Overview

Fruit Spy is a bluffing and area-majority card game for 3-5 players. Six farmhouse boards are arranged in a circle, each with fruit tokens of varying Yum-yum values placed on them. Two farmer figures (Farmer Papa and Daly) patrol the farmhouses in opposite directions. Players secretly place spy cards on farmhouses to claim the most valuable fruit. When a face-down card is placed at a farmhouse that already has one, the existing card is revealed, potentially triggering farmer movement or tool card effects. The player with the highest total Yum-yum value at the end wins.

Components

• 6 farmhouse boards
• 2 figures with stands (Farmer Papa, Daly)
• 20 fruit tokens (valued 1-7 Yum-yum points)
• 40 spy cards (8 per player in 5 colors: 7 trick cards numbered 1-7 and 1 tool card per set)
• Instructions

Setup

1. Arrange the 6 farmhouse boards in a circle in random order.
2. Place Farmer Papa on the farmhouse showing his icon. Place Daly on the farmhouse showing her icon. Papa moves counter-clockwise; Daly moves clockwise.
3. Distribute fruit tokens based on player count:
   • 3 players: 2 tokens per farmhouse
   • 4 players: 3 tokens per farmhouse
   • 5 players: 4 tokens on Papa’s and Daly’s starting farmhouses, 3 on all others
4. Each player takes 8 spy cards of their chosen color.

Turn Structure

Play proceeds clockwise, starting with whoever ate fruit most recently.

On Your Turn:

1. Play a spy card face-down on any farmhouse of your choice.
2. Reveal existing cards: If another face-down card was already at that farmhouse, flip it face-up.
   • If the revealed card is a tool card: Both the tool card and your newly placed card are discarded face-down.
   • If the revealed card is a trick card: The trick card’s effect triggers – move Farmer Papa one farmhouse counter-clockwise OR Daly one farmhouse clockwise (depending on the card).

Actions

Card Types

• Trick Cards (1-7): Provide strength value at a farmhouse for the end-game majority contest. When revealed early by another player’s placement, they trigger farmer movement.
• Tool Cards: Act as traps. When revealed, both the tool card and the card that triggered the reveal are discarded, wasting the opponent’s card.

Farmer Movement

When a trick card is revealed at a farmhouse, the corresponding farmer moves one farmhouse in their designated direction (Papa counter-clockwise, Daly clockwise). Farmer positions affect strategy since they change the relative value of fruit at various farmhouses.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Game End

The game ends when either:

• One of the farmer figures returns to its starting farmhouse, OR
• All players have played all of their spy cards.

Scoring

1. At each farmhouse, reveal all remaining face-down spy cards.
2. Calculate each player’s total strength value at that farmhouse (sum of trick card numbers).
3. Award fruit tokens in order of strength:
   • Strongest player takes the fruit token with the highest Yum-yum value.
   • Second-strongest takes the next highest value.
   • Continue until tokens or players with presence are exhausted.
   • Any remaining fruit tokens (unclaimed) go to the strongest player at that farmhouse.
4. Winner: The player with the highest total Yum-yum value across all collected fruit tokens wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

Tool Card Interactions

• If you place a card at a farmhouse where the only other face-down card is a tool card, both are discarded. This wastes your placement.
• Tool cards have no strength value; they exist purely as traps.

Tie Breaking at Farmhouses

If two players tie in strength at a farmhouse, the player who placed their most recent card at that farmhouse earlier in the game wins the tie.

Empty Farmhouses

If no spy cards are at a farmhouse at game end, the fruit tokens there are not awarded to anyone.

Farmer Return Timing

When a farmer reaches its starting farmhouse, the game ends immediately after the current turn is resolved.

Player Reference

Turn: Play 1 spy card face-down at a farmhouse -> Reveal any existing face-down card there

Revealed Card Effects: | Card Type | Effect | |———–|——–| | Trick card | Move farmer one farmhouse | | Tool card | Both cards discarded |

End Game Triggers:

1. Farmer returns to starting farmhouse
2. All cards played

Scoring: At each farmhouse, strongest player gets best fruit token, second gets next, etc.

Key Numbers: | Item | Value | |——|——-| | Cards per player | 8 (7 trick + 1 tool) | | Farmhouses | 6 | | Trick card values | 1-7 | | Fruit token values | 1-7 Yum-yum points |