The goal of this hilariously strategic card game is to become Lord of the Goats! To do this, be the first player to get to 1,000 goat points by gathering the biggest herd of goats. You do so by stacking identical pairs of goats in front of you to build your goatherd.

Everything gets goat crazy when you attack opponents by dueling for their top GOAT PILE or play action cards that give you magical goat powers and abilities to beat your lowly goat friends.

Every time you win a duel or play a successful action card, your goatherd value goes up, making you more likely to win, but also a target for your fellow Goaters.

Components

• 110 Goat Cards
• 16 Action Cards
• Instructions
• Free eBook

Setup

There are two ways to play Goat Lords: The Simple Version and the Strategic Version. Strategic is the reverse side of these rules.

Take the Draw Pile and deal each player 4 cards (5 if playing with 2-3 players). Place the rest of the Draw Pile cards face down in the middle. This will be the Draw Pile after each turn.

Take top card and place it face up; this will act as the start if the discard pile (A wild cannot start it). The player to the left of the dealer begins the game and play continues clockwise.

Game Play

On each turn players choose to do one of five possible actions:

1. Birth!

   
   
   

   Welcome goats to the herd by taking two identical cards (or one wild) from your hand and placing them in front of you. The first pair played can never be stolen from you.

   Stacking Tip: Stack the first pair vertical, then the next horizontal, then alternating, keeping the corners aligned in an 'L' shape. This helps organize for Dueling.

2. Assisted Birth!

   If the top card of the discard pile matches a card in a player's hand, the player can choose to use it to create a pair on their goatherd. If the discard pile runs out, do not automatically replenish it. Wait till more player discards occur.

   
   
   

3. Duel!

   You may attack an opponent's top goat pile (or stack) by producing a goat from your hand (or a wild) that matches opponent's top Goat. If able or chooses to, the opponent can defend with an identical goat or a wild. Dueling continues alternating until someone can no longer play or chooses not to.

   End of Duel:

   1. If the attacker wins he or she collects all of dueled cards including the opponent's top pile and adds them as a stack to their goatherd!

   2. If the defender wins, he or she collects the cards used in the duel and add them to the top (defended) pile.

   
   
   

   Rules to Duel:

   1. You must have at least one birth pair in front of you before dueling.
   2. The duel cannot happen until there are at least two pairs of goats on the opposing player's pile. The first birth is protected.
   3. The player must have a goat card in their hand that matches the goats in the opponent's top pile, or a wild.
   4. You may ONLY attack an opponent's top stack, the stacks below are protected by the top Goat Pile.

4. Discard!

   If none of the above can be done, player discards one card and draws a new card from the Draw Pile.

Restock Your Hand

At the end of each turn, players draw from the Draw Pile until they have the same amount of cards that they initially had at the beginning of the game (4 or 5). The player who completed the turn picks first. You do not restock your hand until your turn is over.

End of the Game

When the Draw Pile is gone, the players continue playing until their hands are all used up.

If the discard pile contains 5 or more goat cards at the time the Draw Pile becomes empty, then shuffle the remaining discard pile and continue drawing from it as the Draw Pile.

Each player adds up the total value of their herd by counting the points of each goat in their hand. You may play multiple rounds keeping a running total of points until one player reaches 1,000 Goat Points.

If on the same round multiple people pass 1,000, then the highest score wins.

Alternate Scoring: Play only one round at a time and the player with the most goat points wins!

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