
- BGG rating
- 7.7
Frantic Troublemaker Add-On
- 2–8 players
- 5–45 min
- Complexity 1.0/5
- 2017

2015
Rules assistance for Frantic
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Frantic is a board game released in 2015 for 2–8 players, 5–45 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Pierre Lippuner, Fabian Engeler, Stefan Weisskopf, and Pascal Frick and its main mechanics are Take That, Events, and Open Drafting.
In Frantic, you start with seven cards and try to get rid of your cards as quickly as possible. If a player has discarded all their cards, the remaining players count the points in their hand. When a player reaches the agreed maximum score, the player with the lowest score wins. If you can't or don't want to play a card, you draw one from the deck. There are four colors with numbers from 1 to 9. You can either play color on color or number on number. Sounds boring so far, doesn't it? Well, that's why we have the special cards. For example, have someone draw four cards from the deck, or give a fellow player two cards out of your hand. And the fun part: You always get to choose who gets these cards! But wait, there's more: We come to the black cards, also numbered from 1 to 9. You can play these only on a number, not on the same color, and every time a black card is played, it activates an event card. These event cards go from Friday, the Thirteenth — where nothing happens – to Tornado, where all hand cards get shuffled together and handed out again.
Frantic supports 2–8 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Frantic is 5–45 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Frantic for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Frantic has a complexity rating of 1.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Frantic belongs to these categories: Card Game, Humor, and Party Game. Its main mechanics are Take That, Events, and Open Drafting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Frantic are: Pierre Lippuner, Fabian Engeler, Stefan Weisskopf, and Pascal Frick. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Frantic as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.