Panda Panda
Panda Panda Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 32 Panda Cards
- 4 Player Aids
Credits
- Design: Kaya Miyano
- Illustration: Sai Beppu
- Graphic Design: Anca Gavril
- Rules Editing: Jeff Fraser
Setup
- Each player takes a player aid and flips it to the crown 0 side.
- Shuffle the panda cards and deal each player 5. Place the rest of the deck facedown in the middle.
- Whoever last saw a panda goes first. (Pictures or videos count!)
Overview
Your goal each round is to be the first player to reveal a winning hand. If you win 2 rounds, you win the game!
You can only draw or discard 1 card each turn, so the size of your hand changes as you play. Each winning hand requires an exact number and combination of letters, so pay attention to how big your hand is!
There's one catch: whenever someone discards an A card, everyone must pass a card to the left.
Game Rounds
Each round, players take turns clockwise, starting with the first player.
Each turn has 2 steps:
- Check for winning hand
- Draw or discard a card
Winning Hands
If you have one of the winning hands listed on your player aid at the start of your turn, shout Panda Panda! and reveal it. You win the round!
To make a winning hand, you must have the exact letters shown. If you have any other letters, it's not a winning hand.
| Hand Size | Exact Cards Needed |
|---|---|
| 7 cards | A B C D E F G, or A A A A B B B |
| 6 cards | A A C C E E, or B B C C D D |
| 5 cards | B B B B B |
| 4 cards | C C C C |
| 3 cards | D D D |
| 2 cards | C E, or B F, or D G |
On Your Turn
If you don't win at the start of your turn, you must do one of the following:
A. Discard 1 card B. Draw 1 card from the deck C. Draw 1 card from the top of any player's discard pile
If you discard a card, place it in a personal discard pile in front of you. Spread the pile out so each card's letter is visible.
If there's an A card on top of a discard pile, you can't draw from that pile.
If you draw, you can take the top card on the deck or any player's discard pile (including yours).
If you want to draw from the deck, but it's empty, you may collect all discard piles and shuffle them into a new deck to draw from.
Discarding "A" Cards
Whenever someone discards an A card, everyone must immediately pass 1 card from their hand to the player on their left. Afterwards, the next player takes their turn as normal.
Winning a Round
The first time you win a round, flip your player aid to show crown 1.
Shuffle all 32 cards and deal 5 to each player to start a new round. As the previous winner, you go first.
If you have crown 1 and win again, you win the game!
Tips & Reminders
- You can only win at the start of your turn, before you draw or discard.
- There's no hand limit, but there are no winning hands larger than 7 cards.
- If the deck is empty, you can still draw from a discard pile. Only reshuffle the deck if you want to draw from it.
- If there's an A on top of every discard pile, you can only draw from the deck.