Go Cuckoo!
Go Cuckoo! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
1 nesting site (= bottom part of can), 1 Kiki Cuckoo, 70 wooden sticks, 20 cuckoo eggs, 1 set of game instructions
Preparation
Place the nesting site in the middle of the table so that all players can easily reach it.
One player holds all the sticks inside the nesting site and then lets them fall to the sides.
The eggs are distributed evenly amongst all the players. Extra eggs are put to the side.
Place Kiki Cuckoo next to the nesting site.
How to Play
Play in a clockwise direction. The person who ate an egg most recently gets to begin.
How is the nest put together?
Pull a stick out of the nesting site – but of course without looking inside (Move 1). If the stick has two different colors, place it in front of you. Now you need to pull out a stick that has the same color on the top end as the last stick you pulled has on the bottom end (Move 2).
Each player has three tries per round to attempt to pull a stick with the same color on both ends (Move 3).
How does the egg end up in the nest?
If, after no more than three tries, you have pulled a stick with the same color on both ends, you can lay this stick (and the sticks you pulled before, if any) horizontally on top of the nesting site. After that you are allowed to place an egg from your pile in the nest.
If, after three tries, you have not pulled a stick with the same color on both ends, you can still lay the sticks you have pulled horizontally on top of the nesting site. But you are not allowed to place an egg in the nest.
Then the next player takes their turn.
Examples
Tom pulls a stick with the colors red (top) and green (bottom). He places the stick in front of him. Then he pulls a stick with a green end. It is blue on the other end. Now Tom is allowed to pull one more stick: It is blue on both ends. Now he can lay all three sticks horizontally on the top of the nesting site and place an egg from his pile in the nest.
Maria pulls a stick with the colors red (top) and green (bottom). She places the stick in front of her. Then she pulls a stick with a green end. It is blue on the other end. Now Maria is allowed to pull one more stick: It is yellow on the bottom end. Now she can lay all three sticks horizontally on the top of the nesting site, but cannot place an egg in the nest.
Important nest-building rules
- If there are no sticks with a matching color to pull, you are allowed to pull the stick of your choice.
- When continuing to build the nest, place the sticks horizontally over the nesting site between the sticks still standing up. But you can also use the sticks to build the nest on the outside.
- If one or more sticks fall out of the nest, you need to place them horizontally back inside the nest and your turn is over immediately.
Oh No, an Egg Has Fallen!
With such complicated nest building, it can happen that an egg comes crashing down or slides deeper into the nest or onto the bottom of the nesting site.
- One or more eggs fall out of the nest: If one or more of the eggs fall out of the nest and onto the table during your turn, you have to place them with your other eggs.
- One or more eggs slide into the nesting site: If one or more eggs slip deeper into the nest during your turn, meaning that it falls below the edge of the can, you have to take an egg from the player with the most eggs left and add it to your own pile. If two or more players have the same number of eggs, you can choose whose egg to take.
- You are responsible for the nest until the next player touches a stick. If one or more sticks or eggs fall out of the nest or the nesting site before they do so, it is as if it happened during your turn.
- If a player knocks against the table or the nest when it is not their turn, causing one or more sticks or eggs to fall out of the nest or the nesting site, it is as if it happened during their turn.
Placing Kiki Cuckoo in the Nest
Were you able to place all your eggs in the nest? Great, now you just need to help Kiki Cuckoo to get on top of them! If you don't have any eggs left when your turn starts, then take Kiki Cuckoo and place her carefully in the nest.
Now the all-important question: Does everything in the nest stay stable, or does something fall down?
- A wooden stick falls down: Oh no, your nest isn't built well. Take Kiki Cuckoo out of the nest again and place her next to it. Then rebuild all the sticks that have fallen down so that they are horizontally in the nest again. Your turn is over and it's the next player's turn.
- An egg falls down: The same rules apply for eggs throughout the whole game (see: Oh No, an Egg Has Fallen!). Take Kiki Cuckoo out of the nest again and place her next to it. Your turn is over and it's the next player's turn.
- Kiki Cuckoo falls out of the nest: Place Kiki Cuckoo next to the nest and try your luck again in the next round. It's the next player's turn.
End of the Game
The game ends when a player can place Kiki Cuckoo in the nest without any eggs or wooden sticks falling out. Whoever manages this has won the game and can call him or herself the Cuckoo building champ!
If all the sticks are built into the nest before anybody can place Kiki Cuckoo on top of it, then the player with the least eggs has won. There can be multiple winners in the event of a tie.