5211
5211 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
100 cards: 20 of each of 5 colors — teal, orange, green, pink, and yellow.
Each color's 20 cards break down as:
- 5 cards showing a Kododo (a small lizard) instead of a number — these count as 1 point
- 6 cards showing 2
- 5 cards showing 3
- 2 cards showing 4
- 1 card showing 5
- 1 card showing 6
A Kododo is a small lizard — an Aruban Whiptail Lizard, found on the islands of Curaçao and Aruba.
Setup
Shuffle the cards to form a face-down deck, and deal 5 cards to each player.
Depending on player count, you'll remove cards from the deck before dealing; see Player Count Reference below.
How to Play
The game is played in rounds. In one round, each player plays a total of 4 cards over 3 turns (on the first turn, 2 cards are played; on the second and third turns, 1 card each). After each turn, players should renew their hands back up to 5 cards by drawing from the deck. At the end of a round, the numbers of the cards of the majority color count as points, and all other cards are discarded. Then a new round starts, and this is repeated until the deck runs out.
Turn 1
Each player selects 2 cards from their hand and holds them face down in front of themselves. When all players have chosen, cards are revealed simultaneously. Don't forget to renew your hand back up to 5 cards afterward!
Example, in a 4-player game: each player has a personal area with a spot for their face-up played cards and a spot reserved for the cards still to come. The deck and a discard pile sit in the middle of the table, shared by all players. After turn 1, each player has 2 cards face up in front of them, with 2 empty spots still reserved for the cards to come on turns 2 and 3.
Turn 2
Repeat the above, but with just 1 card each.
Continuing the example: each player now has 3 cards face up in front of them (the 2 from turn 1 plus 1 new one), with 1 empty spot still reserved for the card to come on turn 3.
Turn 3
Repeat the above once more.
How to Score
First, determine the majority color. Each player takes their cards of that color and puts them in a score pile (the numbers on the cards are the points). The rest of the cards are discarded.
HOWEVER, if there's a tie for majority color, or if there are too many of the majority color, or if there are many Kododo cards, things change — see Burst, Tie for Majority, and Many Kododo Cards below.
Example: at the end of a round, the cards played by all players are laid out around the deck and discard pile, all face up. One player has 2 teal cards, another has 3 teal cards, and a third has 1 teal card, for 6 teal cards in total — more than any other color. Teal is the majority color with 6 cards, so all teal cards are scored as points by whichever players played them.
Burst
If there are too many of the majority color, all cards of that color are discarded, and instead the next color counts as points. How many is "too many" varies with the number of players; see Player Count Reference below.
Example: the played cards are laid out around the table and there turn out to be 7 or more teal cards. Because 7 or more busts the teal color, all teal cards are discarded instead of scored. Orange is the next-most-played color, so orange becomes the scoring color instead, and whichever players played orange cards score them.
Tie for Majority
If there is a tie for most of a color, all of the tied colors are discarded, and the majority of any remaining colors counts as points.
Example: both teal and orange have 6 cards each — a tie — so both colors are discarded. Of the remaining colors, green has the most, so green scores instead.
Many Kododo Cards
If there is a certain number of Kododo cards in play, regardless of color, then only the Kododo cards score, and everything else is discarded. How many is a "certain" number varies with the number of players; see Player Count Reference below.
Example: 8 or more Kododo cards are in play, which meets the threshold for a 4-player game. Only the Kododo cards score (1 point each); every other card in play is discarded, regardless of color or majority.
Player Count Reference
Burst numbers — how much of the majority color busts it, depending on the number of players:
- 2 players — 5 or more
- 3 players — 6 or more
- 4 players — 7 or more
- 5 players — 9 or more
Many Kododo Cards numbers — always "1 more than the burst number."
Cards to remove — depending on how many players you are, remove the following number of cards from the deck during setup:
- 2 players — remove 10 cards
- 3 players — remove 13 cards
- 4 players — remove no cards
- 5 players — remove 15 cards
Full reference table (burst / many Kododo cards / cards to remove):
- 2 players — burst 5, Kododo 6, remove 10
- 3 players — burst 6, Kododo 7, remove 13
- 4 players — burst 7, Kododo 8, remove 0
- 5 players — burst 9, Kododo 10, remove 15
Game End
Once the deck runs out, the game continues with what the players have left in hand, until all players have 1 card left in hand, which is discarded. The player with the most points wins.
Optional Rule
An aggressive rule for 2–3 players. Let each round be 5 cards instead of 4 (on the first and second turns, play 2 cards each). When the deck runs out, play one more turn with what you have in hand.
Burst / Many Kododo Cards / cards to remove for this variant:
- 2 players — burst 6, Kododo 7, remove 0
- 3 players — burst 7, Kododo 8, remove 10