Capybara Cookie Club Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Goal of the Game
• Setup
• Gameplay
• Special Effects of Cards
• Special Effects of Tokens
• The Capybara Card
• How the Teapot Works
• End of the Round
• Scoring
• New Round
• End of the Game

Contents

• 5 hostess cards: Herbaciary, Kociary, Rośliniary, Jesieniary, Książkary
• 77 animal cards (anteater, armadillo, toucan, tapir, sloth, capuchin monkey, olive turtle, capybara)
• 8 animal tokens (7 with animals and one with cookies)
• 55 cookies (25 x "1", 25 x "5", 5 x "25")
• capybara figure
• teapot
• rulebook

Goal of the Game

During the game, players take on the roles of capybaras hosting a tea party for their friends. The players' goal is to skilfully play animal cards so as to be left with the fewest of them in hand at the end of the round. Nothing goes with tea as well as crumbly cookies, but the titular capybaras, despite their innate hospitality, will strive to hoard as many cookies as possible for themselves. The winner is the player who has gathered the most of them at the end of the whole game.

Setup

1. Thoroughly shuffle the tokens of the capybara's friends (animals) and lay them out randomly in the form of a circle, creating the play area.
2. Place the capybara figure on the token showing cookies. Place the teapot inside the circle.
3. Each player takes the role of one chosen capybara and places the matching hostess card in front of them, putting cookies of total value "25" on it. Place the remaining cookies in an easily accessible place; they form the general supply.
4. Shuffle the animal cards and deal 7 cards to each player. Players hold their cards in hand so that they are hidden from the others.
5. Place the rest of the cards as a face-down draw pile next to the circle. Then reveal the two top cards and place them inside the circle, forming two separate face-up piles.
6. On the other side of the draw pile, leave space for a discard pile.

Gameplay

The game is played over a series of rounds, in which players play cards in clockwise order. The game is started by the biggest tea enthusiast or the youngest player.

On their turn, a player plays a card from their hand, placing it on one of the two face-up piles. They must remember that the value of the played card must be exactly one higher (+1) than the value of the card on top of the pile.

Since the capybara's friends' cards have values from "1" to "5", after a card of the highest value is played, the next card that can be played is one with the value "1". Thus a player has no way of playing the capybara card, which has the value "7".

NOTE: If the tops of both piles show cards of the same value, the player may place on one of them a card of any value except the capybara card!

If a player cannot (or does not want to) play a card, they must draw the top card from the draw pile and add it to the other cards held in hand. After drawing a card, the player again has the opportunity to play one of the cards they hold (not necessarily the one just drawn) or to pass.

Every animal card played, apart from reducing the player's hand, immediately triggers a special effect.

Special Effects of Cards

Armadillo - After playing this card, immediately play another card from your hand, placing it on one of the two face-up piles. If you cannot play another card according to the rules for placing them, you must draw a card from the draw pile. The armadillo's power allows you to get rid of two cards in one turn. If a player plays two armadillo cards in a row, they may lay down three cards in the turn, and so on.

Tapir - Pass one of the cards you hold in hand to the player sitting on your left. Place the chosen card face down on the table and push it toward that player. The player must add the card to their hand, unless the teapot is currently standing in front of them; then they may pass the card on to the next player (see: How the Teapot Works). The tapir's power allows you to get rid of cards from your hand faster.

Olive turtle - Add the top card of the draw pile to those held in hand. Then discard one chosen card from your hand onto a separate discard pile, placing it face up. The olive turtle's power allows you to get rid of an unwanted card, including the capybara card.

Anteater - A player of your choice must give a cookie token of value "1" back to the general supply.

NOTE: As a result of the anteater card's effect, a player cannot lose their last remaining cookie. The active player therefore cannot use the anteater's power against a player who has only one cookie.

Sloth - Take the teapot pawn and place it in front of yourself, regardless of whether it was inside the circle or standing in front of another player. The teapot protects against the effects of other cards (see: How the Teapot Works).

Capuchin monkey - Move the capybara figure to the next token clockwise and activate its special effect as described below.

Toucan - Move the capybara figure to the second token clockwise and activate its special effect as described below.

Special Effects of Tokens

You already know that playing a capuchin monkey or toucan card makes the capybara figure move around the circle and activates the special effect of the token on which the figure ends its move.

Seven tokens show the capybara's friends - animals also depicted on the cards. The effect of six of them is identical to the card effects described above: tapir, olive turtle, armadillo, sloth, capuchin monkey and toucan.

The anteater's effect in the case of the token applies to all players. This means that everyone (except the active player) must return a cookie token of value "1" to the general supply. Here too the rule applies that the last remaining token cannot be disposed of in this way.

The eighth token is the token with cookies. When the capybara ends its move on it, the active player:

• reveals the top card of the draw pile,
• receives from the general supply and places on their hostess card cookie tokens of value equal to the value of the revealed card,
• puts the card on the discard pile.

The Capybara Card

The capybara card, like the animal itself, is special. Because of its value ("7") it cannot be played on either of the face-up piles (as there is no card of value "6" in the game). The only way to get rid of this card from your hand is to use the effects of the tapir or olive turtle cards or tokens. A capybara card left in hand at the end of the round will cost the player cookies of total value "7".

How the Teapot Works

The beneficial effects of tea have been known to humanity for thousands of years - it aids concentration, regulates cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and in addition, as it turns out, it protects against unwanted card effects in our game!

If a player has the teapot in front of them, then when another player activates the effect of:

• the tapir - this player may refuse to accept the card; then, without looking at what card it is, they pass it to the next player, and must also put the teapot back in the middle of the circle;
• the anteater - this player may refuse to put a cookie token (of value "1") back into the general supply, after which they must put the teapot back in the middle of the circle.

In both cases the player may decide not to use the teapot's power and to leave it in front of them in the hope of its help in subsequent rounds. In that case the player must, respectively, take the card (tapir) or give up the cookie token (anteater). The player must remember, however, that if another player triggers the sloth effect, that player takes over the teapot and places it in front of themselves.

End of the Round

The round ends immediately when any player:

1. plays their last card in hand onto one of the piles (the card's effect is then not resolved),
2. passes their last card in hand due to the effect of the tapir card or token.

The player who ended the round reveals the top card of the draw pile, receives from the general supply and places on their hostess card cookie tokens of value equal to the value of that card, and then puts it on the discard pile. Additionally, if this player has the teapot in front of them, they must put it back in the middle of the play area.

Then proceed to count points for the current round.

Scoring

Five o'clock - time for tea! After an interesting chat it is time for a sip of tea and, of course, something sweet. It turns out, however, that the capybaras, eager to share gossip heard here and there, are not willing to share their gathered cookies.

The round's winner, having got rid of all cards from their hand, can be at ease about their store of cookies - it is the other players who bear the unpleasant duty of hosting the invited friends.

From all the cards remaining in the players' hands, each of them chooses, for each type of animal they hold, one card of the highest value and lays them out in front of themselves. They put the remaining cards on the discard pile. If at the end of the round a player has one or more capybara cards in hand, they lay one of them in front of themselves and put the others on the discard pile.

Then the players must return to the general supply cookie tokens of value equal to the sum of the values of the animal cards laid out in front of them. If a player does not have enough cookies in their supply, they must return all the cookies they have.

Example:

1. On his turn Adam played an olive turtle card onto one of the piles. Since it was his last card, its effect is skipped and the round comes to an end.
2. Adam reveals the top card of the draw pile - a sloth gives him two cookie tokens of value "1".
3. The other players reveal the cards remaining in their hands and resolve those of the highest value of each animal type:
   • Paulina has two capuchin monkey cards of values "2" and "4" left in hand. Therefore Paulina returns cookie tokens of value "4" to the general supply.
   • Tatiana has three cards left in hand: an anteater of value "2", a toucan of value "1" and an armadillo of value "3". Each card is therefore the highest of its animal type, so Tatiana must return cookie tokens of value "6" to the general supply.
   • Tomek also has three cards left at the end: a sloth of value "1" and two capybara cards of value "7". Since regardless of the number of capybara cards held in hand only one of them counts, Tomek must return cookie tokens of value "8" to the general supply.

New Round

If after treating the other animals every player still has at least one cookie token, the next round begins.

In the middle of the play area leave the top cards of both face-up piles, and shuffle all the remaining cards, including those laid out before the players and those from the draw and discard piles, deal 7 to each player, and form a draw pile from the rest.

NOTE: Proceed in the same way if the draw pile runs out during a round - leave only the top cards of the face-up piles, and shuffle the remaining cards (of course excluding those held by players in their hands) and form a new draw pile from them.

The round is started by the player who has gathered cookie tokens of the lowest value in their supply. In case of a tie, choose randomly a player from among those tied.

End of the Game

If after scoring a round one or more players have got rid of all their cookie tokens, the game ends, and the game is won by the player who has gathered on their hostess card cookie tokens of the greatest value. Since capybaras are extremely sociable mammals, in case of a tie they share the victory!