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August 06, 2025
How to Play Rescuing Robin Hood | A Cooperative Fantasy Adventure Board Game for Family Game Nights
Tabletop
August 06, 2025
Learn how to play Rescuing Robin Hood in this step-by-step guide. Build your merry band, storm the castle, and save Robin Hood before time runs out!
>Learn how to play Rescuing Robin Hood in this step-by-step guide. Build your merry band, storm the castle, and save Robin Hood before time runs out!
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Robin Hood has been captured! The villagers of Nottingham are in desperate need of a hero now more than ever to save Robin Hood from the greedy Sheriff’s clutches. In Rescuing Robin Hood, players take on the roles of his legendary companions to form rescue teams, free villagers, and ultimately storm the castle to save Robin Hood himself.
This cooperative deck-building strategy game is ideal for ages 10+, playable solo or with up to 5 players. It was awarded the Dice Tower Seal of Excellence, marking it as one of the top-tier board games for its quality, theme, and engaging gameplay.
Objective of Rescuing Robin Hood
You are playing as the villagers this game, rather than Robin Hood, and your your objective is rescue Robin Hood himself from Nottingham Castle. There are a total of five rounds, or in-game days, to the game. The first four are spent rescuing villagers and defeating guards to grow your team. On the fifth day, you and your band of heroes storm the castle to save Robin Hood.
What’s in the Box
- Robin Hood & Sheriff of Nottingham Cards
- Band Leader Cards
- Villager Cards (with bronze, silver, gold, or no medallions)
- Guard Cards (Red and Blue decks)
- Scenario Setup Cards (for Days 1–2, 3–4, and Day 5)
- Challenge Cards (optional)
- Location Cards: Nottingham Castle, Sherwood Forest, Major Oak Tree
- Skill Tokens: Scouting, Cookery, Prayer
- Attribute Trackers and Colored Cubes (for Wit, Stealth, Brawn, and Jolliness)
- 1st Player Token
Setup
1. Assign First Player:
- The player who most recently walked in a forest gets the 1st player token.
2. Prepare the Play Area:
- Place the Major Oak Tree at the top center of the play area.
- Place Robin Hood, Sheriff, and Nottingham Castle nearby.
- Place the Sherwood Forest card on the side for later use.
3. Separate & Shuffle Cards:
- Split Red and Blue Guard Cards into two separate decks. Shuffle each.
- Shuffle Villager Cards into four decks based on the medallion shown in the top-right corner.
4. Deal Starting Hands:
- Each player receives eight villager cards (no medallion) face down.
- Give each player two Band Leaders, but pick and keep only one.
- Each player receives an Attribute Tracker card and two cubes for each skill.
5. Select Scenario Cards:
- Choose setup cards based on the number of players in your group.
- You’ll pick three set up cards, one for Days 1-2, Days 3-4, and Day 5.
- These are used to determine the guard/villager layout for each day.
Gameplay Overview for Rescuing Robin Hood
Overview
- 1. Setting up the Battlefield using the appropriate scenario card.
- 2. Planning Phase
- 3. Attack Phase (two attacks per player, back-to-back)
- 4. Wrap-Up & Reset
Planning Phase
- 1. Reveal Guards: Flip the top card of each guard row.
- 2. Draw the top four Villagers from your deck.
- 3. Calculate Attributes: First player adds up Wit, Stealth, Brawn, and Jolliness from villagers and band leader.
- 4. Jolliness can be used to adjust attributes (Ex: if you have three Jolliness, you can add three points to one attribute or one point to each attribute. Must be an equal exchange.) Unused Jolliness transfers over to the next player.
-
5. Gain Skill Tokens: Based on icons on your Villager cards.
-
6. Use Skill Tokens:
- Scouting: Reveal any two guard cards in one row.
- Cookery: Give any player +2 to one attribute (Wit, Stealth, Brawn). Flip it next round to Mead, which gives +1 Jolliness.
- Prayer: Move any face-up/down guard to another row, or combine two prayer tokens to remove one guard completely.
Attack Phase
Each player takes two attacks per day, back to back. Choose an attribute to attack with: Wit, Stealth, or Brawn.
Attack Types:
-
Wit:
- Pick a row and attack the revealed guard in the front of that row.
- If your Wit is great or equal to the guard’s, you defeat it and may continue to attack.
- You can stop at any time or continue until you fail.
- If you fail, all defeated guards return to their original positions, so press your luck carefully.
-
Stealth:
- Pick as many guards as you wish in one row, in any position, to attack.
- If your Stealth is great or equal to the total Stealth of revealed guards, defeat them all.
- Fail? Guards stay face up where they were.
-
Brawn:
- Reveal all the guards in a single row.
- If your Brawn is great or equal to the total of all the guards, defeat them all.
- If you lose, all guards stay put.
Rescuing Villagers
- Villagers are rescued if all the guards of their respective row are defeated.
- Rescued villagers may be added to any player's discard pile at the end of the day.
- Unclaimed villagers go to Sherwood Forest.
- Unrescued villagers go to Nottingham Castle.
End of Day
- 1. Discard Used Villagers and skill tokens (except Cookery, which is flipped over and becomes Mead to be used in the next day).
- 2. Reset Attributes to zero.
- 3. Shuffle Guards back into their decks.
- 4. Pass First Player Token clockwise.
- 5. Use the next scenario setup card for the following day. Days 1-2, and 3-4 would simply reuse the same card for the next respective day.
Progressing Through Days
Gameplay for most days is exactly the same, except for how the round ends. Days 1-2 are set up exactly the same, while Days 3-4 are set up differently based on the scenario card. Day 5 has its own unique scenario since it’s the day you storm Nottingham Castle.
End of Day 2
- Look at all your villagers and select eight of them to take into Days 3–4.
- Place the rest in Sherwood Forest.
Days 3–4
- Shuffle your chosen eight villagers.
- Draw four per day.
- Use the Days 3–4 scenario card to set up guards and villagers.
- Play as before.
End of Day 4
- Select four villagers for Day 5 as your team for the final day.
- The rest of the villagers go to Sherwood Forest.
Day 5: The Final Battle
- Use the Day 5 setup card to build the battlefield.
- Place Nottingham Castle at the top of the first row, where the revealed card usually is.
- Place Robin Hood and imprisoned villagers to the left of the bottom row.
- Players attack as usual, but they must start by defeating the top card, Nottingham Castle, and the player who defeats the castle gets bonus Jolliness.
Victory
Once all guards are defeated, Robin Hood is rescued and the game is won!
Optional Ending: Imprison the Sheriff
- Flip Robin Hood to his active side (the side with attributes).
- The current player adds him to their band.
- Use remaining attacks to defeat guards protecting the Sheriff of Nottingham.
- Defeat the Sheriff to complete the bonus victory!
Final Thoughts on How to Play Rescuing Robin Hood
If you love cooperative games with heart, strategy, and a rich theme, Rescuing Robin Hood is a must-play. With its engaging mechanics, charming storytelling, and premium production value, it’s no wonder this game has become a fan favorite.
So rally your Merry Band, sharpen your skills, and prepare for one of the most heroic game nights yet—Robin Hood’s life depends on it!
We also have a review on Rescuing Robin Hood available for those who want a more in depth look at the game!
Want to grab a copy and buy Rescuing Robin Hood? Just click the image below!
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Frequently Asked Questions
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