Chou y es-tu?
Chou y es-tu? Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the Game
The gardeners win if they catch both rabbits before 9 cabbages are eaten.
The rabbits win if one of them eats the ninth cabbage without being caught.
Components
- 25 garden tiles:
- 1 Cabin tile
- 18 Cabbage tiles
- 3 Bush tiles
- 3 Double-cabbage tiles
- 2 Rabbit tokens
- 2 Gardener pawns
- 2 pairs of gardener glasses
- 1 rulebook
Teams
- 2 players: one player plays both rabbits and the other plays both gardeners.
- 3 players: either
- one player plays both rabbits, and each of the other two plays one gardener; or
- one player plays both gardeners, and each of the other two plays one rabbit.
- 4 players: each player plays either one rabbit or one gardener.
In this rulebook, "gardener" refers to the player or players who play the gardeners, and "rabbit" refers to the player or players who play the rabbits.
Setup
- The players divide into two teams: rabbits and gardeners.
- The rabbits take their 2 Rabbit tokens.
- The Cabin tile is placed in the middle of the board. Then the 18 Cabbage tiles are placed on the board, cabbage side (Cabbage face) up.
- The 2 Gardener pawns are placed on two opposite cells adjacent to the Cabin.
- The gardeners take the pairs of gardener glasses.
Notes: for the first games, the 6 Double-cabbage and Bush tiles are put back in the box (see Variants).
The dotted line on the board marks the gardeners' path.
Playing the Game
First Night
The gardeners put on their glasses so they cannot see what the rabbits are doing.
The rabbits hide their 2 Rabbit tokens under two different cabbages on the board.
Day
The gardeners wake up, take off their glasses, and then play in the order of their choice.
They choose a first Gardener pawn, which may do one of the following:
- A: move TWO cells along the path WITHOUT lifting any Cabbage tile; or
- B: move ONE cell along the path, then look under ONE of the Cabbage tiles around its destination cell.
- B1: if a Rabbit token is under that Cabbage tile, it is captured! The gardener who caught it removes it from the game and puts the Cabbage tile back in place, Cabbage face up, because the rabbit did not have time to eat it.
- B2: if there is no Rabbit token under the lifted Cabbage tile, the gardener simply puts the tile back in place, still Cabbage face up.
The second Gardener pawn is then played in the same way.
Then the Cabbage tiles eaten during the previous night are removed from the board and placed on the compost (on the back of this rulebook).
The gardeners put their glasses back on, and the next night begins.
When a Rabbit token has been caught by the gardeners, the rabbits will silently coordinate during the nights to move the remaining Rabbit token.
Cocow's tip: to lift a tile, press on its edge with your finger!
Night
The two rabbits play in the order of their choice.
Each rabbit flips over the Cabbage tile under which its token is hidden, to the Eaten Cabbage face, and takes its Rabbit token back.
Then each Rabbit token must move in a straight line in one of the directions shown by the arrows on the tile it has just flipped, and hide under the first cabbage it meets.
A Rabbit token passes without stopping through empty cells, Eaten Cabbage tiles, or the Cabin tile between the cabbage it has just eaten and the cabbage under which it will hide. However, it can neither stop on nor pass over a Cabbage tile under which the other Rabbit token is hidden.
Warning: two Rabbit tokens can never be under the same Cabbage tile!
Important: if a Rabbit token has no accessible place left to hide, it is left exposed and is automatically caught by the gardeners at the start of the next day, even if the Gardener pawns are not next to it.
End of the Game
- The gardeners win if they catch the second Rabbit token before 9 cabbages are placed on the compost.
- The rabbits win if the ninth cabbage is placed on the compost and at least one Rabbit token is still in play.
The Compost
At the end of each day, the gardeners place the Eaten Cabbage tiles on the compost, below.
If they place a ninth cabbage, the compost is full and the rabbits win the game!
If the Double-cabbage tiles are used, the rabbits win as soon as the compost contains 9 eaten cabbages, even if there are not 9 tiles in the compost.
Variants
If the vegetable patch holds no more secrets for you, replace 6 Cabbage tiles with the 3 Bush tiles and the 3 Double-cabbage tiles during setup. The 18 tiles (12 Cabbage tiles, 3 Double-cabbage tiles and 3 Bush tiles) are placed at random on the board around the Cabin tile.
The rabbits can hide under these tiles, and the gardeners can lift them. However, a rabbit cannot start the game under a Double-cabbage tile. These tiles have the following special features:
- Bush: a rabbit can hide under a Bush tile (and must stop there if it meets one on its path) but cannot eat it. On the following night, it flees to another Cabbage (or Bush) tile, following the usual movement rules.
- Double-cabbage: these tiles are used like Cabbage tiles, but when a rabbit eats a Double-cabbage tile, it eats two cabbages at once! The rabbits therefore need fewer tiles to reach 9 eaten cabbages.
For example, the rabbits win if the gardeners have placed 5 Cabbage tiles and 2 Double-cabbage tiles on the compost.
You may also continue the game beyond 9 cabbages placed on the compost. To do so, play until both rabbits have been caught, then count the number of cabbages placed on the compost: this is the rabbits' score. You can then switch roles and compare the scores.
Rules Reminder
Night:
- The gardeners put on their glasses.
- Each rabbit, in turn:
- lifts the tile under which its token is hidden and takes the token back;
- replaces the tile on its Eaten Cabbage face;
- then moves in a straight line to the first cabbage on its path;
- hides its token under that cabbage, and then the second rabbit does the same.
Day:
- The gardeners wake up and take off their glasses.
- Each gardener, in turn:
- moves its pawn two cells along the path; or
- moves its pawn one cell, then lifts a cabbage on one of the cells around its pawn.
- Then the gardeners place the Eaten Cabbage tiles on the compost.
End of the game:
- The gardeners win as soon as they have caught both rabbits.
- The rabbits win if the gardeners place a ninth cabbage on the compost.