Z3BRA
Z3BRA Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Idea of the Game
One by one, you turn over cards in your play area and exchange them, sometimes with your fellow players. The game goes on until the first person has gotten rid of all their cards or all their cards have been revealed. The player who then has the fewest negative points wins.
Contents
112 cards with values from 0 to 12 (1x for 0-9, 2x for 10-12) in 7 colors.
Setup
Shuffle all the cards and deal 15 cards face down to each player. You must not look at your cards! With 9 of these cards, make a 3x3 play area of face-down cards. Then, turn over 2 of those cards of your choice. The remaining 6 cards are your personal deck.
Place the remaining cards face down to create a draw pile. Flip over the top card, beginning the face-up discard pile - and it's time to begin!
Gameplay
The player who most recently saw a zebra begins. On your turn, draw 1 card - either from the top of the draw pile or the discard pile.
Look at the card you have drawn and decide whether to exchange it with a face-up or face-down card in your play area. Lay the exchanged card face up on the discard pile and the new card face up in your play area.
If you draw a card from the draw pile and do not want to exchange it with one of your cards, discard it. However, you must then turn 1 of the face-down cards in your play area face up.
After that, the player to your left goes next.
Has the draw pile run out? Then, shuffle all of the cards from the discard pile except for the top card. This is the new draw pile.
Making a trio
A trio consists of 3 cards with the same number or the same color that are arranged horizontally, vertically, or diagonally in your play area.
If you have a trio in your play area, discard them at the end of your turn. You choose the order in which you place the discarded cards on the discard pile.
Important: Even if you have more than one trio in your play area, you can only discard 1 during your turn.
Then, refill your play area with cards from your personal deck. Don't look at the cards, just place them face down in the gaps in your play area. If all the cards in your play area are face down, turn over 1 at random.
If your personal deck is empty, don't fill out your play area. Play on with a smaller play area. If a gap results from discarding a trio, move the remaining cards together to make a smaller play area with 2x3 or 3x2 cards.
Example: Nelson draws a pale blue 10. He makes a trio using it and his 2 other pale blue cards. He discards the exchanged card. After that, Nelson places the 3 pale blue cards of the trio on the discard pile in his preferred order. In the process, he is careful not to give Desmond a good opportunity for a trio. Afterwards, he fills out his play area with 3 face-down cards from his deck.
Special action: Swapping for a Trio
You can use another player's card to make a trio!
Is there a face up card in another person's play area that you could use to make a trio? You can take this card if you draw a card with the same number or the same color as the one you need. Give the person the card you drew as a replacement. With the card you received, make a trio in your play area as described above.
Important: You can only take this action if you can immediately make a trio in your play area as a result.
Example: Ellen draws a green 12. She exchanges it for Desmond's green 10, because she can make a trio of 10s with it. Then she swaps the green 10 with her purple 0, which she discards. She then discards the trio that she made with the exchange. Afterwards, she fills out her play area with 3 face-down cards from her deck.
Exchanging instead of drawing
Instead of drawing a card as usual, you can exchange any 2 cards in your play area. Afterwards, you must turn 1 of the face-down cards in your play area face up.
Example: Desmond wants to exchange 2 cards in his play area, so he doesn't draw a card. He exchanges the pale blue 12 with the face-down card to the right, forming a diagonal trio of 12s. Now he must turn a card face up. He decides on the left card in the center row, a dark blue 6. He places his trio on the discard pile. Because he has no more cards in his personal deck, he consolidates his play area so that he has a 3x2 play area.
End of the Game
The last round of the game begins when any player either gets rid of all their cards or turns all cards in their play area face up (even if they still have cards in their personal deck). Then, all players have one more turn. Afterwards, everyone turns all the face-down cards in their play areas face up. If this results in any trio, they can be discarded. Then the game ends.
Total the values of all your remaining cards. This includes any cards remaining in your personal deck. The player with the lowest total value is the winner. If there is a tie, both are winners.
Example: Desmond has gotten rid of all his cards and has therefore begun the final round. After Ellen and Nelson have each had a turn, they both still have a face-down card. When the cards are turned over, Ellen is lucky and can make another trio, which she is allowed to discard. Nelson turns over a red 0 and has a total of 15 negative points. Ellen wins jointly with Desmond, because they both got rid of all their cards and have 0 negative points.
For even more fun, try playing multiple rounds, such as one for each player. Keep track of your score, and the person with the fewest negative points at the end is the winner.