Components

• 1 Magnetic Book-like Box
• 1 Non-edible but visually delicious chocolate chip cookie
• 42 Hat cards of seven different types
• 1 Dry-erase Marker
• 1 Tea table board
• 1 Scoring napkin
• Instructions

Object of the Game

In Hats, two to four players compete to acquire the most outstanding hats by exchanging cards in hand with cards on the tea table board. Each card exchange influences how each hat is scored.

Naturally, at the end of the game, the player with the highest score will be declared the maddest.

Setup

1 Place the tea table board in reach of all players.

2 Place the scoring napkin face down on the table and place the chocolate chip cookie on top of it.

3 Shuffle all hat cards to form the draw deck and place it face down next to the tea table board.

• In a 2-player game, remove all hat cards of two different types from the game. In a 3 or 4-player game, use all hat cards.

4 Draw hat cards from the draw deck and place them face up to fill each of the six spaces of the tea table board.

• In a 2-player game, only fill in the first five spaces.
• In a 3 or 4-player, game fill all six spaces.

5 The player that most recently ate a cookie starts the game.

6 The starting player deals nine hat cards to each player.

Game Play

Each player takes their turn by performing one of the following two actions:

1. Exchange Hats

Play a single card from their hand face up and exchange it with one from the tea table board while respecting the following conditions:

• Both the played and exchanged cards are of the same type. OR
• The number on the played card is higher than the number being exchanged on the tea table board.

Add the card exchanged from the tea table board to the player's collection by placing it face up in front them.

2. Create a Black Hat

Play a single card face down in front of them to add it to their collection. This is considered a black hat. Each black hat in a player's collection at the end of the game is worth one point.

When playing with four players

Follow the normal rules with the following change: Players play in teams of two. Sit at the table so each player's partner is sitting across from them and they have an opponent on each side.

New optional action: Instead of discarding and drawing from the draw deck, at any time during their turn, a player may exchange a single card face down with their partner.

Players may freely talk about what to exchange, but cannot say the specific type, color, or number of the cards.

End of the Game

The game ends after all players have played eight cards.

Each player reveals the final card in their hand as their "favorite hat" type. If there are two or more hat cards on the tea table board of the same type, find the hat card of that type with the lowest position on the tea table board and keep it face up, while turning all other cards of that type face down.

Use the scoring napkin to help calculate final scores in each of the three categories:

Hat Collection

Players earn points for the hat cards in their collection based on the position of the matching type on the tea table board. For example, if there is a red card in the third position on the tea table board, each red card in the player's collection is worth three points.

Players receive one point for each black hat in front of them. All face down cards on the tea table board do not award points.

Hat cards in a player's collection without a matching card showing on the tea table board do not award points.

Favorite Hat

Players gain points equal to the sum of all cards in their collection that match the type of their "favorite hat" minus the value of the final card in their hand. The final card in a player's hand does not count as being part of the collection. This score can be a negative value.

Last Cookie

There is only one cookie left at the table. Players compete for the cookie by having the most different types of hat cards in their collection. Black hats count as a type.

During the game, pass the cookie to the player who has the most different types of hat cards. In case of a tie, the player with the lowest value hat card in their collection of the tied players gets the cookie.

In case of a further tie, compare the second-lowest, third-lowest and so on until the cookie holder is declared. The chocolate chip cookie is worth five points at the end of the game.

The player with the most points wins the game.

In case of a tie, the player with the most black hats in their collection wins the game. In case of a further tie, the player that has the cookie wins.

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