Components
- 25 animals (5 elephants, 5 rhinos, 5 lions, 5 leopards, 5 zebras)
- 30 cards (6 of each animal, numbered 0 to 5)
- Rulebook
Setup
Before each round, shuffle all of the cards.
When playing with two or four players, randomly remove two cards face down; when playing with three players, remove three cards face down.
With five players, use all 30 cards. Deal the cards evenly to all the players, who take the cards into their hands. Divide the animals into five separate groups (by species), reachable by all players.
The youngest player takes the first turn in the first round, and play proceeds clockwise.
Game Play
Each player, in turn, plays a card and then takes an animal of their choice. You are not required to take the animal that matches the card you played, but you may if you wish.
When playing cards, stack them so that all players can see what cards have been played. Make sure that the most recent card played on top of each stack is obvious (see below).
Play continues until all six cards of any one animal species have been played (e.g. when all six elephant cards have been played). The player who played the last card may still take an animal.
At that time, the round ends and each animal is worth the value of the top card played on its stack of cards (i.e. if the sixth elephant card was a 5, then each elephant is worth 5 points).
Animals with no cards played for them are worth "O" Each player then totals his or her points and the score is recorded on a notepad.
Example: The round has ended because the sixth Elephant card was played. All Elephants are worth 5 points; Rhinos=O; Lions=3; Leopards=1; Zebras=4.
All animals are then returned to their respective groups, all the cards are reshuffled and dealt out again and the next round continues as the first.
End of the Game
Play as many rounds as there are players, with each player starting a round once. The player with the highest total after the last round wins.
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