In Saboteur, 3 to 10 players step into the boots of dwarven miners venturing into a dark mine in search of elusive gold. However, not everyone at the table shares the same goal. Secret roles are dealt at the start of each round, splitting the table into two hidden factions: honest Gold-Diggers and malicious Saboteurs.
- The Goal: Gold-Diggers must lay path cards to create an unbroken tunnel from the mine entrance to one of three face-down goal cards containing the gold nugget. Saboteurs must secretly delay, block, or misdirect the tunnel path until the draw deck runs out.
- Gameplay: On their turn, a player must either play a Path Card to extend the mine, play an Action Card, or discard a card face-down to draw a replacement.
- Action Cards: Action cards drive the table drama. Players can play Break Cards to destroy another player’s tools (pickaxes, lamps, or mine carts) to prevent them from building tunnels, play Repair Cards to fix tools, trigger Cave-Ins to blast away bad tunnel pieces, or use Secret Maps to peek at goal cards.
- Scoring & Victory: The game takes place over three distinct rounds. Roles are re-shuffled each round, so allies become enemies. If the miners reach the gold, they divide the treasure; if they fail, the saboteurs claim the gold nuggets. After three rounds, the player who has amassed the most gold wins.