Sneaky Squirrels Rules

Last updated April, 2026

Links

• Sneaky Squirrels product page
• Original PDF for image reference

Overview

• Designed by Joe Kell
• 2–5 players
• 30 minutes
• Ages 10+

You are Eastern Gray Squirrels preparing for a harsh winter. Bury nuts, steal from others, and forage for food during the fall. When winter arrives, you’ll need to scrounge up enough to survive.

Components

• 67 Food Cards
• 2 Deck Contents Cards
• 5 Reference Cards
• 8 Fox Cards
• 5 Squirrel pieces
• 1 Fox piece

Game Setup

1. Place the Deck Contents Card matching your player count face up.
2. Remove Food Cards not used for your player count. Cards with green borders are always used.
3. Give each player 1 Acorn and 1 Rock. This is their starting hand (kept hidden).
4. Shuffle remaining Food Cards into a face-down pile.
5. Create the Park and Woods:
   • Park: grid of face-down cards in the center
   • Woods: 4 equal piles placed along each edge of the Park
6. Shuffle Fox Cards, remove 4 unseen, and place the rest face down as the Fox Deck.
7. Place the Fox on a Woods space near the first player.
8. Give each player a Reference Card and matching Squirrel. Players place squirrels in the Park (not along the Fox’s edge).

Park & Woods Setup

Players	Park Grid	Woods Size
2	3×4	4
3	4×4	4
4	4×5	6
5	5×5	8

Gameplay Overview

Your goal is to survive winter by eating food with a total nutritional value of 6+. You will bury food in the fall and retrieve it later.

Players may freely talk and bluff at any time.

Fall (5 Rounds)

Each turn, you may move up to 2 times and take 2 actions in any order.

Fall Actions

1. Dig and Bury

• Take a card adjacent to your space (no diagonals)
• Add it to your hand
• Place a card from your hand face down into that space
• You may not dig under squirrels

2. Forage

• Must be on the outer edge of the Park
• Take 2 cards from the adjacent Woods
• Discard 2 cards face down under your Reference Card
• Corner spaces may choose either Woods

Tip: Discard rocks, not food, whenever possible.

Movement

• Move to adjacent spaces (no diagonals)
• Multiple squirrels may share a space
• Empty spaces can be moved into freely (in winter)

The Fox

At the end of each round:

• Reveal a Fox Card
• Move the Fox to a new Woods (clockwise, counterclockwise, or across)
• Squirrels on that edge must move 1 space away

While the Fox is present:

• You cannot enter or dig on that edge
• You cannot forage from that Woods

End of Fall

• Discard remaining hand cards face down
• Flip Reference Cards to winter side
• Remove the Fox
• Return all Woods cards to the box

Winter (4 Rounds)

Each turn:

• Move up to 2 times
• Dig 1 time

When you dig a card:

• Reveal it
• Place it face up in front of you (you eat it)

If you reach 6+ nutrition, remove your squirrel from the board. You survived.

If you do not reach 6 by the end of your 4th turn, you do not survive.

Game End

After 4 rounds of winter:

• Squirrels with 6+ nutrition survive and win
• Others do not survive

Optional Rule: Shorter Fall

Remove 5 Fox Cards during setup instead of 4. This reduces fall to 4 rounds.