Unstable Unicorns - FAQ

If I play a Downgrade card that transforms Unicorns in a Stable into something other than Unicorns (Pandas, Otters, Cats, etc.), can the player affected by this Downgrade card still win if they collect 7 Unicorn cards in their Stable?

No. As long as that Downgrade card is still in their Stable, any Unicorn cards that are also in that Stable are not considered Unicorns. That player may end up with an impressive collection of Pandas, but that will not win them the game.

Do I need multiple copies of Unstable Unicorns to play 6-8 players?

Only one copy of the game is needed to end 8 friendships at once. That’s really efficient!
When playing with 6+ though, it is frequent that players will run out of cards in the deck. There's an option to shuffle the discard pile into the deck and continue playing, but this is rarely necessary if you use two decks with this number of players.

When a card says “search through the deck for an Upgrade card,” do you start at the top and go one card at a time and take the first Upgrade card you come to? Or can you search through the entire deck for a particular card you want?

If a card search effect specifies a particular card type, you may choose any card of that card type as long as you find it in the deck. You do not have to take the first card of that type that you find.

Does EVERY card with a Unicorn horn symbol on the corner count as a Unicorn?

Yes, absolutely! If there's a Horn, it's a 'Corn. That includes Kittencorn, Puppicorn, Narwhals, etc. If you are unsure about a particular card’s type, check for the italicized text just beneath the card's image.

How do you add expansions to the base game?

You simply shuffle all cards from the expansion into your base game deck, then proceed with gameplay as usual. We recommend only playing with one expansion pack at a time- creating a Super Deck can be exciting, but it can also increase game duration.

If I STEAL a Magical Unicorn card from another player's Stable, does that card's effect trigger when it enters my Stable?

If the effect of the Unicorn card you are stealing says "when this card enters your Stable," then yes, you would activate that Unicorn card's effect when you STEAL it, since stealing it results in it entering your Stable! So be sure you pick a good one to STEAL!

Is there a limit to how many cards you can have in your Stable?

Nope. The amount of cards you can have in your Stable is limitless. Ultimately, you only need to have seven Unicorns to win the game. However, you can have as many Upgrade cards or Downgrade cards in your Stable as you want!

Can I play a card that requires each player to DISCARD a card if one of the other players has no cards in their hand to DISCARD?

Yes you can. The rules state that if the effect of a card in your Stable or a card played by another player requires you to perform an impossible action, you may disregard that action. This means that another player who has no cards in their hand will be forced to perform an impossible action by the effect of the card you are playing, so that player is free to disregard that action. However, if the effect of the card you’re playing does not say "you may," the effect is considered mandatory, which means you (the player playing that card) must be capable of satisfying the requirements of that effect in order to play the card at all. Simply put, in order to play any card that has an “each player must do x” effect, you must be able to do x yourself in order to play that card. The quantity of cards in other players' hands is irrelevant to the card's playability.

If you have multiple Cards with "If this card is in your Stable at the beginning of your turn" do they ALL happen at the beginning of your turn? And if so, how do you determine the order in which these effects trigger?

All cards in your Stable that have effects beginning with "If this card is in your Stable at the beginning of your turn..." will automatically trigger during your Beginning of Turn phase. However, each of these effects will trigger simultaneously. This means that you will not be able to use these effects in any deliberate sequence. For example, if you had both Extremely Fertile Unicorn and the Upgrade card Glitter Bomb in your Stable at the beginning of your turn, you would not be able to use Extremely Fertile Unicorn's effect first ("bring a Baby Unicorn card from the Nursery directly into your Stable") with the intention of sacrificing the new Baby Unicorn in order to use Glitter Bomb's effect ("You may SACRIFICE a card. If you do, DESTROY a card").

When I play a card that requires me to target another player for that card's effect, are the other players allowed to play an Instant card before or after I announce which player is being targeted by the effect of my card?

There are two targeting procedures that are viable for play, and we consider both to be legitimate options. You are free to use either of the two following targeting variants:
Option 1 (easy): When you play a card with an effect, you must declare which player(s) you are targeting before using the effect. This allows players to decide if they want to respond with a Neigh card.
Option 2 (advanced):When you play a card with an effect, players have to choose if they want to use a Neigh card before you select targets.