Components
- 18 Wood beads
- 16 Secret creature cards
- 10 Two-sided Creature Tiles
- 4 Wood lizards
- 1 Lead Lizard Tile (pink)
- String
- Shaker cup
- Instructions
Object of the Game
The object of the game is to be the first lizard to leap past the pink bead at the end of the string.
Setup
The first time you play, put all of the beads onto the string by sliding the string through the mi of the beads. Start with the green bead, then the 16 gray beads and end with the pink bead. Space the beads apart fairly evenly so that lizards can fit between them as they leap.
Lay the string on a flat surface and twist it to make a path. (Bend it any way you like, as long as it doesn't overlap).
Each player chooses a wood lizard and puts it at the starting end of the string, behind the green bead.
Give each player four Secret Creature Cards (one each of butterfly, snail, ladybug and dragonfly), face down.
Put the Lead Lizard Tile along with all of the Creature Tiles in the shaker cup.
Game Play
Secretly and at the same time as the other players choose one of the four Secret Creature Cards and place it face down in front of you. (Leave the other three face down to the side).
The youngest player shakes the cup and pours the tiles onto the playing surface. Make sure that all tiles lie flat with a picture showing.
Reveal your Secret Creature Card. Next, look at the Lead Lizard Tile to determine who moves first:
If the Lead Lizard Tile shows a happy face, the player in the back of the line leaps over the number of beads equal to the total number of Creature Tiles that match her Secret Creature Card.
As a bonus, that lucky player also gets to randomly turn over an additional face down Secret Creature Card and move forward the number of tiles that match.
If the Lead Lizard Tile shows a sad face, the player in the front of the line leaps backward (away from the finish) the number of beads indicated by the total number of Creature Tiles that match her Secret Creature Card.
The round continues to the left of the Lead Lizard, with each player counting the number of Creature Tiles that match her Secret Creature Card and leaping over the corresponding number of beads.
Important Note: Ignore the Lead Lizard Tile for the first round of play. All players simply move forward the number spaces equal to the number of Creature Tiles that match their selected Secret Creature Cards.
Notes
More than one lizard may occupy the same space between beads.
The Lead Lizard Tile only applies to the lizard(s) in the front or back of the line at the beginning of each round.
If all lizards occupy the same space, ignore the Lead Lizard Tile for the round and all players move forward according to their respective Secret Creature Cards.
If no tiles match your Secret Creature Card, simply stay in place for the round.
If your lizard is forced back behind the starting bead, it should just wait there regardless of how many spaces it's supposed to move back. And if all lizards end up behind the starting bead, ignore the Lead Lizard Tile on the next round (like at the beginning of the game).
Example: The Lead Lizard Tile shows a happy face which means that Player A (orange lizard), at the back of the line, moves first.
Her chosen Secret Creature Card is a butterfly, which matches 2 of the Creature Tiles. So Player A moves ahead 2 spaces. As a bonus, she turns over another Secret Creature Card (snail), which matches 3 Creature Tiles.
So Player A moves forward an additional 3 spaces. Player B (blue lizard) goes next and moves ahead 3 spaces since his Secret Creature Card is a ladybug, which matches 3 of the Creature Tiles.
Player C (pink lizard) moves ahead 2 spaces since her Secret Creature Card is a dragonfly, which matches 2 Creature Tiles.
Starting New Round
Once every player has moved, place all of the tiles back into the shaker cup and start a new round following the same rules as above: Each player selects a Secret Creature Card.
You can choose the same creature as you did for the last round, or you can choose a different one. A new player shakes the cup and pours out the tiles. Remember to look at the Lead Lizard Tile to determine who moves first.
End of the Game
The first lizard to leap over the pink bead wins.
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