Paku Paku
Paku Paku Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 set of 24-piece tableware (8 plates, 8 bowls, and 8 cups)
- 40 penalty points, in values of 1, 2, 3, and 5
- 1 "Table" mat
- 5 dice
Object of the Game
The goal of the game is to collect as few penalty points as possible. To do this, players must pass their dice to their neighbor as quickly as possible. Everyone rolls their dice at the same time, which causes quite a commotion! As soon as a player has accumulated 10 penalty points or more, the game ends. The winner is whoever has the fewest penalty points at that point.
Setup
Place the Table mat, the 24 pieces of tableware, and the penalty points in the center of the table, within easy reach of all players.
Distribute the 5 dice as evenly as possible among the players.
Example: With 3 players, two of them receive 2 dice and the last one receives 1 die. With 7 players, on the other hand, five players receive 1 die each, while the last two start with none.
The game can now begin.
Playing a Round
In Japanese, "Paku Paku!" means "to fill your stomach as fast as possible."
All players count to 3 together and then shout: "Paku Paku!" Then, anyone holding dice rolls them.
A hungry panda waits for no one! (Not said by Confucius, 5th century BC.)
Rolling the dice: All players roll their dice simultaneously and as fast as they can. Each player's goal is to get happy panda faces on their dice as quickly as possible, so they can pass them to their left-hand neighbor. But it isn't quite as simple as it looks: if a dish face comes up, it must be resolved before that die can be rolled again!
The faces of the dice have the following meanings:
- Happy panda face: Rice balls eaten, happy panda! Pass this die to your neighbor immediately!
- Dish face: Oh no! Dirty dishes are piling up in front of you! For every dish face you roll, you must stack one piece of tableware onto the pile.
- Number face (1 or 2): Your stomach is filling up little by little... or nothing special happens.
Every player then rerolls all their dice showing a number or a dish face (plus any dice just received from their neighbor), applies their effects, and so on.
Example:
- Esteban rolls 3 dice and gets a green happy panda, a red dish face, and a "1."
- He quickly passes the die with the green happy panda to his left-hand neighbor.
- He then stacks a cup onto the dish pile without knocking it over.
- He then rerolls the die with the red dish face and the one with the "1"...
Of course, it can happen that a player receives a die showing a happy panda from their right-hand neighbor while they already have one or more dice in front of them. That new die must simply be rolled along with the rest, until it also comes up on a happy panda.
Stacking
The first player who needs to stack places one piece of tableware of their choice onto the Table mat. The next player who needs to stack adds a new piece on top of that one. This continues in the same way until the tower collapses...
Variant for particularly skilled architects: As long as it is possible, do not stack two identical pieces on top of each other: for example, a plate may only be stacked on a cup or a bowl. This makes the tower considerably less stable...
Your path will be paved with penalties and rice balls. (From "The Way of the Panda Warrior," a non-historical work of the 8th century.)
Paku Stop! (Too Many Dice)
As soon as a player has 5 or more dice in front of them (with 2–3 players), 4 or more dice (with 4–5 players), or 3 or more dice (with 6–8 players), or accidentally knocks over the pile of tableware, everyone who notices shouts "Paku stop!" and the round is momentarily interrupted.
The unlucky panda must then roll all the dice in front of them. They add up all the numbers rolled and take that many penalty points from the supply. They then set the pile of tableware aside, distribute their dice evenly among the players, and so on.
No numbers rolled? Then that player is in luck: they receive no penalty points at all!
Example: Anne rolls the 4 dice in front of her and gets a happy panda, a dish pile, a "1," and a "2." She takes 3 penalty points.
Example: Antoine knocked over the pile. He rolls the 2 dice in front of him and gets a "2" and a happy panda. He takes 2 penalty points.
Variant for particularly brave pandas: Leave the pile of tableware on the Table mat at the end of the round... The tension will rise a notch!
The Council of the Wise
Who has the right to stack a piece first? Were there really 4 dice at the same time? Who knocked over the pile? In Paku Paku, things move fast, and it isn't always clear amid the chaos... When in doubt, the fair-play Council of the Wise convenes to make a decision. Who is that? All the players, of course!
End of the Game
As soon as an unlucky panda has 10 penalty points or more, the game ends. The winner is then whoever has the fewest penalty points.
Variant: You may change the number of penalty points needed to end the game as you see fit, depending on the number of players. With a large group, you might prefer a limit of up to 7 penalty points. Conversely, with only 2 or 3 players, you might agree on up to 15 or 20 penalty points.
In case of a tie: A duel breaks the tie among the players who are tied. All tied players take turns stacking a piece of tableware. Whoever knocks over the pile is eliminated. The last one remaining wins.
Warning! Do not put food in the tableware pieces!
Author's Thanks
The author thanks all the playtesters who haunt La Cafetière.