QUICK, EASY TO FOLLOW
 RULEBOOK-STYLE LAYOUT

Game Objective

Each round, match your animal cards (from the white deck) with their matching animal cards (in the black deck) to make them worth POINTS.

  • Each round, be the first player to have POINTS for all of your cards.

  • The first player to reach 800 POINTS wins the game!

Players

  • Best enjoyed with 2–4 players, though more can play if desired.

Setup

  1. Separate the white deck from the black deck and shuffle each thoroughly.

  2. Place the black deck face down in the center of the play area to form the draw pile.

  3. Choose a designated player to be the dealer of the white deck.

Dealing the White Deck

  • Cards in the white deck are always dealt face up for all players to see.

  • In the first round, the dealer receives the first card.

  • In following rounds, the winner of the previous round is dealt the first card. For fun,
    let the player give the deck a “lucky cut” before dealing.

  • Going clockwise, the dealer places one card at a time face up in front of each player until everyone has a straight row of six evenly spaced animal cards.

  • These six cards are called your STARTING CARDS.

  • The remaining white deck cards are not used for this round—set them aside, out of play.

Cards in the White Deck (3 Types)

  • Category Cards

    • White borders.

    • Show an animal and its category at the top.

    • A small number in the upper corner indicates the card’s point value when matched.

    • Not worth POINTS until matched.

  • Lower Half Connect Cards

    • White-to-gray borders.

    • Show only the lower half of an animal.

    • Labeled CONNECT at the top.

    • Worth 80 POINTS when matched (connected) to

      the upper half of the same animal.

  • Minus Cards

    • Red borders.

    • Show an animal and are labeled Minus at the top.

    • Display minus POINTS in the upper right corner.

    • Are already worth POINTS (minus POINTS).

Gameplay

  1. The player dealt the first card begins.

  2. Draw a card from the black deck.

    • If the animal illustration matches one of your starting cards, you have a MATCH.

    • Category Card or Minus Card: Place the drawn card completely over the matching starting card, face up.

    • Lower Half Connect Card: Align the upper half of the animal directly above the lower half to connect them (the image of the entire animal can now be seen).

  3. Each time a starting card is covered or connected, it is now worth POINTS.

  4. If you match a card from the draw pile, your turn continues—draw again.

  5. If you cannot match the card, place it face up next to the draw pile to form the discard pile.

  6. Discard rules:

    • A discarded card is available to the next player.

    • If the next player can match it, they must take it, along with any revealed matching cards underneath.

    • After matching from the discard pile, your turn ends (no additional draw—next player’s turn).

Winning a Round

  • The first player with all their starting cards worth POINTS wins the round.

    • POINTS include any positive POINTS, minus POINTS, and 0 POINTS.

  • Scoring:

    • Only the winner of the round adds up the total POINTS from all their cards.

    • All other players score only the POINTS shown on their Minus Cards and Side Bonus Cards (if any).

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