Animal Poker
Animal Poker Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- 107 playing cards:
- 104 number cards (1 to 13), 8 times each.
- 3 freelancer cards.
- 8 job cards. The 8 accessible jobs are ranked from trainee (lowest) to CEO (highest).
Each job card shows the job's rank and how many cards that job exchanges during Preparation, along with a QR code linking to more flavor information about the job at Animal Inc.
Game Overview
At the beginning of the game, players decide how long they approximately want to play (e.g., 20 or 60 minutes).
Animal Poker is played over multiple reorganizing sessions. In each session, several rounds are played until only 1 player has cards left.
There are no tricks in the game. It is all about getting rid of your cards and grabbing a great job.
Setup According to Player Counts
The amount of playing cards and jobs varies depending on the number of players.
Playing Cards
Prepare 1 complete set of number cards from 1 to 13 for each player (e.g., for a four-player game, prepare four 1s, four 2s, four 3s, and so forth). There are always 3 freelancers in play. Any leftover number cards are put back into the box.
Job Cards
For games with less than 8 players, put all job cards back into the box that are numbered higher than the current number of players.
Shuffle all accessible jobs and place one facedown in front of each player.
Note: one job card is only in play with 5 or more players.
Preparation
1. Rearranging the Seating Order
All players turn their job cards face up. Then the players change their seating positions. The CEO always remains in place. The others must change seats, so that their positions are in order of their ranking. To the right of the CEO always sits the trainee, to their right the direct superior, and so on until the circle closes with the CEO. The players take their seats and place their job cards face up in front of them.
Note: Show your best side and address the CEO correctly from now on.
2. Trainee Deals the Cards
The trainee shuffles all playing cards and deals 13 cards to each player. The trainee receives the 3 remaining cards in addition to their 13 cards.
3. Superiors Cash In
Now the hard workplace reality kicks in: superiors must give their worst (lowest) cards to subordinates, and they get the best (highest) cards in return. Freelancers count as highest.
Note: Feel free to announce your pleasure when you give your best cards to a superior.
Give and take this many cards:
- The CEO and the trainee exchange 3 cards.
- The job ranked second-highest and the job ranked second-lowest exchange 2 cards.
- Only with 6 or more players: the job ranked third-highest and the job ranked third-lowest exchange 1 card.
- With 5 players, the middle job is unpaired and does not exchange.
- Jobs without an exchange pairing never exchange.
A Round
A round begins with the starting player and proceeds clockwise. The round ends when each player has taken exactly one turn. Any number of rounds will be played in a session until only 1 player has cards left in hand.
Starting Player's Turn
The CEO is the starting player of the first round.
The starting player must play one or more cards of the same number (and/or freelancers). If a freelancer is played together with number cards, it becomes their number. If freelancers are played without a number card, they are considered the highest number in play.
Note: It is not mandatory to play all your cards of the same number.
A Subsequent Player's Turn
The following players can either play or pass when they take their turn.
Play: The active player must follow these 3 rules.
- Play exactly the same amount of cards as the starting player.
- Play only cards of the same number (or freelancers).
- Play only cards of a higher number than the cards of the previous player.
Note: Only a freelancer card can be played after a 13.
Pass: If a player cannot play, they must pass. A player may pass voluntarily. It is then the next player's turn.
Example:
- Starting player plays three copies of a 2 (including 1 freelancer).
- The 2nd player places three 7s on top.
- The 3rd player and the 4th player pass.
- The trainee clears the round and the 2nd player starts the next round.
End of a Round: The Trainee Cleans Up
After all players have taken exactly one turn, the round ends. The trainee must place all played cards face down on a discard pile on their side.
Next Round: New Starting Player
The player who played the highest cards in the last round is the starting player of the next round.
Special situation: If the would-be starting player has just played their last card, the next player counterclockwise, with cards in their hand, becomes the next starting player.
Getting a Job
As soon as a player plays their last card, they take the highest accessible (face up) job and place it face down in front of themself. Sometimes this is beside their current face-up job. The player has secured their job for the next session and can now sit back until the end of the session.
Example: The trainee took the CEO job and is out of this round. The CEO is still playing.
Session End and Beginning a New Session
As soon as only one player has cards left in their hand, the session ends. This player must take the trainee job. Now the next session is prepared in the same way as the first session: rearranging seating order, trainee shuffles and deals the cards, and the superiors cash in.
End of the Game
At the beginning of the game, players set an amount of time to play. When time runs out, you still finish the current session. The last player with hand cards has to clean up.
Animal Poker is all about the fun of winning sessions and changing jobs in between. If you want an overall winner: whoever took the CEO last wins the game.
Variant: Lazy Chaotic Numbers
If you are too lazy to sort out the cards in the beginning, or if you just want a more unpredictable game, try this variant. While preparing a session, the trainee can simply shuffle all playing cards and deal 13 to each player, plus 3 additional cards to themself. The leftover cards are placed face down, starting the discard pile in front of the trainee.