Looking for a specific Deer in the Headlights Board Game rule? | Set Up | Playing the Game | Using the Number Dice | Using the Predator Die | Jokers | End of Round | Winning the Game | Advanced Game | FAQ | Components |
Objective
The objective of Deer in the Headlights Board Game is to have the lowest score at the end of the game.
Set Up
- The players have to decide whether they will play with the basic or advanced rules. I will begin by explaining the basic rules and then address the advanced rules in a later section.
- Place the gameboard in the middle of the table where everyone can reach it.
- Each player chooses a pawn.
- Shuffle all of the cards. Deal all of the cards out to the players. Some players may receive more cards than others.
- The youngest player starts the game.
How to Play Deer in the Headlights Board Game
You will begin each turn in the Deer in the Headlights Board Game rolling all four of the dice. Depending on what the player rolls they will take a couple of actions on their turn.
First you will take an action based on the three number dice you rolled.
After you have completed the number dice action, you will take an action based on what you rolled on the Predator die.
After completing both actions, your turn ends. Play passes to the next player in clockwise direction.
Using the Number Dice
You will look at all three number dice to determine what action you will take on your turn. Each combination of numbers and symbols allow you to take a different action in Deer in the Headlights Board Game.
Three Numbers
Should you roll three numbers, you will find all of the cards in your hand that match the numbers that you rolled. For example you roll a 3, 5, and 8. You will discard all 3, 5 and 8 cards from your hand. Place the cards on the Discard space on the gameboard.
If you don’t have any cards that match any of the numbers that you rolled, the rest of the players look at their hands for cards that match the numbers that were rolled. All of the other players give any matching cards from their hand to you (the current player).
Two Numbers and a Deer Head
Look at the two numbers that you rolled. Find all cards in your hand that match the numbers. You will pass these cards to the other players. You can pass all of the cards to one player, or you can spread them out to two or more players.
Based on the picture above the current player finds all of the threes and seven cards from their hand and passes them to another player(s) of their choice.
Two Numbers and a Running Deer
When you roll this combination look for all of the cards from your hand that match the numbers you rolled. You also get to pick a third number to replace the running deer. You will discard all of the cards from your hand that match the three numbers to the Discard space on the gameboard.
With this combination you cannot discard any Predator cards.
Based on the picture above the current player will discard all of the elevens, and fives from their hand. They also get to choose a third number that they can discard.
Number, Deer Head, and a Running Deer
With this combination you will look at the number that you rolled. Check to see if the number is odd (black) or even (red). If the rolled number is odd, you will discard all of the odd numbered cards (black) from your hand. Should the rolled number be even, you will discard all of the even numbered cards (red) from your hand. You will place all of the cards on the Discard space on the gameboard.
You will ignore any Predator cards when figuring out which cards to discard.
Say you rolled the dice pictured above. You will find and discard all of the even numbered cards from your hand.
One Number and Two Running Deer
Should you roll this combination you will look for all of the cards in your hand that match the number. You will also look for combinations of cards that add up to the number you rolled. For example you rolled the number eight. You will find out all eight cards as well as cards that add up to eight. For example a two and six card, three and five card, two four cards, and so on. All of the cards that match the number will be passed to the other players. You can pass all of the cards to the same player, or you can spread the cards out to several players.
When finding cards to pass, you will ignore any Predator cards.
One Number and Two Deer Heads
When you roll this combination, you lose your turn.
On your next turn you need to roll at least one deer head to return to the game. If you roll at least one deer head, you will take your next turn normally with the combination that you rolled. If you don’t roll a deer head, you lose your turn again. This continues until you roll a deer head.
Two Deer Heads and One Running Deer
Choose two numbers. You will discard all of the cards from your hand that match the two numbers you chose. Place the discarded cards on the Discard space.
You cannot discard Predator cards with this action.
One Deer Head and Two Running Deer
When you roll this combination, you earn two additional turns immediately. You will roll the dice two more times and take the corresponding actions.
Three Deer Heads
You will pick up all of the cards from the Discard space and add them to your hand.
Immediately roll the dice again. If you roll a deer head, you will take the corresponding action. If you do not roll a deer head, your turn ends.
Using the Predator Die
After you have completed the action based on the three number dice, you will look at the black Predator die.
If you have a Predator card or several cards in your hand that match what you rolled on the die, you may pass one or as many of these cards as you want to another player. You can pass them all to the same player, or you can pass them to multiple players. The Scoring Grid board also says that you can choose to discard the Predator cards to the Predator space on the gameboard. This action is optional. You can choose not to pass some or all of the matching cards.
Should you roll Discard on the Predator die, you can choose one Predator card from your hand to discard to the Predator space. This is optional. You can choose not to discard any cards. When you discard a Predator card, you will place it face down on the space.
Creating a Rack
Sometimes you may have enough Predator cards in your hand to create a “Rack”. You can create a Rack if you have three of the same type of Predator or one of the three different types of Predators.
Once you have a Rack, you can play it at the end of your turn. When you choose to play it, you will count up the value of each of the cards. You can use these points in order to impact players positions on the gameboard. You can either take points away or add points to yourself or other players. The points can be split between several players. For example say your Rack is worth fifteen points. You can subtract seven points from yourself, and add four points to two other players. You could do any combination of moving yourself and other players as long as it adds up to fifteen.
At the end of your turn you have the option to draw a Predator card that was discarded. You may want to do this if you need a specific Predator card to make a Rack. If you choose to take this action, you will do it after you have completed the rest of your turn. One of the other players will shuffle all of the cards from the Predator discard pile. You will then randomly draw one of the cards and add it to your hand.
Jokers
Joker cards are unique because they can be used in a couple of ways to help you in the game. The card itself is worth zero points.
First you can use a Joker as a Predator card that you need. You can use a Joker in this way if you need one Predator in order to create a Rack.
Otherwise you can use the Joker to replace one of the number dice you rolled. You can use the Joker to replace a rolled number, a deer head or a running deer. Choose what number to replace the die with. You will then take the action corresponding to the combination you now rolled with the new number.
Once you have taken an action with a Joker card, you will discard face down on the Predator pile.
End of Round
A round ends when a player gets rid of the last card from their hand.
All of the players will add up the points from the cards left in their hand. This is the amount of points they scored in the round. They will move their playing piece forward on the gameboard a number of spaces equal to the total amount of points they scored.
If none of the players are on the Finish space, you will play another round. All of the cards are picked up by the player to the left of the previous dealer. They will shuffle the cards and deal them out for the next round.
Winning the Deer in the Headlight Board Game
The game ends when a player reaches the Finish space. The current round continues until one of the players gets rid of the last card from their hand . It is possible for a player to move their pawn off the Finish space in a backwards direction. You cannot move past the Finish space. If the player moves off the Finish space before the round ends, the game will continue.
If the round ends and a player(s) is on the Finish space, the game ends. All of the players compare their scores. The player with the lowest score, wins the Deer in the Headlights Board Game. If two or more players are tied with the lowest score, the tied player that scored the least points in the final round wins the game.
Advanced Deer in the Headlight Board Game
The advanced game adds a couple additional rules to the game if you want to make the game more complex.
Deer in the Headlights space
If you end a round landing on a space that has the deer head (spaces 3 and 63), you can take a special action during the game.
After the cards are dealt out for the next round, the player(s) that are on a Deer in the Headlights space can pick three of the cards (they need to be different) that they were dealt and place them face down in front of themselves.
During the game if another player discards a card that matches one of the numbers that the player set aside at the beginning of the round, the player can reveal the card and discard it. This blocks the player from discarding any of that number during their turn. A player can also reveal a matching numbered card if a player tries to pass a card to them or another player. This will block the player from passing the matching card(s).
After a face down card is used to block another player, the player discards the card to the Discard pile.
Should a player have face down cards in front of them at the end of the round, they will not score points for the cards.
If you score zero points in a round and stay on the Deer in the Headlight space for a second round, you do not get the benefit in the second or any future round if you don’t move.
Bullseye
If you end a round landing on a space that has the bullseye (spaces 5 and 65), you will earn twelve points. You can decide how you want to allocate these points. They can be used to reduce or increase a player’s score. You can also split them between several players. For example you can reduce your score by six, and increase the score of two other players by three each. You can make any combination of moving players forward and backwards as long as it adds up to twelve.
Should you score zero points in a round that you are on the bullseye space, you do not get to take the special action for a second time in a row.
Knocking
At the start of your turn you may choose to “knock”. You can only knock if you have four or less cards in your hand. You should only knock if the total value of the cards in your hand are low.
When a player decides to knock, the current round ends immediately. All of the players compare the value of the cards in their hand to the player that knocked. The number of points each player scores is reduced by the amount of points in the knocking player’s hand. For example a player has 35 points in their hand and the knocking player had ten points in their hand. The player with 35 points only scores 25 points in the round.
Knocking When You Don’t Have the Least Points
Should a player have less points in their hand than the knocking player, they will lose points equal to the difference between their total and the knocking player. For example the knocking player had ten points and another player had eight points. The player with eight points loses two points and moves their playing piece back two spaces.
In a case where a player’s total is less then the knocking player, the knocking player also receives a penalty. The knocking player scores points for all of the cards in their hand and adds the total of the player that scored the most points in the round. Say the knocking player had ten points and another player had less points then them. The player with the most points had 68 points in their hand. The knocking player would then score 78 points (10+68) this round.
Deer in the Headlights Board Game FAQ
If you have any questions about how to play the Deer in the Headlights Board Game, leave a comment below on this post. I will try to answer any questions asked as best and as quickly as possible.
Components
- Game Board
- 60 Cards
- 6 Playing Pieces
- 3 Number Dice
- Predator Die
- Scoring Grid
- Storage Bag
- Instructions
Year: 2014 | Publisher: Front Porch Classics
Genres: Card, Dice, Family
Ages: 8+ | Number of Players: 2-6 | Length of Game: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: High
For more board and card game rules/how to plays, check out our complete alphabetical list of card and board game rules posts.