The Fracas Zone

Classic Mode is the original way of playing the game. In Classic Mode, 5-11 Players are given one hidden Profile to play with, and a starting hand of 3 cards. Players must attempt to keep their team intact and coordinated while they try to accomplish their winning condition.  

Profile cards are the primary cards of Fossil Fracas. A Profile is both animal and ability. At any time, a Profile may be flipped face up, or revealed, to activate the text of its card. All Profiles remain hidden unless specified.

There are two teams; Hunters and Hunted. There are two other types of Profiles: Solus and Apex. Each type of Profile has a specific goal to win the game. These are listed below.

Win Conditions

1. The Hunters win the game if they are the largest team at the end of round 6.
2. The Hunted win the game if they are the largest team at the end of round 6.
3. The Solus win the game by surviving until the end of round 6. Solus win by themselves, but can win alongside a team. They do not have any team requirements unless stated.
4. The Apex wins the game alone. If the Apex is included in play, no team or Player can win unless the Apex is Extinct. After the Apex goes Extinct, the next qualified combination of Players wins.

Each Player begins the game by noting or setting their lifespan to 13. Players may have no more than 13 lifespan at any time unless otherwise stated. When a Player ends a turn at 0 lifespan, they are Extinct, and can no longer interact with the game. A Player's team may still win if they are Extinct, but they cannot be interacted with unless otherwise stated.

After each Player sets their lifespan to 13, create a Profile deck. This deck must include an equal number of Hunters and Hunted. If there is an odd number of Players, the Apex or Solus may be included. Note that there is no requirement for how many Hunters and Hunted must be present, as long as an equal number of each exists. It is recommended for 5 players to have 2 Hunters, 2 Hunted and 1 Apex or Solus. As the goal of the game is for one team to outnumber the rest by round 6, It is recommended for about 2/3rds of all Profiles to be Hunters and Hunted.

The Profile deck is shuffled, and each player is dealt one Profile face down.

Following this, the Ochre and Action decks must be shuffled. All Players must draw 3 Action cards.

From here, Players decide who takes the first turn, and starts the first round. A round encompasses every player's turn taken in clockwise order. Once the last player finishes their turn, the first round ends and the next round begins.

Turns start with an Ochre. Ochre is a mineral used by cave artists thousands of years ago to portray their world, the animals they saw, and their rituals. In Fossil Fracas, Ochre is used to figure out what team each player is on. 

An Ochre may be drawn, read by the current player, and then handed to another face down. As the Ochre remains secret, the receiving player must admit whether the card affects them or not, and then must carry out the course of events written on the card without reading aloud. As only those two players will know the results of the Ochre, it's up to everyone else to figure out who's who by their responses. Ochre cards are discarded after being used, face down to protect identity. Ochre cannot be given to revealed Profiles.

After the Ochre comes Action. Action cards are held in hands of 3, and allow for players to move against their suspects. Once a player knows who their target is (or if they've guessed), they may play Action cards once per turn. Some Actions let the whole table make a decision, some Actions can be played any time after another Action, and some Actions just benefit or detriment one player. Action cards are then discarded after being used into their own discard pile, face up.

Rather than play an Action, a Player may discard any number of cards from their hand.

At the end of this Action "Phase", a player must draw until they have at least 3 cards in hand. Once they have drawn, the turn ends and passes on to the next player. The game ends when round 6 is reached, or once the Apex has been slain, and any number of players have reached their win condition.

Review

1. All Players begin the game with a hidden Profile, 13 lifespan and 3 Action cards.
2. The first Player begins their turn by drawing an Ochre and giving it to a hidden Player of their choice. This is the Ochre Phase.
3. The current Player may then play one Action card OR discard any number of cards. This is the Action Phase.
4. After the Action Phase, the current Player draws Action cards until they have 3 cards in hand. If they already have 3 cards, they do not draw. This is the Draw Phase.
5. The turn ends. The next player begins their turn in the Ochre Phase.
6. When the last Player takes their turn, the round ends. Start a new round with the First Player.
7. Players take turns until the 6th round ends. If one or more Teams accomplish their winning conditions, the game ends. If the game does not end, continue playing until it does.

Once you play through a game or two, try including a Disaster. These cards start next to the Action Deck and Ochre Deck, but are not drawn from. Disasters tick up from 1. at the end of each Round. Each player takes the effect of the Disaster if it applies to them. After the final step is reached, restart the Disaster until the game is over!

1. Download the above PDF. Offset Aligned leaves space for printers with odd margins. Center Aligned can be used with evenly margined printers.
2. Print double sided, flipping on the short side.
3. Cut out each card. 
4. Play with the rules above!

See the screenshot on the right for print setup. Make sure the previewed print has all 8 cards on each page! The first PDF has been centered. The second PDF has been adjusted for multiple home/office printers, but may not work the same on all models. 

Make sure to record the number of players, the name of each Profile used and the amount of time the game took to complete. Any other ideas, complaints or feedback can be filled in the google form below.

https://forms.gle/Rk7pzQnKzN2bgSeU9