Sawanna Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Aim of the Game
• Setup
• Course of the Game
  • 2. Placing the dice
  • Rules of Placing the Dice on Animal Tiles
  • 3. Cast the remaining dice or end the turn
• End of the Game

Components

• 1 board
• 25 animal tiles (5 for each player)
• 5 player tokens
• 6 dice
• Instructions

Aim of the Game

Each player has 5 animals available to them. The first player to lead two of their animals to the watering hole is the winner.

Setup

• Place the board on a table.
• Place 6 dice next to the board.
• Each player chooses a player token in a chosen colour.
• Each player takes 5 animal tiles in the chosen colour. The tiles are double-sided, with one side being used in the basic variant of the game, and the other in the advanced variant. The basic variant is described below.
• The animals race on the four tracks featured on the board. The number of tracks used during the game depends on the number of players:
  • 2 players = 2 tracks
  • 3 players = 3 tracks
  • 4 players = 4 tracks
  • 5 players = 4 tracks
• Flip the unused player tokens with the "no entry" signs facing up, and place them on the tracks that won't be used in the race.

Course of the Game

The starting player is determined randomly or according to any criteria, such as the winner of rock-paper-scissors. The players take turns to do the following:

1. Cast six dice.
2. Place the dice on one chosen animal tile: A. their own, or B. another player's.
3. Cast the remaining dice or end the turn.

2. Placing the dice

A. The player chooses any number of dice with a result corresponding to one of their animals, and places them on that animal tile. The results on the dice must match the values shown on the tile. Example: Only the dice showing 4 and 5 can be placed on the zebra. The red player places two dice showing 4 and one showing 5.

B. The player chooses any number of dice showing 6 and places them on a chosen tile belonging to another player. The number 6 has a special role to play in the game. Featured on neither animal tile, a die showing 6 cannot be placed on the player's own tile. Instead, it can be placed on any tile belonging to any of the other players. Example: The red player decides to place one die showing 6 on the lion tile belonging to the blue player.

Rules of Placing the Dice on Animal Tiles

• After each dice roll, the player chooses any number of dice (at least one) with results matching one animal tile: his or her own (results of 1-5), or another player's (result of 6). The player then places the dice on the chosen tile. At the beginning of the race, all the tiles are placed on the table in front of each player. As the game proceeds, more and more tiles will be moved from the table onto the board. The player may place the dice on the tiles lying on the table as well as those on the board. Example: The player casts six dice and now has two choices:
  • place the dice showing 6 on any tile belonging to another player, or
  • place the dice showing 1-5 on one of his or her own tiles. The dice placed on each tile must correspond to the values it shows. If the player wants to put dice on the zebra tile (with the values of 4 and 5), he or she can use any of the following combinations: a) 4, 4, 5; b) 4, 4; c) 4, 5; d) 4; e) 5.
• The number of dice placed on a tile determines how many spaces the animal will move forward. Example: three dice placed on the zebra means it will move forward by 3 spaces; a single die placed on the lion means it will only move forward by 1 space.
• The tiles with dice showing 1-5 are moved at the end of the player's turn. In contrast, the tiles with dice showing 6 are moved immediately after the dice have been placed on them. After the tile has been moved, the dice showing 6 are removed from it and placed next to the board.
• To place the dice on another tile, the player must roll the remaining dice once again.
• The players are allowed to place dice on their tiles only once per round, which means they cannot add more dice to the same tile. Example: The player places 3 dice on the zebra tile. No more dice can be added to this tile until the end of this player's turn.
• As the race goes on, the animals will hop onto each other, wanting to outdistance their rivals. Thus, some tiles will be placed on top of others, covering them as a result. No dice can be placed on such covered tiles. The covered animal is blocked for as long as another animal sits on its back. The players can check what tiles are covered at any time in the game. Example: The blue player's lion hops onto the red player's zebra. The zebra remains blocked as long as the lion sits on its back, that is: until the blue player puts one or more dice showing 1-5 on the lion, or the red player puts one or more dice showing 6 on the blue player's lion. Until either of these actions happens, no dice can be placed on the zebra.

3. Cast the remaining dice or end the turn

After rolling the dice and placing them on the animal tile, the player again has two choices:

• move the animal tile with the dice placed on it (thus, also ending the turn), or
• roll the remaining dice once again, hoping to place some of them on his or her other animal tiles.

The player who chooses to move the tile does the following:

• Before placing a tile on the board, the player chooses the track the animal will use in the race. The animals cannot change their tracks later in the game. The players may choose any track available, the only limitation being the number of tracks used in the game (see Setup). Any number of animals can join the race on the same track.
• The player moves the animal by the number of dice placed on its tile.
• When making its move, the animal may have to cross spaces occupied by other animals, one or two on each such tile.
• If the animal ends its move on a space occupied by a single animal belonging to any player, it hops on that animal, blocking it as a result.
• One space can be occupied by no more than two animal tiles. If the animal's move should end on a space already occupied by two other animals, it must be cut short and the animal lands on an earlier space available. The unused part of the move is lost.
• After moving the animal or animals, the player's turn comes to an end. All dice are given to the player to the left.

Example: The red player places 3 dice on the giraffe lying on the table. The giraffe is then put onto the board and moved 3 spaces forward. This game is played by three players, which means three tracks are available. If the red player moves the giraffe to join the race on the first track, the tile can only be moved 2 spaces because space 3 on this track is already occupied by a pair of animals (the zebra and the giraffe). A single space cannot be occupied by more than two animals. If the red player chooses to place the giraffe on the second track, this tile will cover the green player's gazelle, blocking it as a result. If the red player chooses to place the giraffe on the third track, the animal will pass a pair of animals on space 2 (the elephant and the gazelle), eventually ending its move on space 3.

Choosing to roll the remaining dice once again, the player does the following:

• Having cast the dice, the player proceeds in accordance with the rules described above in Rules of Placing the Dice on Animal Tiles.
• The player is free to roll the dice any number of times; each roll, however, must end in at least one die being placed on an animal tile (in line with the rules described above).
• If after the roll the player is unable to place at least a single die on an animal tile, the player's turn is over. This player cannot move any of his or her animals on the board. If that player has already moved a tile belonging to another player (by placing a die showing 6 on it), this move is not retracted. The player gives all the dice to the player to the left, who now begins his or her turn.

Note: If the outcome of rolling the dice allows the player to move more than one animal tile, the player is free to choose the order of doing so. More often than not, this order will be crucial to the situation on the board.

End of the Game

The game ends when two animals belonging to a single player make it to the watering hole (that is, move beyond space 7 on the board). Example: The red player places a die on the lion tile, making it move by one space and jump into the watering hole from space 7 (that is, the lion leaves the board). The red player's elephant has already made its way to the water, which means this player is the winner.