THE OBJECT OF THIS GAME is to raise a family, acquire property and money,
and to retire with all the necessary items defined in THE GROK STATE.
THE GROK STATE consists of :
| 1 spouse | (no more, no less) |
| 2 children | (no more, no less) |
| 1 pet | (no more, no less) |
| 1 complete house | (nothing more, nothing less) |
| 1 car | (no more, no less) |
| 1 boat | (no more, no less) |
| $1000 | (or more, but no less) |
WINNING : Note the triangles on the board. They indicate the beginning (yellow) and retiring (purple) points of the ROAD.
The first player with the GROK STATE to reach the retiring point (or beyond) wins the game. Exception : in a game that finds no
one ending with the GROK STATE, the player who retires with the most money wins.
EQUIPMENT AND SETUP : in GROK
® we have a playing board that expresses a ROAD (beginning in yellow). The board
includes four CARD ZONES. To be placed in these zones are four decks of color-matching CARDS (52 in each deck, 208 cards total).
Travel on the ROAD is determined by a pair of standard dice, and players are represented by PAWNS (choice of six colors). After
an area has been created off the playing board for the MARKET PLACE (the GROK server) and each player has been given $750, the game
is ready to begin.
THE MARKET PLACE contains the following : spouses, children, pets, houses (roof plus structures called
four walls),
cars, boats and GROK MONEY in denominations of fifty, one hundred, five hundred, one thousand.
DICE ROLL : in GROK
® a player is not limited to the total number of a dice roll. Instead you have a choice
of either die or their combination. Example : if you roll a four and a six, you may move your pawn four spaces or six spaces or
the total number of ten spaces.
DOUBLES : in rolling doubles you
must take another turn with the dice, but only after completing your original or
present turn of moving the pawn and resonding to card draws. For other rules on doubles see BUYING, SELLING, BARTERING.
THE ROAD : many of the squares (spaces) have dots on them. When a player lands on a dotted square, that player
must
draw a card from the color-matching deck. BUMPING : since no two pawns may occupy the same square at the same time, the old
occupant is bumped forward one square. When the play is backwards, bumping is backwards. Bumping does not effect the card draw rule.
CARD DRAW : a player must roll the dice before drawing a card. In drawing cards (mendatory), you must draw from the deck
that is exactly the same color as your dotted square. each deck has its own special function. For instance, Yellow Cards are mostly
life giving; Green Cards are mostly property giving; Orange Cards are mostly money giving; Purple Cards are mostly chance taking.
Note : it helps to glance through these cards before playing the game.
CARDS - REGULAR are basically self-explanatory. All the important and mandatory directions are printed in bold type. All
cards may be reviewed by fellow players unless the card is marked CONFIDENTIAL. After completing the directions of a REGULAR CARD,
it must be placed on your side of the board -
face up. These cards represent your history through a game. Stack cards as
they increase.
CARDS - CONFIDENTIAL : a card marked CONFIDENTIAL is strictly private until the player puts it to use. Revealing a CONFIDENTAL
CARD before putting it to use automatically disqualifies the card. A player may choose the card immediately or put it aside for a
delayed purpose. When kept for a later use, CONFIDENTIALS must be stationed apart from the pile of regular cards -
face down.
Note : all CONFIDENTIAL CARDS must be revealed at the end of a game. Improper use of cards disqualifies a player.
FINANCIAL IMPRUDENCE : in GROK
® you lose exactly two rolls with the dice when failing to pay any money debts
imposed on you by the cards. What money (cash currency) you do have must be given up to the Market Place without any compensation.
Note : it is only the roll of dice you lose for two turns. You may still use your CONFIDENTIAL CARDS, and players may still do
business with you.
BUYING, SELLING, BARTERING : Everything you need in GROK
® can be baught in the Market Place. Things not needed
can be sold, ORPHANED or DIVORCED (see Market Values). Bartering is an activity restricted to Neighbors (fellow players). Quite often
you will be free to do business with your neighbors directly, and here, true to the nature of bartering, you will deal without fixed
prices. However, the right to buy, sell, or barter only comes with (1) rolling doubles with the dice or (2) when a card offers this
privilege. Moreover, in rolling doubles the right to do business must be exercised
before a card draw.
ELIMINATION : this game is not always pleasant. There is a card that turns you into a
spectator (purple deck). There is
a card that has the effect of making you a
spectator if you fail at an attempted
revolution (purple deck). Then there
are four CONFIDENTIALS that
kill under special circumstances (robberies).
AVERAGE LENGTH OF GAMES : two players, 40 minutes; three players, one hour; four players, one-and-one-half hours; five players,
two hours...
POSTSCRIPT
DRAW TWO CARDS OR DRAW NONE : There is a card in the Orange Deck that allows a player to draw two cards from the Purple Deck.
These cards must be drawn one at a time and responded to one at a time. Exception : if the
spectator card or the
revolution
card is drawn first, the second card
cannot be drawn.
DECK RUN-OUT : occasionally a deck will run out of cards. In this instance the card draw rule continues to apply, but now the
player has the right to choose from any of the remaining decks.
SOLITAIRE : playing against the game itself is a challenging experience. It is also the quickest way to learn the value of each
card. Start this game with $1000.
TOURNAMENT PLAY : serious players draw cards from the bottom of a deck.
MADNESS : games of GROK
® are never alike, and some can be perfectly "mad". Solution : play another game.
For more information enclose a self-adressed, stamped envelope with your letter.
HAPPENSTANCE, INC.
P.O. BOX 26128
LOS ANGELES, CA 90026
