Botswana
Botswana Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 30 Animal cards — Five species of animal, each with values 0–5.
- 25 Animal figures — Five species of animal, each with five figures.
- Score board & 10 Scoring markers — Double-sided for two different scoring path options. Use whichever side you prefer.
Setup
- Separate the animal figures by species and place them in a row of five groups in the middle of the table, leaving space in front of each group for a stack of cards later.
- Shuffle the cards, then set aside some cards face-down depending on the number of players. No peeking!
- Deal the remaining cards equally between the players as their hand for this round.
- Place the score board within reach of all players and give each player both scoring markers of the same color.
Cards to set aside
| Players | Cards to set aside |
|---|---|
| 2 players | 2 cards |
| 3 players | 3 cards |
| 4 players | 2 cards |
| 5 players | none |
Playing the game
Botswana is played over multiple rounds, with the number of rounds equal to the number of players. (You can decide in advance to reduce or increase the number of rounds if you want a shorter or longer game experience.)
Randomly select the starting player, then take turns in clockwise order.
On your turn, choose one of your cards and place it in front of the matching group of animal figures. Overlap your card on top of any other cards already placed there, keeping the cards spread out so that all the previous values remain visible. The card you place can have a higher or lower value than the previous cards – it's entirely up to you.
After placing your card, collect one animal figure of any species and place it in front of you, in full view of the other players. You are not required to collect an animal figure matching the card you placed – you can choose any one of the remaining animal figures.
When all the animal figures of a species have been collected, you can no longer choose that species, but you can still place a card on its stack.
After you place the sixth card for a species, collect an animal figure as usual (if there are any remaining); then, the round ends immediately. Some players may have taken one more turn than others, but that's OK! The number of turns will even out as you play more rounds.
Example turn for Britta: Three giraffe cards have been placed, four hippos, three elephants, five meerkats, and five lions. Britta places the sixth and final lion card, which has a value of 0, then collects a meerkat figure. Since one of the stacks now has six cards, the round ends immediately.
End of round scoring
The top card of each stack of animal cards (the card most recently placed on that stack) sets the points value for the animal figures you have collected.
Advance your scoring marker on the score board to track your points. Two are provided with various sides to help mark your score if it crosses above 50 points.
In the example above, the top cards of the giraffe stack and the hippo stack each have a value of 1, so giraffe figures and hippo figures are worth 1 point each. The top card of the elephant stack has a value of 3, so elephant figures are worth 3 points each. The top card of the meerkat stack has a value of 5, so meerkat figures are worth 5 points each. The top card of the lion stack has a value of 0, so lion figures are worth nothing.
Example scoring:
- Britta has two giraffes worth 1 point each, two elephants worth 3 points each, and two meerkats worth 5 points each, for a total of 18 points.
- Weberson has two hippos worth 1 point each, two elephants worth 3 points each, and a meerkat worth 5 points, for a total of 13 points.
- Natalie has two hippos worth 1 point each, a meerkat worth 5 points, and two lions worth nothing, for a total of 7 points.
- Karen has three giraffes worth 1 point each and two lions worth nothing, for a total of 3 points.
Starting a new round
Return all the animal figures to their original groups on the table. Shuffle together all the animal cards, including the ones set aside at the start of the round. Set aside the same number of cards face-down as in the first round, then deal out the remaining cards equally.
The new starting player is the next player in clockwise order from the starting player of the previous round.
Winning the game
The player with the highest total score across all rounds is the winner!
If there is a tie for the highest total, play a bonus round with all players included. At the end of the bonus round, the player with the highest total across all rounds is the winner. This can even be a player who was not tied for the highest total before.
If there is still a tie for the highest total score, shake hands and declare a victory for wildlife photography!
Credits
Designer: Reiner Knizia
Illustrator: Weberson Santiago
Graphic Design: Matt Paquette & Co.
Development and Production: Chad Elkins
Rulebook: Joel Finch, Jon Healey
© Dr. Reiner Knizia, 1994-2025. All rights reserved.