Kinapa
Kinapa Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the Game
The aim is to be the first player to put down all of their pairs on the same number as the corresponding object cards before the other players.
Example: a pair of 9 or 10 will be placed on the object card numbered 9-10.
Contents
- 16 animal cards numbered from 1 to 16
- 16 shelter cards numbered from 1 to 16
- 16 object cards numbered from 1-2, 3-4, ... 15-16
- 1 "Emperor" card represented by a white deer
- 2 "Minister" cards represented by a fox
- 8 "Sheep" cards
- 2 game aid cards
Setup
Rules for 4-8 Players
Preparation of the cards
- SEPARATE the object cards (blue backs) from the other cards (white backs).
- To determine which cards to play with, multiply the number of players by 2. Example: with 4 players you PLAY with cards numbered 1 to 8.
- SHUFFLE and PLACE the Minister and Sheep cards in the centre of the table, then the object cards face down in a circle around them.
- SHUFFLE the animal cards and shelter cards together and DEAL 4 cards per person.
Who starts?
The Maneki-Neko (Cat #1) indicates who will be the first Emperor (in the example, player D has it).
"The Emperor is the only one who can put down their pairs."
Start of the Round
Each round has four steps:
- Emperor's Announcement
- Exchanging cards
- Putting pair(s) down
- Choosing the new Emperor
1 - Emperor's Announcement. The Emperor says "KINAPA a ...?" followed by a number, and counts 3 seconds aloud, giving players the time to choose an action.
Example: "KINAPA a 7? 1-2-3"
Each other player then chooses one of two actions:
- Raise your hand: "I don't have the card."
- Do nothing: "Maybe I have it, maybe not."
2 - Exchanging cards.
- 2 or more players don't raise their hand: the Emperor then designates one of these players, from whom they take a card at random, and gives them in return a card of the Emperor's choice.
- 1 or 0 players don't raise their hand: the Emperor orders the announced card to be given. The player who possesses it must hand it over, and the Emperor gives them the card of the Emperor's choice in return.
- If the card was in the possession of a player who raised their hand, the Emperor shouts "liar!" and the player who lied is punished (see the "LYING" section).
IMPORTANT! During an exchange, the Emperor must give back a different card to the one that they have just received.
The number of players who have not raised their hands (i.e. those that may or may not have the card 7 in this case) will influence with whom the Emperor will be able to exchange a card.
3 - Putting pair(s) down. If the Emperor has a pair matching an object card, they place it on the object card of the same number.
Example: the Emperor places their pair of 5s on the object of the same number (the object 5-6).
Special case. If the Emperor announces "KINAPA" followed by a number that they already have the pair of, and all the other players raise their hands, the Emperor then keeps their cards. There is no exchange this round.
Example: the Emperor, player A, announces "KINAPA a 2?" when they already have the pair in hand. All the other players raise their hands. The Emperor shows their pair of 2s and does not exchange any cards with players.
However, if at least one player has not raised their hand, the Emperor shows their pair. They have the obligation to take a card at random from the deck of one of the people who has not raised their hand, and gives in exchange a card of the Emperor's choice.
Example: the Emperor, player A, announces "KINAPA a 2?" when they already have the pair in hand. One of the players did not raise their hand. The Emperor shows their pair of 2s, then takes a card at random from Player D's hand and in return gives them a card of the Emperor's choice. They then finish their turn normally.
End of the Turn
The Emperor, at the end of their turn, turns an object card over on the table in a way that is visible to all.
- In this case, they must reveal a new object card. If they do not have another pair in hand that matches the revealed object card, they hide the object card face down in the same place.
- Example: the Emperor turns over a card, which is object 5-6, and places their pair of 5s on it.
- Example: the Emperor turns over a card, which is object 7-8. The Emperor does not have a pair matching the item number, so they turn the card face down again.
Note: you cannot place a pair on an object that already has a pair on it.
If the Emperor puts down their second pair, they win the game!
Then, if at least one player has raised their hand, the Emperor chooses the next player to receive the Emperor's card from among them, unless they hold a SHEEP CARD (see below).
If no player has raised their hand, the Emperor remains the same for the next round.
Sheep Cards
Sheep cards ensure that everyone has the chance to have the Emperor card.
- When a player becomes the Emperor, they also receive, if they do not already have one, a Sheep card that they place on the table in front of them.
- When the current Emperor finishes their turn and chooses their successor from among the players who have raised their hand, they must first choose among those who do not have a Sheep card.
- If a player has lied by raising their hand, has been punished, and does not have a Sheep card, that player will be prioritised to become the next Emperor.
- At the end of the turn, the player who has priority to become the new Emperor receives the Emperor's card as well as a Sheep card.
- When all players have a Sheep card, they are put back in the centre of the table, except the last Sheep distributed, and from there we start the process again.
Example: as all other players also have a Sheep card, they put them back in the centre of the table.
Lying
The player who lied by raising their hand receives the 2 Minister (Fox) cards, as they will be penalised for two turns. As long as they have Fox cards, their other cards remain revealed, and they can no longer raise their hand. They give the Emperor the requested card and receive in exchange a card that can remain hidden.
If they do not have a Sheep card, they will have priority to receive the Emperor's card at the end of the round.
Starting in the next turn, when the Emperor's card switches from one player to another, the punished player removes a Fox card and places it in the centre of the table.
Example: the Emperor, Player A, asks "KINAPA a 7?" Only one player, D, did not raise their hand. The Emperor therefore demands the card from player D, because logically, if they did not raise their hand, they should be holding a 7 (remember that it's KINAPA, who doesn't have), unless of course they are lying. Player D claims that they do not have the requested card. The Emperor then shouts "liar!" and the player who actually holds it must announce themself, in this case Player B, who is obliged to give their card 7 to the Emperor, being then punished for their lie.
The Emperor normally finishes their turn by turning over one object card and choosing the next Emperor. As player B does not have a Sheep card, they have priority to be the next Emperor.
Goal of the Game (2 Players)
The winner is the one who gets rid of their hands of cards first.
Setup (2 Players)
Example: Player A and Player B, each with a BOT deck next to them.
- TAKE cards numbered 1 to 8 and 1-2 to 7-8.
- SEPARATE double-numbered object cards from other cards (1-2, 3-4, etc.).
- SHUFFLE and place the cards face down in the centre of the table.
- SHUFFLE animal cards and shelter cards together.
- DISTRIBUTE 2 decks of 4 cards to each player.
- PLACE a game aid card on one of the decks of cards (called the BOT) adjacent to each player, without looking at that deck, and pick the other one up.
The player with the Maneki-Neko # 1 Cat card becomes the Emperor, receives a Sheep card and starts the game.
If the Maneki-Neko is not in the players' hand, both players perform a Switch.
The Switch
The Switch means that the player will put their cards in hand on the table to take their second deck.
- The player lays down their cards.
- They remove the game aid card from the deck.
- They look at their cards.
- The player places the game aid card on top of the deck that they just laid down.
Start of the Turn (2 Players)
The Emperor announces KINAPA followed by a card number (see above). They then choose the face of the game aid card placed on their BOT deck, face down. The two different faces are "Raise hand" and "Don't raise hand."
The side used of the game aid card will determine the action of the BOT deck of the cards face down.
Once the Emperor has made their choice, the other player does the same with their game aid card, then raises their hand or not.
The number of hands lowered (that of the opposing player, as well as those of the 2 game aid cards) will determine with whom the Emperor will be able to exchange one of their cards in hand.
Explanation of Card Exchanges
- If at least two players (or, in a two-player game, at least one player and one game aid card with the corresponding side displayed) have their hands lowered, the Emperor chooses from these a card at random and exchanges, in return, a card from their hand of their choice.
- If only one hand is lowered, the Emperor demands the card from this deck.
- If the lowered hand side is used on the Emperor's game aid card: the Emperor secretly looks at the cards that are under their game aid card. If the requested card is there, they exchange with one of their cards in hand.
- If the lowered hand game aid side is used on the deck of the opponent: the latter secretly looks at the cards that are under their game aid card. If the requested card is there, they exchange it with a card given by the Emperor.
- If the opponent has a lowered hand and they have the requested card in hand, they give it, and the Emperor exchanges it in return with the card of the Emperor's choice.
- If it turns out that the card is not in the deck with the hand down, the Emperor demands the card from the others. The deck with the card is obliged to give it and will be punished.
- If all 3 hands are raised, the Emperor also demands the card from all players if they do not already have it. The deck possessing it is obliged to exchange it and will be punished.
Rules for 3 Players and BOT Variant
Setup. Place a game aid card on the fourth hand of cards that does not belong to any player (BOT deck).
If at startup the Maneki-Neko Cat # 1 is not in one of the 3 player hands, you call for Cat # 2, and so on until you find the lowest cat number owned by one of the 3 players. We determine thus who is the first Emperor.
Playing with the BOT. The moment the Emperor asks the Kinapa question, they choose whether the sheep in the BOT deck raises its hand.
If at some point in the game, the Emperor must, or decides to, give the Emperor card to the BOT deck, they designate which of the two opponents must switch their deck with the BOT deck and put it in their hand.
The opponent who does the SWITCH also exchanges their situation as if they were starting to play instead of the BOT, with the rest of the rules being unchanged.
It is also possible to use this BOT to increase the complexity of the game from 4 to 7 players, to simulate a game of 5 to 8 players.