Nino Delfino Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Before the First Game
• Setup
• Goal of the Game
• Important Note for Parents
• Let's Go!
  • Drawing a Card
  • Moving a Seal
  • Operating Nino Delfino
  • Reaching the Goal
• End of the Game
• Variant for Younger Players

Contents

• 1 game board made of three puzzle pieces (the bay)
• 1 water fountain with a movable dolphin
• 8 seals
• 16 balls in four colours, one ball per colour as a spare
• 30 action cards
• 4 swim rings
• 1 sand castle

Before the First Game

Punch the small chips out of the swim rings. They are not needed in the game.

Setup

Assemble the game board from its three puzzle pieces into a bay and place it in the middle of the table.

Place the water fountain in the middle of the game board and let it snap into the recess.

Have an adult mount the dolphin. Carefully push it onto the lever in the middle of the fountain. You may pull the lever out of the water to do this. Nino is seated correctly when he has clicked into place audibly. After the game, Nino must be removed again: fold him backwards and pull him out of the holder.

Shuffle all the cards well and place them as a face-down stack next to the game.

Attach the sand castle to the game board. It goes at the end of the beach path, next to the message bottle.

Each player takes two seals, one swim ring and three balls of one colour. Place one ball in your swim ring. The other two balls go on the backs of your two seals. Place both seals in front of the starting field, which you recognise by the small crab.

With two or three players, return the remaining seals, balls and swim rings to the box.

Goal of the Game

The goal is to be the first to bring two balls home to the sand castle.

Important Note for Parents

Before the first game, let all children try out the dolphin's jumping a few times. Make sure the children:

• do not turn the movable cover of the fountain;
• do not pull the dolphin out of the device;
• get a feel for how hard they need to press the lever.

Under certain circumstances, the dolphin could knock over a seal. Younger children find it easier to make the dolphin leap by pressing twice:

• press once: the dolphin turns;
• press once more: the dolphin jumps.

Let's Go!

The youngest player begins. Play then continues clockwise.

Drawing a Card

Draw the top card of the stack. It shows how many spaces you must move one of your seals along the beach path, and whether Nino Delfino jumps out of the water:

• 1 space forward + Nino Delfino jumps once
• 2 spaces forward + Nino Delfino jumps once
• 3 spaces forward + Nino Delfino jumps once
• 2 spaces forward, Nino Delfino does not jump

Set the drawn cards aside for the moment. When the stack is used up, shuffle the cards and place them face down next to the game again.

Moving a Seal

Move one of your seals clockwise along the beach path by as many spaces as are shown on the card.

• Only one seal may stand on a space at a time.
• Occupied spaces are skipped when moving and are not counted.
• You can always move only one of your two seals.

Tip: Think carefully about which seal you move, because there are safe and unsafe spaces. Nino can only reach the unsafe spaces and steal the ball there. It is best to move the seal that reaches a safe space. You will soon find out which spaces are safe.

If you can only move onto unsafe spaces with both seals, you must do so with one of the seals. But perhaps you are lucky and Nino jumps out of the water at a completely different place ...

Operating Nino Delfino

If the card you drew also shows Nino Delfino, let Nino jump out of the water. To do this, press the lever on the water fountain all the way down.

• If Nino jumps to a space on which no seal is standing, you were lucky and the next player's turn begins.
• If Nino reaches a seal, he steals its ball. Bad luck! Move the affected seal back to the start of the beach path. Unfortunately it must begin again from the beginning. Take the ball away from Nino and place it back on the back of the affected seal. Then the next player's turn begins.

Tip: If you draw a card showing Nino, you may decide for yourself whether to move one of your seals first or to make Nino jump first. Think carefully about which action to take first, because sometimes this is how you can put yourself out of Nino's reach.

Reaching the Goal

The sand castle next to the game board also counts as a space. Once you have reached it, any surplus steps are forfeited. Unload your ball here. Well done!

If you have brought a ball into the sand castle, place your seal back at the start. Put the ball that is still in your swim ring on the back of your seal. The seal now helps to bring the second ball to the goal.

End of the Game

The game is won by the player who is first to bring two balls into the sand castle.

Variant for Younger Players

If younger players are taking part, you may also like to play the following simplified variant. It is played as in the basic game, with the following exceptions:

• Remove the four cards showing the picture illustrated in this variant (in the booklet) from the game.
• Take only one seal per player.
• Always carry out the turn in this order: draw a card, move the seal, and only then operate the dolphin.