All of the Junior Chipmunk Scouts gathered around the fire to hear the troop leader tell the terrifying legend of the Wendigo - a dreadful creature with a heart of ice. The legend says that the Wendigo's spirit still roams the forest and attacks anyone who dares to speak its name....
Work together to find the Wendigo if you ever want to see home again!
One player plays as the Wendigo's spirit, which has taken on the appearance of one of the scouts. Each night, it steals another scout.
Each day, the other players can check the identity of a scout on the table. If they unmask the Wendigo before it's too late, they win the game. Otherwise, the Wendigo player wins!
Components
- 1 sand timer (45 seconds)
- 32 Scout tiles
- 32 Wendigo tiles
- Rules sheet
Object of the Game
For the Wendigo player: remove 5 scouts without being revealed.
For the scouts (all other players): reveal the Wendigo's identity in 5 or fewer tries.
Setup
For your first games, use the Pup Scout variant.
Randomly place the 32 Scout tiles on the table. The side with only one scout (without a number) should be face-up. Be sure that no tile covers another, even partially.
Choose which player will be the Wendigo for this game. Give him the sand timer and the stack of Wendigo tiles. This player must sit facing the other players.
The Wendigo player randomly draws a Wendigo tile, without revealing it to the others, and looks for the Scout tile that matches it exactly.
When he finds it, all scout players must turn around AND close their eyes (they must not see what's happening!). The Wendigo player takes the matching Scout tile, puts it face-down in the box, and replaces it with the Wendigo tile.
He then puts the remaining Wendigo tiles back in the box. They will not be used during this game.
Note: To ensure that he's replacing the right tile, the Wendigo player checks that the numbers on the backs of the tiles match. For example, if he removes Scout tile 13, he must replace it with Wendigo tile 13.
Now, there is one hidden Wendigo tile on the table, but the scouts don't know which one it is!
When he is done, the Wendigo player tells the Scout players to turn around and he flips over the sand timer. The scout players now have 45 seconds to memorize the position of Scout tiles on the table as best as possible.
They'll have to pay attention to the small details that change: the hat, hairstyle, height, scarf, and expression of each scout. The "real" game can begin!
Game Play
The game plays over a series of Night Phases and Day Phases.
Night Phase
All scout players turn around so that they don't see what the Wendigo player is doing.
The Wendigo removes a Scout tile of his choice and places it in front of him face-down (number-side up). He then moves the Wendigo tile to the space the removed tile vacated.
Note: the Wendigo player may not move any other tiles on the table!
When he's done, he tells the scout players the sun is rising: they can now open their eyes and face the table.
Day Phase
The Wendigo player flips over the sand timer.
The scout players have 45 seconds to observe the tiles and freely discuss which tile they think was moved, and has the Wendigo under it.
Before the sand timer runs out, they must agree on which tile they'll inspect. When they make their choice, one of the scout players turns over the tile.
If the scout players reveal the Wendigo, they win the game! If it's not the Wendigo tile, they put it back on the table face-up. The scout players may use any remaining time to study the rest of the face-up tiles. When time is up, the scout players turn around and a new Night Phase begins.
Note: Every Day Phase, the scout players only turn over a single tile, no matter how many Scout players there are.
End of the Game
After the fifth Night Phase, when the Wendigo player removes his fifth Scout tile (be sure not to count the tile removed during setup), the scout players have one final chance to find the Wendigo tile and win the game.
If they don't succeed, the Wendigo player wins!
Pup Scout Variant
The scout players' mission can seem difficult, but it's far from impossible! To help we strongly suggest implementing the following changes the first couple of times you play.
Before the beginning of the game, randomly draw 6 Wendigo tiles and the 6 corresponding Scout tiles, and remove them from the game.
After each incorrect guess by the scout players, the Wendigo player gives a clue in this form: "The Wendigo doesn't have or isn't..". For example, "The Wendigo doesn't have a yellow scarf".
Hint for the Scouts
Work in teams! Each scout player can memorize a section of the tiles.
Hints for the Wendigo
When placing the Wendigo tile, you can position it like the Scout tile you just removed to make it more difficult to recognize.
Remove Scout tiles that look like each other as much as possible to avoid being caught.
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