Dashing Donkey
Dashing Donkey Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 1 bridge frame
- 1 wooden donkey with a plastic basket
- 55 cards
- 4 boards for fruits
- 9 two-sided bridge pieces
- 9 apples
- 9 pears
- 9 oranges
- 9 plums
Before the Game Begins
Assemble the bridge frame into the box. Bridge pieces are shuffled and put in a pile with the picture side down. Each player takes a board and all the nine fruits that go with it. The fruits are placed on the board, one fruit in each hole. The Donkey is placed in front of the bridge.
The cards are shuffled and each player is dealt cards depending on the amount of players in the game:
- 4 players: four cards
- 3 players: five cards
- 2 players: six cards
The remaining cards are placed fruit side down in the centre of the play area to become the draw pile.
Aim of the Game
The Donkey is on its way from the farm to the big market in the town but the stubborn Donkey is not obeying the farmers and has left for the market on its own without the fruits. The players try to get as many fruits as possible from their farm to the Donkey's basket before it reaches the market on the other side of the bridge.
How to Play
The players look through their cards and the youngest player begins. On their turn a player can choose to play one of the following options:
Play a fruit card. S/he can play a card with a picture of his/her own fruit on it and put one of his/her fruits into the Donkey's basket. The card is placed in the discard pile, the player draws another card from the draw pile and the turn moves clockwise to the next player.
Play a bridge piece card. If s/he has a card with a picture of a bridge piece on it, by playing this card they can take the topmost piece from the bridge piece pile, turn it over and place it into the next available slot in the bridge. The first and the last bridge pieces are placed on the table. The Donkey is moved to stand on the new bridge piece. The bridge piece also shows a picture of a fruit or broken bridge piece on it.
If it shows a fruit, the player who is playing with that fruit gets to put one of their fruit into the basket. Then the turn moves to the next player.
If the bridge piece shows a picture of a broken bridge piece, the Donkey cannot move any further and no bridge pieces can be played before the broken bridge piece is fixed with a card that shows a picture of a perfect bridge. The player who fixes the bridge on their turn by playing a perfect bridge piece then turns the broken bridge piece upside down and gets to put one of their fruit into the basket. A new piece is added to the bridge and the Donkey is moved to stand on it.
Play a -1 card. With this card the player can remove any one of the fruits from the basket and return it to its owner.
Note! When removing a fruit from the basket, it's best to take the Donkey from the bridge into your hand first. After removing the fruit replace the Donkey on the bridge.
Discard. S/he can discard a card that has a picture of a fruit other than their own and take another card from the draw pile. The turn then goes to the next player.
- If s/he has only cards that are of no use, the player can choose to discard all their cards but it is mandatory that all cards are discarded and replaced.
Each time a player has played a card, they will pick up another card from the draw pile to keep their hand even. Then the turn moves clockwise to the next player.
Joker. This card replaces any other card. You can choose if you want to place one of your fruits into the basket, take a bridge piece, fix the bridge or remove a fruit from the basket.
The Winner
The game ends when the Dashing Donkey reaches the last piece of the bridge. All the fruits from the basket are counted and the player who has the most fruits in the basket wins. If two or more players are tied when the game ends, they count how many cards with their own fruit they have in their hand and the winner is the player who has the most. If the game is still tied then both players are winners.