Violet and the Grumpy Nisse

In Violet and the Grumpy Nisse, one player is Violet and the other is Torech, the very grumpy nisse (a creature from Nordic folklore similar to a gnome) who has been kicked out of every single household in the village and taken shelter in the woods, which he claimed as his own domain.

Now, Violet is setting out to meet with her friend Ordep, the friendly troll, a journey that takes her right through the woods that Torech has claimed for himself. After being kicked out of the village, Torech cannot stand the idea of a human invading his home, let alone a human who is friends with a troll! So he is out to make Violet's journey as unpleasant as he possibly can, playing all sorts of tricks on her.

Violet and the Grumpy Nisse is a two-player trick-taking game. Players take different approaches on how to play this game depending on who they are playing as:

• Violet has control over the pacing of the game, but is also more vulnerable to losing tricks as she has to manage her lantern, making sure it's always fueled so that she doesn't get lost in the darkness of the woods at night. She also wasn't expecting a nisse to cross her path; this can be scary, and she has to manage her fear so not to be overwhelmed by her own paranoia.
• Torech has very little control over the pacing of the game, but he does has a few tricks up his sleeve. As Violet's fear of him increases, he becomes bolder and sets out more and more traps that make it harder for Violet to reach her friend. Also, unlike Violet, losing a trick is not nearly as bad for Torech as it is for Violet. He, after all, is the master of tricks!

The game ends with a win for Violet if she reaches the end of her journey. Torech wins if Violet's lantern runs out of fuel, or if her fear sneaks up on her before she gets to Ordep.