Jabberwocky Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Box Contents
• Which Game?
• Bandersnatch
  • Summary
  • Objective
  • Setup
  • Gameplay
  • Game End
  • Scoring Chart
• Borogoves
  • 2-Player Version
    • Summary
    • Objective
    • Setup
    • Gameplay
    • Scoring
  • Solo Version
    • Summary
    • Objective
    • Setup
    • Gameplay
    • Scoring
• Brillig
  • Summary
  • Objective
  • Setup
  • Gameplay
  • Game End
• Gimble
  • Summary
  • Objective
  • Setup
  • Gameplay
  • Scoring
• Gyre
  • Summary
  • Objective
  • Setup
  • Gameplay
  • 2-Player Rules
  • Game End
  • Extended Variant
• Mimsy
  • Summary
  • Objective
  • Setup
  • Gameplay
  • Game End
  • Advanced Variant
• Mome
  • Summary
  • Objective
  • Setup
  • Plan
  • Build
  • Score
  • Game End
  • Extended Variant
• Slithy
  • Summary
  • Objective
  • Setup
  • Gameplay
  • Game End
  • Extended Variant

Box Contents

All the games in the set use the following components:

• 3 Jabberwocky cards: 1 Green, 1 Yellow, 1 Blue.
• 15 Number cards: 5 Green, 5 Yellow, 5 Blue. Each Number card has two attributes: a number (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5) and a color (green, yellow or blue).
• 24 Gems: 8 Green, 8 Yellow, 8 Blue.
• 25 beautiful & varied Reference Cards.

Note: the printed component list names the third color "Blue", but every game's text refers to that color as "Purple" (for example "the purple Jabberwocky card"). The rules below are transcribed as printed, so "Purple" in the game text means the third color listed here as Blue.

Which Game?

There are a lot of games packed into this box, and you can't play them all at once! If you're looking for a good starting point, the rulebook recommends the following games based on how many players you have.

• 1 or 2 players (page 8): Borogoves. Use cards to build a unique and challenging puzzle for your opponent, while they try to claim the treasure you've placed. Then switch roles and see who does better. Or try the solo variant, where you play both roles at once! After you play Borogoves, try Brillig or Gimble.
• 3 players (page 33): Mimsy. Race to see who can get 5 gems onto their secret goal card. Just be careful not to give your rivals the gems they (secretly) want! Once you master Mimsy, try Gimble or Gyre.
• 4+ players (page 45): Slithy. You and your opponents each try to bet as high as you can, while negotiating to keep the total of your bets under the secret limit set by the dealer. If the dealer manages to trick you, or one of you gets too greedy, they get to keep it all! If you already tried Slithy, try Mome.

Each game takes 15-20 minutes and is suitable for ages 8+.

Games in this rulebook: Bandersnatch (1 player, puzzle); Borogoves (1-2 players, map-making); Brillig (2 players, bidding); Gimble (2-3 players, rummy); Gyre (2-3 players, area control); Mimsy (2-3 players, mancala race); Mome (2-4 players, bridge-building); Slithy (3-7 players, negotiation).

Bandersnatch

A solo puzzle game.

Bandersnatch (noun): Faster than a minute, and quite impossible to catch. Often frumious.

Summary

In Bandersnatch, swap cards from your hand with empty cards on the field to add and remove gems. When a card with gems is completely surrounded by other cards with gems, the gems on it are broiled. When there are no moves left (or you run out of purple gems), score all broiled gems and any gems left on the field.

Objective

To reach a score of 10 or more, by broiling Green and Yellow gems and keeping Purple gems on the field.

Setup

1. Place the 3 Jabberwocky cards in a row (Green, Yellow, Purple). These are used to store broiled gems.
2. Shuffle the 15 Number cards together.
3. Deal 9 of them face-up in a 3x3 grid. This is the field. All cards on the field start empty.

As soon as a card has gems on it, that card is busy. Gems on busy cards can be broiled by surrounding that card with other busy cards.

4. Place all the gems to the side of the field. This is the supply.
5. Place the remaining cards face-down in a pile. This is the deck.
6. Draw 2 cards into your hand.

Gameplay

On each of your turns, you must first play a card, then resolve captures, then draw a card.

Play a card: Replace a card in the field with a card from your hand. Busy cards (cards with gems on them) cannot be replaced. The game ends immediately if you are unable to replace a card. Discard the card that was replaced.

The new card will have 1 of 5 possible effects, depending on if it is of a HIGHER, LOWER, or EQUAL value to the card being replaced, and whether it's replacing a card of the same color or a different color.

HIGHER cards and cards of an EQUAL value add gems from the supply, while LOWER cards remove gems from the game.

Gems are always added from the supply. If there aren't enough green or yellow gems in the supply when adding gems, add purple gems instead. If there aren't enough purple gems, finish the game at the end of this turn.

Gems are always removed from directly adjacent cards (no diagonals) and returned to the box. If there aren't enough gems on adjacent cards, make up the difference by removing gems from the supply of the new card's color until the correct number of gems have been removed. All gems removed this way are returned to the box.

New card is	Higher	Lower	Equal
Same color	Add gems of the new card's color to the new card equal to the difference between the 2 cards.	Take 1 gem (of any color) from an adjacent card out of the game, returning it to the box. If unable, take 1 gem (of the new card's color) from the supply out of the game, returning it to the box.	(no entry printed)
Different color	Add 1 gem (of the new card's color) to the new card.	Take gems (of any color) from adjacent cards equal to the difference between the 2 cards out of the game. If unable, instead take gems (of the new card's color) from the supply out of the game, returning it to the box.	Add 1 gem of the new card's color and 1 gem of the replaced card's color to the new card.

When the last gem is removed from a busy card, it is empty again.

If there aren't enough green or yellow gems in the supply when removing gems, remove purple gems instead. If there aren't enough purple gems, remove as many as you can, then finish the game at the end of this turn, after resolving captures.

Resolve captures: After adding gems, check to see if any cards have been captured. Cards cannot be captured on the turn that they are played. A card is captured when it is adjacent only to busy cards. A card must be adjacent to at least 1 busy card to be captured.

When an empty card is captured, remove it from the game. Return it to the box.

When a busy card is captured, take all the gems on it and broil them by adding them to the Jabberwocky card of their color. If green or yellow gems are broiled, they will add to your score. If they're purple, they will subtract from your score. Then, move the captured card to the discard pile; it will be available for use later in the game.

Capture example: At the end of this turn, the yellow 4 is adjacent only to busy cards: the purple 3 and the purple 4. It is discarded, and all gems on it are broiled.

Multiple cards can be captured in a single turn, and a card being captured can trigger additional captures. If multiple cards would be captured at once, you may choose the order. Remember: cards cannot be captured on the turn they're played.

Capturing cards is mandatory. All cards that can be captured must be captured. Captured cards are not replaced; the field will get smaller as the game proceeds.

Draw a card: At the end of each turn, draw back up to 2 cards in hand. If the deck is empty, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.

Game End

The game finishes either:

• At the end of a turn where you tried to use or remove a purple gem from the supply and there were none left, or
• Immediately when you aren't able to play a card.

Broiled gems and gems left on the field score as follows:

Gems are...	Green	Yellow	Purple
Broiled	2	1	-1
In Field	-2	-1	1

Gems removed from the game and gems left in the supply are not worth anything.

For example:

• 1 yellow gem on the field = -1
• 1 green gem on the field = -2
• 3 purple gems on the field = +3
• TOTAL of gems on the field = 0.
• 3 broiled green gems = 6.
• 4 broiled yellow gems = 4.
• 1 broiled purple gem = -1.
• TOTAL of broiled gems = 9.

Final score: 9 + 0 = 9. So close!

Scoring Chart

Add up your score, and compare to the following chart:

• Under 4: This is not very good.
• 5-9: This is almost good but not quite.
• 10+: Victory!
• 15+: Fruminous victory!
• 20+: Manxome victory!
• 32: A perfect Jabberwocky. You must've cheated.

Borogoves

A map-making game for 1-2 players.

Borogove (noun): A thin shabby-looking bird with feathers sticking out like a mop.

2-Player Version

Summary

One player controls the borogoves, trying to control the map. Each turn, they take an action for each of the 3 colors, moving their borogoves onto and around the map.

The other player is the cartographer, strategically creating the map. Each turn, they play a card, trying to restrict the movement of the borogoves.

Objective

To have the highest score after playing twice, once as each role.

Setup

1. The player who most recently looked at a map is the first cartographer.
2. Shuffle the Number cards together and place them into a face-down stack. This is the map deck.
3. Draw the top 2 cards of the deck and place them beside each other. This is the map.
4. Then, the cartographer draws 2 cards.
5. The borogoves player places the 3 Jabberwocky cards in a face-up row in front of them.
6. Take the 8 gems of each color, and place them on the corresponding Jabberwocky card. This is your tribe of adventurous borogoves, eager to get out onto the map and begin exploring.

Gameplay

Players alternate turns, starting with the cartographer.

Cartographer: Each turn, play a card onto the map, then draw a card. Cards must be played directly adjacent to another card (not diagonally) and cannot be played so that there are more than 4 cards in a row or column. At the end of the game, all 15 cards will be in a 4x4 map (with a single gap).

When the map deck empties, let your opponent know they have only 3 more turns until the game ends.

Borogoves: Each turn, take 3 actions; 1 for each of your tribes (Green, Yellow and Purple), in any order. Actions can be repeated. The three available actions are migrate, explore, and settle.

Migrate: Move borogoves of the tribe whose action it is from their Jabberwocky card to a single card on the map. The number of borogoves being moved must match the number on the card you are migrating to. If you don't have enough, you cannot migrate to that card. You may migrate to any card on the map, regardless of its color, position, or number of borogoves already on the card.

On your first turn, you will only be able to migrate.

Explore: Move borogoves on the map from one card to another:

1. You must move borogoves equal to the number on the card you are moving to. It doesn't matter how many borogoves are already on the card.
2. At least 1 of the borogoves must be of the tribe whose action it is.
3. All the borogoves must move from a single card to any directly adjacent card (no diagonal movement).

The color of cards on the map does not affect movement.

Settle: If you can't or don't want to take a migrate or explore action for a tribe, remove any 1 token of that tribe's color from the game, returning it to the box.

After taking a tribe's action, slide its Jabberwocky card forward. This helps keep track of which tribes have already taken their action. After all 3 actions have been taken, slide 3 cards back to indicate the end of your turn.

As the borogoves, focus on positioning your borogoves! You don't need to get them all on the map straight away.

Scoring

After the cartographer plays their final card and the borogoves have taken their final 3 actions, the game ends. The borogove player scores the number on each card that has a borogove of the matching color on it.

Then, add 1 (not the value of the card) to the borogove score for each card that contains the exact same number of borogoves as the number on that card, regardless of color.

Note the score, then switch roles and play a second time. The player who earned the highest score wins. In case of a tie, the player who can do the best borogove impersonation wins.

Example: In this game, the following cards have at least 1 borogove of the correct color on them: yellow 4, purple 1, yellow 2, green 5, green 2, purple 5, green 1. The borogove player would score 4 + 1 + 2 + 5 + 2 + 5 + 1 = 20.

The following cards have a number of borogoves equal to the number on the card: yellow 4, purple 1, yellow 2, green 2, yellow 3, purple 2, green 1, yellow 1. 1 would be added to the score for each card, for a total of 8. The borogove player's final score would be 20 + 8 = 28.

Editor's note: the printed example says the 8 is added to the "cartographer's score". That is a misprint: the example's total of 28 is the borogove player's score, and the rule above says the borogove player scores these points, so it is transcribed here as the borogove player's score.

Solo Version

Summary

When playing solo, you will play as both the cartographer and the borogoves.

Objective

To score 42 or more points.

Setup

Set up the gems and Jabberwocky cards as in a 2-player game. Shuffle the Number cards to form the map deck, then draw the top 2 cards of the deck and place them next to each other to form the map. The other cards remain in the map deck, face-down.

Gameplay

Each turn, instead of choosing a card from your hand to place on the map, you will draw the top card of the deck and follow the same rules as in a 2-player game to place it on the map. Then, take an action for each of the 3 borogove tribes as normal.

Scoring

At the end of the game, score as in the 2-player mode.

Add up your score, and compare to the following chart:

• Under 38: Oh dear. Practice makes perfect?
• 38+: Almost good! But not. Try again, friend!
• 42+: You did it! Bare minimum victory: achieved.
• 46+: Pretty good, but is it GREAT? Try to beat it!
• 50+: Wow! Amazing! Try again - aim for perfect!
• 54: Perfect score? Did you cheat? Fess up!

Brillig

A bidding game for 2 players.

Brillig (noun): About four o'clock in the afternoon. The perfect time for a cupcake.

Summary

Brillig takes place over 4 rounds. Each round has 2 phases: assignment and collection.

During the assignment phase, play cards to move gems onto the Jabberwocky cards. Cards played in the first 3 assignment phases will return to hand at the start of the final round.

During the collection phase, play cards to collect gems from the Jabberwocky cards.

At the end of the game, each gem is worth the number on the card it's sitting on.

Objective

To have the highest score at the end of the fourth round.

Setup

1. Place the 3 Jabberwocky cards in a row, in this order: Green, Yellow, Purple. This is the order used to break ties when both players play the same number: Green goes before Yellow or Purple. Yellow goes before Purple.
2. Shuffle the 5-value Number cards and place them in a face-down stack at the side. This is the bonus deck.
3. Shuffle the remaining Number cards and deal 6 out to each player. You may look at your cards. Whichever cards from 1-4 that you don't hold at the start of the game are held by your opponent.
4. Shuffle the 24 gems. Make a row of 3 piles, each of which contains 3 randomly-chosen gems. Above that, make another row of 3 piles, each containing 3 randomly-chosen gems. Above that, make a final row of 3 piles, each containing 2 randomly-chosen gems.

Gameplay

Each round consists of 2 phases: assignment and collection.

Assignment: Each player plays a card from their hand face-down in front of them. This is your assignment card. Players reveal their cards simultaneously: the player with the higher number goes first. If both players ever play the same number, Green goes before Yellow or Purple, and Yellow goes before Purple.

The first player assigns a pile of gems from the bottom row (3 gems in the first and second rounds, 2 gems in the third round, and a pile of any size in the fourth round) onto one of the 3 Jabberwocky cards. The other player assigns the other 2 piles onto the remaining Jabberwocky cards. Each Jabberwocky card will only receive a single pile. If there are gems on a Jabberwocky card from a previous round, the new gems join them.

Example: Nicole plays a green 4 and Roxy plays a purple 2. Nicole goes first, and moves a pile from the bottom row onto the purple Jabberwocky card. Then, Roxy will move each of the other 2 piles from that row onto the green or yellow Jabberwocky card.

Keep your played assignment card face-up in front of you. All your assignment cards will return to your hand at the start of the fourth round.

Collection: Play a card from your hand face-down to the side. This is your collection card; it will be used to collect gems of the same color from the matching Jabberwocky card.

Both players reveal their card simultaneously. Collect all gems matching the color of your played collection card from the Jabberwocky card of that color. Place them on the collection card you played. This card stays beside you for the rest of the game, and will be scored at the end. The other gems remain on the Jabberwocky card.

At the end of the game, each gem on a collection card is worth the number of that card.

Example: Nicole plays a purple 1 and Roxy plays a yellow 2. Nicole takes all the purple gems off the purple Jabberwocky card and moves them onto her purple 1. Each of these gems is now worth 1. Roxy takes the yellow gems off the yellow Jabberwocky card and moves them onto his yellow 2. Each of those gems is now worth 2.

If both players played cards of the same color, only the player who played the lower number collects gems.

If you do not collect any gems during the collection phase (because your opponent chose the same color, or because there were no matching gems on the Jabberwocky card), take a bonus card: pick up the bonus deck (the 5-value cards set aside at the start of the game), secretly choose 1 of the cards, and add it to your hand.

The collection card you played that round moves into the bonus deck. If both players collect a bonus card in the same round, the player who played the lower number takes a bonus card first.

Then, begin the next round's assignment phase. At the end of the fourth round, the game ends.

Round 4: At the start of round 4, pick up each pile of gems on a Jabberwocky card, and move those piles into a row. These will be the gems placed during the assignment phase. If there are no gems left on a Jabberwocky card, that's fine. It's a pile of zero. Then, pick up the assignment cards you played in previous rounds and return them to your hand. Play the final round as normal.

Game End

At the end of round 4, add up your score. Each gem on a collection card is worth the number on that card.

Example: if Nicole has a 2 with 2 gems on it, a 3 with 1 gem on it, and a 5 with 4 gems on it, her final score is 27. 2x2 + 3x1 + 5x4 = 27.

Whoever has the highest score wins!

In the case of a tie, compare your remaining cards. The player holding the highest number breaks the tie. If both players are holding the same number, a green card beats a purple or yellow card, and a yellow card beats a purple card.

Example: 16 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 23 pts.

Gimble

A rummy game for 2-3 players.

Gimble (verb): To grimace, or to make holes like a gimlet (not necessarily at the same time).

Summary

In Gimble, bid gems to win cards. Your winning bid will be placed on a card, and will be collected when the card is won, and can be used to make future bids. Cards score as either runs of numbers in a single color or duplicates of a single number. Your leftover gems act as a card; 4 purple gems remaining are treated as a purple 4.

Objective

To have the highest score at the end of the game by creating sets of runs and duplicates.

Setup

1. Shuffle the 3 Jabberwocky cards and deal 1 face-down to each player. This is your wild card. You may look at it, but don't show it to anyone else. Your wild card can be used as any number of that color.
2. Shuffle the 15 Number cards together and place them in a face-down stack. This is the deck.
3. Draw cards and place them in a face-up display: 3 cards in a 2-player game, 4 in a 3-player game.
4. Players then take gems as follows:
   • 2-player game: Each player takes 4 gems of each color.
   • 3-player game: Each player takes 2 gems of each color.
   • Shuffle the remaining gems and give 2 to each player.
5. Players' gems are public at all times. The player who can open their mouth the widest goes first.

Gameplay

Each round, players bid gems to determine who will be the first to pick a card. The starting player makes the first bid; you can bid any number (including 0) that you can afford, but you must be able to pay your bid using gems of a single color. You do not have to declare the color you'll pay with when you bid.

For example, if you have 5 green gems, 2 yellow gems, and 1 purple gem, the highest bid you could make would be 5. If you bid 2, you would have to pay using only green or yellow gems. If you bid 3, you must pay with your green gems.

Players bid out loud. After the starting player bids, the player to their left can either beat their bid or pass. To beat another player's bid, just say any higher number that you can afford.

To pass, rotate your wild card to the side. You may not bid again until next round, even if it comes back around to you.

Bidding continues around the table until all but 1 player has passed. That player chooses a card from the display and adds gems of a single color equal to their winning bid to that card. Then, they take a different card from the display and add it to their hand. Players cannot take the card they just added gems to.

The player to their left must then take any card from the display.

Whenever a player takes a card from the display, they must also take all gems on it. Cards in your hand are kept private from other players.

In a 3-player game, the final player must then take 1 of the 2 remaining cards from the display.

After all players have taken a card, refill the display to 3 cards in a 2-player game, or 4 cards in a 3-player game, and start a new round. The player who last took a card is the new starting player.

In a 3-player game, the final round will have only 3 cards in the display; each player will take a card.

Scoring

If the display cannot be refilled, the game ends. Reveal your hand, arrange it into runs and duplicates, and calculate your score.

Your remaining gems are treated as if they are cards, based on the color and number of the gems. You may not ignore, discard, or split gems of a color: the exact number of gems in a color you have remaining is the number of the card. If you have no gems in a color, they don't form a card.

For example, if you had 3 purple gems, no green gems, and 8 yellow gems, you have a purple 3 and a yellow 8.

Your wild card can be treated as any number from 1 to 8 of that color.

For example, the green wild card could be used as a green 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8.

Cards are scored as either runs of a single color, or duplicates of a single number.

Runs of a single color: 3 or more consecutive Number cards of a single color are worth the sum of all numbers in the run.

• 5 and 6 in green would not be a run, as there are fewer than 3 cards.
• A purple 3 and a yellow 4 and 5 would not be a run, as they are not all the same color.
• 1, 2, 5 in yellow would not count, as they are not consecutive.
• 1, 2, 3, 4, all in purple, would score 10.

Duplicates of a single number: Count up how many of a single number you have, and score according to the following table:

Duplicates	2	3	4	5	6	7
Score	3	6	10	15	21	28

For example, if you had a purple 3, a green 3, and 3 green gems, that would count as 3 duplicates of a single number, and score 6.

Remaining cards: Any cards (including your wild card and cards formed by your gems) that are not used count against you. The numbers of those cards are subtracted from your final score. (If your wild card is not used in a run or as a duplicate, treat it as a 1.)

When scoring your runs and duplicates, each card can only be used once.

Scoring sample: you are dealt the purple Jabberwocky card. You decide to use it as a purple 6. You score 4 + 5 + 6 for the Purple run, 6 for the duplicate 1's, 3 + 4 + 5 for the Green run, and the Yellow 4 and Purple gems are subtracted from your score. Your final score is 15 + 6 + 12 - 4 - 2 = 27.

In the case of a tie, the tied player who used their wild card as the lowest number wins. In the case of a further tie, the tied player with the least gems wins. If there's still a tie, the tied player who went first wins.

Gyre

An area control game for 2-3 players.

Gyre (verb): To go around and around and around for so long that 'around' stops looking like a word.

Summary

In each turn of Gyre, move your Jabberwocky card around the grid, blocking other players' movement while displacing gems. When a card has enough gems of your color and no other gems, flip it face-down.

Objective

To be the first to flip all 4 of your cards face-down.

Setup

1. Each player chooses a color and takes the Jabberwocky card of that color.
2. Shuffle the 15 Number cards and deal them face-up into a 5x3 grid.
3. Then, flip all of the number 5 cards face-down.
4. Place gems onto the Number cards as follows:
   • 1 green gem and 1 yellow gem on each purple card.
   • 1 yellow gem and 1 purple gem on each green card.
   • 1 purple gem and 1 green gem on each yellow card.
5. Each player places their Jabberwocky card adjacent to the lowest card of their color in an outside row or column. If it's on a corner, place it adjacent to the longer side.
6. The player who most recently moved goes first and play continues to the left.

Gameplay

The goal of Gyre is to flip all of your Number cards face-down. A Number card flips face-down at the end of any turn when it has a number of gems of its color equal to or higher than the card's value, and no other gems.

On each of your turns, you must whiffle and then take 1 action.

Whiffle: Move your Jabberwocky card to a new space. A space is any of the 16 positions outside the grid, directly adjacent to a face-up or face-down Number card. You may whiffle any distance in either direction, but cannot pass other Jabberwocky cards or share a space with them.

You must whiffle every turn. If both the other Jabberwock cards are adjacent to you (blocking you from moving) you must pick your Jabberwocky card up and place it in any empty space (except the one you just left).

Then, take 1 of the following actions: inhale, exhale, resolve conflicts, or fly.

Inhale: Move every gem of your color in the row/column you are adjacent to 1 card towards your Jabberwocky card.

Any gems on the card adjacent to your Jabberwocky card will be moved onto it. They will travel with you whenever you move. Gems on your Jabberwocky card can be exhaled back onto the grid later in the game.

Every time a gem moves onto a face-down card, move it an additional card towards your Jabberwocky card.

You may only take this action if there's at least 1 gem of your color in the same row/column as your Jabberwocky card.

Exhale: Pick up all the gems on your Jabberwocky card and return them to the grid, placing exactly 1 gem on each card in a straight line away from your Jabberwocky card.

Whenever a gem is placed on or moved onto a face-down card, move it 1 additional card away from you.

This may result in 2 or more exhaled gems ending up on the same card. You may first want to place all gems, then move the ones on face-down cards.

If a gem would go off the grid or onto another player's Jabberwocky card, instead return it to your card.

You may only take this action if it would move at least 1 gem onto the grid.

Resolve conflicts: Check each Number card for control. Every Number card that is controlled by a single player returns all other gems on that card to their respective Jabberwocky cards. A Number card is controlled when a player has more gems on that card than all other players combined.

For example, if a Number card has 3 green, 1 yellow, and 1 purple gem, green controls that card. When conflicts are resolved, the yellow gem on that card would go to the yellow Jabberwocky and the purple gem on that card would go to the purple Jabberwocky. If a card has 3 yellow and 2 purple gems, yellow controls that card, and the purple gems would go to the purple Jabberwocky. If a card has 2 green gems, 1 purple gem, and 1 yellow gem, no one color has enough gems to control that card. No gems would move.

You must resolve conflicts on all Number cards in the game, not just the Number cards of your color.

You may only take this action if it will result in returning at least 1 gem to a Jabberwocky card.

Fly: Pick up your Jabberwocky card and move it to any empty space except for the one you picked it up from. You may fly back to the space where you started your turn.

Flipping a card face-down: When a card has a number of gems of its color equal to or greater than its value, and no gems of any other color, it flips face-down at the end of the turn. The gems on it are returned to the Jabberwocky card of the same color.

2-Player Rules

When playing with 2 players, both players choose a color, then set everything up as though playing a 3-player game. The Jabberwocky card that neither player chose acts as a neutral player.

On your turn, you may either move your own Jabberwocky card and take a standard action, or move the neutral Jabberwocky card and take an action as though you were playing that color: you would move the neutral Jabberwocky card, inhale or exhale neutral gems (not the gems of your color), resolve conflicts as usual, or fly the neutral Jabberwocky card to a space of your choice.

The neutral player cannot take 2 consecutive turns. After someone takes a turn as the neutral player, the other player must take a turn with their own color.

The neutral player's Number cards flip just as in a 3-player game. If the neutral player flips their last Number card, continue playing until one of the other players wins.

Game End

The game ends at the end of a turn where all Number cards of a single color have been flipped face-down.

If 2 or more players have all Number cards of their color flipped face-down at the end of a turn, the player who just took their turn wins.

Extended Variant

For a longer game, flip the 4, 3, 2, or 1 Number cards face-down during setup instead of the 5's.

Mimsy

A mancala game for 2-3 players.

Mimsy (adjective): Whimsical movement. Or miserable flimsiness, depending who you ask.

Summary

In Mimsy, you are racing to be the first to get 5 gems onto your secret goal card. Each turn, pick up the gems from any non-goal card and drop them one-by-one onto the adjacent cards. If the last gem you drop matches the color of other gems on that card, pick them up and take another turn!

Objective

To be the first to get 5 gems on the goal of your color.

Setup

1. Shuffle the 3 Jabberwocky cards and deal 1 to each player. This is your secret goal. Look at it, but do not show the other players.
2. Take all the 4-value cards and 2 gems of each color and return them to the box. They will not be used this game.
3. Shuffle the 5-cards and deal them face-up in a triangle. These are the goal cards.
4. Shuffle the remaining Number cards (the 1, 2, and 3 of each color) together. These are the mimsy cards. Randomly deal 3 mimsy cards face-up to connect each pair of goal card.
5. Then, place gems on the 1, 2, and 3 cards so that the color and quantity of the gems matches the color and number of the card; 1 green gem on the green 1, 2 yellow gems on the yellow 2, etc.
6. The player who last dropped something goes first, and play continues to the left.

Gameplay

Each turn, choose a mimsy card (a 1, 2, or 3 only, not a goal card) that has at least 1 gem on it. Take all the gems from that card into your hand.

Choose 1 gem from your hand and drop it onto the next card clockwise (whether it's a goal or a mimsy card). Choose another gem and add it to the next card. Continue this until you have no gems remaining.

If the last gem you dropped (whether onto a goal or a mimsy card) matched the color of any other gems on that card, pick up all gems of that color from that card, including the one you just dropped. This is the only way to remove gems from a goal card.

Take another turn, dropping the gems from your hand one at a time until your hand is empty, starting from the next card clockwise.

If the last gem you drop matches the color of any other gems on that card, take another turn in the same manner. Continue until you drop your last gem onto a card that contains no other gems of the same color.

Game End

At the end of any player's turn, if one or more goal cards have 5 or more gems on them, the game ends. Each player reveals their secret goal. The player whose secret goal is the same color as the goal card with 5 or more gems on it wins.

In a 2-player game, if the goal card that triggered the end of the game does not belong to either player, the player who just took their turn wins.

If multiple players would win in a single turn, the goal card which received its fifth gem first breaks the tie.

Advanced Variant

During setup, use the 4-value Number cards as mimsy cards instead of the 3-value Number cards. Place 4 gems on the 4-value cards instead of 3.

Then, shuffle the 3-value Number cards, and deal 1 face-down to each player, along with their secret goal. This is their point card. Players should look at their point cards, but not reveal them.

When the game ends (by 5 gems being dropped onto any goal card, as usual), each player reveals their point card. Score 3 points for each gem of that color on your goal card, and 1 point for each other gem on your goal card. The player with the highest score wins! In the case of a tie, the player who last took a turn wins.

Mome

A bridge-building game for 2-4 players.

Mome (adjective): Short for 'from home', I think. I'm not certain.

Summary

In Mome, you are building bridges to each of your neighbors' villages. Each round, a target color will be chosen; players take turns playing cards, trying to have more of the target color on their bridges than the other colors.

Objective

To have 6 or more gems at the end of a round.

Setup

1. Each round, shuffle the 15 Number cards together. Deal 3 into a face-down stack in the center of the table without looking at them. These are the center cards.
2. Deal the remainder evenly between all players:
   • 2-player game: 6 cards each.
   • 3-player game: 4 cards each.
   • 4-player game: 3 cards each.
3. Place all the gems to the side. This is the supply.
4. Whoever crossed a bridge most recently is the starting player.

In Mome, one player will select the target color each round, then everyone will be building 2 bridges out of Number cards. At the end of the round, you'll add up the value of each color on your two bridges combined, trying to have a higher total of the target color than either of the other colors.

Each round of Mome has three phases: plan, build, and score.

Plan

After looking at their cards, the starting player must choose to either:

• Take a gem from the supply, then choose the target color for the round and become the lead player.

OR

• Draw the top center card, moving it into their hand, then choose the target color for the round and become the lead player. No one should look at the remaining center cards.

OR

• Pass, allowing the next player clockwise to make the choice instead. The last player may not pass.

Players may freely discuss their hands during the Plan phase.

The lead player takes the Jabberwocky card of the color they chose and places it face-up in front of them. This is their village. Each player sitting next to them takes a Jabberwocky card and places it face-down in front of them. The color of these cards is unimportant.

In a 2-player game, place a Jabberwocky card to make the third point of a triangle. In a 4-player game, make a square.

The fourth player will use one of the remaining center cards to mark their village, taking it face-down without looking at it. The number and color of this card is unimportant.

Leave enough space between villages to play cards.

Build

Starting with the lead player and continuing to the left, players will take turns playing cards until 12 cards have been played and all bridges are full.

The space between your village and the village on each side of you is a bridge. At the end of the round, players will earn gems if their 2 bridges have more of the target color than either of the other colors.

For example, at the end of the game, Tania has a purple 3, a green 1, and a yellow 4 on her left-hand bridge. On her other bridge, she has a yellow 5, a green 3, and a green 4. Her purple total is 3, her green total is 8, and her yellow total is 9. If yellow was the target color, she would earn a gem because it's the highest total.

On your turn, you must play 1 card face-up from your hand onto a bridge. Unless it's complete, you can always play onto one of your own bridges. In a 2- or 3-player game, bridges are completed when they have 4 cards. In a 4-player game, bridges are completed when they have 3 cards.

You can only play onto an opponent's bridge if it's the bridge with the least or tied least cards. This means that you can never play on an opponent's bridge if it has more cards than your smallest bridge.

For example: Nicole is the lead player. Her right-hand bridge has 1 card. Her left-hand bridge has none. Her opponent's bridge is not the smallest, so she cannot play on it. If both her bridges had 1 card, she could play on a 0- or 1-card bridge belonging to her opponent, but not any 2-, 3-, or 4-card bridges.

The rule of 6: If your placed card is a 1, 2, 4, or 5 and there's a card of the same color on that bridge, check to see if the two cards add up to 6. If they do, you must flip over the higher of the 2 cards. Face-down cards do not count when scoring your bridges. If there are multiple cards of the same color, check each of them.

For example: If you played a green 2 on a bridge that had a green 4, you would flip the green 4 face-down. 4 + 2 = 6. If you played a purple 5 on a bridge that had a purple 1, you would flip the purple 5 you played face-down. 5 + 1 = 6.

If your played card is a 3, you must flip over any other face-up 3 of any color already on that bridge.

For example: If you played a yellow 3 on a bridge that had a purple 3 on it, you would flip the purple 3 over. 3 + 3 = 6.

The round ends once 12 cards have been played and all bridges are complete.

Score

Starting with the player to the left of the lead player, everyone adds up the value of the Number cards of each color on their 2 bridges: the purple cards on both their bridges, the green cards on both their bridges, and the yellow cards on both their bridges.

If the target color has the single highest total of the 3, take a gem: this is called hitting the target. Whether or not you hit the target, check to see if you earn any additional gems:

• If you were not the lead player: Take a gem if the lead player did not hit the target.
• If you were the lead player: Take a gem if you were the only player to hit the target.

If anyone has 6 or more gems, the game ends. Otherwise, shuffle the Number cards and start a new round. The player to the left of the lead player will be the new starting player.

Game End

The game ends at the end of any round where a player has 6 or more gems; that player wins!

If multiple players have 6 or more gems, the player with the most gems wins. In the case of a tie, each tied player who had the highest target color total that round wins.

If you run out of gems in the final round of a 4-player game, use the village cards in their place.

Extended Variant

For a longer game, play to 11 gems, treating green gems as worth 5 gems each.

Slithy

A negotiation game for 3-7 players.

Slithy (adjective): Lithe and slimy, like a badger or a lizard. Or a corkscrew.

Summary

In each round of Slithy, the dealer will play cards to try to make the other players bust. The other players are playing in groups, negotiating with each other and trying to score gems. When players bust, the dealer collects their gems.

Objective

Have the highest score after each player has been the dealer once.

Setup

Depending on the player count, only certain Number cards will be used:

• 3-4 players: yellow 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5; purple 2, 3, 4 and 5.
• 5-7 players: yellow 1, 2, 3 and 4; purple 1, 2 and 3.

The player with the clammiest hands is the dealer for the first round. Each other player takes gems of any colors. The dealer does not take any gems.

• 3-player game: 12 gems each.
• 4-player game: 8 gems each.
• 5-player game: 6 gems each.
• 6-player game: The 2 players to the dealer's left take 6 gems, the remaining 3 take 4 gems.
• 7-player game: 4 gems each.

Each player takes a reference card. During the round, they will use this to store their scored gems.

You will need a score pad and pen, to track the scores between rounds.

Gameplay

Each round in Slithy consists of 4 turns in a 3-4 player game, or 3 turns in a 5-7 player game. Each turn, the dealer for the round will choose a purple card and play it face-up, and choose a yellow card and play it face-down.

Then, each of the other players may discuss how many gems they're going to play. All discussion must be public. The number on the face-up purple card is the number of their played gems they can potentially score.

The non-dealer players are split into groups as follows:

• In a 3- or 4-player game, all non-dealer players are a single group.
• In a 5- or 7-player game, they split into 2 even groups: those to the left of the dealer and those to the right.
• In a 6-player game, they split into 2 uneven groups: the 2 players to the left and the 3 players to the right.

Once the discussion has ended, each player will secretly choose a number of gems and place them in their hand. Their other unplayed gems should be hidden, either under the table or in their other hand.

Players are not bound by what they said in the discussion phase; lying is permitted.

All players will reveal their played gems simultaneously.

After the played gems are revealed, the dealer will reveal the face-down yellow card. If the total number of gems revealed by a group is equal to or higher than the sum of the 2 revealed cards, the group busts and the dealer scores all their played gems.

If the total number of gems played by a group is lower than the sum of the 2 revealed cards, players score the gems that they played. Each player may score gems up to the number on the purple card. Any excess gems are returned to their hand.

Whenever you score gems, move them onto your reference card (where they stay for the rest of the round).

For example: the purple 3 and the yellow 5 were played, for a total of 8. 7 gems were played. Nicole played 3 gems. She may score all of them. Roxy played 4 gems. He scores 3 and returns 1 to his hand. Had either of them played 1 more gem, they would have busted.

Then, the revealed cards are moved to the side, face-up. Each card is only used once in a round, and used cards remain public. Once all the purple cards have been played, the round is over.

Players add up their scores:

• The dealer takes the unplayed gems from any 1 player, and scores them along with the busted gems.
• All other players add the value of the unplayed yellow card to the number of gems they scored. Their unplayed gems are not scored.

Players record their scores and the next player to the left becomes the dealer. Scores must be public at all times.

Game End

The game ends after each player has had 1 round as the dealer.

Everyone adds up their scores from each round. The player with the highest score is the winner!

In the case of a tie, all tied players who scored the least as the dealer win.

Extended Variant

For a longer game, play until each player has been the dealer twice: after each player has been the dealer once, the most recent dealer immediately goes again, then the dealership passes back to the right.