13 Animals
13 Animals Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Animal Cards x68 (Mammals / Birds / Legendary Animals)
- Player Guide Cards x5
- Start Player Card x1
- Score Pad x1
Game Overview
Collect sets of animals to earn stars. In addition, if you collect 11 different animals you achieve a Rainbow Win. The game ends after 3 rounds, and the player who has earned the most stars wins!
About Animal Cards and Sets
- The animal's name
- The animal's type
- The number of kinds of this animal
- The possible set combinations and the number of stars they correspond to.
Example of a card's possible combinations (Moon Bear): 2 of the same mammal = 1 star, or 5 different mammals = 3 stars.
Note: each card can belong to only one set!
Game (and Round) Setup
Shuffle the Animal Cards face down to make a deck. Deal each player a starting hand of 10 face-down cards. From this face-down deck, flip 3 cards face up to create 3 discard piles. Then divide the deck roughly in half to make two face-down decks.
Give each player a Player Guide Card.
Decide the first player. Ideally, the player who most recently petted an animal is suitable. That player receives the Start Player Card.
Turn Sequence
A turn consists of 1. Drawing a card and 2. Discarding a card.
1. Draw a Card
Draw one card face down from one of the face-down decks, or draw one face-up card from one of the 3 discard piles, then add this card to your hand (the backs of cards cannot be seen by the other players). If one deck runs out, play with only the one deck. If both decks have run out, proceed to Round End and Scoring.
2. Discard a Card
Reveal one card from your hand and discard it onto any one of the 3 discard piles. You may discard onto the pile you wish. If there is an empty discard pile, you must discard onto the empty pile, so that 3 discard piles are always maintained at the end of your turn.
Round End and Scoring
The round ends when one player's animal cards are all in sets (or when they have achieved a Rainbow Win). All players reveal their hands and calculate the score of their sets.
Complete Sets
All cards in a player's hand form complete sets. A player wins with a total of 10 cards (after discarding following the draw), or may win with 11 cards (at the time of the draw).
At scoring, all players earn stars from each completed set (exception: Rainbow Win). Add up the stars earned from the completed sets.
Example: Mika is the player who went out. With 3 completed sets she earned 7 stars (3 + 3 + 1 = 7). She also receives the Round Bonus (see below). Hiro did not go out, but because completed sets can still be scored, he earns 2 stars (Tapir 1 + Peacock 1 + Garuda 0 = 2).
Rainbow Win
A player ends the round by collecting 11 different animals. In this case, any combinations or abilities of sets on the cards are ignored (for example, the Nine-Tailed Fox is treated as a different animal and cannot take the place of another legendary animal). The player who achieved the Rainbow Win does not calculate the scores of sets, and instead earns 5 stars at scoring. Remember to add the Round Bonus!
Round Bonus
Round 1/2/3: 1 / 2 / 3 stars
At round end, the player who achieved a Rainbow Win or went out earns Round Bonus points. In Round 1/2/3, the player who went out or achieved a Rainbow Win earns a bonus of 1/2/3 stars.
Count each player's points and record them on the score sheet.
If this was the 3rd round of the game, the game ends (see End of the Game). Otherwise, pass the Start Player Card clockwise to the next player and begin a new round (see Game (and Round) Setup).
End of the Game
The game ends after 3 rounds. The player who has earned the most stars wins! In case of a tie, the player with the most stars in the final round wins. If still tied, the tied players win jointly!
Pon! Variation
In the spirit of mahjong, you can play with this variation. If you hold 3 Kappa, Garuda or Merlion (including Nine-Tailed Fox) in your hand, when another player plays their 4th card (including Nine-Tailed Fox), you may skip the turn order by calling out the sound of the Kappa, Garuda, or Merlion's cry. Place the set of 3 and the 4th card face up on the table, discard 1 card, and end your turn. If multiple players want the discarded card, the player closest in turn order gains it. Play then continues from the next player clockwise from you.
Example: Hiro discards the Nine-Tailed Fox onto a discard pile (1). Before Aron's turn, Mika calls out the cry of a Kappa. Aron's turn is then skipped, and Mika shows 3 Kappa from her hand and picks up the Nine-Tailed Fox (2). Mika then discards one more card (3), and it becomes Hiro's turn again.