick card flip over that card as well. Stop at houses, Move the mask counter down, but do not collect the candy.
17. Forgetful Charity: if you have treat cards leave them face down on the board, the next person who lands on it picks it up.
18. Spooky Ghost: Move back to your house, do not collect the candy but move the marker down anyway : )
19. LET THE GAMES BEGIN! : See the rulebook. This card can only be removed from the board after being landed on by an opposing player and it must be placed face up.
Treat card effects:
1. Willful ignorance: Do not flip over trick cards you land on. This effect applies until the start of your next turn.
2. Hop: Move a player forward 1 tile, this replaces your dice roll. That player can no longer be moved by other players until the start of their next turn. Trick card movement still applies. ***
3. Skip: Move a player forward 2 tiles, this replaces your dice roll. That player can no longer be moved by other players until the start of their next turn. Trick card movement still applies. ***
4. Jump: Move forward 3 tiles, this replaces your dice roll.
5. Leap: Move forward 4 tiles, this replaces your dice roll.
6. Long jump: Move forward 5 tiles, this replaces your dice roll.
7. Pole Vault: Move forward 6 tiles, this replaces your dice roll.
8. Gambling Man: Double your next dice roll.
9. Alien Abduction: Swap places with a player of your choosing, this ends your turn. Trick cards are triggered when landed on by this effect. ***
10. Expert Planner: Set 2 traps anywhere on the map.
11. Hidden Candy Bowl: Gain 10 candies.
12. Puppy eyes: Every other player gives you 4 candies.
13. Sticky fingers: Take 6 candies from every player you pass this turn.
14. Forceful charity: Take 5 candies from a player of your choosing.
15. Identity theft: Change your mask to a mask of your choosing.
16. Moonlight Transformation: Change your mask to the currently unused mask. If you visit a house this turn and the mask you are currently wearing has never been there, gain double the candy.
17. Quick Escape: Move back to your house, but do not collect the candy for your mask. This ends your turn. ***
18. Drawing new plans: You can rearrange all your trick cards on the board to new empty spaces.
19. Street cleaning: Clear all trick cards that you walk over this round.
20. NOPE: Start moving in the opposite direction, and swap your mask to the unused mask. Cannot be used on the haunted house path.
21. Disarm: Take off 1 trick from each player excluding yourself off the board.
*** This card cannot be used in Houses. This card cannot move players in Houses. That player can no longer be moved by other players until the start of their next turn. Trick card movement still applies.