Components
- 52 animal tokens (showing 8 animals)
- 8 bonus tiles (one for each animal)
- 1 monkey bag
- Instructions
Setup
Place all of the animal tokens in the bag and mix them. Display the 8 bonus tiles face-up; the number on each bonus tile indicates how many tokens of the animal pictured are in the game.
Select one player to start; players take turns in clockwise order. Over the course of the game, each player collects animal tokens.
 Bonus Tiles |
Game Play
Start your turn by drawing one token from the bag. Place this token face up in front of you - not on your personal stack.
Note: Your personal stack starts out with no tiles, but will grow as you collect animal tokens.
If the top token on any of your opponents' stacks shows a matching animal, you may claim their token(s). After claiming a token, if any newly revealed token on the stacks shows the same matching animal, you may claim this token as well, and so on.
Place all of these tokens in front of you - again, not on your personal stack. If you overlook any matching animal tokens, you may not claim them later.
You must then decide whether you want to:
- continue or
- conclude your turn.
1. Continue your Turn
To continue your turn, draw another animal token from the bag and place it in front of you.
If the new token matches any of the animal tokens in front of you - not including those in your stack - end your turn immediately and return all of the tokens in front of you to the bag. Your stack remains unaffected.
If you draw a new token that does not match any animal token in front of you, proceed as before and claim any matching tokens from the top of your opponents' stacks.
You may claim only those tokens that match the most recently drawn animal token. Then decide again whether to continue or conclude your turn.
Conclude your Turn
To conclude your turn, place all of the tokens in front of you on top of your stack in any order you like. You may not rearrange the tokens already in your stack. Only the top animal on your stack should be visible.
Special Rules
Secure an animal herd: If all of the animal tokens in front of you are of the same type, you may place these tokens at the bottom of your stack, then conclude your turn.
Cheeky monkeys: If you draw a monkey token from the bag, you have two options (provided you do not lose your turn for duplication).
You may keep the monkey and claim any matching monkey token(s) from the top of your opponents' stacks, or you can be a cheeky monkey and swap the monkey token with any single token on the top of one of your opponents' stacks.
You are allowed to have one or more tokens in front of you that match the swapped token, but you may not claim any tokens from opponents that match the swapped token.
If you later draw another monkey token, you may claim any monkey tokens from the top of your opponents' stacks.
End of the Game
The game ends when all of the tokens have been added to stacks. All players count the number of tokens they have for each of the eight animals.
If a single player has more tokens of one animal than any other player, that player receives the bonus tile for that animal.
In the case of a tie, the bonus tile is not awarded. Then players total their scores: Each animal token is worth 1 point, and each bonus tile is worth 3-10 points, as depicted on the tile.
The player with the most points wins. If two or more players tie, the player holding the highest bonus tile wins.
Rules for Younger Players
Place all of the animal tokens in the bag and mix them. The bonus tiles will not be used. Play the game using the rules above.
Game End for Younger Players
The game ends when all of the tokens have been added to stacks. The player with the most animal tokens (i.e., the tallest stack) wins the game.
Game Variant for Small Children
Remove the 9 dog tokens (and possibly also the 8 pig tokens) from the game. Do not use the "Cheeky Monkey" rule that lets a player swap a monkey token for another animal.
These changes make the game shorter and simpler.
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