Doctor Rat
Doctor Rat Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview of the Game
Depending on your role in the game, you will either play as the famous Doctor Rat, or as one of the groups of hungry rats. The doctor must educate the rat groups, so each of them understands which types of food are right for them, and which types they should avoid.
He knows everyone's dietary restrictions perfectly. Unfortunately, protocol states the doctor is not allowed to communicate with the rats. He can only try to offer them the best types of food possible depending on what's currently available, and hope that each group of rats will choose the right option.
The rat groups are allowed to discuss amongst themselves, to try and figure out their respective dietary restrictions. They will have to choose their food wisely, because Doctor Rat will only be able to tell them if the food was suitable or not after they've consumed it!
Components
- 129 cards:
- 60 Food cards
- 56 Restriction cards:
- 16 Diet cards (green)
- 6 Category cards (yellow)
- 34 Specification cards (purple)
- 5 Complication cards
- 6 Identity cards
- 2 Player aid cards
- 5 Special Action tokens:
- 1 Strict Menu token
- 1 Medicine token
- 3 Yuck! tokens
- 1 Meal Counter board
- 1 Rat meeple
- 1 Trash Can token
- 1 box with a screen and insert
- 1 First Player token, which is only used in the COLLEAGUES variant
Basic Rules
Goal of the Game
All players are trying to make sure each group of rats feeds itself as correctly as possible. The goal is to make it through the 8th and final meal together, which will be the rats' final examination! Everyone will win or lose together.
Setup (Colony Variant)
A. Place the Meal Counter board in the center of the table, with its '3 rats' side face up. Place the Rat meeple on the manhole cover.
B. Place the Trash Can token near the center of the table.
C. Decide which player will be Doctor Rat. Doctor Rat now does the following:
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He (or she/they) constructs his desk by placing the game box and insert in front of him, as shown in the image below. He then takes the 5 Special Action tokens and places them on top of the box.
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He asks the other players if they want to form 2 or 3 rat groups. Depending on their choice, he hands them 2 or 3 Identity cards.
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He takes a second copy of each Identity card he handed out, and places these cards in separate slots of his insert.
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He now separates the 56 Restriction cards into 5 separate piles. He shuffles each pile face down and places them next to him:
- 1 pile with the 16 Diet cards (green)
- 1 pile with the 6 Category cards (yellow)
- 3 piles with the 34 Specification cards (purple)
- 1 pile with the 6 specific 'food type' cards
- 1 pile with the 8 specific 'food quantity' cards
- 1 pile with the 20 'food color pair' cards
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For each of the rat groups in play, he draws - or secretly chooses - 1 green Diet card and places it to the right of the corresponding Identity card inside his desk.
NOTE: several of the Diet cards have 1 Category card or 1-2 Specification cards associated with them: refer to the section DESCRIPTION OF THE DIETARY RESTRICTIONS to find out how Doctor Rat must attribute them to each of the rat groups. He can also use the player aid for this purpose.
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After associating the Category cards or Specification cards, he places all of the unused Restriction cards next to the play area without showing them to the other players. These cards will not be used for this game.
The First Player token is only used in the COLLEAGUES variant, explained at the end of the rulebook.
Example of setup for Doctor Rat and 2 rat groups.
How to Play
The game is played over 8 rounds, called 'meals'. Each meal consists of 4 phases, which are carried out in the following order:
- A) The meal is changed
- B) Doctor Rat prepares his Food cards
- C) The rat groups make their choices
- D) Doctor Rat analyzes the rats' choices
A) The Meal Is Changed
Advance the Rat meeple by 1 stack of plates on the Meal Counter board. During the 1st meal of the game, ignore this step.
B) Doctor Rat Prepares His Food Cards
IMPORTANT: during this phase, Doctor Rat has to remain silent. He is not allowed to inform the rat groups of their dietary restrictions!
Drawing each card from the back of the pile, Doctor Rat draws a number of Food cards equal to the number of rat groups in play, plus 1. He places them all in the front slot of his desk: these cards represent his stock of available Food cards.
Example: if Doctor Rat is playing with 2 rat groups, he draws 3 Food cards.
NOTE: for the 5th meal only, Doctor Rat does not draw Food cards during this step. At this point in the game, he must use the Food cards that are currently already in his stock.
Keeping in mind the dietary restrictions that are in play, Doctor Rat chooses a number of Food cards from his stock, equal to the number of rat groups.
NOTE: for the 3rd meal - and after choosing the Food cards - Doctor Rat draws 1 additional Food card and shuffles it together with the cards he just chose.
Once Doctor Rat has chosen his Food cards for this meal, he places them in the center of the play area with their green check mark side face up, so all the rat groups can see them. He then announces "Dinner's ready!" out loud.
NOTE: Doctor Rat can never directly attribute these cards to any of the rat groups. He is not allowed to influence them, for example by pointing a card towards a specific group. The cards must remain together in the center of the table.
Doctor Rat stores the Food cards he didn't choose in his stock for future meals.
YUCK! ACTION: At this point in the game, Doctor Rat may place Yuck! tokens with their front side up to remove and replenish the Food cards in his stock: see SPECIAL ACTIONS.
MEDICINE ACTION: At this point in the game, Doctor Rat may use his Medicine token and/or his Strict Menu token to help the rat groups: see SPECIAL ACTIONS.
C) The Rat Groups Make Their Choices
IMPORTANT: Doctor Rat also has to remain silent during this next phase of the game, because he's not allowed to steer the rat groups towards the choices they need to make. He may only listen to their discussions!
All the rat groups may now discuss freely, in order to guess which Food card might correspond to their dietary restriction.
- The rat groups are allowed to consume the Food cards offered by Doctor Rat, as well as the ones available in the trash can.
- If only 1 player represents the rat groups, we strongly recommend they express out loud how they feel about choosing each Food card. This allows Doctor Rat to listen to their logic, even though he's not allowed to comment on it.
Once the rat groups have reached an agreement, they each take 1 Food card and place it in front of them.
- If the players fail to reach an agreement, the youngest player among them decides.
YUCK! ACTION: At this point in the game, Doctor Rat may place Yuck! tokens with their back side up to prevent a rat group from consuming a food item: see SPECIAL ACTIONS.
This phase ends when all the rat groups have placed 1 Food card in front of them. If some of the Food cards placed in the center of the play area by Doctor Rat were not chosen, place them in the trash can: they can be chosen by groups of rats during future meals.
D) Doctor Rat Analyzes the Rats' Choices
During this phase, Doctor Rat verifies whether or not the Food cards that were chosen by each rat group are compatible with their respective dietary restrictions:
- If a group or rats chose a Food card that complies with their diet, he announces: "Yes, this meal is good for you!" The rat group then places this Food card after their Identity card, with its green check mark side face up.
- If a group or rats chose a Food card that doesn't comply with their diet, he announces: "Sorry, but this meal is bad for you!" The rat group then places this Food card after their Identity card, with its red cross side face up.
NOTE: from the 2nd meal onwards and until the end of the game, place each new Food card in such a way that it covers a portion of the previous card, as shown in the example. All your green check marks and red crosses must be aligned.
The rats have finished their meals! If one of the end game conditions has been met, proceed to the END OF THE GAME. If not, continue with the next meal.
End of the Game
The game ends when 1 of the following 3 situations occurs:
- As soon as one of the rat groups reveals the 3rd red cross on their Food cards, the game ends immediately. All players lose the game, including Doctor Rat. We believe the expression 'RATS!' is in order.
- One of the rat groups reveals a red cross during the 8th meal - also known as the final examination. All players lose the game, including Doctor Rat. Even if that group hasn't made a single mistake up to that point, the final examination has to be flawless for all the rat groups!
- The 8th meal - also known as the final examination - is over, and none of the rat groups have made a mistake during this final meal. All players scrumptiously win the game, including Doctor Rat. CongRATulations to all!
Description of the Dietary Restrictions
The dietary restrictions of each rat group are defined by 1 Diet card. However, this card is sometimes associated with 1 Category card or 1-2 Specification cards.
The Category Cards (yellow)
These cards determine which dietary information the rat groups have to take into account. There are 3 'families' of Category cards:
- food type cards
- food quantity cards
- food color cards
A Category card is always associated with one of the 'Identical' or 'Different' Diet cards: see THE DIET CARDS.
The Specification Cards (purple)
These cards determine which dietary elements the rat groups have to take into account. Similar to the Category cards, there are 3 'families' of Specification cards:
- specific food type cards
- specific quantity cards
- a food color pair
1 or 2 Specification cards are always associated with the 'Mandatory', 'Forbidden' or 'Alternating' Diet cards: see THE DIET CARDS.
The Diet Cards (green)
These cards determine the main function of the rats' dietary restrictions. During SETUP and for each rat group, Doctor Rat either draws 1 card at random, or chooses 1. Depending on the function of this Diet card, he must then add 1 Category card or 1-2 Specification cards if required.
NOTE: Doctor Rat is not allowed to attribute the exact same dietary restrictions to two different rat groups.
IMPORTANT: Doctor Rat must always make sure the dietary restrictions he attributes do not contradict the food on the Identity card of the corresponding rat group.
There are 6 dietary restrictions.
Mandatory
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After choosing this Diet card, Doctor Rat must draw 1 or 2 additional Specification cards among the 3 existing families:
- a specific type
- a specific quantity
- a food color pair
He may decide for himself if he wants to draw 1 or 2.
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Doctor Rat then places this/these Specification card(s) to the right of the Diet card.
This diet means that throughout the game, the corresponding rat group must always consume Food cards that are compatible with the single Specification card if there's only one, or with at least 1 of the 2 Specification cards if there are two.
NOTE: for this mandatory diet, at least 1 of the Specification cards chosen by Doctor Rat must be compatible with the food shown on the Identity card of the corresponding rat group.
Example: Doctor Rat draws 2 Specification cards. The first shows a specific food type: liquids. The second shows a food color pair: red and orange. The rat group associated with this diet must always choose Food cards which feature either liquid food, or food with an orange color, or food with a red color. Note that the food consumed by the rats can also be an orange liquid or a red liquid.
Forbidden
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After choosing this Diet card, Doctor Rat must draw 1 or 2 additional Specification cards among the 3 existing families:
- a specific type
- a specific quantity
- a food color pair
He may decide for himself if he wants to draw 1 or 2.
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Doctor Rat then places this/these Specification card(s) to the right of the Diet card.
This diet means that throughout the game, the corresponding rat group can never consume Food cards that are compatible with the Specification card(s).
NOTE: if he chooses to add 2 Specification cards, they must be of 2 different families!
Example: Doctor Rat can't choose 2 'food type' cards, but he can choose 1 'food type' card and 1 'food color pair' card.
NOTE: for this forbidden diet, all of the Specification cards chosen by Doctor Rat must be compatible with the food shown on the Identity card of the corresponding rat group.
Example: Doctor Rat draws 2 Specification cards. The first shows a specific food type: liquids. The second shows a food color pair: blue and orange. The rat group can never consume any liquid food, food with a blue color, or food with an orange color. This dietary restriction is compatible with the 2 green apples shown on the Identity card of the corresponding rat group, because this food isn't liquid, blue or orange.
Alternating
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After choosing this Diet card, Doctor Rat must draw 2 additional Specification cards among the 3 existing families:
- a specific type
- a specific quantity
- a food color pair
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√ For your first few games, we advise players to use 2 Specification cards of the same family: for example, 2 'food type' cards, 2 'food quantity' cards, or 2 'food color pair' cards. They will be easier to digest!
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√ Once you're familiar with the game, you could choose 2 Specification cards of different families: for example, 1 'food type' card and 1 'food color pair' card. After all, you can't survive on appetizers alone!
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Doctor Rat then places 1 of these 2 Specification cards to the left of the Diet card.
NOTE: this Specification card must be compatible with the food shown on the Identity card of the corresponding rat group.
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Doctor Rat then places the second Specification card to the right of the Diet card. Once the 3 cards are in place, this diet means that during its meals, the corresponding rat group must consume Food cards which alternatively correspond to the Specification card on the left, then to the Specification card on the right, then the Specification card on the left again, and so on until the end of the game.
√ The Identity card of the rat group is the first Food card in the game, and must therefore be compatible with the Specification card to the left of the Diet card. Similarly, the Food card of this rat group's first meal must correspond to the Specification card to the right of the Diet card.
NOTE: Food cards placed with their red cross side up are also taken into account for this alternating diet. In other words, the Food cards that correspond to meals 1, 3, 5 and 7 must be compatible with the Specification card to the right of the 'alternating' Diet card. The Food cards that correspond to meals 2, 4, 6 and 8 must be compatible with the Specification card to the left of the 'alternating' Diet card.
Example: the 2 Specification cards chosen by Doctor Rat show types of food: 'cheese' and 'vegetables'. He placed these cards to the left and right of the 'alternating' Diet card respectively. Doctor Rat made sure the Specification card 'cheese' placed on the left is compatible with the 3 red cheeses shown on the Identity card of the corresponding rat group. This group must now alternatively consume 1 'vegetable type' card, then 1 'cheese type' card, then 1 'vegetable type' card again, and so on. The '2 red liquids' card is incorrect, because it's not compatible with the Specification card on the right, which states this meal should contain the food type 'vegetable'. However, the next card shows '4 blue cheeses', which is correct because it's compatible with the Specification card on the left, which states this meal should once again contain the food type 'cheese'.
Identical to the Previous Card
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After choosing this Diet card, Doctor Rat must draw 1 additional Category card among the 3 existing families:
- a type
- a quantity
- a food color
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Doctor Rat then places this Category card to the right of the Diet card.
Once these 2 cards are in place, this diet means that throughout the game, the corresponding rat group must always consume a Food card of the same category as the previous Food card.
√ The Identity card of the rat group shows the first food category of the game.
NOTE: this restriction stays active, even if the previous card was placed with its red cross side face up.
Example: Doctor Rat draws the Category card associated with a food type. From now on, the rat group must consume food of the same type as the previous Food card.
This rat group starts the game with an Identity card showing 3 red cheeses. The Food card they choose during their 1st meal shows 2 red cheeses. This card is correct, because the food type 'cheese' matches that of the previous Food card.
During their 2nd meal, the new card chosen by the rats shows 2 red liquids. This card is incorrect, because the food type 'liquid' doesn't match the food type 'cheese' shown on the previous card.
During their 3rd meal, the new card chosen by the rats shows 4 yellow liquids. This card is correct, because the food type 'liquid' now matches the food type 'liquid' shown on the previous card.
Different from the Previous Card
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After choosing this Diet card, Doctor Rat must draw 1 additional Category card among the 3 existing families:
- a type
- a quantity
- a food color
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Doctor Rat then places this Category card to the right of the Diet card.
Once these 2 cards are in place, this diet means that throughout the game, the corresponding rat group must always consume a Food card of a different category than the previous Food card.
√ The Identity card of the rat group shows the first food category of the game.
NOTE: this restriction stays active, even if the previous card was placed with its red cross side face up.
Example: Doctor Rat draws the Category card associated with a food type. From now on, the rat group must consume food of a different type than the previous Food card. This rat group starts the game with an Identity card showing 3 red cheeses. The Food card they choose during their 1st meal shows 2 red liquids. This card is correct, because the food type 'liquid' doesn't match the food type 'cheese' shown on the previous Food card.
During their 2nd meal, the new card chosen by the rats shows 2 green liquids. This card is incorrect, because the food type 'liquid' matches the food type 'liquid' shown on the previous card.
During their 3rd meal, the new card chosen by the rats shows 3 blue cheeses. This card is correct, because the food type 'cheese' no longer matches the food type 'liquid' shown on the previous card.
Quantity +1 or -1
- After choosing this Diet card, Doctor Rat does not draw any additional cards.
This diet means that throughout the game, the corresponding rat group must always consume a Food card showing exactly 1 more or 1 fewer food item than the previous Food card.
√ The Identity card of the rat group shows the first food quantity of the game.
NOTE: this restriction stays active, even if the previous card was placed with its red cross side up.
Example: this rat group starts the game with an Identity card showing '3' red cheeses. The Food card they choose during their 1st meal shows '2' red cheeses. This card is correct, because it shows exactly 1 fewer food item than the previous card with '3' red cheeses.
During their 2nd meal, the new card chosen by the rats shows '2' red liquids. This card is incorrect, because it shows the exact same amount of food items as the previous card with '2' red cheeses.
During their 3rd meal, the new card chosen by the rats shows '1' orange carrot. This card is correct, because it shows exactly 1 fewer food item than the previous card with '2' red liquids.
For Your First Game
FOR YOUR FIRST GAME, we would advise whoever is reading this rulebook to take on the role of 'Doctor Rat'. We also advise them to attribute the following dietary restrictions:
- The rat group with the Identity card showing '1 blue liquid' should receive the 'mandatory' Diet card and the Specification card showing red or blue food.
- The rat group with the Identity card showing '2 green apples' should receive the 'forbidden' Diet card and the Specification card showing liquid food.
- The rat group with the Identity card showing '3 red cheeses' should receive the 'mandatory' Diet card and the Specification card showing a food quantity that must equal 3.
Note that each proposed diet must be compatible with the food shown on the Identity card of the corresponding rat group!
Special Actions
To help him with his monumental task, Doctor Rat can use Special Action tokens that give the teams a small tip!
Doctor Rat can use as many Special Action tokens as he wants during their corresponding phases. There are 3 types of Special Action tokens:
CAREFUL: no Special Action tokens can be used during the final examination.
Yuck! Tokens (3 tokens) - Phase B: Doctor Rat prepares his Food cards
Front side: At any time while he's analyzing the Food cards in his stock and before he must choose 1 card per rat group, Doctor Rat can place a Yuck! token on its Front side.
When Doctor Rat places 1 Yuck! token on its Front side, he places all of the Food cards currently in his stock next to the play area without showing them to the other players. These cards are out of the game.
He then draws an equal number of Food cards from the pile and places them in his stock.
To indicate he used 1 Yuck! token, Doctor Rat places it in front of the game box where all of his fellow rats can see it.
Back side: Doctor Rat can play a Yuck! token on its Back side after the rat groups have chosen their Food cards.
When Doctor Rat plays 1 Yuck! token on its Back side, he returns the Food card chosen by 1 of the rat groups to his offer in the center of the play area.
This rat group can no longer choose this Food card during this meal.
The rat group must choose 1 new Food card among the ones in the play area or inside the trash can.
Doctor Rat places the Yuck! token he used in front of the game box where all of his fellow rats can see it.
Medicine and Strict Menu Tokens - Phase C: The rat groups make their choices
Medicine (1 token, Front/Back)
Doctor Rat can play his Medicine token after choosing the Food cards he wants to offer to the rat groups, but before placing them in the play area.
When Doctor Rat plays this token, he places it on 2 consecutive symbols of his choice among the Food cards in front of one of the rat groups.
This medicine allows him to cover red crosses or green checkmarks. These symbols are no longer taken into account.
Once used, the Medicine token remains in place until the end of the game.
Strict Menu (1 token, Front/Back)
Doctor Rat can play his Strict Menu token before placing the Food cards in the play area.
When Doctor Rat plays this token, he picks 1 Food card among those he chose and hands it directly to a rat group of his choice.
To indicate he used this token, Doctor Rat places it in front of the game box where all of his fellow rats can see it.
Advice for Doctor Rat: the more confident you feel about your fellow rats, the fewer Yuck! tokens you'll need. Your ultimate goal should be to play without Yuck! tokens altogether. Will you be able to achieve that?
Complications Variant
If your rat groups have become too strong, we advise players to start using this variant to complicate their task!
WARNING: these complications cannot be used in the COLLEAGUES variant.
Setup
- Shuffle the Complication cards and place them in a draw pile in front of Doctor Rat's desk, with their green cross side face up.
How to Play
- If after phase 'D- Doctor Rat analyzes the rats' choices', a rat group has 3 uninterrupted green check marks on their Food cards, they develop a complication.
NOTE: the Identity card is not taken into account, because it doesn't show a green check mark. What's more, the green check marks on Food cards located to the left of a Medicine token are also not taken into account.
- Doctor Rat draws 1 Complication card from the bottom of the pile, and hands it to one of the players in the corresponding rat group. Without consulting their teammates, this player must apply the effect of this Complication card to the corresponding rat group during phase 'C- The rat groups make their choices'. It only applies to the group's next meal. See EFFECTS OF THE COMPLICATION CARDS.
NOTE: you must apply the effect of the Complication card, even if this causes your group to choose an incorrect Food card.
- At the end of the next meal, after the effect of the Complication card has been applied, place the card with its green cross side up in the Food card row of the corresponding rat group. Start counting the sequence of green check marks again from zero after the green cross on this Complication card.
IMPORTANT: if during phase 'D- Doctor Rat analyzes the rats' choices' of the 7th meal, one or more rat groups obtain their 3rd consecutive green check mark, they don't receive a Complication card for the 8th and final meal. In other words, the rat groups can never receive a Complication card before their final examination (8th meal).
NOTE: if there are no Complication cards left in the draw pile, no further complications will be distributed for the rest of the game.
Effects of the Complication Cards
Madness: Doctor Rat immediately draws 2 Food cards from the back of his draw pile and hands them to you. You must choose 1 of these cards to place in front of you.
Discard the other card next to the play area.
Doctor Rat then performs a phase 'D-Doctor Rat analyzes the rats' choices' on the card you decided to keep.
NOTE: the rat group affected by this complication will not consume another Food card during this meal.
Paranoia: You must consume 1 Food card of your choice from the trash can.
Insomnia: You must choose your Food card before the other rat groups, and you're not allowed to discuss your choice with them.
Gluttony: After all the rat groups have chosen their Food cards and before phase 'D-Doctor Rat analyzes the rats' choices', you must choose 1 additional Food card among those in the play area or inside the trash can.
Megalomania: After all the rat groups have chosen their Food cards and before phase 'D-Doctor Rat analyzes the rats' choices', you must make a prediction. For each rat group, let Doctor Rat know out loud whether you think the Food card they chose for this meal is compatible with their respective dietary restriction or not.
- For each individual rat group, Doctor Rat will then confirm if your prediction was right or wrong:
- √ if your prediction was right, nothing happens. Continue with the meal as normal.
- √ if your prediction was wrong, remove the Food card from the corresponding rat group and place it after your Food cards instead.
- After Doctor Rat has given his feedback on each of your predictions, he carries out a phase 'D- Doctor Rat analyzes the rats' choices' and takes into account your chosen Food card for this meal, as well as any Food cards you might have received due to incorrect predictions.
Colleagues Variant
You can also play Doctor Rat with the COLLEAGUES variant. This variant is still cooperative, and allows you to play with 2 'Doctors Rat' simultaneously, who must help each other. Each Doctor Rat can be played by 1 or more players.
Setup
- Divide the players up into 2 teams: one of them will be assigned to Doctor Rat A, and the other to Doctor Rat B.
The setup of the game is identical to the one used for the COLONY variant, with the following exceptions:
- The insert, box, Strict Menu token and Medicine token aren't used.
- Place the Meal Counter board in the center of the table, with its '2 rats' side face up. Place the Rat meeple on the manhole cover.
- Each Doctor Rat takes 1 initial Identity card, which represents him: the doctor with the smallest amount of food on his card receives the First Player token.
Both doctors now receive a copy of the other Doctor Rat's Identity card.
- The Doctors Rat take turns turning their back towards the play area while the other draws 1 Diet card and any required Category cards or Specification cards: see DESCRIPTION OF THE DIETARY RESTRICTIONS.
In order not to give away any clues, each doctor carefully hides their Restriction cards from the other, by tucking them underneath the copy they received of the other doctor's Identity card.
√ Note that each Doctor Rat may at any time consult the Restriction cards they've assigned to their colleague. Do this under the table, to make sure the other Doctor Rat can't see them.
- Place the 3 Yuck! tokens on the table. They can be used by the 2 Doctors Rat at their convenience.
Remember: if you want to complicate your task, you can reduce the number of Yuck! tokens.
- Shuffle all the Food cards with their green check mark side face up, and place them in a draw pile in the center of the table.
- Randomly draw 1 Food card from the pile, and place it on the Trash Can token with its green check mark side face up. This is the starting trash can.
How to Play
Meals in the COLLEAGUES variant work in exactly the same way as meals in the COLONY variant, with the following exceptions:
B) Doctor Rat prepares his Food cards
- With the exception of the 5th and 8th meals, the first player draws 3 Food cards and places them in between the 2 Doctors Rat.
- During the 5th and 8th meals, nobody draws Food cards and the 2 Doctors Rat will have to choose from the Food cards currently inside the trash can.
YUCK! ACTION: At this point in the game, each Doctor Rat may place Yuck! tokens with their front side up to remove and replenish the Food cards.
NOTE: in the COLLEAGUES variant, each Yuck! token allows the doctor to replace both the Food cards in between the 2 Doctors Rat and those in the trash can.
C) The rat groups make their choices
- The player with the First Player token starts this phase. They place 1 Food card of their choice in front of them: either a card lying in between the 2 Doctors Rat, or a card inside the trash can.
√ In the COLLEAGUES variant, if Doctor Rat is played by a single player, we strongly recommend they discuss their thought process out loud when choosing their Food card. This allows the other Doctor Rat to listen to their logic, even though the Doctors Rat are not allowed to comment on their colleague's reasoning.
- Then, the other Doctor Rat does the same.
YUCK! ACTION: At this point in the game, one of the Doctors Rat may place Yuck! tokens with their back side up to prevent the other Doctor Rat from consuming a food item: see SPECIAL ACTIONS.
D) Doctor Rat analyzes the rats' choices
- Each Doctor Rat analyzes the choice of the other.
- At the end of the meal, the 2 Doctors Rat verify whether or not one of the end game conditions has been met. If this is not the case, the Doctor Rat with the First Player token passes this token to the other Doctor Rat, who will be the first player for the next meal.
End of the Game
The game ends in the same way as the COLONY variant.