Odd World Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Contents
• Setup
• How to Play
• End of the Game
• Scoring
• Variant

Goal of the Game

Score the most points by collecting as many crazy birds as you can. But beware, the scoring is just as crazy as the birds themselves! You only get points for a bird if you have an odd number of that bird species in front of you at the end of the game!

You decide whether to keep a card for yourself or give it to an opponent. It's a risky business because the back of each card shows 2 birds, but only 1 of them is on the front!

Contents

72 cards with different backs:

• 8x Superb bird-of-paradise
• 8x Eurasian hoopoe
• 8x Scarlet ibis
• 8x Shoebill
• 8x Rhinoceros hornbill
• 8x Black crowned crane
• 8x Secretarybird
• 8x King vulture
• 8x Southern cassowary

Setup

1. Shuffle the cards well and place them in 2 piles of roughly equal height in the middle of the table within easy reach of all players.
2. Deal 3 cards at random to each player. You each reveal any 2 cards and place them face up in your display in the positions from left to right shown on the cards. Make sure to leave space in your display for all 9 bird species. Place the 3rd card face down slightly to the side of your display. You can look at your own card at any time. This card will be added to your display at the end of the game.
3. The craziest player starts the game.

How to Play

Take turns in clockwise order. When it's your turn, choose 1 of the 2 draw piles and draw the top card. Without looking at the front of the card, decide whether to A keep the card for yourself, or B give the card to an opponent.

Note: At the start of your turn, if either of the draw piles is empty, take the remaining draw pile and split it into 2 piles of roughly equal height. Then continue with your turn.

A. Keep the card for yourself: reveal the bird on the front of the card and place it in your display. If you already have that bird in your display, place the new card offset on top of it so that all players can see how many cards of that bird species you have. If you don't already have that bird, place the new card in your display in the position shown on the card.

B. Give the card to an opponent: your chosen opponent reveals the card and places it in their display in the position shown on the card.

It's now the next player's turn in clockwise order.

Tip: Always pay attention to the backs of the cards; they show you the 2 birds that might be on the front. You only get points for a bird if you have an odd number of that bird species in your display at the end of the game!

Tip: It makes sense to give a bird to an opponent who currently has an odd number of that bird species in their display. This way you can stop them from scoring points!

End of the Game

The game ends immediately if a player has at least 1 card of each different bird species in their display. This can happen in 3 ways:

1. By revealing the face-down card next to your display: on your turn, if you have 8 of the 9 bird species in your display and you know your face-down card is your missing 9th bird species, you can reveal it if you want. The game then ends immediately.
2. By keeping a card for yourself: if you add a card to your display and it's your 9th bird species, the game ends immediately.
3. By receiving a card from an opponent: if you receive a card from an opponent and it's your 9th bird species, the game ends immediately.

In the rare case that both draw piles are empty, the game ends immediately.

Scoring

If you haven't already, add your face-down card to your display. Now find the bird species in your display with an odd number of cards. Each card of these bird species is worth 1 point. The cards of any bird species with an even number of cards are worth 0 points.

The player with the most points is the winner!

In case of a tie, the winner is the player with the most bird species in their display. If there is still a tie, the winner is the player who scored the most points from a single bird species. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory.

Scoring example: (illustrated display) Top row: 0 points, 5 points, 0 points. Bottom row: 1 point, 1 point, 0 points. 5 + 1 + 1 = 7 points.

Variant

If you want to play a slightly longer, more tactical game, play 3 games in a row. Add up your points over all 3 games. The player with the most points is the winner!