ANiMaL MaNiacS!
A wild and woolly zookeeping game for 2-5 players
Game Materials
The game uses 12 animal triplets, a deck of cards, five colored zoo rings, and a yellow-and-brown "wild" ring. Each player uses a zoo ring as a zoo, and the wild ring is for "the wild." Before playing the game, remove all aces and face cards from the deck of cards. Mix all the animals together in a big bowl.
Game Setup
1. Each player takes a zoo ring. The "wild" ring is placed in the center of the board.
2. Pick five animals at random and place them in the wild. Each zookeeper picks three animals at random and places them in his or her zoo.
3. Shuffle the cards and deal five cards to each zookeeper. Place remaining deck of cards near the wild. The board should look like the picture on the right. a
4. The zookeeper to the left of the dealer goes first and zookeepers take turns in clockwise order.
Playing the Game
On your turn, you can try to capture a wild animal or "borrow" an animal from another zoo.
To capture an animal, (1) say which animal in the wild you want to capture, (2) place one of your cards face-up, and (3) draw the animal's card from the top of the deck. If the number on your card is greater than the number on the animal's card, you capture it. (The suits of the cards are not important.) Put the animal in your zoo, then draw at random a new animal from the bowl of animals and place it in the wild. Place your card and the animal's card face-up in the discard pile.
To "borrow" an animal from another zoo, (1) point to the animal you want to capture, (2) place one of your cards face-down, and (3) the other zookeeper places one of his or her cards face-down. Turn over the two cards, and if the number on your card is greater than the number on the other zookeeper's card, you may place the animal in your zoo. (The other zookeeper can get the animal back only by trying to "borrow" it back on his or her turn.)
When you have no more cards in your hand, draw five new ones from the deck.
Continue the game until there is a winner!
ANiMaL MaNiacS! was made for Charlie Gastil in December, 1995, by John Gastil and Cindy Simmons. Merry Christmas, Charlie!
