Vampir Mau Mau
Vampir Mau Mau Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Idea
Humans by day, vampires by night: the classic Mau Mau card game in a spine-chilling version! Make the best use of your Character's special abilities to empty your hand before the other "bloodsuckers", and don't let the werewolves shatter your dreams of victory!
Contents
- 8 Character cards (extra-large)
- 1 Day/Night card (extra-large)
- 11 Special cards: 6 Clocks and 5 Werewolves
- 44 Mau Mau cards: 11 each in green, purple, red and blue. Each card shows a symbol and a colour.
- You also need paper and a pen to record points.
Setup
Place the Day/Night card in the middle of the table, Day side face up.
Each player takes 1 Character at random and places it in front of them, Day side face up. Each player reads their ability aloud so that everyone knows it.
Tip: if you are playing Mau Mau Vampiri for the first time, we recommend using only the Characters with the smiling face shown on the rulebook page.
Choose a dealer. The dealer shuffles the 44 Mau Mau cards and the 11 Special cards together into a single deck, then deals 8 cards to each player. Pick up your cards and keep them secret from the other players. Place the rest of the cards face down on the table as the draw pile. Draw the first card and place it face up beside the draw pile: this is the first card of the discard pile.
Special case: if the card you drew as the starting discard is a Special card (Clock or Werewolf), keep drawing until a Mau Mau card comes up. Use only the Mau Mau card as the discard pile, and reshuffle the Special cards you drew back into the draw pile.
The Game
The aim of the game is to empty your hand first. A game lasts several deals. A deal ends when one of the players empties their hand.
Before starting, agree on the number of deals you want to play. This number sets the length of the game, for example:
- Short game: 3 deals
- Normal game: 5 deals
- Long game: 7 deals
Also decide whether you keep the same Character throughout, or pass it to the left at the end of each deal.
The player to the left of the dealer starts, and play continues clockwise.
Your Turn
On your turn, play 1 card from your hand. If you cannot or do not want to play a card, you must draw 1 card from the draw pile and add it to your hand. If you wish and it is possible, you may play the card you have just drawn. Your turn then ends and it is the turn of the player to your left.
Now let us look at the cards in detail.
Mau Mau Cards
To play a Mau Mau card, it must have the same colour or the same symbol as the card on top of the discard pile. Exception: if a wish has not yet been fulfilled (see Wishing for a Colour), the card must be of the wished colour, regardless of the card on top of the discard pile. (In this case the card may have any symbol.)
Place the card on top of the discard pile. If the symbol or the colour (only at night) of the card matches one of the two illustrations in the box of your Character, you may use the corresponding special ability (explained further on). Your turn then ends.
Werewolves
You may play a Werewolf regardless of the card on top of the discard pile. Place the Werewolf on a Character of your choice. That Character's abilities cannot be used until the Werewolf is removed.
Only one Werewolf may be placed on a given Character. (As a result, in a 2-player game, if your opponent's Character is blocked by a Werewolf, you may place one only on your own Character!)
There may never be more than 1 Werewolf in play at a time. If there is already a Werewolf in play, discard it after playing your Werewolf. Then you may wish for a colour (see Wishing for a Colour). Your turn then ends.
Clocks
You may play a Clock regardless of the card on top of the discard pile. Place the Clock on the Day/Night card. If there are fewer Clocks in play than the number of players, your turn ends.
If instead the number of Clocks equals the number of players, turn the Day/Night card over. If it was day, it becomes night, and vice versa. All players also turn their Character over to the corresponding side. Any Werewolf on a Character is discarded. Then discard all Clocks in play and wish for a colour (see Wishing for a Colour). Your turn then ends.
Wishing for a Colour
If during your turn one or more Special cards are discarded, you may wish for a colour: choose between red, blue, green or purple. Your wish remains unfulfilled until a player plays a Mau Mau card of that colour, or until another Special card that allows a wish is discarded (for a new colour, or the same colour!). When a card of the wished colour is played, the wish is considered fulfilled and disappears.
Some Special abilities of Characters allow a colour to be wished for; in that case the same rules apply.
The Draw Pile Runs Out
When the draw pile runs out, take all the cards from the discard pile except the top one, and shuffle them to form a new draw pile. The card that was not shuffled becomes the first card of the new discard pile.
Mau
At the moment you play your second-to-last card, that is, when you have only 1 card left in your hand, you must announce it immediately by saying "Mau". If you forget, you must draw 1 penalty card from the draw pile.
End of the Deal
Mau Mau
At the moment you play your last card, the deal ends. However, you must announce this immediately by saying "Mau Mau". If you forget, you must draw 2 penalty cards, and the deal does not end.
If the last card you play activates the special ability of your Character, you are entitled to use it, since it may affect the score.
Important: you cannot end a deal by playing a Special card! If you play a Special card as your last card, you must draw 2 penalty cards, and the deal does not end.
However, you can end the deal by using a special ability of your Character!
Example 1. Mario and Sara are playing with 2 players. Mario has the Character shown and only 2 cards in hand: a Werewolf and the green spider. Sara's Character has a Werewolf on it. It is Mario's turn. If he plays the spider (and says "Mau") he is left with only the Werewolf in hand; however, on his next turn he cannot end the deal, because you cannot finish by playing a Special card!
So Mario plays the Werewolf and places it on his own Character (he cannot place it on Sara's Character). Then Mario removes the Werewolf from Sara's Character and places it in the discard pile. He wishes for green and says "Mau". It looks like he will be able to empty his hand on his next turn!
Example 2. Sara has the Character shown beside, and 2 cards in hand: a Clock and the blue tombstone. The card on top of the discard pile is a red tombstone. Sara plays the blue tombstone, placing it on top of the discard pile, and says "Mau". The blue card activates the special ability on the right of her Character. It gives the Clock, her last card, to Mario, and says "Mau Mau". The special ability allowed her to get rid of the Clock without playing it! Sara ends the deal.
When a deal ends, each player scores a certain number of points. Each player's points equal the total number of cards that the opponents hold in hand. The player who ended the deal receives a bonus of 2 points.
Example 3. Sara ends the deal in a 4-player game. The players hold these cards in hand:
| Sara | Luigi | Mario | Giovanni |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Sara scores 1+2+4=7 points plus the bonus of 2 points, for a total of 9 points. Luigi scores 0+2+4=6 points, Mario scores 0+1+4=5 points, and Giovanni scores 0+1+2=3 points.
Note down the points on a sheet. Then prepare the next deal as usual. The player to the left of the dealer becomes the dealer of the new deal.
End of the Game
At the end of the agreed number of deals, the player with the most points wins! In case of a tie, play a tie-break deal.
Special Abilities of the Characters
The 8 Characters have different abilities as Humans, and identical abilities as Vampires. An ability cannot be used while a Werewolf is on top of the Character, regardless of whether it is day or night. The ability can only be used again once the Werewolf is discarded.
Vampire Abilities (by night)
Each Vampire has the same 2 special abilities:
- In the box there is a symbol drawn on the left. Each time you play a card with that symbol, the player to your left must draw 2 cards from the draw pile.
- In the box there is a colour shown on the right. Each time you play a card of that colour, you may give 1 card from your hand to another player of your choice, who must add the card to their hand.
You may even use both abilities if you play a card with that symbol and of that colour!
Human Abilities (by day)
Each Human has 1 special ability that is triggered by two symbols. Each time you play a card with one of these two symbols, you may use the special ability.
The list of special abilities is on the page that follows.
The Human abilities are printed on the Character cards (their art shows which ability belongs to which Character), and are listed here in the order they appear on the rulebook's final page. The printed list gives the ability text only; the card art that links each one to a specific Character and its two symbols is not transcribed.
- You may give 1 card from your hand to the player on your left. As compensation, that player may wish for a colour.
- Wish for a colour. Then immediately take another turn. (You may use this ability several times in a row, as long as you play one of the two symbols.)
- Call a colour: red, blue, green or purple. Each opponent must show you 1 card of that colour from their hand, or draw 2 cards from the draw pile. Note: "calling a colour" does not count as "wishing for a colour"!
- Swap your Character with that of an opponent of your choice. Then immediately take another turn.
- Each opponent must draw 1 card from the draw pile. You do not draw.
- All opponents (you excluded!) must compare the number of cards they hold in hand. The player with fewer cards must draw 2 cards from the draw pile. If 2 or more players tie for having fewer cards, each of them draws 1 card from the draw pile. In every case, you draw nothing!
- Draw 2 cards from the draw pile and look at them. Then give both cards to 1 player of your choice, or one card each to 2 different players. You may keep 1 or both cards.
- Set aside 1 card from your hand and 1 card from the draw pile (without looking at it), face down, beside the Day/Night card. Each time you use this special ability, add 2 more cards in the same way to those set aside. The next player (you included) who plays a Special card (Clock or Werewolf) must take all the cards that were set aside and add them to their hand.
Optional Rules
The following optional rules make Mau Mau Vampiri even more fun! Each time you play a card with a specific symbol, the player to your right must immediately perform a particular action. If they forget to do so, they must draw 1 penalty card from the draw pile.
- Symbol: a piece of meat. The player to your right must say "Mmm, good!"
- Symbol: an axe. The player to your right must scratch their head.
- Symbol: a nail. The player to your right must knock 3 times on the table.
- Symbol: a spider. The player to your right must say "Bleah!"
- Symbol: a clock face. The player to your right must say "Tic tac!"
It is up to you whether to play with these rules or not. You may also add the rule for just one symbol, and introduce the others gradually. And if that is still not enough, invent rules for the other symbols!
Playing with More Than 4 Players
There are several ways to play Mau Mau Vampiri with more than 4 players. One way is to start the game with fewer cards in hand, e.g. 7 cards with 5 players or 6 cards with 6 players. Another way is to play with 2 copies of the game and shuffle all the cards together: this way you can play with many more players!