Jackal & High
Jackal & High Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 36 cards, consisting of:
- 27 animal cards (two sets numbered 1-7, one set numbered 9-21)
- 4 "Take 2" cards
- 4 "Lucky 8" cards
- 1 Vulture Valley card
- 15 eight-sided dice (eight-sided dice are called "dice" in the source; each player uses three dice of one colour)
Setup
Each player takes 3 eight-sided dice of one colour. Place 1 animal card face up in Vulture Valley, and place the rest of the animal cards face down in a stack nearby.
Laying Out the Cards
At the start of each round, take cards from the deck (one more than the number of players) and place them face up in a row in the centre of the table. Then, for each "Take 2" card you laid out, lay out one more card from the deck. If that card is also a "Take 2", lay out another card on top, and so on, until you draw a card of a different type (a numbered card or a "Lucky 8").
When laying out cards, arrange them so that all cards are clearly visible. The laid-out row may contain no more than one "Lucky 8" card. If more than one "Lucky 8" has been drawn, immediately remove the extra ones from the game.
Rolling and Placing Dice
Players take turns in clockwise order. A round consists of a maximum of three rolls for each player, and it ends when all players have placed their dice on the cards.
Several players' dice may be placed on the same card. A die placed on a card stays there until the end of the round.
Add up the numbers on your dice that are placed on one card; the result must not exceed the value of that card. If you have rolled but cannot place your die on any card, send it to "Vulture Valley". This is the only case in which you may place a die on that card.
Translator's note on the source's example box: the "Cannot" entry reads, as printed, "a roll result of red dice greater than 7". It is transcribed here as printed.
- Allowed: dice totals that do not exceed the value of the card, including totals equal to it.
- Not allowed: a roll result of red dice greater than 7 (as printed).
First Roll
On your turn, roll all of your dice and then place 1, 2 or all 3 of them on the animal cards on the table. If you place all three dice at once, you do not take part in further rolls in this round (you pass).
Example: the blue and yellow players each placed one die, the green player placed two, and the red and black players no longer take part in rolls this round, since all of their dice are already placed.
Second Roll
On your turn, roll all the dice you still have after the previous roll. After that, you must place at least one of them on one of the animal cards. If after the first roll you have only one die left, you may roll it up to three times, or stop earlier if you are satisfied with the result. If you place all of your remaining dice on the cards this turn, you skip the third roll.
Example: the green player was unlucky on all three attempts to roll their last remaining die. The last value rolled on it was 7, and the die went to Vulture Valley, because this result could not be placed on the cards or added to the player's already placed dice without exceeding the value of the laid-out cards, including in total. The yellow player placed both dice, and the blue player placed one of theirs. Therefore only the blue player takes part in the last roll of this round.
Third Roll
If you still have a die, you may roll it up to three times. After the first and second rolls, you decide whether to keep the value just rolled or to re-roll. The third attempt is the last: after it you must place the die on the cards or, if you cannot, place it on the "Vulture Valley" card.
End of the Round
After all players have placed their three dice on the cards, the round ends. (This may happen after the second roll or even the first roll.)
All dice whose value (individually or in total) does not exactly match the value of the card they are placed on are also sent to "Vulture Valley".
Example: 7 is not equal to 8, so the blue player's die is sent to "Vulture Valley". The totals of the black and green players' dice on this card exactly match its value.
Taking Animal Cards
1. No Rivalry
A player takes a card on which only their own dice are placed. If you take an animal card under which lies a "Take 2" card, you also take that "Take 2" card.
Example: the yellow player takes card 5.
2. Rivalry
If dice from several players are on a card, all the contenders for that card take part in a contest: they take their dice back from the card and roll them again. The player with the highest total of this roll receives the card. In case of a tie, the card goes to the player who rolled the fewest dice in the contest. If the number of dice is also equal in a tie, the dice are re-rolled.
Example: the blue and red players fight for animal card "6" and the "Take 2" card lying beneath it. Both results equal 7, but the blue player takes the cards, because they rolled only one die.
If you are lucky enough to get the "Lucky 8" card, you take all the laid-out cards of this round that have not been won by any player (not counting Vulture Valley).
Example: after competing for the "Lucky 8", the red, black or green player receives the cards "1" and "4", which no player has won.
Stack of Animal Cards
Place the cards you have won in a face-down stack in front of you. Always put new cards on top. If you received several cards during the round, you may arrange them in any order. "Take 2" cards are placed separately from this stack. "Lucky 8" is discarded.
Meanwhile, in Vulture Valley...
If the "Vulture Valley" card holds dice of only one player, that player must do one of two things:
- Take the animal card laid out there.
- If there is no such card there, lay the top card from their own stack of animal cards into Vulture Valley.
If dice of several players are in "Vulture Valley", the players take them back and make one roll:
- The player with the higher roll takes the animal card laid out there, if there is one.
- The player with the lower roll lays the top card from their already collected stack of animal cards into Vulture Valley. If they do not yet have any animal cards, Vulture Valley remains empty.
In case of a tie, the same rules apply as for contests over animal cards (the player with the fewest dice rolled takes the card laid out in Vulture Valley; if there is no such card, that player simply does not lose one of the cards they have previously won).
Example: the green player beats the blue player in the contest for the card in Vulture Valley. Therefore the "6" card recently received by the blue player is immediately sent to Vulture Valley. If the blue player had won the contest, Vulture Valley would remain empty, since the green player does not yet have any won cards.
Start of a New Round
The row of cards in play is refilled from the deck according to the rules described above. The rivals prepare their dice, and the first player to act is the player seated to the left of the player who started the previous round.
End of the Game
The game ends when, at the start of a round, the row of animal cards in play cannot be laid out in full. Players add up the number of paws on the cards they have won during the game. The player with the most paws on their cards becomes the winner: they have gathered the largest pack in the savanna! In case of a tie, the winner is the player holding the card with the highest value.