Llama Llama Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• How to Play
• Scoring Rules
  • Example
  • Clarifications
• New Round
• Game End
• 2-3 Player Rules

Components

• 4 Display Cards
• 32 Llama Cards
• 4 Player Aids
• 1 Scorepad

Setup

1. Line up the 4 display cards in the middle from 1 to 4. Use the side of each card with your player count.
2. Shuffle the llama cards and deal 4 hands of 8 facedown cards. Each player takes 1 hand. Any leftover hands are dummy hands.
3. Each player chooses 1 card from their hand as their goal card and places it facedown. If there are dummy hands, add 1 random facedown card from each, so there are 4 goals in total.
4. Shuffle the 4 goals and deal 1 facedown on each display card, leaving the icons at the top uncovered.
5. If there are dummy hands, place them facedown between players, as shown. With 3 players, the dummy starts between 2 random players.

How to Play

Note: These rules cover 4-player games with no dummy hands. For 2-3 players, see additional rules below.

The game is played over 4 rounds, or until someone has 100 points. Each round, players repeat the following steps 4 times:

1. Reveal Goal: Flip over the leftmost facedown goal card.
2. Pass Cards: Each player passes cards to the player on their left. Each player must pass the exact number of cards shown above the new goal, but may choose any cards from their hand. Each player adds the cards passed to them to their hand.

After revealing and passing 4 times, each player scores their hand according to the scoring rules on all 4 goal cards (see below). Record each player's score for the round on the scorepad, along with their new total score (previous total score + current round score).

Scoring Rules

Each card has 2 scoring rules that award points for specific letters or combinations of letters. Score the points shown for each letter or combination in your hand that exactly matches the rule.

Example

The 4 goals revealed this round, in order:

• 1st (pass 4): letter A llama card. Scoring rules: A = 1; A B C D E F G = 50.
• 2nd (pass 3): letter B llama card. Scoring rules: B = 2; A A C C = 15.
• 3rd (pass 2): letter B llama card. Scoring rules: B = 2; A A C C = 15.
• 4th (pass 1): letter D llama card. Scoring rules: D = 4; A G = 5; C E = 5; B F = 5.

Player 1's hand: A, B, C, D, E, F, G.

Goals: A, B, B, D. Score: 51, 2, 2, 19. Total score: 74.

Player 2's hand: A, A, B, B, C, C, D.

Goals: A, B, B, D. Score: 2, 19, 19, 0. Total score: 40.

Clarifications

• If 2 or more matching goal cards are revealed, score each of them independently. For example, if A = 1 appears on 2 cards, everyone scores 2 points for each A they have.
• Each individual letter can be used in any number of different scoring combinations. For example, the letters AABB can be used to score both AABB = 10 and AA = 7.
• An individual letter can't be used in more than one of the same scoring combination. For example, the letters DDFF can score DF = 5 twice, but DFF can only score it once.

New Round

After scoring, set up and play a new round. Each player chooses 1 new goal card, but this time the player with the highest total score places their goal facedown on the display card marked "1st," the player with the next-highest places on "2nd," and so on. In a tie, shuffle the tied players' cards and order them randomly.

Game End

If a player has 100 or more points at the end of a round, or 4 rounds have been played, the game ends. Whoever has the highest total score wins!

In a tie, the tied player who scored the most points in the final round wins. If there's still a tie, the victory is shared.

2-3 Player Rules

Always deal 4 hands and treat the extras as dummy hands. Each dummy adds 1 random goal card each round. After the first round, place the dummy goals on the display cards marked with the dummy icon.

Whenever you pass cards, if there is a dummy hand to your left, shuffle the cards you pass into it. The next player to the left then draws that many random cards from the dummy.

With 3 players, the dummy starts to the left of a random player. At the start of each following round, place the dummy to the right of the player with the lowest total score. (With 2 players, the dummies do not move.)