Boss Kito
Boss Kito Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the Game
All players are gorillas, but rather small and not that tough. They live together on an island at the zoo.
Components
- 30 banana tokens
- 50 banana cards in 5 different colours.
- 45 benefit cards with 9 different benefits (numbered from 1 to 9) (the number on the card also indicates the number of cards in the game with that benefit and that value)
- 5 Boss Kito cards in 5 different colours
- 5 player cards
- 1 starting player card
- rules of the game
Game Setup
- Each player chooses 1 player card.
- Place the 5 Boss Kito cards, one next to the other, face-up in the middle of the table.
- Shuffle the benefit cards and divide them in 5 equal piles.
- Place each pile face-up in a row under each of the Boss Kito cards.
- Take the top card of each pile and form another row by placing each card face-up under the pile it came from.
- Shuffle the banana cards and deal each player 5 cards. Each player keeps cards secret in his hand.
- The remaining banana cards form the draw pile which is kept within reach.
- Give each player 3 banana tokens. The players store their banana tokens so that all players can see them.
- The remaining banana tokens form the general stock which is kept within reach.
- The player with the biggest gorilla head is chosen as starting player and receives the starting player card.
Playing the Game
Play proceeds in a clockwise direction, beginning with the starting player.
All players must perform one of the following actions during their turn:
a) play 1 banana card by placing this card face-up in front of you on the table
b) place 1 or 2 banana tokens on already played banana cards: 1 or 2 banana tokens on 1 card or 1 banana token on one card and 1 banana token on another
c) draw 1 banana card from the draw pile and add it to your hand
d) take 3 banana tokens from the general stock
e) discard any number of cards from your hand and draw an equal number of cards
After a player finishes his or her turn, the next player takes a turn, and so on. The round ends after each player has taken four turns. The benefit cards are then handed out (see Handing Out the Benefits) and new benefit cards are drawn (see Drawing New Benefits). The players then begin a new round. After 9 rounds all benefits will have been handed out (or discarded) and all the points of the players are counted (see Game End). To count the turns already played in a round, one can use (for example) banana tokens.
Handing Out the Benefits
Starting with the leftmost Boss Kito card, all Boss Kito cards are evaluated. All players check to see if they have played at least one card in the colour of the corresponding Boss Kito card. If so, they count the total number of bananas, meaning the bunches of bananas on the banana cards as well as the single banana tokens upon them. The player with the highest number of bananas obtains the benefit card which is lying under this specific Boss Kito card. In case of a tie, none of the players get the card, so the card is discarded. In the same way, if no banana cards are played on a particular benefit card, then discard this benefit.
Note: a banana card is worth 3 bananas.
All played banana tokens go back to the general stock and all played banana cards are discarded.
Benefit cards claimed by players are placed face-up and in numerical order in front of their owners. All benefits have to be visible for all players to see.
Additional Actions
Some benefit cards give the owner an additional action indicated by the symbol on the card. This additional action must be performed immediately upon receiving the benefit. There are 3 different symbols:
- Double arrow: the player may pass the starting player card to another player of his choice. This is the only way to change the starting player.
- Card: the player draws 1 banana card.
- Banana: the player takes 1 banana token from the general stock.
Drawing New Benefits
The top (face-up) benefit card from each pile is drawn and placed face-up under the corresponding pile in order to form another row.
Once the new benefits are arranged on the table, the starting player begins a new round by performing one of the actions listed above.
Game End
When the benefit cards all run out, the game is over. All players count their final scores. To do this, evaluate all 9 benefits separately in numerical order. The player having the most benefit cards of one specific type scores the number of points indicated on this type of benefit. When two or more players tie, then they all score the points indicated. For example: if one player has the most benefits with number 9, he scores 9 points. If 2 players have 3 benefit cards with number 7, they both score 7 points. All other players score 1 point per card of this type they have.
The player with the highest score wins.
Important Things to Note
- If the banana card draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile and form a new draw pile. If there are no cards in the discard pile to form a new draw pile, the action "draw a banana card" cannot be chosen.
- If the general banana stock runs out, the action "take 3 bananas" cannot be chosen. If there are fewer than 3 banana tokens left, players may instead take the banana tokens remaining.
- In case of a tie the player with the most banana tokens wins.
Overview Benefit Cards
- Visitors (9): Every day visitors look in through the window or watch from across the ditch. See them wave, see them smirk! You would pay to attract such attention! And indeed, if you pay enough, you win this card and Boss Kito guarantees that you will have the time of your life. There are 9 such cards in the game.
- Romantic dinner (8): Life can be boring, especially on Gorilla Island. If you win this card, Boss Kito offers you a romantic dinner with your favourite gorilla on the north coast of the isle. A fabulous view of the lake and the elephant house is included in the price. Boss Kito will take care that you will not be disturbed by Manny's jokes or by Grandpa's boring sermons. There are 8 such cards in the game.
- Privacy (7): Living on Gorilla Island has lots of advantages. It is nice and cosy, at times with a lot of commotion, but especially nice and cosy... with a lot of commotion. So you might get bored of all this commotion and cosiness. In the end, you'd rather be alone. If you win this card, Boss Kito assures you absolute privacy. But remember, the last gorilla who won this card finally got so lonely that she begged Emily to de-flea her! There are 7 such cards in the game.
- Banana beer (6): It's been a long time. Do you still remember how it tastes? Nothing is better than a wonderful cold banana beer. Foam on your lips... thinking of better times. Boss Kito is behind the bar so really nothing can go wrong. As a special service Boss Kito will take care of you afterwards and will assure a safe trip home. There are 6 such cards in the game.
- Snacks (5): Boss Kito is waiting for you with his stick. But this time he won't use it to beat you! The termites on his stick have been selected with care. Only the best and tastiest are good enough for the winner of this card. Discover the new taste of Boss Kito: light termites, same taste, no sugar. There are 5 such cards in the game.
- Stilts (4): Of course they are not very useful on such a small island, but you seem taller. Just take care not to make Boss Kito jealous! If you stand on top of the hill on stilts, you can see the roof of the giraffe residence. Not very interesting, except that you can tell Grandpa Charles that you have seen it and he has not. A big thank you goes to Boss Kito, deliverer of the stilts. There are 4 such cards in the game.