Components
- 97 SNORTA! Cards
- 12 SNORTA! Animals
- 8 SNORTA! Barns
- Animal Grab Bag
- Instructions
Object of the Game
In SNORTA!, players quickly play animal cards. Those who match cards race to make the sound of each other's hidden animal. The first person to play all the cards in his or her hand wins SNORTA!
Setup
Choose a person to be the dealer. The dealer:
-
Places one barn in front of each player.
-
Places all 12 animals in the Animal Grab Bag.
-
Passes the Animal Grab Bag from player to player until each player, without looking in the bag, has taken one animal. Each player's animal should be displayed on the table near that player's barn.
-
Shuffles the animal cards together with the Swap Card and deals all cards, face down, so that each player, including the dealer, has an equal number of cards. Any left-over cards will not be used in this game.
- 7-8 Players: use all 12 sets of animal cards
- 5-6 Players: remove one set of animal cards (8 matching cards)
- 4 Players: remove two sets of animal cards
Sounding Off
The purpose of Sounding Off is to help players remember the sounds of other players' animals. Players may need to recall these sounds later in the game.
-
Starting with the dealer, each player takes a turn making the sound of his or her animal.
-
All players place their barns over their animals so that the animals cannot be viewed by other players.
-
Each player repeats the sound of the animal hidden in his or her barn.
Game Play
-
Each player picks up the cards dealt to him or her and holds them, face down, in one hand. These cards become the player's "cards in-hand".
-
Starting with the dealer and moving clockwise around the table, each player takes a turn flipping the top card from his or her cards in-hand, face up, onto the table.
As cards are played, each player is creating a stack of "table cards". Each player may only play cards onto the top of his or her own stack of table cards.
Each player's stack of table cards must be located on the table so that they are in clear view of all players.
Example:
-
Play continues until a card is played that matches a card already on top of another player's stack of table cards. As soon as a match is identified, all players stop playing cards.
-
When a match is identified, the two players with cards that match race to make the sound of each other's hidden animal. They must make the same sound that was assigned to the animal by its owner when "Sounding Off".
See example: Player A, who has a pig in the barn, plays an owl card.
Player E, who has a duck in the barn, already has an owl card on top of his or her stack of table cards. Since their cards match, Player A races to say "quack" before Player E says "oink".
It is important to note that the two players who match cards make the sound of the animal in each other's barn rather than the sound of the animal on the cards.
-
The first of the two players involved in the match who can make the sound of the other player's hidden animal wins that match.
If a player makes the sound of the wrong animal, he or she may try to guess the right animal by continuing to make animal sounds. There is no penalty for making the sound of the wrong animal.
Players who are not involved in the match may not make any animal sounds.
-
The player who wins the match gives all of his or her table card(s) to the other player involved in the match. That player takes the cards and also picks up his or her own table card(s) and adds both stacks of cards, face down, to the bottom of his or her cards in-hand.
-
Play resumes with the player to the left of the last person to play a card. All other table cards remain on the table and play continues clockwise.
The Swap Card
There is one Swap Card in the deck.
When a player flips over this card, the player must select a new animal from the Animal Grab Bag and return his or her old animal to the bag. The
player must make the sound of his or her new animal and then place it in the barn. Other players should try to remember the sound of that player's new animal and play continues.
End of the Game
The first player out of cards in- hand wins SNORTA!, regardless of the number of table cards that player has remaining.
Notes:
-
Each card should be flipped outward so that all players see the animal on the card at the same time, including the person who played that card.
-
Players can control the speed of the game by how fast they play their cards. The faster the pace-the wilder the game!
-
Once play begins, a player is not required to reveal the animal in his or her barn-even if other players ask.
-
During a match, players must make the exact sound that an animal's owner assigned it.
However, if you would like to simplify the game, you can allow players to make any animal sound that correctly identifies the animal in the barn. For example, a dog could be identified by "woof", "bow- wow", or "arf".
-
If a match is missed and a third matching card is played, only the first match is allowed. The two players involved in that match race to make the sound of each other's hidden animal.
-
Because players occasionally identify a match after additional cards have been played, it is possible for more than one match to be in play at the same time.
-
If a player is playing the last card from his or her cards in-hand and it results in a match, that player must win that match in order to win the game.
Junior Version
SNORTA! can be played with younger players by simply leaving the animals outside of the barns. When players see that their animal cards match, they look at the animal in front of the player with the matching card and make the sound of that animal.
Family Version
For mixed ages and abilities, some of the animals may be covered with barns while other animals are not. Novice players' animals stay in the barn, while experienced players' animals are outside.
Continue Reading