MOW
MOW Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Aim
To have the fewest flies in your cowshed at the end of the game.
Contents
Each packet contains 48 cow cards for a total of 74 flies.
- 15 cows, numbered from 1 to 15, without any flies
- 13 cows, numbered from 2 to 14, with 1 fly each
- 11 cows, numbered from 3 to 13, with 2 flies each
- 3 cows numbered 7, 8 and 9 with three flies each
- 6 special cows with a super power… and five flies!
- 1 arrow card showing the direction of play
- 4 illustration cards (green packet I to IV — yellow packet V to VII)
How to Play
If there are 3 to 5 players, use the green packet. If there are 6 to 10 players, use both packets. In both cases, shuffle the cards well.
Each farmer is dealt five cow cards. The remainder are left facedown in the centre of the table. The farmer who starts the game places the arrow card in front of him pointing towards his lefthand neighbour. He plays a first card from his hand in the centre of the table and takes a new card from the deck. Then each farmer in turn adds a cow with either a greater or lower number than those already played and takes a new card from the deck!
For example, if the cow already on the table is numbered somewhere between 7 and 11, you can add a cow with a number less than 7 or greater than 11.
Special Cows (Green Packet)
- Blocking cow — Play this cow to block off one end of the line.
- Acrobatic cow — Play this cow on another cow with the same number. This card cannot be played unless the requisite cow is already part of the herd and has the same number (7 or 9).
- Slowpoke cow — Insert this cow into the line in place of a missing number. For example, it can take the place of the 6, 7 or 8 between the 5 and the 9.
A farmer who plays a special cow with 5 flies from the green packet can, if he wishes, change the direction of play. In this case, he takes the arrow card, pointing it left or right as he prefers. The game continues in the direction shown by the arrow.
Special Cows (Yellow Packet)
- Blocking cow — Play this cow to block off one end of the line.
- Calf — Play this card at the end of the line, next to a cow without any flies (that is, with a green background). Its value is one more or one less than the cow next to it. If placed next to the 1, its value is 0. (No further cows may be placed next to a cow worth 0!)
- Thin cow — The player who added this card to the herd does not take a replacement card at the end of his turn.
- Dairy cow — The player who added this card to the herd takes two replacement cards instead of 1.
- Mad cow — Replace the 8 cow with this cow and add the 8 cow to your hand. Do not take an additional card from the deck. Whilst there is a mad cow in the herd, only cows with flies can be added to the herd.
A farmer who plays a special cow with 5 flies from the yellow packet can, if he wishes, choose who the next player will be. The game continues normally with that player's turn.
Bring the Herd into the Cowshed
A farmer who CANNOT or DOES NOT WANT to add a cow to the line takes all the cards in the herd and places them face down in his cowshed. Then, he starts a new herd. Each fly in a cowshed produces 1 embarrassment point at the end of the game.
End of the Round and End of the Game
Once the last cow is taken from the deck, the game continues until a farmer takes the last herd. Then the farmers add all the cows remaining in their hand to their cowshed. They add up all the flies present in their cowshed and add this to their running total.
A game of MOW is played over several rounds: as soon as a farmer has accumulated 100 flies at the end of a round, the game ends. The winner is the farmer with the fewest flies.
Often, the loser can be heard imitating the sound of a cow….in shame and sadness!
Head to Head (2 Farmers)
Use the green packet.
This is played with three separate herds, laid out in a star shape. The cards can be stacked for ease of play. At the beginning of each round, the arrow points clockwise. The first farmer starts a herd. Then the second farmer starts a second herd. Then the first farmer starts a third herd. Then the second farmer continues with the first herd etc. Thus there are three herds on the table being completed alternately.
When a farmer CANNOT or DOES NOT WANT to add a cow, he takes the herd and starts a new herd in its place without affecting the other two. When the deck is empty and one of the farmers takes one of the three herds, the round ends. Neither farmer collects points for the two remaining herds. All the other rules stay the same.
Thanks
We'd like to thank cows from around the world as, without them, this game would not exist.
Hurrican guarantees that no cow was hurt or mistreated during development of this game.