Teflarok: Dummy 2-Player Variant

In the game Teflarok: Game of the Gods, we have a suggested 2-player variant that has a pretty different strategy from the rest of the game. This new variant uses a dummy so the strategy and gameplay is more similar to a 3-player game. Read the full rules below with photo examples to learn how to play.

The download will provide you with a zip folder including 2 pdfs: rules with a stone background to match the original rules, and rules with no background to use less ink. Cut it out to fit into the box (will be 8"x8").

When printing, make sure the document is scaled at 100% to get the correct size. “Fast” quality will use less ink, but “Standard” and “High” quality will look better. We recommend using card stock, but normal paper works too. If you choose to print double-sided, you will need one 8.5”x11” piece of paper. If you print single-sided then you will need two pieces of paper.

This plays similar to the 3-player game, but with a dummy as one of the players. The dummy will never be the nominator, but will be involved in bidding for runes and playing words. You do not keep track of his money and thus he can not win the game. Anytime he pays you, take the money from the bank, and anytime you pay him, put your money into the bank.

(click images to enlarge)

Set Up:

1. Give the dummy 3 stacks of tokens: each stack includes four “1” tokens and one “5” token. Also put a “5”, a “10”, and a “20” token close to him.

2. Each player is dealt three Words and picks one for the dummy (discard the other two to the bottom of the deck). Put your choice face down in the dummy play area and add a third Word card from the top of the deck (also face down).

3. Each player is dealt 5 words and picks 3 to keep, as normal. After your Words are chosen, flip the three dummy Words face up for all to see.

4. Deal 2 runes to each player, as usual, including the dummy. Put the his rune cards face up and stack them with his corresponding Word cards if any match (if not, just put them to the side).

5. Set up the rest as usual: each player (not the dummy) gets 60 tokens, flip 5 runes face up in the center play area and one Word face up for sharing from.

Bidding on a Discarded Rune:

Check if the dummy needs the rune for one of his Words:

✧ No: he does nothing, continue play as normal.

✧ Yes: he bids the required amount: 10, 20, or 30 (put the tokens out in front of him to remember).

• If the other player does not want to bid, the nominator takes this amount from the bank and the dummy gets the rune card (put it with the Word that needed it).

• If the other player does bid, they first reveal their bid (remember, it will be 10, 20, or 30 plus their bid). Then the nominator takes one stack of dummy tokens and mixes it up in their hand. Without looking, flip one coin over at a time. Stop when the 5 token is revealed and only count all previous 1 tokens. If the 5 token is first, the bid is 5. If the dummy wins, the nominator takes the amount from the bank (the dummy keeps his stack of tokens), and put the rune card with the Word that needed it. If the other player wins, take their money as usual.

• Example of possible bids from a single stack of tokens:

  • 1 - 5 = the bid is 1

  • 1 - 1 - 5 = the bid is 2

  • 1 - 1 - 1 - 5 = the bid is 3

  • 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 5 = the bid is 4

  • 5 = the bid is 5

Bidding on a Nominated Rune:

The dummy bids regardless if he needs the rune or not.

1. If the dummy needs the rune, automatically put 5, 10, or 15 out first to start his bid (common, rare, legendary). If the dummy does not need the rune, do not put anything out first.

2. The other player reveals their bid for the rune. It is important they do this before the nominator reveals the rest of the dummy’s bid from the stack(s).

3. Just like they did for the discarded rune, the nominator takes a stack of tokens into their hand, mixes them up, and reveals them one at a time until the 5 token is hit. They do this for each stack that is required.

   • For a common rune, bid with one stack of tokens, for rare use 2 stacks, and for legendary use all 3 stacks.

4. As usual, the nominator can then choose to buy everyone out (they will give tokens to the other player and to the bank). If they do not buy out, then they take the winning bid (either from the player or from the bank).

   • Remember to not take the dummy’s tokens from the stacks because you’ll just have to make more stacks for next turn. It’s better to just take the correct amount from the bank.

Playing a Word:

✧ If the dummy ever completes a Word, he plays it at his first possible chance:

• During a Word Cascade.

• During his “turn”. He does not usually get a turn, but if he has completed a Word, he will play it in between the two players when his turn would be, and it triggers a Word Cascade as usual.

✧ He does not get any tokens for playing the Word.

✧ He is allowed to share a rune like the other players, and automatically does so if he can (if there are multiple runes he could share, the two players just need to figure out a way to agree upon the dummy’s choice - flip a coin or something if you can’t agree).

✧ He can trigger the end of the game by completing all of his words.

Some Notes:

✧ If there is ever a tie, break the tie by having the player first reveal their extra bid, then use one more stack of tokens for the dummy’s extra bid.

✧ Remember that you always know the dummy’s minimum and maximum bids for a given rune. The strategy is playing the odds and deciding how much you really want that rune (or figuring out how much the nominator is willing to buy out for it).

✧ You can speed up the process a little bit if a player ever bids more than the dummy’s maximum possible bid:

• For the discarded rune, the player automatically gets the rune and you don’t need to take the time to determine the dummy’s bid.

• For the nominated rune, first check if the nominator plans on buying out. If it’s a possible yes, then you still need to determine the dummy’s bid. If the nominator says they don’t plan on buying it out, then they can just take the player’s bid right away and the player gets the rune.

✧ To make things easier, you can have 6 stacks of bidding tokens out instead of 3. Have 3 stacks close to one player and 3 close to the other player, so you’re not shuffling them back and forth each turn, since it is the nominator’s job to control the dummy. (or have the same person always control the dummy regardless of who is the nominator. It doesn’t actually matter since it is random. Remember to not reveal the dummy bids until after the player has bid).

✧ If you find the stacks of bidding tokens too tedious and annoying to work with, you can try using three 6-sided dice instead. The bids will be slightly higher now that each “stack” can be between 1 and 6 instead of 1 and 5.

✧ If you play this variant, please let us know how it goes. Enjoy! ✧

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