Cops & Robbers Card Game
This game was inspired by my game idea a week project, in particular, idea 20. To play this game you will need to:
- Download the zip file containing rules and cards;
- Follow instructions in the readme file to print the cards;
- Obtain 24 buttons or coins to use as "money".
- Buy 56 card protectors to put the cut up cards (available from games shops).
If you don't want to print the game and find your own buttons, you can now buy this game through the Game Crafter website. They will print the game, include coins, and send it to you, see Cops vs Robbers on Game Crafter.
Protect your money from robbers OR Steal money from the cops
Go on an Offensive against a member of the opposite team. That person must defend themselves or face loosing money (if they are a cop) or going to jail (if they are a robber). Help out your team mates so that you get more points together.
Number of Players: 4 or 6
Duration: Approximately 30 minutes per round.
Set Up
Each player randomly chooses one of the Cop/Robber cards to determine whether they are a cop or robber. Each player places the card in front of themselves for everyone to see.
Cops get 12 pieces of money to begin.
People should rearrange themselves around the table so that the cops and robbers alternate (no cop sits next to another cop).
Everyone gets 5 of the Offence/Defence cards.
The remaining Offence/Defence cards form the pickup pile in the middle of the table.
Playing
Play rotates around the players clockwise, starting with the first robber to the left of the dealer.
On your turn (in any order):
Pick up a new offence/defence card.
Play a Defence card:
- If you are a robber and in jail, you can play a defence card in front of you. Once the defence matches or exceeds the offence in front of you, put all the cards in the discard pile and you will be free to start an offensive.
- For everyone else, you can play a defence card in front of one of your team mates (but not yourself).
Play an Offence card: If you are not in jail, start an Offensive (see below).
Offensives:
Begin by placing one of the explosion cards in front of a member of the opposite team. Cops can only play an Offensive against a robber and vice versa. Further, Offensives cannot be played on someone who is in jail.
The targeted player must now defend themselves with at most a single shield card from their hand, plus the shields that are already in front of them.
If the targeted player equals or exceeds the offence, then both defence cards are placed in the discard pile. If the targeted player is a robber and they exceed the offence, then they can steal from the cop to make up the difference.
If one of the shield cards in front of the player can defeat the Offence, then that card is used (leaving any other defence cards in front of player).
If the targeted player cannot equal the offence then...
If the target is a cop: they loose money to the value of the defence they cannot provide. For example, an offence of 4 is countered with a defence of 2. The cop must pay the robber 2 pieces of money to the robber.
If the target is a robber: they go to jail until they (or a fellow robber) add enough defence cards to counter the offence.
Finishing
The game finishes when either:
There are no more Offence/Defence cards left to pick up. If playing with 6 people, when the pile is almost finished, reshuffle the discard pile and add approximately half of the reshuffled pile back into the pick up pile.
OR
One (any) of the cops runs out of money.
Count up the pieces of money in front of you.
Your score is the total number of the money your team has PLUS your personal money count. This means you get both individual and team benefits.
The winner is the person with the most points, not necessarily the person with the most pieces of money.
Extension: Play the game for 5 rounds, reassigning Cop/Robber cards every time. Add together the scores from each round to find an overall winner.