Food Chain (2017) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • 1. Play Animals
  • 2. Snatch Animals
  • 3. Secure Animals
• End of a Round
• End of the Game

Components

Six card sets with differently coloured backs. Each card set consists of the following nine cards:

• 3 Worms
• 2 Birds
• 2 Cats
• 1 Dog
• 1 Flea

Each set also includes one Alpha Animal card. The number of stars printed on each animal card is that animal's point value.

Players: 3–6. Age: 7 and up. Playing time: about 15 minutes.

Setup

Each player chooses a colour and takes all nine cards of the matching set into hand.

The player who was most recently bitten by a flea becomes the Alpha Animal and places the Alpha Animal card in front of them.

Gameplay

All You Can Eat is played over several rounds. A round consists of nine passes. Each pass proceeds as follows:

1. Play Animals
2. Snatch Animals
3. Secure Animals

1. Play Animals

Everyone simultaneously chooses one animal from their hand and places it face down on the table in front of them. Then all played animals are revealed at the same time.

2. Snatch Animals

Now the big food chain comes into play. Each animal (except the Worm) has a favourite animal that it wants to snatch as many of as possible. A cat, for example, thinks about nothing but the bird all day long.

The played animals are resolved one after another in this order:

The Worms do nothing.

The Birds snatch the Worms: The players who played a Bird in this pass take turns, starting with the Alpha Animal and proceeding clockwise, each taking one of the played Worms or one Worm from the centre of the table (if there are any there – see Secure Animals). Whoever takes a Worm places it under their Bird.

Continue distributing in this way until all played Worms and all Worms from the centre of the table have been handed out. (Not all players necessarily take the same number of Worms.)

Example 1: Carsten and Sabrina have each played a Bird. As the Alpha Animal, Carsten may take a Worm first and place it under his Bird. Then Sabrina takes a Worm.

Then the Cats snatch the Birds in the same way.

Then the Dogs snatch the Cats in the same way.

Finally the Fleas snatch the Dogs.

Note: If you are allowed to take an animal, you always take all animals already lying under that animal as well. Place all animals taken in this way under your played animal.

Example 1 (continued): Now Tobias, the only player who played a Cat, may take the Birds of Carsten and Sabrina. He also takes the Worms lying under both Birds and places all these cards under his Cat. No Dog was played in this pass. Christoph played a Flea. He cannot snatch any animal, because no Dog was played in this pass and none lies in the centre of the table.

3. Secure Animals

There are now three possible outcomes for your played animal:

• Your animal was not snatched, and you were able to snatch at least one other animal. Lucky you! You may place your animal, and all animals lying under it, face down in front of you as your scoring pile.
• Your animal was not snatched, but you were not able to snatch any other animal. Bad luck! You go away empty-handed in this pass and must push your animal into the centre of the table. Exception: Fleas are instead returned to the game box, because no animal can snatch them.
• Your animal was snatched. Bad luck! You go away empty-handed in this pass.

Example 2: Some passes later, all players except Markus go away empty-handed in the "Snatch Animals" phase. Markus is the only player who played a Dog. Accordingly, he may snatch the two Cats of Sabrina and Tobias. In addition, he may take the Cat that is lying in the centre of the table from an earlier pass.

Markus snatched other animals, and his Dog was not snatched. Therefore, in the "Secure Animals" phase he places his Dog and the three Cats lying under it on his scoring pile. Carsten, Gabi and Christoph were not able to snatch anything with their Worms (Worms never snatch other animals). They go away empty-handed and must push their Worms into the centre of the table. Sabrina's and Tobias's Cats were snatched, so both of them also go away empty-handed.

End of a Round

As soon as everyone has played all of their hand cards, the round ends. Write down each player's points based on the animals in their scoring pile. Each animal is worth as many points as there are stars on its card.

Example: A Bird is worth two points.

Then immediately play the next round, preparing it as described in Setup. The player to the left of the old Alpha Animal becomes the new Alpha Animal and places the Alpha Animal card in front of them.

End of the Game

Once every player has been the Alpha Animal once, the game ends. The player who has collected the most points over all rounds wins. If several players have the most points, there are several winners.