Chicken Out (Parker Brothers)
Chicken Out (Parker Brothers) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Equipment
Game board. Deck of 54 playing cards with 30 Number cards, 13 Chicken cards, 8 Safe cards and 3 Goose cards. 8 plastic chicken tokens, 2 of each color.
Object
To be the first player to get both your chickens back and forth across five lanes of traffic to the Finish.
Setup
- Each player picks two chickens of the same color and places them in the START space.
- Mix all the cards together and deal four face down to each player.
- Put the rest of the cards face down next to the board to form the draw pile. You will discard cards face up next to the draw pile.
- The youngest player goes first, followed by the person on his or her left and so on, clockwise around the table.
Playing
On your turn:
- Play any one card from your hand.
- Act on that card.
- Discard it face up in the discard pile AND.
- Draw a card from the draw pile to bring your hand back up to four cards.
Use on Your Turn
NUMBER CARD. You may move either chicken the number of spaces indicated. For instance, if you play a 3 card, move one of your chickens across three lanes of traffic. DO NOT count the grassy edge of the road — the SAFETY AREA — as a lane.
(The printed sheet also shows an illustrated "DO THIS" / "NOT THIS" board example here. It is a picture with no rules text and is not transcribed.)
CHICKEN CARD. There are 3 CHICKEN CARDS of each color, plus one WILD CHICKEN card with the word "CHICKEN" in all four colors. Play one of these cards when there are chickens in the road that you want to dare: Place the card face down in front of you and squawk "CHICKEN!" Unless the player whose color chicken is on the CHICKEN card protects himself (see USE ON OPPONENTS' TURNS below), both his or her birds could be sent all the way back to START. So your opponents have to decide what they'll do to protect their chickens. (Your birds are safe when you play a CHICKEN card.) Once each opponent has decided whether to chicken out or take the risk, turn the CHICKEN card over and reveal who — if anyone — will be zapped back to START.
Use on Opponents' Turns
SAFE CARD. There are 8 in the deck. Play this card if an opponent plays a CHICKEN card and you want to protect your chicken(s). You must play two SAFE cards to protect both chickens in the road; in this case, draw two cards to bring your hand back to four. If you play only one SAFE card, your other chicken may be sent back to START.
GOOSE CARD. There are 3 in the deck. Play this card when an opponent plays a CHICKEN card and you want to move your chicken(s) ahead to the next Safety Area. You must play two GOOSE cards to protect both your chickens.
When an opponent plays a CHICKEN card, do one of the following:
- Play a SAFE card for each of your chickens, or, if you have only one SAFE card, pick which chicken you're going to protect.
OR
- Play a GOOSE card and move one of your chickens ahead to the next Safety Area. If you have two GOOSE cards, you may play both and protect both chickens.
OR
- CHICKEN OUT and move your chickens backwards to the nearest Safety Areas.
OR
- Ignore the dare and leave both chickens right where they are.
BUT, if the CHICKEN card had your color "chicken" on it, both your birds go all the way back to the START!
OR
- You may do any combination of the above. For example, you may play a SAFE card to protect one chicken and use a GOOSE card to push the other one up to the next Safety Area.
Chicken Tips to Help You Out
- You may start your second chicken on any turn; you don't have to get one chicken to the FINISH before starting the second.
- If you don't have a number card in your hand and choose not to play a CHICKEN card on your turn, you may discard any card and draw one new card; this constitutes your turn.
- You can bluff by playing your own color CHICKEN card — just to get your opponents in a huff!
- You may use a GOOSE card to get either one of your chickens off the road. A GOOSE card cannot be used to move from one Safety Area to the next Safety Area. A GOOSE card may be used to get across the FINISH line.
- Remember to draw a card(s) after each turn. But if you forget, draw whenever you remember, even if it isn't your turn.
- When the draw pile is used up, turn the cards over, mix them up, and place them face down to form a new draw pile.
Ending and Winning the Game
The winner is the first player to get both his or her chickens all the way from START to FINISH. You may use either a GOOSE or a number card to get a chicken across the FINISH line; if you use a number card, you do not have to land by exact count.