Treasure hunters and saboteurs are at each other’s throats in this role-playing card game. The only question is: who’s on which side!
Treasure-hunting dwarves are hacking their way through a massive mountain. There are gold-seekers, but also saboteurs. But who is who? For players with a poker face!
Why would you want to play this?
• Exciting card game for large groups
• Doesn’t take too long, so it’s great for break times
• Have fun sabotaging!
Who plays Saboteur?
Saboteur is ideal for large groups, but is also great fun with as few as 3 players. You can really get under each other’s skin in this game, which makes it perfect for playing with groups of friends. But this game is fun for young (aged 8 and up) and old alike, so it’s also great for playing with the family.
What’s more, a game of Saboteur doesn’t take long, making it an ideal game for in between other activities.
How do you play Saboteur?
Each player receives a role card, which indicates whether they are a saboteur or a treasure-hunting dwarf. They keep their role secret from everyone, but are of course free to say whatever they like in the meantime. Furthermore, each player receives a number of cards featuring tunnels, tools or sabotage options. The treasure hunters aim to find the treasure, whilst the saboteurs try to prevent this. For instance, they can sabotage each other’s tools or lay out tunnels in the wrong direction. Because it cannot be determined with certainty who belongs to which side, it is quite possible that you might hinder an ally in this way. The winning side receives a reward at the end of the game. The player who has collected the most rewards after a number of rounds wins the game.
Awards/Nominations
Saboteur was nominated in Japan in 2004 as ‘Best game for beginners’.
Expansions and variants
• Saboteur: The Expansion (expansion)
• Saboteur: The Lost Mines (board game)
• Saboteur: The Duel (2 players)
• Saboteur: The Dark Cave (standalone sequel)
Educational
Are you looking for a fun group game for the whole class? Then why not consider Saboteur? You can play it with 3 to 10 players, so 3 boxes are enough. You can explain the rules to the whole class. With the expansion, you can even play with up to 12 players. A game of Saboteur provides your class with over half an hour of educational fun.
The base game is suitable for pupils from Year 4 onwards, and the expansion from Year 5 onwards.
In both versions, you practise planning, amongst other things: you decide where to place your corridor cards and which actions to use to do so. Organisation is also practised: you ensure the cards are clearly visible and fit within the playing area. With the expansion, this game places an additional emphasis on emotional regulation and flexibility, as you can carry out many actions to thwart one another.
With Saboteur, you also work on a number of maths objectives from the curriculum.
By placing cards and determining routes, pupils practise spatial awareness and geometric relationships. By calculating how many cards are still needed to reach the gold, pupils develop a better understanding of distance and learn to estimate.
