RULES

River Rats is a cooperative game where wealthy

River Rats challenge players in a poker game to
take their money. Communication is limited, and
strategy is key. Use your cards’ abilities and Player
Powers to collectively craft stronger poker combina-
tions than the River Rats and send them scurrying
back to their cabins in debt!

GAME OBJECTIVE
Defeat both River Rats by ensuring each accumulates five
Debt before you collectively gain five Debt.
GAME SETUP
First Time Playing: If this is your first time playing River Rats, skip
Player Powers and River Rats’ Abilities .

1. Character & Player Power: Each player chooses an Ace and

places it in front of them, representing their Character with a
unique Player Power .

2. River Rats: Take the four Kings. Shuffle them. Draw two and
place one face-up (active) and one face-down (inactive). These
are now the River Rats.

3. Jokers: Place two Jokers face-down next to the play area.

4. Draw Deck: Shuffle all unused cards (including remaining Aces

and Kings) to form the Draw Deck.

5. Individual hands: Deal two cards to each player.

6. Market: Reveal three cards and place them face-up in the

Market.

7. Joker’s Prediction Reference: Place the Joker’s Prediction

Reference card next to the Jokers.

8. Player’s Debt: Leave space next to the Joker’s Prediction

Reference to track the Player’s Debt.

After the Game Setup, continue with Round Setup.

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ROUND SETUP
1. River Rat’s Hand: Reveal five cards and place them next to
the active River Rat. Draw two extra cards and place them
face-down. The River Rat’s hand consists of the face-up River
Rat(s), five face-up cards and two face-down cards.

2. Joker’s Prediction & Debt: Reveal one card and place it

face-up next to the Jokers. This is the Joker’s Prediction and the
place where you place the first Debt card of the round. The Debt
card represents the ante of the round.

3. Collective hand: Leave space below the River Rat’s Hand for
five cards to place the collective player hand.

4. River Rat’s Ability: Read the active River Rat’s Ability and
adjust setup if needed.

COMMUNICATION RESTRICTIONS
Players cannot reveal or hint at their hands. General strategy
discussions are allowed as long as they don’t reveal card specifics.

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JOKERS
EXAMPLE SETUP
Player
Debt
Inactive Active
River Rat River Rat RIVER RAT’S HAND

Spaces for
additional cards

Places for
River Rat’s Debt COLLECTIVE HAND

Discard

Empty space for

Deck MARKET additional cards
GAMEPLAY
The game consists of rounds and turns. A round ends after resol-
ving hands. A turn is a player’s turn.

1. In your turn, choose to Draw & Play or Use a Joker:

a. Draw & Play:

1. You have a hand limit of three cards. At the start of your turn, if you
have fewer than three cards, draw cards until you reach your hand
limit by either:

• Taking a face-up card from the Market. Refill the Market if it

contains less than three cards.

• Drawing one card from the Draw Deck.

2. Play a card from your hand into the collective hand. Place it
face open. You may:

Perform the action based on the card’s suit (p. 12),

or
• Use your Player Power if the card’s suit matches your
Character’s suit (see p.13).

b. Use a Joker: Add a face-up Joker to the collective hand. A

Joker can represent any card. During hand resolution, the players
collectively decide its suit and value. Only one Joker can be used
per collective hand.

2. End of turn: If the collective hand contains five cards, proceed to

Hand Resolution. Otherwise, the next player takes their turn.
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Whenever the Draw Deck runs out, shuffle the
discard pile to form a new deck.

Deck Market
1. DRAW
Refill your hand to 3
cards. Take cards from
Draw Deck or Market

2. PLAY
Place card in
Collective Hand

3. CHOOSE TO
TAKE ACTION
JOKER’S PREDICTION
JOKER’S
PREDICTION IS
CORRECT

COLLECTIVE HAND

OPEN UP
JOKER

Player
Debt
HAND RESOLUTION
To resolve hands, follow these steps:

1. Joker’s Prediction: Regardless of the outcome, if the collective

hand matches the Joker’s Prediction, flip one Joker face-up. It
can now be used. See also the Joker’s Prediction Reference.

First Debt card Joker’s prediction

Ace Straight flush
King Four of a kind
Queen, Jack, 10 Full house
9, 8, 7, 6 Flush
5, 4, 3, 2 Straight

2. Reveal cards: Turn any face-down cards face-up, except for

the inactive River Rat, in both the River Rat’s and the collective
hand.

3. Determine best hand: The best hand consists of five cards. If

more cards are available (e.g., in the River Rat’s hand), form the
best possible
combination of five cards. The River Rat’s hand consists of the
face-up River Rat(s), five face-up cards and two or more fa-
ce-down cards. See Hand Ranking Overview for the hierarchy of
combinations.
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JOKERS
EXAMPLE OUTCOME
Player
PLAYERS WIN Debt
Place Debt on
Active River Rat
Inactive Active
River Rat River Rat RIVER RAT’S HAND Face up cards
Two pair
Flush
Spaces for
River Rat Debt
COLLECTIVE HAND
4. Determine outcome
• Players win: Place all Debt face down on the River Rat. When
a River Rat has accumulated five or more Debt, it has been
defeated.
• River Rat wins: Assign one player to collect all Debt for the
players. Place the accumulated Debt in the game on top of their
Character card. If the players have collectively accumulated five
Debt, the players lose the game.
• Tie: River Rats win all ties.

5. Clean up
• Discard your collective hand.
• Discard the River Rat’s hand (except the River Rats themselves).
• Remove used Jokers from the game.
• Perform a new Round Setup. Players’ hands and the Market
remain untouched.
If the Deck runs out, shuffle the Discard pile to form a new Deck.

DEFEATING A RIVER RAT

A River Rat is defeated when it has accumulated five or more Debt.
Follow these steps:
6. Discard its Debt.
7. Rotate the River Rat. Its ability becomes inactive, but it stays part
of the second River Rat’s hand.
8. Read the River Rat’s defeat bonus .
9. Flip the second River Rat face-up and perform a new Round
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Setup.

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SUIT ACTIONS
When you play a card, you may perform the Suit Action of its suit.
If the card matches the suit of your Ace, you may choose to activa-
te your Player Power instead.

♣ Add a card from your hand face-up to the Market (max. six
cards).

Solo: Add the top card from the Draw Deck face-up to the Market.

Note: ♣ does not increase the number of permanent slots in

the Market; it temporarily gives you extra cards to choose from.
The Market still refills only when there are two cards or less.

♦ Swap another card from the collective hand (not a Joker or

this card) with one from your hand. No new or are trigge-
red.

♥ Increase Debt by placing the top card of the Draw Deck

face-down on the Debt pile.

♠ Discard a card from your hand or the Market. Refill the

Market if needed.

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PLAYER POWERS
When you play a card, you may perform the Suit Action of its suit.
If the card matches the suit of your Ace, you may choose to activa-
te your Player Power instead.

♣ Add up to two cards from your hand face-up to the Market

(max. six cards) instead of ♣.

Solo: Add up to two cards from the Draw Deck instead of from your
hand.

Note: ♣ does not increase the number of permanent slots in

the Market; it temporarily gives you extra cards to choose from.
The Market still refills only when there are two cards or less.

♦ Swap another card from the collective hand (not a Joker

or this card) with a card from the Market. No new or are
triggered.

♥ You may flip a card from the River Rat’s hand face-up.
Choose whether or not to increase Debt.

♠ Discard any number of cards from either your hand or the

Market. Refill the Market if needed.

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RIVER RAT’S ABILITIES
& DEFEAT BONUSES
♥ When the River Rat wins, increase Debt by one before
assigning Debt.

♥ Remove one Debt card from the players’ total Debt.

♠ The first card of each round cannot be a Joker and must be
placed face-down in the collective hand. It does not trigger any
or . It cannot be swapped.

♠ Increase the Market’s permanent capacity to four cards.

Refill the Market once there are three cards or less.

♣ The River Rat’s hand has two extra face-down cards.

♣ The next River Rat’s hand has one fewer face-down card.
♦ During Round Setup, deal the top card from the Draw Deck
as the first card in the collective hand. It does not trigger any or
.

♦ Future hands are resolved with six cards. Choose the best
combination of five cards when resolving such a hand.

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HAND RANKING OVERVIEW
Hands are ranked from highest to lowest.

Straight flush: Five cards of the same suit in sequence (e.g., 5♦,
6♦, 7♦, 8♦, 9♦).

Four of a kind: Four cards of the same rank (e.g., 9♠, 9♦, 9♣,
9♥). The fifth card is any other card

Full house: A combination of three cards of one rank and two

cards of another (e.g., Q♠, Q♦, Q♥, 5♣, 5♠).

Flush: Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence (e.g., A♥, 7♥,
5♥, 3♥, 2♥).

Straight: Five cards in sequence but from different suits (e.g., 4♦,
5♠, 6♣, 7♠, 8♥).

Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank (e.g., 8♠, 8♥, 8♣)
with any two unrelated cards.

Two pair: Two sets of two cards of the same rank (e.g., 10♠, 10♣,
4♦, 4♥) and one unrelated card.

One pair: Two cards of the same rank (e.g., K♠, K♣) and three
unrelated cards.

Highest card: When no better combination is available, the hand

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is ranked by the highest single card (e.g., an Ace beats a King).

TIEBREAKERS

Full house
If both parties have a full house, the highest three of a kind wins.

Straight flushes, Straights and Flushes

If the River Rat and the players have the same ranking hand (e.g. a
Flush), the highest card decides the winner. If the highest card is the
same for both parties, it is a True Tie.

TWO PAIRS AND PAIRS

If the River Rat and the players have the same ranking hand in
the same value (e.g. a pair of 8s), the value of the highest card
additional card decides. If both hands have the same highest card,
compare the second-highest card, then the third, and so on until the
tie is broken. In case all cards are exactly the same, it is a True Tie.

TRUE TIES

River Rats win True Ties.

CARD VALUE RANKING

Card values rank from highest to lowest as follows: Ace, King,

Queen, Jack, 10 to 2. The Ace can also count as 1, the lowest
rank, when it is part of a Straight from A to 5. Suits are of equal
value.
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JOKERS
Earning Jokers: If a collective hand matches the Joker’s predicti-
on, flip a Joker face-up.

Using Jokers: Use a face-up Joker instead of Draw & Play. Only
one Joker can be used in a collective hand.

END OF THE GAME

The game ends immediately when one of the following conditions
is met:

• You win: Both River Rats are defeated when each has accumu-
lated five Debt.

• You lose: The players collectively accumulate five Debt. In this

case, the River Rats win.

INCREASED DIFFICULTY
You can increase the game’s difficulty using the Advanced and
Expert modes.

Notes on using Jokers in ADVANCED and EXPERT modes:

Instead of adding a face-up Joker to the collective hand, set it aside

until hand resolution. Before hand resolution, perform the action as
written.
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ADVANCED MODE

River Rat’s Hand: During Round Setup, add one additional

face-down card to the River Rat’s hand.

Using Jokers: Remove any card from the River Rat’s hand,
except the River Rat(s), and add two additional face-down cards.
Then remove the Joker from the game.

EXPERT MODE

River Rat’s Hand: During Round Setup, add two additional

face-down cards to the River Rat’s hand.

Using Jokers: You can use the Joker only during Hand Resolution.
When using a Joker, you may reveal cards from the top of the
Draw Deck, one at a time. You may choose to stop revealing cards
at any given point.

• Add each revealed card to your collective hand, unless it

matches the suit of the active River Rat.

• If a revealed card matches the River Rat’s suit, discard all cards
revealed this way and immediately gain one Debt.

• Proceed to resolve the hands as normal.

• Remove the Joker from the game by returning it to the box.

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CREDITS
Game Design and Development: Mathijs Jansen & Robin Stokkel
Artwork and Graphic Design Cards: Rixt Heerschop
Graphic Design Rules: Studio Monyet

Published by Four Suit Studio

Special thanks to:

Chris Backe
Douglas Pluylaar
Gijs Sieben

Scan QR-code for rules

and ‘How to play’-video.

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