Banana Split Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Idea
• Setup
• Game Flow
  • Drawing a Topping
  • Starting a New Sundae
  • Placing Toppings on a Started Sundae
  • Completing a Sundae
  • Example: Playing an Ice Bomb
• Special Topping Cards
  • The Ice-Cream Spoon (Eislöffel)
  • The Joker
  • Draw 2 Toppings
  • Draw 3 Toppings
  • Take Another Turn (Mache einen weiteren Zug)
• The Banana Split
• Game End
• Playing Tips
  • Collecting Toppings
  • Using the Joker

Components

• 102 topping cards (as printed on the sheet; see the note below):
  • 22× Chocolate sauce (Schokosoße)
  • 22× Sprinkles (Zuckerstreusel)
  • 22× Whipped cream (Schlagsahne)
  • 22× Cherries (Kirschen)
  • 4× Joker
  • 4× Ice-cream spoon (Eislöffel)
  • 2× "Ziehe 2 Toppings" (Draw 2 Toppings)
  • 4× "Ziehe 3 Toppings" (Draw 3 Toppings)
  • 2× "Mache einen weiteren Zug" (Take another turn)
• 38 scoring discs (Punktescheiben)
• 30 sundae cards (Eisbecherkarten). They include two Banana Split cards, each worth 20 points.
• 4 ice-parlour screens (Eisdielen-Sichtschirme), one per player, used to hide each player's toppings
• 1 playing mat (Spielunterlage)

Transcriber's note: the printed heading says 102 topping cards, but the listed quantities add up to 104 (88 ingredient cards plus 16 special cards). The sheet is reproduced as printed; the count was not corrected.

Game Idea

You are your own boss in your own ice-cream parlour, putting together delicious ice-cream specialities. With chocolate sauce, sprinkles, whipped cream and cherries you combine the sundaes and collect points. Joker and other special cards help you collect toppings and add variety.

Setup

• Place the playing mat in the middle of the table.
• Each player takes one ice-parlour screen and places it in front of themselves.
• Shuffle the topping cards. Each player receives five and places them behind their ice-parlour screen. Place the remaining topping cards face down on the matching space of the playing mat, as the draw pile.
• Shuffle the sundae cards and place four of them face up on the designated spaces of the playing mat. Place the remaining sundae cards face down as a stack beside the playing mat.
• Place the scoring discs beside the playing mat.

Game Flow

The player who most recently ate ice cream starts. The other players follow in clockwise order. On your turn, you choose one of three possible actions:

• Draw a topping, or
• Start a new sundae, or
• Place more toppings on a sundae you have already started.

Drawing a Topping

Take a topping card from the draw pile and place it behind your ice-parlour screen. If it is a special card (Ice-cream spoon, Draw 2 Toppings, Draw 3 Toppings, or Take another turn), you may play it immediately. Otherwise your turn ends and the next player is up. You may keep as many topping cards behind your ice-parlour screen as you like.

If the draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile and place it face down as the new draw pile.

Starting a New Sundae

Choose one of the four face-up sundae cards in the middle and place it in front of your screen, in your layout (Auslage), where all players can see it. To start a sundae card, you must immediately place at least the topmost topping shown on the sundae card onto it. You may also place several toppings on it at once, with the aim of completing it. The toppings must be placed in the order in which they are shown on the sundae card.

• If you start a new sundae and do not complete it immediately, you may take one topping from the draw pile at the end of your turn.
• If you complete it immediately, you may take two toppings from the draw pile at the end of your turn.

After this, the sundae cards in the middle are refilled, and the next player is up.

Placing Toppings on a Started Sundae

Take one or more of your topping cards from behind your ice-parlour screen and place them on a started sundae that is already in your layout. Even if you have several sundaes in your layout, you may place new toppings on only one sundae per round.

Completing a Sundae

Congratulations! If you have placed all the toppings onto a sundae in the order shown on the sundae card, you have completed it and earned the points shown. Place the toppings on the discard pile and take a matching scoring disc. Turn the sundae card over and place the scoring disc on it.

For each completed sundae, you may take two toppings from the draw pile at the end of your turn.

Example: Playing an Ice Bomb

You have a cherry, two sprinkles and one chocolate sauce behind your ice-parlour screen (see the example). You may take the ice bomb from the middle and place it in front of your screen. At least the cherry must now be placed on the sundae. In addition, you may also place the two sprinkles on it. In the following turns you should try to collect two whipped cream cards and complete the ice bomb with these two cards and the chocolate sauce card behind your screen, earning 12 points.

At the end of the turn you may take a topping card from the draw pile, because you have started a new sundae.

Special Topping Cards

Whenever you draw a special card from the draw pile, you may play it immediately or keep it for a later turn. In general, special cards may only be played during your own turn, and in addition to your main action. You may play several special cards in one round.

The Ice-Cream Spoon (Eislöffel)

The ice-cream spoon lets you take a started sundae, with all the toppings already on it, away from a fellow player. If you have matching toppings behind your ice-parlour screen, you may place one or more of them immediately onto this sundae, possibly completing it right away.

You may only take sundae cards from fellow players that are not yet completed. A completed sundae or a Banana Split may never be taken.

The Joker

The Joker may be used to take a Banana Split from the middle and complete it. It may also be used in place of any single topping to complete a sundae.

Draw 2 Toppings

Take two topping cards from the draw pile and place them behind your ice-parlour screen. The "Draw 2 Toppings" card may be played during your own turn, in addition to your main action.

Draw 3 Toppings

Take three topping cards from the draw pile and place them behind your ice-parlour screen. The "Draw 3 Toppings" card may be played during your own turn, in addition to your main action.

Take Another Turn (Mache einen weiteren Zug)

This card allows you to take one additional turn. It may be played during your own turn, in addition to your main action.

The Banana Split

The sundae cards include two Banana Splits, each worth 20 points. Because the Banana Split cards are so valuable, special rules apply to obtaining them. Unlike other sundae cards, a Banana Split may not be taken from the middle and completed later. Instead, there are two ways to get a Banana Split:

• On your turn, play a Joker on a Banana Split. You then need no further topping cards: you complete the sundae and receive 20 points.

or:

• Complete your sundae at once by playing all four required toppings (chocolate sauce, sprinkles, whipped cream and cherry). Take the Banana Split from the middle and place all four toppings on the discard pile.

Game End

The game ends when the last sundae has been completed. Each player adds up the value of their scoring discs. The player with the most points wins.

Playing Tips

Collecting Toppings

You can collect toppings behind your ice-parlour screen until you have enough to complete a sundae immediately. This also lets you prevent a fellow player from snatching a sundae you have started with the ice-cream spoon. If you collect many toppings, your chances of landing a Banana Split increase. You may keep as many topping cards behind your ice-parlour screen as you like.

Using the Joker

The Joker can be used for any sundae. If you save it for a Banana Split, however, you can use it to win the coveted sundae and the highest points.