That's Ruff - A Board and Card game by Manus Hand

That's Ruff! is a fun card and board game for 2-4 players of all ages! To win, be the first to move your dog to fetch all the flying discs on its path, then into its dog house!

View the PDF rulebook

That's Ruff - A Board and Card game by Manus Hand

View the PDF rulebook

TRIVIA

About the Game

  • That's Ruff! originated as an old-west themed game named "Rustler", which featured horses and cattle instead of dogs!

  • Originally, the game was played using a Cribbage board, and each of the two phases of play saw the players moving a different peg, each starting at zero, and both moving forward, with the goal to finish your turn with both pegs back next to each other.

  • Before the game became "That's Ruff!", the two phases of play were called "the heech" and "the honk", after a silly costumed character named "Heechy Honk" that featured in the game creator's childhood.

  • The names of the five dogs on the playing mats and the cards were the names of the dogs who were the family pets of Jim Hand, founder of The Grail. Nicodemus Napoleon ("Nicky") was his childhood dog, while Moon, Pappy, and Sage were each with him in succession as he and his wife Sharon raised their seven children. Lady kept him company in retirement and saw him to the end of his long and happy life.

  • The game was inspired by a dream that the late Laura Hand Donahue had on the evening following her father's death. James Hand, founder of The Grail and a lover of games and game development, laid out what became "Rustler" to her in that dream. Laura brought other members of the family into the project, and the mechanics and structure of the game were fine-tuned, argued over, and repeatedly play-tested. After Laura was called Home, her brother and nephew continued developing the game. That's Ruff! is lovingly dedicated to Jim Hand (called "Himself") and his daughter Laura (whom he called "Tinker"). Jim and Laura both smile down on you from Heaven, watching you enjoy playing!

CATALOG

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That's Ruff!

A fun card and board game for 2-4 players of all ages! To win, be the first to move your dog to fetch all the flying discs on its path, then into its dog house!

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