Frequently Asked Questions

If you still have questions, feel free to Contact Us!

Unstable Unicorns

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.

Llamas Unleashed

Is Llamas Unleashed an expansion for Unstable Unicorns?

Llamas Unleashed is a separate game, and cannot be mixed into the Unstable Unicorns game. It does, however, have similar rules and gameplay, so Unstable Unicorns players can learn the rules very quickly!

Does Henry the Huarizo count as 2 Animals for victory condition purposes?

While Henry the Huarizo does count as both Alpaca and Llama, Henry still counts as just one Animal.

The Tranquilizer Downgrade card states "You cannot play Instant cards." Does this mean I couldn't use an Instant card to stop Tranquilizer from entering my Field?

Yes, you may. A Magical Animal card's effect is not activated until it enters a Field.

With the Legal Ramifications Downgrade card, I know I can't use Ram effects but can I still use the effects of other Animal cards in my Field?

I'm afraid not. If the Legal Ramifications Downgrade card is in your Field, every Animal card in that Field is considered a Ram and has no effect.

If the Velcro Barrier card blocks Llamas and Alpacas, does a Downgrade card with the word Llama in it count?

Velcro Barrier only stops Llama and Alpaca Animal cards from entering the affected player's Field, so all other card types are unaffected regardless of their name.

Does a Herd Bonus count as a triggered effect?

Yes.

Does Legal Ramifications grant me the Ram Herd Bonus if I have 3 or more Animal cards in my Field?

Yes. As long as Legal Ramifications is in your Field and you have 3 or more Animals in your Field, you will be able to use the Ram Herd Bonus.

Is it possible to have two different Herd Bonuses?

Yes! You may use as many Herd Bonuses as the cards in your Field qualify you to have.

Does the Alpaca Herd Bonus protect against the Ram Herd Bonus?

The Alpaca Herd Bonus will protect that player's Alpacas from all DESTROY effects, including the Ram Herd Bonus. However, any other Animals in that player's Field (that are not Alpacas) are still vulnerable to DESTROY effects.

Exiled Legends

When attacking with a Champion that only has 1 Strength, can you choose between using a precise attack or mass attack?

Yes, you may choose whether your attack counts as a mass attack or a precise attack. However, because a mass attack can only hit a Support after first targeting that Support's Champion, so whether you choose a mass attack or a precise attack, that 1 damage counter will be targeting an enemy Champion.

When a bane token is removed from a Hero or a Hero with a bane token on it is destroyed, what happens to the bane token?

The bane token is returned to the player who originally added it to that Hero. They are never discarded/removed from the game permanently.

What happens when you mass attack and your Hero's Strength is greater than the number of targetable Heroes?

Mass attacks always apply 1 damage counter to each target they hit. If your Hero's Strength exceeds the number of targets you have, the extra damage is not used.

Can you use the action "Spend 1MP to return a Support without damage counters or bane tokens to the bottom of your Team deck and flip the top card of your Team deck face up to replace it" to withdraw your Legend once it has moved into Support position?

It is rare that you would be able to do this, since this action requires you to have at least one Hero in your Team deck (to swap your Support with) and your Legend can only be used as a Hero after your Team deck is exhausted. However, if you are able to add Heroes to your Team deck while your Legend is in Support position, you may use this action to withdraw your Legend as long as your Champion position and both of your Support positions would be filled with other Heroes in your Legend’s absence.

What should I do if I run out of bane tokens?

If you run out of bane tokens, you may substitute other small items, such as paper clips or coins, to serve as bane token substitutes.

If I don't use my Myth Points on my turn, do they roll over into my next turn?

No, Myth Points do not roll over. The maximum number of MP you may have on any given turn is 2.

If I have a card that can mimic other cards' Support abilities, can I use it to mimic one or both of a Legend's Support abilities?

Yes. You may choose to use either of the Legend’s Support abilities, but you may not use both of them on a single turn.

If I destroy another player's Legend, but they still have Heroes in play, do I have to destroy the other Heroes before winning?

No. No matter how many of their Heroes remain in play, a player is defeated when their Legend is destroyed.

Scram

When can I move my Active Stack to my Cat Tree?

At any time during the Action part of your turn-- so either before or after you play a card or draw a new hand. Moving an Active Stack to your Cat Tree does not count as your Action during a turn.

When a player steals a Cat card that has an immediate effect, who gets to use that effect?

Since card effects are only active when a card is the top card in an Active Stack, the player who played the card would not get the benefit of the effect, since the card never made it to their Stack. The player stealing the card would get to use the effect immediately.

Can I steal a card during my turn?

No. You can only steal a Cat card when that Cat card is played. You cannot play Steal cards on cards that are already in another player’s Stack.

If I start my turn with 5 cards in my hand, do I draw after I play a card?

No. During your turn, you always draw a card before taking an action. If you start with 5 cards (or more) in your hand, you do not draw that turn.

Do Stray Cats invalidate the points I’ve gained in my Stack or make it Inactive?

No. A Stray Cat card simply slows down your progress. You can still bank the Active Stack with the Stray cat in it and the points will count. You can even keep playing on a Stray Cat card; you would simply have to start with a 1-Point Cat card.

When does the final round start?

When the last card is drawn from the deck. The Pet Shop does not have to be exhausted for the final round to begin. If cards are still in the Pet Shop, you may still draw those cards on your turn.

Orders

Where can I find my tracking number?

If you did not yet receive your tracking number by email, you can use our Order Lookup to view the tracking number and status of your order.

When will you ship my order?

Your order will ship out as soon as it’s processed by our warehouse. Our order processing times are:

Orders not containing a preorder item: 4-5 days
Orders containing a preorder item: Varies based on preorder wait time

Delivery times vary depending on your location and selected delivery method.

Why hasn’t my tracking updated?

U.S. customers:
If it’s been over 3 days since your tracking status changed, fill out our Contact Us Form and include your order number.

International customers:
When shipping internationally, it’s common for tracking to stop updating for several days. If your expected order date has passed, please let us know on our Contact Us Form.

My order status says “delivered” but I have not received it.

Fill out our Contact Us Form with your order number, and we’ll look into it for you.

There’s something wrong with my order.

Fill out our Contact Us Form with your order number.

International Customers

Why isn’t this product available to ship to my country?

Due to our licensing agreements, some of our licensed products are limited to select countries.

Do you ship internationally?

We currently ship to over 50 countries! If you cannot select your country when checking out, fill out our Contact Us Form and we will let you know if we are able to ship to your address.

How long will my order take to arrive?

Shipping times vary depending on your country of residence and the shipping method you select.

Will I need to pay duties and taxes?

Many countries require that customers pay import duties or fees when they shop online from another country. There are typically order thresholds for this (i.e. orders over X amount are charged, orders under are not) but you'll need to check the Customs website for your country for the exact details.

When you are tracking your package, our tracking will show once the package has reached a Customs office. If it isn't released within a few days of getting to Customs, you should contact your Customs office to check and see if payment is required. Most of the time they will contact you directly, but not always!

Specifics for customers in Canada

UnstableGames does not currently collect GST (goods and services tax) at checkout for our customers in Canada. All orders valued over $20 CAD are subject to GST collection once they reach Canada. Typically, the courier will collect GST and may also charge a collection fee (the rates published by Canada Post, DHL and Fedex range from $7.25 - $10 CAD).

UnstableGames is hoping to implement GST collection at checkout for our customers in Canada in 2022. When the timeline for this project is finalized, we will update this page with more information.

Specifics for EU customers

UnstableGames now collects VAT (value-added tax) from customers in the EU at checkout. This should speed up the process of orders getting through Customs for delivery, and will help our customers avoid any additional fees upon delivery.

Please note, as of July 1, 2021, all orders shipped to customers in the EU are subject to VAT (value-added tax). Prior to July 1, some orders (if they were valued below 22 EUR) were not charged VAT, but that exception has been removed.

Specifics for UK and Norway customers
As of July 1, 2021, UnstableGames collects VAT (value-added tax) from customers in the UK and Norway at checkout. This should speed up the process of orders getting through Customs for delivery, and will help our customers avoid any collection or storage fees for VAT upon delivery.

Specifics for New Zealand & Australia customers
As of November 2021 UnstableGames collects GST (goods and services tax) from customers at checkout. This should speed up the process of orders getting through Customs for delivery, and will also help our customers avoid any collection or storage fees upon delivery.

Returns & Exchanges

How do I return/exchange an item?

U.S. customers:
Find your order on your account page. Expand it to view the details, then click on the Exchange/Refund button. If you don't have an account with us, you can use our Order Lookup tool to find your order and initiate a return from there.

International customers:
Print out and complete a Return/Exchange Form and mail it back to us in a package with the items you wanted to exchange. We'll take care of everything else!

How long does it take for a return/exchange to be completed?

We typically process returns/exchanges within 48 hours upon receiving your package.

Final sale?

Some products are final sale, including Mystery Grab Bags and Gift Bundles. Sorry, but we can't accept returns or exchanges for final sale products or the items in them.