Flip Hop
Flip Hop Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Rules
2-4 players - 15 mins - ages 6+
Up to 8 players can play if you use 2 copies of the game.
Components
- 36 snail cards (4 sets of 9 cards)
- 18 objective cards
Goal of the game
To be the first player to achieve 3 objective cards.
Setup
Shuffle the objective cards and place them as a face-down pile in the middle of the table. Each take 1 set of 9 snail cards with the same-coloured edges. Each set is a different colour.
Snail grid
Randomly place your snails in a 3x3 grid in front of you (see the layout below). Place them any side up and in any 90º rotation.
How to play
The oldest player starts the first round. To start a round, flip over the top objective card so that it's face up in the middle of the table. Now it's Flip Hop time! You must all copy the snail grid on the objective card using your own snails.
— Note —
Each snail card has 2 sides. You can move, rotate, and flip your snails however you like so that they look like and face the same way as the snails on the objective card.
When you think you've copied the snail grid exactly, place your hand on the current objective card. Everyone must now stop their Flip-Hopping. Don't touch your snails. If you're the player that stopped the dancing, compare your snail grid to the one on the objective card. If both snail grids are an exact match, you achieve that objective. Place the card face up in front of you.
Each snail must look like and face the same way as the snails shown on the objective card.
If the grids don't match exactly, place the current objective card into the discard pile. You must then play the next round with a temporary forfeit.
A temporary forfeit only lasts for 1 round.
To start a new round, the player to the left of the first player flips over the top objective card. This continues in clockwise order for future rounds.
When a player has achieved 2 objective cards, the other players can decide on 1 permanent forfeit that this player must play with until the end of the game. There are examples of forfeits on the next page, but it's much more fun to invent your own!
Note: if you have a permanent forfeit and make a mistake, you must play with both your permanent and temporary forfeits.
End of the game
When a player has achieved 3 objective cards, the game ends and they are the winner.
Examples of temporary and permanent forfeits
- Play with only 1 hand.
- Play with your dominant hand behind your back.
- Play with 1 hand over 1 eye.
- Play with your chin 'stuck' to your shoulder.
- Count to 20 before moving your snails.
- Raise every snail card you touch above your head before placing it.
- Sing while playing.
- Shout "I love you mum!" every time you flip over a snail.
- Spin 360º when you swap the positions of 2 snails.
- Play with no thumbs.
- Play only with your index and middle fingers.
- Stand up and scream every time you swap the positions of 2 snails.
- Do 1 lap of the table before you can start playing.
- Smile and give a royal wave every time you touch a snail with a particular background colour.
- Clap every time another player acts according to their forfeit.
- Say "Cheese!" and proudly show off your card every time you touch a snail with a particular background colour.
Be creative and invent your own forfeits. The funnier the forfeit, the funnier the game!
Hard variant
If you stop the dancing by placing your hand on the objective card and your grid doesn't match the card, you must continue playing with a permanent forfeit instead of a temporary one. You must then take the objective card and place it face down in front of you to indicate the forfeit. As soon as you have 2 forfeits, you're out of the game!
Easy variant
If playing with children, let them ignore which way the snails are facing.
Variant for children aged 4+ (solo)
Let very young children play solo. When they think they have all the snails in the right place, check and give them the objective card if they're right. Once they have 3 cards, they win the game.