Henhouse Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay Overview
• How to Play
  • Ordinary Combinations
  • Henhouse
  • Wild Cards
  • The Golden Rule of Combinations
• Playing the Round
  • Playing a Higher-Ranked Combination
  • Playing a Suited Combination of Equal Value
  • Playing a Henhouse
  • Using a Vermin Card and Playing a Combination
  • Pass
  • Continuing the Round
  • Ending the Round
  • Ending the Game
• Scoring
  • Scoring Example
• Examples of Combinations
• Example of Round of Gameplay
• Variant for 3 Players

Object of the Game

To score the fewest total points by shedding your hand of cards as quickly as possible each round.

Components

• 64 Playing Cards (1-9 in four suits; 2-8 twice)
• 10 Wild Cards (5 double-sided Chicken Cards and 5 double-sided Egg Cards)
• 6 Vermin Cards (2 Skunks, 2 Snakes, 2 Foxes)

Setup

1. Place the Vermin Cards face up on the table in reach of all players.

2. Deal each player 1 Wild Egg Card and 1 Wild Chicken Card. Players should keep these visible to all other players. Return the remaining wild cards to the box.

3. Shuffle the deck and deal each player a number of cards face-down:

   • In a 3-player game, remove the 9's, 8's, and one of each 7. Then, deal each player 15 cards.
   • In a 4-player game, deal each player 15 cards.
   • In a 5-player game, deal each player 12 cards.

   Any remaining cards are left undealt for the hand.

4. The start player is the person who last ate an egg.

Gameplay Overview

The game is played over four rounds in which players will play combinations of cards from their hand. Players earn points if they do not shed all of the cards in their hand first. The player with the fewest points at the end of the game wins!

How to Play

For the first round, the start player leads the trick by playing a card combination from their hand. This opening combination begins the card pile for the round; all subsequent combinations are played on top of this pile.

Ordinary Combinations

There are three main types of ordinary combinations:

• Single: One card played by itself
• Set: 2, 3, or 4 cards of the same rank (e.g., 6-6, 2-2-2, or 5-5-5-5)
• Run: 2, 3, or 4 cards of consecutive rank (e.g., 2-3, 7-8-9, or 2-3-4-5)

Henhouse

A Henhouse is a special combination that can be played at any time on your turn. A Henhouse is exactly four cards, comprised of two consecutive pairs of cards, such as 2-2-3-3 or 5-5-6-6.

Wild Cards

Every player begins the game with two wild cards: one wild egg and one wild chicken. Each card has a brown suit on one side and a white suit on the other. These wild cards can be used to represent any card from 1 to 9 (or 7 in a 3p game) and may be used in any ordinary combination or a Henhouse.

The Golden Rule of Combinations

When playing a Set, Run, or Henhouse, players cannot combine white chickens with brown eggs or combine brown chickens with white eggs. In other words, all of the cards in the combination must be either:

• All brown,
• All white,
• All chickens,
• All eggs, or
• Suited (matching both trait [chicken/egg] and color [brown/white]).

Note: A suited combination is considered to be ranked higher than an unsuited combination of equal value.

Playing the Round

After leading a combination, play proceeds clockwise with each player having the following options:

• Play a higher-ranked combination
• Play a suited combination of equal value
• Play a Henhouse
• Use a vermin card and play a new combination
• Pass

Playing a Higher-Ranked Combination

To be higher-ranking, the new combination must be of the exact same type, have the exact same number of cards, and have higher-ranking cards. So, if a single card is led, only a higher single can be played; if a set is led, only a higher set of the same number of cards can be played; and a run can only be beaten by a higher run with the same number of cards.

Note: When using the Fox or Snake on a Run, you must discard a card from either of the ends of the run. For example, if the current combination is a 2-3-4-5, you can use the Fox or Snake to discard the 2 or 5 but not the 3 or 4 as this would leave an invalid combination.

Note: The vermin cards cannot be used on Henhouses or on single cards.

Playing a Suited Combination of Equal Value

A Suited combination is also considered to be higher ranked than an unsuited combination. For example, a set of two white 3's can be beaten by two suited 3's such as both brown eggs or both white chickens.

Playing a Henhouse

A Henhouse can be played, in turn order, to beat any combination except another Henhouse of the same or higher rank. After a Henhouse has been played, it may only be beaten by a higher-ranked Henhouse or a suited Henhouse of equal rank. A player may also lead to a trick with a Henhouse.

Using a Vermin Card and Playing a Combination

On a player's turn, they may choose to use exactly one of the available vermin cards. These cards grant the player a special action and can be used to help them shed additional cards but may be worth an additional point at the end of the round.

To use a vermin card, the player takes the card and places it face up in front of them then plays a new combination. That vermin card is no longer available to other players for the current round.

• Skunk – Play a lower-ranked combination of the same type and size as the current combination in the pile.
• Fox – Discard one chicken card from the current combination and play a higher-ranked combination of the same type using the new size.
• Snake – Discard one egg card from the current combination and play a higher-ranked combination of the same type using the new size.

Pass

Players may pass on their turn. If a player could play a combination, Henhouse, or use a vermin card, they may still pass. A player that passes may also still play a combination later in that same trick.

Continuing the Round

Players continue in this manner, playing combinations or passing until a combination is played and all other players pass in succession. This ends the trick.

When the trick ends, whoever played the highest combination is the winner of that trick. Discard all cards in the card pile and the winner starts the next trick, leading with any combination of their choosing.

A player goes out when they have played their last card (this includes wilds). If a player goes out and all other players pass, the next player clockwise from the winner of the trick will become the lead player.

Ending the Round

When all players but one have gone out, the round is over and the scores are tallied. (see Scoring below)

Return the vermin cards to the table and give the players back their two wild cards. Return all other cards to the deck, shuffle, and re-deal for next round.

If the game is not over, the player with the most points is the lead player for the next round.

Ending the Game

After four rounds, the game ends and the player with the lowest score is the winner. If multiple players are tied for the lowest points, the victory is shared.

Scoring

When the round ends, players tally their scores:

• The player who went out first earns 0 points.
• All other players receive 1 point for every Vermin Card in front of them.
• The last player receives 1 point for every card remaining in their hand, including unused wilds in front of them.
• Then receive points as follows:

Place	3 players	4 players	5 players
2nd	2	2	2
3rd	2	4	4
4th	-	4	6
5th	-	-	6

Scoring Example

In a 4-player game:

• Andy went out first and took the Fox card during the round: 0 points.
• Dana went out second and took no vermin cards: 2 points.
• Corey went out third and took the Snake and a Skunk card: 6 points.
• Bri did not shed all of their cards and had 3 remaining cards in their hand: 7 points.

Examples of Combinations

All of the combinations in the example below are valid as they share either a trait (all chickens or all eggs) or a color (all brown or all white).

[Diagram omitted: example combinations shown as card images in the printed rulebook.]

The combination below is considered Suited as all cards share both color and trait (brown eggs).

[Diagram omitted: card image.]

The combinations below are not valid as they all violate The Golden Rule (see above).

[Diagram omitted: card images.]

This is a valid Henhouse as all of the cards below share a color (white). This Henhouse is also using the white side of wild chicken card.

[Diagram omitted: card image.]

The combination below is not a valid Henhouse since it mixes brown eggs with white chickens. Even though the individual pairs of cards are valid combinations (two eggs and two chickens), the entire Henhouse must follow The Golden Rule (see above).

[Diagram omitted: card image.]

Example of Round of Gameplay

[Diagram omitted: card images for each step of the example below.]

• Andy leads with a run of 4-5-6.
• Bri plays a higher-ranked combination with a 5-6-7.
• Corey uses a wild to play suited combination of 5-6-7.
• Dana doesn't have a higher run of three cards. She takes the Skunk card and plays a 1-2-3.
• Andy chooses to pass.
• Bri doesn't have a higher run of three cards. She takes the Fox card and discards the 1 from Dana's run. Now, she only has to beat a run of two cards and plays an 8-9.
• Corey can't beat Bri's run but decides to play a Henhouse.
• Dana chooses to pass.
• Andy plays a higher Henhouse using both of their wilds! Even though they had passed previously, they can still play to this trick.
• Bri, Corey, and Dana all pass on their turns.
• Andy wins the trick and discards all cards from the pile. They choose to lead the new trick with a single 1.

Variant for 3 Players

If players would prefer to play with large hands of cards, do not remove any cards from the deck during setup and deal 20 cards to each player, leaving 4 undealt cards.