Animal Express
Animal Express Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Age: 7+ 2-5 players 20+ min.
Box Contents
Game board in 4 parts, 6 tricycles, 6 cardboard animals, 66 cards (10 each of the rabbit and giraffe, 11 of the elephant and the crocodile, and 12 of the mouse and snail) and 37 coins (12x1 cent, 15x2 cents, 4x5 cents 6x10 cents).
Game Objective
The six animals each have their courier service and everyone is trying to be the fastest to deliver a package and reach the park in the middle of the board. Which animal will be the fastest? Play your cards smartly and the right animal will be the fastest and thus you get the most points (coins!). Note that players don't 'own' animals in the game.
Preparation
Carefully remove the coins and the animals from the cardboard sheet, and animals on tricycles. Then fit together the game board consisting of four parts.
Place the animals on their respective starting points, each animal has its own identity (as shown by the cards). To make it easier to see where the animals begins and which way they should go, each animal also has its own color.
Shuffle the cards and deal five cards to each player. These cards are kept secret in a player's hand. The leftover cards are placed in a face-down pile next to the board. Then take five cards from the face-down pile and place them face-up next to the board, these are called the "pool".
Playing the Game
The youngest player begins. Turns go clockwise around the table. Each player does the following in their turn:
- Take cards: Look at the five cards that constitute the "pool". Choose one of the animals on these cards, say which one (eg elephant) and take all cards with this animal from the "pool" to the hand. Try to take as many as possible.
- (optional) Play the cards: Use two to six cards of an animal from your hand and put them out before you. Note that this need not be the same animal taken from the "pool"! Then use one to three of these cards, and move the animal as many steps. These cards are added to the used pile. Then take the remaining cards in front of you and put them face down in a PILE. Say loudly all the time what to do, for example, "I move the elephant two steps and retain a card. "
- Refill the "pool" back to five cards: Take as many cards from the face-down deck and refill the "pool" to five cards there.
The game ends as soon as any of the animals reaches in the park. This animal was the fastest courier. Then determine which of animals have come in second and third place. Animals can be tied for 2nd and 3rd place.
Any animals not in the first three places will be removed from game board and also remove all the matching animal cards from the players' hands.
Scoring
Each player shows his own PILE ahead of them. Remove cards with animals that were not among the first three. Each player counts points as follows:
- Each card that now remains in hand is a worth 1 point.
- Each card with the animal who was the first gets an extra point (That means 2 points for this animal).
Use the coins for scoring points. One point is equal to 1 cent.
Winner
The player with the most points, that is, the one who has the most money wins after eg three rounds or after the agreed number. You can make change with the bank or other players if there are not enough coins.
Important Rules
Playing the card is voluntary. You can take cards from the "pool" and not use any cards to move. However, you should not hold back on the cards for a long time because the game can run out quickly, and the cards you previously put in your own PILE might not be enough to win.
The number of cards used to move one of the animals (one, two or three steps) need not be the same number that you put in your pile (one, two or three cards). But if you play cards, note that you must move an animal at least one step and add at least one card in your PILE. Deciding how many cards used for moving and storing in your PILE is key in the game.
The cards on hand and those in the PILE in front of you must be separated. You should not just look at the card PILE during the game.
If there are not enough cards to fill in the "pool", the game ends. None of the animals will gain the FASTEST bonus point. Instead, the three closest to the park will score one point per card in hand and in your PILE.