Components

• 4 sets of player pawns
• playing board
• and one pack of PARTNERS playing cards
• Instructions

Object of the Game

Setup

Place the board between the four players. Players sitting across from each other become "partners", e.g. yellow player pairs up with blue player and red player pairs up with green player.

Game Board

Each player receives four movers of the same color and place them on the home space e of that color.

One player then shuffles the deck of cards and deals four cards to every player including herself, she is now the dealer. The four cards are the player's hand for the following round. The remaining deck of cards is placed next to the board.

Each player trades one of her cards with her "partner" (see THE CARDS). The cards must be traded face down at the same time and without discussing what cards are in the players' hands.

Trading of cards will not have a huge significance to the game in the beginning, but as the game progresses the strategic value of the trade will grow steadily.

Game Play

The player on the dealer's left side begins by playing one of her cards in the middle of the board to perform the action shown on the card. In order for a player to move her mover out of the home space and into the starting space, she must play a card with the symbol on it.

If a player has one or more movers placed on her own starting space , no other player's movers can pass. This also goes for a partner's mover.

If a player is unable to play a card from her hand, i.e. because she does not have a card with the start symbol , her only option is to put down in front of her all the cards in her hand without making a move and then wait until new cards are dealt when the round is over.

When a player has played a card and made her move, the turn continues clockwise around the table.

If a mover ends on a space that already has an opponent's mover on it, the opponent's mover is returned to its home space and must start all over again using a card with the symbol on it.

However, if the opponent has two or more movers on the same space, it is the moving player's mover that is returned to its home space.

After all, players have either put down or played their cards, new hands are dealt to the players, and the players each trade a face-down card with her partner. Afterward, the game continues.

The dealer has to deal cards three times in a row before the next player gets to be the dealer. The dealer always collects all the cards in the deck, shuffles them, and deals four new cards to every player.

The game's objective is to get your movers as well as your partner's movers into the end zone. A mover correctly placed on a space in the end zone is "safe" and can no longer be moved.

Movers have to fill the end zone correctly by firstly ending in the innermost space, then second to innermost and so on until all four movers of the same color cover the designated spaces in the end zone.

If you play a card that exceeds the movement required for reaching the right end space, the mover must move back according to the remaining movement value of the card.

Card Values

The mover is moved according to the number of spaces written on the card.

The mover is moved from the home space to the start space.

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  The mover is either moved from the home space to the start space OR 8 spaces forward.

  
  
• 

  The mover is either moved from the home space to the start space OR 13 spaces forward.

  
  
• 

  The mover is moved 4 spaces back.

  This card can, in fact, be used with great advantage if you have a mover placed in your start space or in the first 4 spaces after your start space.

  In those cases, you can move 4 spaces backward and thereby place your mover very close to your end zone.

  
  

  Note: The card can never be used with a mover, that is placed inside the end zone.

  
  
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  The mover is either moved a single space forward OR 14 spaces forward.

  
  
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  The card can be split into several movements for separate movers.

  A player may decide to move one of her movers 2 spaces, another 1 space, and a third one 4 spaces.

  More than one movement can not be made with a single mover.

  
  

  Note: If you only have one mover left and are able to get all your movers into the end zone by using only some of the 7 available spaces on the card, you are allowed to use the remaining spaces with your partner's mover.

  
  
• 

  The card is used to switch places between two movers on the board.

  It can be your movers, your partner's movers or your opponents' movers that are switched around, and this is why the card can be used even if you don't have a mover in the game.

  
  

  Note: The card can not be used with movers that are safe, which means movers in the end zones and home spaces. Remember that 2 or more movers of same color on the same space are also safe.

  
  

End of the Game

The game is NOT over when a player gets all her movers safe in the end space. The game only ends when a set of partners both get their movers safe in the end space.

As soon as one of the "partners" has placed all her four movers in the end space, she has to help her "partner" get all of the "partners" movers into the end space. This is done by using the cards she is dealt to play with her "partners" movers or by making things difficult for the opponents.

The player, therefore, has to use the cards she is dealt to help her "partner" and try to prevent the opponents from getting all of their movers into their end zones.

The "partners" still trade a card every time new cards are dealt.

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