Hickory Dickory Round Structure
C.H.I.R.P.
Round Overview
Hello, and welcome back for another Hickory Dickory preview! This week we will be discussing Hickory Dickory’s unique and fluid round structure.
Tick Talk
Hickory Dickory isn’t like other games. We know it might sound cuckoo but in this game, players don’t actually take turns. The hands move around the clock, and each time the minute hand points to one of the twelve numbered spaces, any mice that are on the minute hand or on the space associated with that number, can take a little mouse turn. This is called a tick of the clock, and once all mice at that tick have had their chance to activate, the minute hand moves to the next number on the clock and the process repeats.
A mouse on the minute hand does not have to activate if their player chooses to wait and ride the hand to a number later in the round. A mouse at a number’s inner ring space when the minute hand arrives, can choose to hop on the minute hand instead of taking an action. This allows them to ride the hand to a number later in the round.
Sometimes the minute hand will be empty of mice or will point to a space that is empty of mice, or worse, a space will be blocked by that pesky house cat. When this happens, just move the minute hand to the next tick.
Who Goes First?
When the minute hand arrives at a number, there is an order that the mice activate. First, all mice on the minute hand activate starting with the mouse closest to the tip of the minute hand and going in a tiny conga line toward the back. Each mouse can choose to stay on, or hop off. A mouse that hops off will grab whatever free tile happens to be at that number’s outer ring and then take the action that is associated with that number. Only the first mouse to take the action will get the free tile. Mice that have taken an action at a number will end up in the outer ring space for that number, showing that they have activated.
After all mice on the hand have either hopped off or chose to stay on, the mice that were at that number already, and on the inner ring space, can now take their activations. If there are multiple mice of different teams, the mice will activate in order of priority. Consult the priority track on the left side-board to find the proper order based on team color.
Once all mice are finished, move the minute hand to the next number and repeat the process. Tick!
Trading Tiles
While the minute hand is at a number, if any players have more than one of their mice at that number and/or on the minute hand that is pointing at that number, they can trade items freely between those mice. This doesn’t cost an action and doesn’t depend on the priority track. It’s important to use these squeaky swap meets to get your best collection of item tiles to the best mice for turning them in and scoring some of those sweet berries, uh, we mean points.
‘Round the Clock
The minute hand will move clockwise from number to number until it reaches the twelve. That is the end of the round and now the players will work together to conduct the end of the round procedure known as…. The CHIRP!
C.H.I.R.P.
Special operations rely on sophisticated code words to ensure proper protocol. That’s why the mighty Lord Cuckoo invented the CHIRP. It’s also a pretty handy way for players to breeze through the end of round steps and set up for the next round. Here are the steps:
C= Cat: Roll the cat die and move the cat paw to that number.
H= Hour: Move the hour hand clockwise to the next number.
I= Inner Ring: Move all mice that are on outer ring spaces to the inner ring spaces.
R= Refill: Add new tiles to the outer ring on any number spaces that are empty. Plus refill any empty market discount bin spaces and empty cuckoo quest spaces.
P= Priority: Move the priority tracker clockwise on the priority track.
You’re now ready for the next round. Play continues until the clock strikes midnight, then you’ll count up berries and announce which mice are victorious!
Ok, that’s all for this week. Join us next week when we will be discussing favor cards, how to get them, and how to use them to win. Hickory Dickory is currently available for pre-order at HickoryDickoryGame.com and will be available in stores and online in January.
