Double Seven Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Object of the Game
• Setup
• Your Turn
  • 1. Reveal a tile
  • 2. Draw tiles
  • 3. Actions
  • Start a Family
  • Grow a Family
  • Trade a Family
  • Reclaim a Joker
  • Special Action: Two for One
  • 4. End of Turn
• End of the Game
• Scoring
• Scoring Example
• Quick Reference: Your Turn at a Glance
• Worked Example of a Game in Progress

Components

• 91 tiles, consisting of:
  • 8 Animal families (8 colors), with 11 tiles of each Animal.
  • 3 Jokers (Clovers).
• 8 "7" tokens.
• 1 "Double Seven" token.
• 4 stands (one per player).

Object of the Game

Place, exchange, and grow families of Animals. At the end of the game, each family placed in front of you scores 1 point per tile. Try to obtain families of at least 7 tiles to win bonuses.

Setup

1. Place all the tiles face down in the middle of the table and shuffle them.
2. Lay out the 8 "7" tokens and the "Double Seven" token within reach of all players.
3. Each player takes a stand, then secretly draws 3 tiles and places them on their stand.

The player of your choice goes first. Play then continues clockwise.

Your Turn

On your turn, follow these steps in order.

1. Reveal a tile

If there is no face-up tile in the draw pile, reveal one.

2. Draw tiles

Draw tiles one at a time, face-up and/or face-down:

• 3 tiles if your stand is empty.
• OR 2 tiles if you already have at least one tile on your stand.

"Rainbow!" — Immediately after drawing all your tiles, if you have 5 or more tiles on your stand representing Animals that are all different, with no Joker among them, you may announce "Rainbow!". Show your stand to the other players, then draw one additional tile, face-up or face-down. This can only be done once per turn, right after drawing.

3. Actions

Perform as many actions as you wish, or can. Each action may be performed multiple times, except the Special Action, which is limited to once per turn.

Golden Rule — Once a family has been placed on the table, it can never:

• Be merged with another family.
• Be split apart.

A placed family can only be grown or exchanged.

Start a Family

From your stand, place a family of at least 2 identical Animals. This family is placed in front of your stand, visible to everyone.

One or more Joker tiles (Clovers) may be used to start a family, but you may never start a family made up only of Jokers.

You cannot start a new family of an Animal that is already present in front of your own stand. However, you are free to start a family of an Animal that is already present in front of another player.

Grow a Family

From your stand, add one or more tiles (Animal and/or Joker) to grow a family already placed in front of you. A family must always be made up of a single kind of Animal, plus any number of Jokers.

"Seven!" — Each time one of your families reaches at least 7 tiles (as a result of a Grow action), take a "7" token and keep it near your stand, +1 side up. This family may still be grown or exchanged like any other.

"Double Seven!" — If you are the first player to obtain a second family of at least 7 tiles, also take the "Double Seven" token and keep it near your stand, +2 side up. This immediately triggers the end of the game.

Trade a Family

Trade one of your Animal families for a family belonging to another player. The two families must contain exactly the same number of tiles.

Example: a player trades their 4 Squirrels for another player's 4 Butterflies.

Following a trade, it is entirely possible to end up holding several separate families of the same Animal. Do not merge these families — keep them separate from one another. It is forbidden to split a family in order to make a trade.

Reclaim a Joker

You may reclaim a Joker from a family placed in front of you or in front of another player. From your stand, take an Animal tile matching that family, replace the Joker with it, and place the reclaimed Joker on your own stand.

Special Action: Two for One

Once per turn, at most: discard 2 tiles from your stand face-up (onto the draw pile), then draw one more tile, face-up or face-down.

4. End of Turn

Your turn ends when either of the following happens:

• Your stand is empty. Announce "Empty!" to the other players.
• OR you decide to pass. Announce "I pass!"

You are never required to perform every action available to you.

If you have 6 or more tiles on your stand at the end of your turn, you must discard exactly one of them. This tile is removed from the game, face up (not placed onto the draw pile).

End of the Game

The end of the game is triggered when a player takes the "Double Seven" token, or when a player draws the very last tile.

The player who triggers the end of the game finishes their own turn normally. Every other player then plays one final turn each, after which points are counted.

Note: If you have no tiles left to draw on your final turn, simply play that turn skipping the draw step.

Scoring

• Each tile placed in front of you scores 1 point.
• Add 1 point for each "7" token you collected.
• Add 2 points if you hold the "Double Seven" token.

Tiles remaining on your stand score nothing.

The player with the most points wins the game. In case of a tie, the tied player holding the "Double Seven" token is declared the winner. If the "Double Seven" token holder is not among the tied players, the tied players share the victory.

Scoring Example

This player is the first to complete 2 families of 7 tiles. She therefore collected the "Double Seven" token (worth 2 points) and triggered the end of the game. She finishes with a family of 7 Birds (7 points), a family of 8 Squirrels (8 points), and a family of 2 Foxes (2 points). During the game she also collected two "7" tokens (worth 1 point each). The two tiles remaining on her stand (a Butterfly and a Swan) score nothing.

Her total score:

• 7 points (Birds)
• • 8 points (Squirrels)
• • 2 points (Foxes)
• • 1 point ("7" token)
• • 1 point ("7" token)
• • 2 points ("Double Seven" token)
• = 21 points

Quick Reference: Your Turn at a Glance

1. Reveal a tile from the draw pile face up, if none is already face up.
2. Draw, one at a time, 2 tiles — or 3 tiles if your stand is empty.
   • "Rainbow!": Immediately after drawing all your tiles, if your stand holds 5 or more tiles that are all different Animals with no Joker, announce "Rainbow!" and draw one extra tile. Once per turn, right after drawing.
3. Perform as many actions as you wish (or can). Each action may be repeated, except the Special Action. Clovers are Jokers and may stand in for any Animal.
   • Golden Rule: a placed Animal family can never be merged with another family of the same Animal, nor be split.
   • Start a Family: from your stand, place a family of at least 2 identical Animals, provided you do not already have one in front of you.
   • Grow a Family: from your stand, add a tile to grow a family placed in front of you.
     • "Seven!": each time one of your families reaches at least 7 tiles, take a "7" token and keep it near your stand, +1 side up.
     • "Double Seven!": if you are first to get a second family of at least 7 tiles, also take the "Double Seven" token. This triggers the end of the game — every other player gets one last turn, then points are counted.
   • Trade a Family: exchange one of your Animal families with a player's family, provided both families contain exactly the same number of tiles.
   • Reclaim a Joker from a family already placed on the table: from your stand, take a matching Animal tile, swap it for the Joker, and place the Joker on your stand.
   • Special Action "Two for One": once per turn maximum. Discard 2 tiles from your stand face up onto the draw pile, then draw one more tile, face up or face down.
4. End of turn: your turn ends when your stand is empty, or when you decide to pass. If you have 6 or more tiles on your stand, discard exactly one; it is removed from the game, face up.

Worked Example of a Game in Progress

Here is a full example covering all the game's mechanisms. Debora begins her turn.

A. First, since no tile in the draw pile is face up, Debora reveals one.

B. Debora did not end her previous turn with an empty stand (she still has a Fox left), so she must draw 2 tiles. The face-up Bird does not interest Debora right now. She draws a first tile at random (a Frog). Then she draws a second tile face down (a Fox), because the Bird still doesn't interest her.

C. Debora now trades her 2 Swans for Julian's 2 Foxes.

D. Debora grows her family of Foxes by adding the ones from her stand. She now has a family of 4 Foxes.

E. Debora then trades her family of 4 Foxes for David's family of 4 Frogs.

F. Finally, she grows her family of Frogs with the one on her stand. She ends her turn by announcing "Empty!"

It is now the next player, Julian's, turn.

Julian does not need to reveal a tile from the draw pile, since one is already face up: the Bird.

G. Julian ended his previous turn with an empty stand, so he draws 3 tiles. He draws, one after another, a Frog, a Deer, and a Rabbit. He does not take the face-up Bird, since it doesn't interest him.

H. Julian decides to make a Two-for-One trade. (Reminder: he can only perform this Special Action once per turn.) The Deer and the Rabbit he just drew don't interest him at all, so he places them face up onto the draw pile (these tiles can then be drawn by other players). He then draws one more tile, a Swan. This is perfect, because...

I. ...he reclaims the Joker placed in David's family by exchanging it for the Swan he just drew.

J. Then Julian trades his family of 5 Squirrels for Debora's family of 5 Frogs.

K. Finally, Julian grows this family of Frogs with the Frog tile he drew and the Joker he just reclaimed. He announces "Seven!" and takes a "7" token, which he keeps near his stand, +1 side up. Then he announces "Empty!", ending his turn.