Zoo Police
Zoo Police Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 25 Crime cards
- 20 Suspect cards (4 sets of 5 cards, in the players' colours)
- 45 small Score cards (35 × 1 point, 10 × 3 points)
- 10 small Innocent cards (for the game variant only)
- 1 First Player marker
- This rulebook
Setup
Separate the cards by type.
Each player chooses a colour and takes the matching set of Suspect cards (5 cards numbered 1 to 5). If playing with 3 players, return the unused set to the box.
Shuffle the Crime cards face down and place the deck in the middle of the table.
Sort the Score cards by value and keep them face up to the side, available to all players.
Randomly choose the starting player and give them the First Player marker.
Keep the Innocent cards in the box for now: they are only used for the game variant described at the end of the rules.
Example of setup for three players.
Object of the Game
The player who accumulates the most points wins, by identifying the other players' Suspects and collecting Crime cards. Discovering the other players' Suspects scores points during the game; the points on Crime cards, however, are counted only at the end of the game.
Playing the Game
The game is played over five rounds. Each round is divided into 4 phases, in this order:
- Draw new Crimes
- Play the Suspects
- Identify the Suspects
- Assign the Crimes
1. Draw New Crimes
First round: the player with the First Player marker draws the first 4 Crime cards from the deck and lays them out in four rows, face up. Then they draw a fifth Crime card and add it to one of the rows, also face up (there are always four rows). At the start of the game there are therefore three rows with 1 Crime card and one row with 2 Crime cards.
Following rounds: as above, but the cards are added to those left over from the previous round. There are always 4 rows: one new card is added to each of the 4 rows, and one additional card is added to one of the 4 rows of the starting player's choice.
2. Play the Suspects
Each player plays one Suspect card face down next to each of the rows. Each player therefore plays 4 Suspect cards in total out of the 5 they hold. The fifth card stays in the player's hand, secret.
This phase can be played by everyone simultaneously, since the order of play does not matter. For convenience, however, we recommend playing the cards of each colour one under the other, as shown in the illustration.
Example for three players.
3. Identify the Suspects
Starting with the First Player (the one with the marker) and proceeding clockwise, each player tries to identify the Suspects played by the other players.
When it is your turn, choose and clearly point to one of the face-down Suspect cards played by another player, and say aloud which number you think it is (it can be a number from 1 to 5).
Example: the red player points to the blue card in the second row and says "I think this is a 3!"
The card is then turned face up:
- if you guessed correctly, the guessed Suspect card returns to its owner's hand (who keeps it face down), and you score 1 point;
- if you did not guess correctly, the Suspect card stays where it is, face up (and you score no points).
Note: each time you score points in this way, take them from the pile of Score cards. You may always exchange 3 cards worth 1 point for one worth 3 points, and vice versa. Keep your points in a pile in front of you, so that it is difficult for the others to count them.
Caution: you may only try to identify a face-down Suspect card belonging to another player. If, on your turn, the only face-down Suspect cards left are of your own colour, then turn one of them face up without trying to guess it, and leave it where it is. Your turn ends.
When all the played Suspect cards have been turned face up or returned to their owners, the current phase ends and the next phase begins.
Example.
The blue player starts. They point to the red card in the first row and declare that it is a 4. The card is turned over: it is a 5! Blue guessed wrong, and the card stays where it is, face up.
Red now points to the green card in the third row and says it is a 3. The card is turned over: it is indeed a 3! The card returns to green, and red takes 1 point from the Score cards.
It is green's turn, who points to the red card in the same row and says it is a 2. The card is turned over: it is a 2! The card returns to red, and green takes 1 point from the Score cards.
This continues until all the Suspect cards have been revealed and either left where they are (if not guessed) or returned to their owners (if guessed).
4. Assign the Crimes
The Crime cards in each row are assigned to the Suspect with the highest number in that row. For each row, carry out the following steps in order:
- if there are two or more Suspect cards with the same number, return them to their owners;
- then the owner of the Suspect card with the highest number wins all the Crime cards in that row;
- if a row has no Suspect cards, its Crime cards are not assigned and remain in play for the next round (see also 1. Draw New Crimes).
Keep the Crime cards you win face up in front of you, where the others can see them.
The round is now over: each player takes back all their Suspect cards, the First Player marker passes to the next player clockwise, and a new round begins from phase 1 (5 new Crime cards are drawn, etc.).
Example.
First row: green wins the two Crime cards because they have the Suspect card with the highest number.
Second row: the green and red cards return to their owners because they are of equal value, and the Crime card therefore goes to blue.
Third row: there are no Suspect cards left and the Crime card remains on the table for the next round.
Fourth row: the Crime card goes to blue.
End of the Game and Scoring
After five rounds all the Crime cards have been played and the game ends.
At the end of the game, you may keep only Crime cards of 3 types (each player may freely choose which types). All other Crime cards you have must be discarded.
Calculate your score as follows:
- 1 point for each magnifying-glass symbol on a neutral background;
- 1 point for each magnifying-glass symbol on the background of your own colour (symbols on backgrounds of other colours do not count for you);
- add the points from your pile of Score cards.
The player with the most points wins! In case of a tie between two or more players, the tie is broken in favour of the one with more points in their pile of Score cards.
Caution: the magnifying-glass symbols appear twice on the cards (at the top and at the bottom) for convenience, but they must be counted only once!
Example.
Green decides to keep only the 3 types of Crime cards in purple, brown and pink, and discards the others (light blue and orange).
They score 17 points for magnifying-glass symbols on a neutral background, plus 2 points for magnifying-glass symbols on a green background, plus 5 points in their pile.
Total: 24 points (17 + 2 + 5).
Special Scoring Rule: The Infiltrator
If at the end of the game you have not collected any Crime cards, then you are not part of the Zoo Police and you are an infiltrator!
In this case, your final score is given by the points of your Score cards multiplied by 4.
Example: you have no Crime cards, so you count only the points in your pile of Score cards. You have 7 points in the pile, so your final score is 28 (7 × 4).
Game Variant: Innocent Cards
At the start of the fifth and last round of the game, the starting player shuffles the Innocent cards face down and gives one to each player, keeping the others available. If during your turn you guess a Suspect card whose number matches the Innocent card you hold, add the Innocent card to your pile of Score cards, and draw a new Innocent card (if the Innocent cards have run out, too bad – you do not draw).
Innocent cards are worth 1 point at the end of the game (4 points under the Special Scoring Rule: The Infiltrator).