Capybara Crush Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup
• Gameplay
• Stars and Powers
• Chains
• Game End
• Scoring
  • Example Scoring
• Glossary
• Solo Rules
  • Solo Gameplay
  • Solo Scoring
• FAQ
• Variant Rules
  • New Powers
  • Hidden Goals
  • Higher Capy Max (12 for 2p, 10 for 3p)
  • Draftybara

Setup

Make a score track with these cards: Sweep, Flip, Shift, Capybara Crush. (Use this side to remind you of the rules!)

Shuffle the critter cards to form the deck.

Place 5 random critter cards from the deck to form the river.

Players start their capy herd line with 2 unused score track cards (on capy side) and 1 favorite card. (The back of the score track card is all blue.)

Players put 1 star on each capy and take a score marker matching the stars' color.

Players draw 1 card from the deck. (The deck's back is all blue.)

The last player to save an animal goes first (or choose someone randomly).

Components: 60 critter cards (the deck), 12 score track cards, 5 favorite cards, 12 stars and 4 score markers (in 4 colors).

Gameplay

Players take turns clockwise.

On your turn, do these steps in order:

1. Draw 1: Put a card into your hand from the river or deck.
2. Play 1 as critters: Put a card from your hand on top of an empty capy as critters. OR Play 1 as capy: Put a card from your hand next to your as herd a capy. (Max 8.) When you play a capy you may regain 1 star.
3. Refill the river to 5 cards.

Then the player to your left takes their turn.

Stars and Powers

Each game has three available powers listed on the score track. You may spend stars any time during your turn to use a power. Move stars equal to the power's cost off your capys to show the stars are used, then do the power's effect.

Using stars does not spend your turn! You still draw and play.

Power cards show the cost, name, type (for example, drawing) and effect. Remove stars to pay for powers.

See the back page for details on special powers.

Regain a star when you play a capy.

Chains

To win the game, you need to make chains of critters and backgrounds. Chains have 2 requirements:

1. Cards are next to each other.
2. The distance between critters is only 0 or 1 rows.

A jump of 2 rows breaks the chain. Same row is OK. 1 row apart is OK. Gaps in the chain break the chain.

Example: Despite having 5 cards with yuzu fruit, the longest chain is 3.

Game End

The game ends for everyone when any player starts a turn with 8 capys and 8 critter cards. Proceed to scoring.

Scoring

Flip over the Capybara Crush rules card to make a complete score track loop. This side helps you count the scores!

Use player score markers on the score track to count scores. Most points wins.

Score categories:

• Chains: Gain points equal the length of your longest chain for each type.
• Favorite: Gain 1 point per card with your favorite critter.
• Unused Stars: Gain 1 point per star on your capys.

To count scores quickly, ask players for each score at the same time and move each player's score marker accordingly. The score questions are:

• "Length of your longest goat chain?"
• "Longest monkey chain?"
• "Longest turtle chain?"
• "Longest bird chain?"
• "Longest yuzu fruit chain?"
• "Longest pink garden chain?"
• "Longest green springs chain?"
• "Longest yellow beach chain?"
• "How many cards have your favorite critter?"
• "How many unused stars do you have left?"

Example Scoring

The example scoring total is 5 + 1 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 1 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 2 = 25.

YOU ARE READY TO PLAY NOW! Go play! See the back page if you have any questions!

Glossary

• Background: The picture behind the critters. Counted for chains. Includes pink garden, green springs, and yellow beach.
• Capy: A card you played with the big rodent side up.
• Critters: A card you played on a capy, showing 3 happy little things that capybaras like to carry in real life: goat, monkey, turtle, bird, and yuzu fruit. Counted for chains.
• Discard: Put a card of your choice from your hand onto the bottom of the deck.
• Draw: Put a card into your hand. Unless otherwise specified, you may draw from the river or the deck.
• Flip: Rotate 1 of your critter cards 180° so the top and bottom critters flip rows. This is used to avoid breaking chains.
• Hand: Cards you hold.
• Herd Line: All of your capys.
• Move: Put 1 of your capys, together with its critters (if any), anywhere else in your herd line. Create or fill space between other capys if needed. Doesn't flip, shift, or unshift cards.
• Play: Put a card from your hand into play as a capy or critter, following normal limitations. Remember, if you play a capy, you may regain 1 star.
• Remove: Put 1 of your critter cards from on a capy onto the bottom of the deck.
• The 5 cards in the middle of the table.

Solo Rules

Object: An evil AI wants to capture and traffick the critters. You need more points than it to save the critters!

Setup: Setup like normal, except these differences: Only setup 1 herd with 5 unused score track cards and 5 stars. This herd is yours. Do not use a favorite card for yourself. Put 3 favorite cards together for the evil AI.

Solo Gameplay

You can only play cards as critters. You never play capys. Thus, you can never regain stars. Use the 5 you have wisely.

You can only use powers during step 4.

Turn Structure. Each turn do these steps in order:

1. Draw 1 card from the river. Play 1 card from hand.
2. The AI takes the 2 cards next to the gap you made in the river, or the ends if you took a card on the edge of the river.
3. For each card the AI took, it scores 1 point per critter that matches one of their favorites. Adjust scores on the river map as you count. Discard these cards to the bottom of the deck.
4. Spend stars to use powers if you want.
5. Refill the river to 5 cards.
6. Go to scoring if you have 5 critter cards on your capys.

Solo Scoring

Score your chains, but ignore short chains (only 1 or 2 long). After scoring, discard your critter cards into a sideways pile.

Keep Playing? If this is the third time you scored, compare scores with the AI to see if you won. Otherwise, keep playing.

Win: If you have more points than the AI, you win!

Lose: If you don't have more points, you lose the game. Suffer the effects of the dangers you didn't pass on the score track.

Dangers: Eaten by caimans. Hunted by hippos. Pursued by pelicans. Serenaded by sharks.

FAQ

Tied game? The player with the highest number in the lower right corner wins the game. This number is otherwise used to help separate decks if you shuffle two or more decks together.

Can I play critters upside down? No, you must align the top of the capy head with the capy you are playing on. If the Flip power is available, you may pay a star to flip the critters.

Can I regain a star if my 3 stars are already on capys? Nope, it's good to use your stars before you gain a capy.

If someone starts with 8 capys and 8 critters but I don't have that many yet, do I keep playing? No, the game ends. The Sprint and Hope cards make you choose to use stars to finish early, to use other powers, or to keep them for points.

Variant Rules

After playing the normal rules, you can try these rule changes:

New Powers

At setup, randomly choose 1 power from each category: Drawing, Adjustment, and Movement.

Hidden Goals

At setup, players take a random favorite card, look at them, but keep them hidden from others. Keep the question mark side up during the game.

Higher Capy Max (12 for 2p, 10 for 3p)

End the game when someone starts their turn with:

• 2 Players: 12 capys and 12 critter cards.
• 3 Players: 10 capys and 10 critter cards.

Draftybara

Unlimited players! +4 per deck!

Player count: For 5+ players add another deck and score track per additional 1-4 players. Up to 4 players use each score track.

Setup: Players draw 15 cards and put 1 card from their hand onto the table. This is each player's reserve. There's no deck or river.

Power Setup: Use Sprint. Never use Sweep, Chance, or Hope.

Gameplay: At the same time, players choose 1 card from their hand or reserve and play it as normal. Then everyone passes their entire hand to the player to their left. Keep your reserve.

Refill Reserve: Whenever you play a reserved card, put a card from your hand into your reserve!

New Definitions:

• Draw: Reserve a card from your hand.
• Discard: Put a card from your reserve into your hand.
• Remove: Put a played critter card into your hand.

Game End: The game ends when anyone has 8 critter cards. Up to 4 players use each score track. The player(s) with the top scores win. For every deck you added, an additional player wins.