Birds of a Feather: Western North America Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• Game Contents
• Setup
• The Play Area
  • Arriving Birds
  • Lingering Birds
• How to Play
• Example
• End of the Game
• Migration Variant
• A More Strategic 2-3 Player Variant
  • Setup and Play for 2 players
  • Setup and Play for 3 players
• Birding Solo
• Quick Play Summary
  • Setup
  • How to Play
  • End Game

Game Overview

In Birds of a Feather, players will explore different habitats to find birds by playing and revealing cards each round. There are no turns in Birds of a Feather – everyone always reveals their cards at the same time. Each round, players will visit a habitat and record the birds they see there. The more people that visit the same habitat, the more birds to be seen. The number of rounds depends on the number of players (see chart to the right). Players will record the birds they see on their score app or sheet, and will earn points for the birds recorded at the end of the game. They'll also earn bonus points for recording all the birds in a single habitat.

Whoever saw the widest variety of birds and scored the most points wins!

Game Designer: Teale Fristoe Card Artist: Trevor Fristoe Cover Artist: Quill Kolat © 2022 Snowbright Studio

Game Contents

• 60 Bird cards, across 5 Habitats, each with:
  • 1 Ace
  • 1 Raptor
  • 1 Rare
  • 2 of each Uncommon
  • 3 Commons
• 1 Score sheet pad
• 1 Rulebook

Each Bird card shows its Bird Type symbol, Habitat, Bird Name, Scientific Name, the quantity of that bird in the deck, and its points value (some birds are worth 0 points).

Setup

1. Load the Birds of a Feather Score App on each player's device. Scan the QR code or visit: snowbrightstudio.com/pages/birdsapp. Give any player not using the app a score sheet and pen.
2. Shuffle the deck of bird cards.
3. Deal each player a hand of cards according to the chart below.
4. Set any cards not dealt aside face down. For a 2 or 3 player game, cards from this deck will be used throughout the game.

Once you're familiar with how the game plays, check out A More Strategic 2-3 Player Variant.

Players	Hand size	Rounds
2*	15	14
3*	15	14
4	15	14
5	12	11
6	10	9
7	8	7

Note: You can reuse score sheets and make them last longer by marking your logged birds differently each game. For example, for your first game log with a /, the next game log with a , then finally log by filling in the space completely. If you run out of score sheets, visit snowbrightstudio.com/pages/birds-of-a-feather for a free pdf.

The Play Area

Arriving Birds

Each round, players will play a single card face down in front of themselves, representing the habitat they're traveling to that round and a bird arriving at that habitat. Birds in this outer ring are referred to as the Arriving Birds.

Lingering Birds

After the first round, there will be an inner ring of previously played birds, called Lingering Birds. These Lingering Birds will be visible for players to record on their score sheets if a player visits the same habitat as a Lingering Bird.

How to Play

1. Secretly choose Arriving Birds. At the same time, each player secretly chooses a card from their hand and puts the card face down in front of themselves.

2. Reveal Arriving Birds. Each player flips their chosen Arriving Bird face-up. If playing with 2 players, play two cards from the top of the deck to the Arriving Birds. If playing with 3 players, play one card from the top of the deck to the Arriving Birds area.

   For clarity, revealed cards are represented by their Bird Type Symbol in examples.

3. Raptors chase away Lingering Birds. If it is your first game, or you want a less aggressive play experience, we recommend you ignore the Raptor Rule. Skip this step for the first round. Otherwise, if any Raptors are revealed, discard any birds from the Lingering Birds that are in the same habitat as the Raptor(s). Only Lingering Birds from the Raptor's habitat are discarded – any Arriving Birds sharing a habitat with a Raptor remain in play.

4. Record the birds seen. Each player records all of the birds that they can see this round on their score app or sheet.

   • Each player records their Arriving Bird.
   • Each player records the birds in the play area that are also in the same habitat as their Arriving Bird. (This includes Arriving Birds and Lingering Birds of other players after the first round.)
   • If any Raptor cards were played: No players, including the player who played the Raptor card, record any of the discarded Lingering Birds.

   Note: If a player has already recorded a bird, they cannot record it again. There is no benefit to seeing the same bird multiple times, aside from enjoying its beauty.

5. Remove Lingering Birds from the previous round. Skip this step during the first round. For all other rounds, discard all currently Lingering Birds.

6. Arriving Birds become Lingering Birds. Move all the Arriving Birds into the center of the table – they are now Lingering Birds.

7. End the game, or start a new round. If players have more than one card left in their hands, start a new round by returning to Step 1. If players only have one card left in their hands, the game ends! These last cards should be kept for tie-breaking.

Example

Everyone reveals their Arriving birds for a new round. Teale has played a Mountain Quail, Trevor a Red-winged Blackbird, Carey an American Dipper, and Christie an Osprey. Because they're playing the full version of the game, the Osprey scares away the Brandt's Cormorant from the Lingering Birds before anyone records any birds in their habitats.

Teale and Carey both are visiting the Mountains this round to see and record their own birds, as well as the other Mountain birds in the play area. This includes the Mountain Chickadee from the Lingering Birds and Carey's American Dipper and Teale's Mountain Quail from the Arriving Birds. Trevor visits the Wetlands with a Red-winged Blackbird and sees and records it and the Belted Kingfisher in the Lingering Birds. Christie visits the Ocean with an Osprey and because it scared away the Brandt's Cormorant from the Lingering Birds, only the Osprey is recorded.

Once everyone has recorded the birds that they see, the three remaining Lingering Birds are discarded and the four Arriving Birds are moved into the center ring to become the Lingering Birds.

End of the Game

The game ends when each player only has one card left in their hand. This last card will not be played, but might be needed for a tie-breaker.

The score app will automatically keep track of points earned during the game for the players using it. Players using a paper score sheet determine their scores by counting the points for the recorded birds. Players earn points as follows:

• Each recorded Egg bird is worth 0 points, but is needed for the ALL bonus.
• Each recorded Double Wing bird is worth 2 points.
• Every other recorded bird is worth 1 point.
• Each habitat in which a player has recorded all 7 birds is worth 3 extra points, marking 'ALL' on their score sheet.

Whoever has the most points has seen the most beautiful birds and wins the game! If two or more players are tied, compare their unplayed cards and the position of those birds on the score sheet. The furthest right icon wins ties and if the icons are the same, the higher up habitat wins. If there is still a tie, the tied players win together.

(i.e. the Desert Bird always wins ties, even over the Ocean Bird, but the Ocean Bird beats the Desert Bird).

Migration Variant

Once players are familiar with the game, they can add a little more strategy by having everyone pass cards from their starting hands. After cards are dealt to each player, have everyone pass the specified number of cards from the chart below to the player to their left. Each player then adds the cards passed to them to their hand, then play as normal.

Players	2	3	4	5	6	7
Passed Cards	3	3	3	2	2	1

A More Strategic 2-3 Player Variant

Once you know how to play Birds of a Feather, you can add a bit more strategy to your 2 or 3 player games by introducing drafting. With drafting, players will select their own starting hands, as well as which additional birds will be randomly revealed throughout the game. Do not combine drafting with the Migration Variant.

Setup and Play for 2 players

Each player will create their own hand of cards and a deck of 15 birds that will be drawn from during the game.

1. Deal each player 10 cards. Players can look at their cards, but keep them hidden from their opponents.
2. Each player simultaneously chooses one card to keep for themselves and adds it face down to a pile that will become their hand. They also choose one card to add face down to a pile that will become a draw deck. Make sure to keep the piles separate and not mix them up!
3. Players pass the unselected cards to their opponent.
4. Continue choosing cards and passing the unselected cards until there are no cards left to pass.
5. If there are cards left in the main deck, deal another 10 to each player and repeat steps 1-4 until all cards have been drafted. Each player shuffles the deck they created and then sets it face down within reach. They then pick up their hand and play begins.

Play Birds of a Feather the same as in the 2 player base game, but reveal one Arriving Bird from each of the two created decks every round instead of from a single deck.

Setup and Play for 3 players

Each player will create their own hand of cards and then together create a central deck to reveal birds from.

1. Deal each player 10 cards to draft from.
2. Each player simultaneously chooses one card to keep for themselves and places it face down in a pile that will become their hand.
3. Players pass the cards they did not choose to the opponent to their left.
4. Everyone will continue choosing cards and passing the unselected cards until there are no cards left to pass.
5. Once the first 10 cards are drafted, deal another 10 cards to each player. Now, each player chooses a card to add to their hand pile, and another card to add face down to a central shared deck.
6. Pass unselected cards to the right this time.
7. Players continue selecting two cards, one for their hand and one for the center deck, and passing the unselected cards until all cards are drafted.
8. Shuffle the center deck and place it face down to the side of the play area. Then, each player picks up their hand and play begins.

Play Birds of a Feather the same as in the 3 player base game, revealing one Arriving Bird from the created deck every round.

Birding Solo

Birding with friends is great, but birding alone can be fun too! Special thanks to Ricky Royal for the original solitaire rules.

Setup: Shuffle the deck and deal yourself a 13-card hand.

Round Steps

1. Choose one card to play. This card determines your habitat and therefore the birds you see, as usual. Ignore the Raptor Rule for cards you play, as well as cards revealed in Step 2.
2. Reveal the top three cards from the deck. You can record any of these birds that are in your habitat. (In the solitaire variant, you do not need the score app or a score sheet – just keep the cards you've seen!)
3. Skip this step for the first round. Otherwise, clear the Lingering Birds from the previous round, and move the birds revealed this round to become Lingering Birds.
4. Choose one card from your hand to discard, then draw the top card of the deck.

Repeat Steps 1–4 until the deck runs out of cards. That's the end of the game! Count your score as normal to see how you did!

For an even greater challenge, include the Raptor Rule!

Quick Play Summary

Setup

Shuffle the deck and deal each player a hand of cards based on the chart. Make sure everyone has the score app loaded or a score sheet and pen.

How to Play

Birds of a Feather is played over a series of rounds, with each player playing and revealing cards at the same time. Each round, players will visit a habitat to see the birds there.

Players will record the birds they see on their score app or sheet and will earn points for the birds recorded.

Each Round:

1. Play Arriving Birds face down.
2. Reveal Arriving Birds.
3. Arriving Raptors chase away any Lingering Birds in matching habitats.
4. Record birds seen in your visited habitat.
5. Remove the Lingering Birds.
6. Arriving Birds become Lingering Birds.
7. If all players have only one card left, the game ends. If not, start the next round.

Players	Hand size	Rounds
2*	15	14
3*	15	14
4	15	14
5	12	11
6	10	9
7	8	7

End Game

The score app will automatically total points earned for the players using it. Players using a paper score sheet determine their scores by counting the points for their recorded birds.

Whoever has the most points wins the game! Ties are broken by comparing unplayed cards. See the End of the Game section for more details on ties.