Ami
Ami Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
The box contains:
- 12 dog boards (with dog drawings)
- 6 judge cards
- 55 development cards
- 1 dice with numbers (a number die)
- 72 Ami tokens
The setup section also refers to trophies, which are set aside for the show. The component list does not name them separately; they are transcribed as the setup text gives them.
Setup
Preparing the Game
Divide the 12 dog boards into 3 categories by colour and lay them out on the table:
a) small dogs: dachshund, Yorkshire terrier, poodle, beagle.
b) medium dogs: Irish setter, Labrador, Scottish sheepdog, boxer.
c) large dogs: German shepherd, Afghan hound, Great Dane, Saint Bernard.
Shuffle the judge cards and place them face down in a stack. Do the same with the development cards.
Choosing Breeds
Starting with the youngest player, each player chooses one small dog (blue board) for their breeding and places it in front of them. Small dog boards that nobody chose are returned to the box, as they will not be needed later in the game.
Choosing the Judge
Choose the judge by drawing at random. The judge will evaluate the dogs in Stage II. Place the drawn judge card face up in a visible place on the table. The cards of the other judges are returned to the box, as they will not be used later in the game.
Each player draws 3 development cards into their hand. Place the remaining development cards and the Ami tokens within reach of all players. Set the number die and the trophies aside; they will be needed only during the dog show, that is, at the end of the game.
Example setup. Ania and Karol have set up the table (see Preparing the Game). Ania is younger, so she starts the game. She must choose her first dog from the small breeds: she chooses a beagle and places its board in front of her. Karol chooses a Yorkshire terrier. Next, Ania draws a judge card and places it face up in a visible place on the table. Everyone then receives 3 development cards.
Introduction
Players preparing their dogs for the show must make sure that every dog is fed, groomed, walked and vaccinated. A dog is prepared for the show by playing development cards.
Each development card shows between 1 and 5 different symbols and sometimes a large drawing of a dog. If the card you play shows several symbols, you choose one of them and follow it.
Symbols on Cards
- Bone – feed all of your dogs. Place one Ami token on a free feeding space on each of your dog boards.
- Comb – groom all of your dogs. Place one Ami token on a free grooming space on each of your dog boards.
- Paw – walk all of your dogs. Place one Ami token on a free walking space on each of your dog boards.
- Cross – vaccinate one of your dogs. Place the cross token on the vaccination space of one of your dogs.
- Fleas – all unvaccinated dogs of the other players lose one development token of their choice. Your dogs lose nothing.
- New dog – choose a new dog for your breeding and place its board in front of you.
Note. All players start with a small dog. During the game they choose one medium dog, and then one large dog.
Large dog drawing. Some cards show dog drawings. Each breed appears on 3 cards. If a card with a dog drawing is played, the player who has that dog in their breeding should react by saying "That's my dog". As a reward they receive one development token (grooming, walking or feeding), which they may place on that dog's board if there is still space on it. If a player does not notice their dog and another card is played, they receive no reward.
Playing the Game
Stage I: Preparing for the Show
Starting with the youngest player, each player in turn plays a development card, uses one of the symbols shown on it (see Symbols on Cards above), and draws another development card, so that they always hold 3 cards in hand. If the development cards run out during the game, form a new draw pile from the discarded cards.
Note. If there is no more space on a dog's board for Ami tokens, no more can be placed on it. If a player has no room left to add Ami tokens to any of their dogs (the vaccination space may be empty) and does not have a full set of 3 dogs, they may immediately draw the board of another dog, even during another player's turn.
If a player does not want to play any of their cards, they may instead discard any number of cards from their hand and replace them with new ones. Immediately after this their turn ends, and the next player plays their card.
Example (first rounds). Ania plays first, a card with the dog symbol and the vaccination symbol. She chooses vaccination and places the marker on her beagle's card, on the space with the red cross that marks a visit to the vet. Her dog will be immune to fleas until the end of the game. She then draws one card. The card also shows a drawing of a beagle; Ania notices it and receives a free development token, which she places on her dog's walking space.
Karol plays a card with five symbols. He chooses the dog symbol and takes the card with the new animal. He has only a small dog (the Yorkshire terrier), so he now must choose a medium breed (green card). He chooses the Irish setter and draws a card.
Had he played another of his cards (the card with the beagle drawing), he would have chosen the bone symbol and fed his Yorkshire terrier. To do this he would have had to take a token from the general supply and place it on his dog's card, on the space next to the bone.
In his second turn Karol plays a card with the comb and the bone symbols. He chooses the comb. He has two dogs in front of him, the Yorkshire terrier and the setter, so he takes 2 tokens and grooms both dogs, placing one token on each dog's card next to the comb symbol.
Stage II: The Show
The second stage begins at the moment when one of the players has fully prepared their 3 dogs for the show: fed, groomed and walked them. Vaccinating your dogs is not required to finish the first stage. From then on nobody may add more Ami tokens, and the show begins.
Example. In his turn Karol walked his 3 dogs and ended Stage I, because there is no more room for markers on his dog cards. Ania can no longer add any tokens, even though her dogs are not yet fully ready for the show.
In this stage the players present their dogs at the show. A trophy is awarded in each of three categories: small dogs (blue boards), medium dogs (green boards) and large dogs (orange boards). The game is won by the player who receives the most trophies. If several players received the same number of trophies, they tie.
Show procedure. Place the judge card (drawn at the start of the game) in the middle of the table and call the small dogs into the ring. Players count the number of Ami tokens on their small dog's board (do not count the vaccination token). Then each player rolls the number die and adds the result to the total number of tokens on their dog's board.
The result on the die shows how the dog performed at the show (3 means a very good performance, 1 a poor one). The dog with the highest result wins a trophy. Repeat these steps for the medium and large dogs.
Example. Karol's Yorkshire terrier has 5 markers and rolls a 2, so it scores 7 points. Ania's beagle has 4 markers and rolls a 1, so it scores 5 points. The trophy for the best small dog goes to the Yorkshire terrier.
Ties
If dogs are level after totalling their points and no winner can be determined, the judge has the deciding vote. Each judge has criteria printed on their card, ordered from most to least important, which they use to choose the most beautiful dog. Some judges pay more attention to a beautiful coat (grooming), others to form (walking), and so on. All judges pay attention to health (vaccination).
Example. In the medium category there is a tie: Karol's Irish setter and Ania's Scottish sheepdog each have 7 points. We look at the judge's preferences. This judge considers the following elements, in order: feeding, vaccination, walking, grooming. Feeding is the most important for him, so we compare how many tokens each dog has next to the bone symbol: the setter has as many as 2, the Scottish sheepdog only 1. The setter has more, so it wins the trophy. If there were still a tie, we would move to the judge's next preference (in this example the second is vaccination, the third walking and the last grooming), until a winner is found.
Very rarely it may happen that after considering all the criteria on the judge's card no winner can be determined (the dogs are level in every element). In that case the judge orders a tie-break: the tied players roll the die in turn, until one of them gains an advantage. The dogs are presented again in the show ring.
Simplified Variants
Variant 1. Open cards. If a child cannot manage holding cards in hand, or is only learning to play Ami, the game may be played with open development cards. In this variant each player keeps all their development cards (3 of them) face up in front of them. Additionally, if a child has trouble choosing cards, you may help by suggesting the best card to play.
Variant 2. Cards in one pile. To simplify the game, you may skip dealing development cards. Instead, create a single pile of development cards (55 cards). Then, in their turn, each player reveals one card from the pile and plays it.
Variant 3. No dog drawings. This is a simplified game in which the large dog drawings on the development cards are not taken into account.