Donkey Derby
Donkey Derby Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Materials
- Gameboard
- 5 donkey figures
- 1 die (with values from 1 to 5, and one blank side)
- 15 betting markers
- 5 character cards
Set-up
Regardless of the number of players, all five donkeys are placed on the starting space.
Each player chooses one character card and the three betting markers of the same color and puts them in front of him on the table.
Players play in turn. Determine in any manner who starts the game; this player is the first to get the die.
Course of the Game
The game is divided into alternating betting rounds and donkey movements, starting with a first betting round.
The starting player begins. After him, all players, in turn, may determine their favorite donkey. If a player doesn't want to make a bet yet, he keeps his betting markers.
Betting round
In each betting round, each player may use only one betting marker. The gameboard shows five colored betting spaces for each donkey. Each betting marker is placed on the topmost unoccupied space of any color. Consequently, the first betting marker for a donkey is put on the "WIN" space.
Example: Let's say that Emily has chosen green and she thinks that the gray donkey will end up on one of the first three positions in the race. She places her betting marker on the next unoccupied gray space, which is below the betting marker of Simon who has already bet on the gray donkey.
Each betting space may hold only one betting marker.
If all five betting spaces of one color are occupied, you can no longer bet on that donkey.
During the course of the game, you may even place more than one betting marker on the same donkey.
Once a betting marker has been placed, it may not be relocated any more.
As soon as the first donkey crosses the finish line, players may no longer bet.
The donkeys start racing
After the end of the first betting round – i.e., when each player has had one chance to make a bet – the donkeys start the race.
The starting player (he was the first one entitled to make a bet) rolls the die and advances any donkey according to the number rolled. If the die ends up on the blank side, the donkey remains on its space.
After that, the same player rolls four more times; each time, he moves another donkey ahead. This way, he brings all five donkeys into the race, one after another.
Important: After each roll, you immediately have to move one donkey before you roll again. You always need to move the complete number rolled.
New betting round
Before the next player moves the five donkeys, players may make another bet. This new betting round is started by the player whose turn it then will be to roll the die. Again, in turn, each player may place a betting marker on one donkey.
Tactical hint
If you retain your betting markers too long, the topmost betting spaces of the different colors will already be occupied by markers of the other players.
Keep in mind that you score more points for betting markers that were placed sooner. Therefore, make your bet in good time!
The donkeys race again
After the players have placed all the bets they wanted, the donkeys race again. When it's a player's turn to roll the die, he advances all five donkeys according to the rules described above.
To make it easier to see which donkeys have already been moved, bring them into a different position after each move (see illustration).
Further course of the game
During the further course of the game, the donkeys keep changing their position in each round.
Until the first donkey has arrived at the finish, players keep alternating between betting and rolling the die. After the winning donkey has crossed the finish line, players may no longer make any bets. From then on, they may only roll the die. So, when one or two donkeys have crossed the finish line, players do nothing but rolling the die four or three times and move the remaining donkeys accordingly.
Finish; End of the Game
To finish the race, each donkey just needs to cross the finish line; any excess die moves go to waste. As the donkeys arrive, they are put on the winners' rostrum according to their position. The game ends as soon as the third donkey has crossed the finish line.
Scoring
Now all betting markers that were placed on one of the first three donkeys are transferred to the respective scoring spaces above the winners' rostrum in the exact same order.
The numbers on the scoring spaces indicate how many points a player scores for his betting marker lying on that space. The player with the highest total is the winner of the game.
The scoring spaces are arranged in three columns, one above each place on the winners' rostrum:
| Scoring space (top to bottom) | 2nd place (red donkey) | 1st place (gray donkey) | 3rd place (brown donkey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st space | 30 | 40 | 20 |
| 2nd space | 22 | 28 | 16 |
| 3rd space | 15 | 20 | 10 |
| 4th space | 11 | 14 | 8 |
| 5th space | 8 | 10 | 6 |
Example of a point scoring
The gray donkey won the race; the red one came in second, and the brown one, third. Players made their bets as shown in the illustration.
Emily (green) scores 74 points, Simon (blue) earns 55 points, John (purple) gets 30 points, and Eileen (pink) receives 42 points.
With this, Emily is declared the winner.
Donkey Bridge Variant
One space on the racetrack shows a bridge.
If a donkey comes to a stop on this "donkey bridge" at the end of his turn, he has to skip one round. In the next round, the subsequent player moves one donkey less (or even fewer if there is more than one donkey on the donkey bridge). If somebody rolls a blank for a donkey on the donkey bridge, the donkey has to skip another round.