Feed the Ducks
Feed the Ducks Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
Feed the Ducks is a board game for two to four players. Each game lasts about 20 minutes.
Players drop breadcrumbs into the pond, in order to attract the ducks. There are ducks in 4 colors. The first player to coerce all the ducks of his color into a single group wins.
The basic set includes components for a 2-player game. In order to play 3- or 4-player games you need the additional ducks and counters (red and blue).
Material
This is what you need in order to play Feed the Ducks:
- A board depicting a pond with 61 hexagonal spaces.
- 12 white ducks, 12 black ducks (plus 8 red ducks and 6 blue ducks optionally).
- A breadcrumb (not included) — see tip below.
- One white counter, one black counter (plus one red counter and one blue counter optionally).
- A carrying case.
Game Preparation
Each player chooses a player color and takes the corresponding counter; the counters just show which player is which color. Also put the appropriate number of ducks of each player color in the pond, as indicated in this table:
| Players | Ducks per player |
|---|---|
| 2 | 12 |
| 3 | 8 |
| 4 | 6 |
To set up the pond, fill the outer edge of the pond (one duck per space): Starting with White, players take turns counterclockwise placing any duck on an edge space of the pond.
Variant: Just place the ducks randomly, but be sure there are no more than 2 ducks of the same color grouped together.
Example of 3-player setup (diagram).
Take a breadcrumb and place it next to the board.
The game can start now. White plays first.
Game Rules
The game is played in turns, counterclockwise. White starts by placing the breadcrumb on any empty space on the board.
Now, any and every duck in the six lines radiating out from the breadcrumb moves straight toward the breadcrumb as far as it can. There will never be more than one duck in a space, and the ducks stop just before they reach the breadcrumb (a fish gets it first).
Duck movement (diagram).
Notice that every duck in the 6 directions must be moved:
Example: 6 ducks must move toward the breadcrumb (diagram).
End of movement (diagram).
Then the turn passes to the next player.
From now on, on your turn, you must take the breadcrumb and place it on an empty space of the board that is not on any of the six lines radiating from the breadcrumb's previous location…
Illegal breadcrumb placements, due to its current location (diagram).
… and then move the ducks toward the breadcrumb as usual.
Tip: If there is no breadcrumb handy, use your player disc instead. Then the next player uses hers, and easily sees where she can't place it. Once she places hers, she gives yours back to you.
Game End
For a 2 or 4 player game, the game ends when all the ducks of one color have gathered into a single connected group. For a 3-player game, the game ends when at least 7 ducks (all but one) of one color have gathered into a single group. The player of the corresponding color wins the game. In case of several winning groups are created simultaneously, the player who placed the game-ending breadcrumb chooses the winner from the tied players.
Example: White wins (diagram).
Advanced Variant for 3-Player Games
The game ends when all 8 ducks of one color have gathered into a single connected group, instead of only 7.