Pet Quartet Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • 4-Player Setup Example
• Overview
• Gameplay
  • Playing a Round
  • Additional Rules
  • Ending a Round
• Game End
• Scoring
  • Scoring Example
  • Advanced Scoring (Optional)
• Maestro Tiles (Optional Variant)
• Duet Tiles (2-Player Variant)
• Quick Rules

Components

• 88 Musician Cards. Each musician card is marked with a number from 3 to 13, which corresponds to one type of pet and a type of musical ensemble. For example, the 4s are a turtle rock band, and the 9s are all jazz cats. The number on each card indicates how many cards of that type are in the deck. In other words, there are exactly three 3s in the deck. Likewise, there are four 4s, five 5s, and so on.
• 6 Conductor Tokens
• 6 Maestro Tiles (Optional Variant)
• 3 Duet Tiles (For 2-Player Games)

Setup

1. Prepare the deck by removing certain cards and returning them to the box as follows:

Players	Cards to Return to the Box
2	All of the 10, 11, 12, and 13 cards.
3	All of the 11, 12, and 13 cards.
4	All of the 12, and 13 cards.
5	All of the 13 cards.
6	None (Use all of the cards).

2. Shuffle the deck of cards and place it within reach of all players.
3. Beneath the deck, place one Conductor token per player, approximately a card's length apart. (Place 4 Conductor tokens in a 4-player game, for example.)
4. Choose someone to be the first player for the first round. Perhaps, the player who most recently pet an animal should go first.

Rules for the Maestro and Duet tiles can be found on pages 8 and 9.

4-Player Setup Example

Cards will be placed in the space beneath each conductor.

Overview

Pet Quartet is a set-collection game in which players adopt musical pets, represented by cards. Your goal is to collect cards of the same number, however, you only score points for soloists and quartets! That is, for each type of animal, you only want to have exactly one card from that set, or exactly four cards from that set.

Gameplay

The game is played over the course of many rounds in which each player collects at least one card. Once the last card of the deck is drawn, the end of the game is triggered. Finally, players score points for their soloists and quartets, and the player with the most points wins.

Playing a Round

The first player for the round draws a card from the deck and places it in front of any Conductor token, which ends their turn. Players then take turns in clockwise order, around the table.

On your turn you must either:

Draw a Card

Draw the top card of the deck and reveal it face up. Choose one of the Conductors in the center of the table and place the card beneath it. Partially cover any other cards already placed there so that the numbers on all cards are visible.

OR

Take a Conductor

Choose a Conductor in the center of the table. Take all of the cards from beneath the Conductor and place them face up in front of you. Finally, place the Conductor token in front of you to indicate that you are out of the round.

You may not take a Conductor without any cards beneath it.

Additional Rules

• Each Conductor may only have 4 cards. You may not place a 5th card beneath a Conductor.
• If there is nowhere to place a card, you must instead "take a Conductor" for your turn, as described on pg. 6.
• You may not draw a card and take a Conductor on the same turn. You must do one or the other.
• You must arrange the cards in front of you into sets of the same number and splay them, so that other players can easily see how many cards of each number you have collected. (See pg. 9.)

Ending a Round

Once you have taken a Conductor token, you are out for the round. All of your future turns will be skipped until every player has taken a Conductor. When the last Conductor is taken, the round ends. Return all Conductor tokens to the center of the table and begin a new round. The player who took the last Conductor token in the previous round will be the first player for the new round.

Game End

When the last card of the deck is drawn, the end of the game is triggered and each player takes one last turn. You are not required to take a pile on your last turn. You may choose to pass instead.

Once all players have taken their final turn, the game is over and players check their scores.

Scoring

Players score 1 point for each of their soloists and 1 point for each of their quartets. The player with the most points wins.

Tiebreaking:

• In the case of a tie, the tied player with the lowest-valued quartet wins.
• If the players are still tied, the player with the highest-valued soloist wins.
• And if the players are somehow still tied, the tied players share the victory in perfect harmony.

Scoring Example

Patrick: 1 + 0 + 1 + 1 + 0 = 3 points

Sarah: 1 + 1 + 0 + 1 + 0 = 3 points

Patrick and Sarah are tied, but Sarah has the lowest-valued quartet (5) so Sarah wins!

Advanced Scoring (Optional)

Each quartet scores 4 points. Each soloist scores its full numbered value. The tiebreaking rules are unchanged.

In the example above, Patrick scores 4 + 0 + 4 + 9 + 0 = 17 points. Sarah scores 4 + 4 + 0 + 4 + 0 = 12 points. So if they had chosen to play with the advanced scoring, Patrick would have won the game instead of Sarah!

Maestro Tiles (Optional Variant)

For a more dynamic game, try playing with the Maestro tiles.

During setup for the game, place a random Maestro tile in front of each Conductor token. Each Maestro tile adds a special rule that applies to that Conductor.

• No more than 2 cards may be placed beneath this Conductor. (A third card may not be added.)
• When you take this Conductor, you must draw a random card from the deck and keep it.
• When you take this Conductor, you must first choose one of its cards to return to the box.
• When you take this Conductor, you must first choose one of your previously collected cards to return to the box.
• When you place a card beneath this Conductor, take the Conductor and its cards if you like.
• When you take this Conductor you must choose one card to pass to the player on your left. It can be one you collected this turn or previously.

Duet Tiles (2-Player Variant)

For a more dynamic 2-player experience, try playing with the Duet tiles instead of the Maestro tiles.

Set the game up for a 3-player game, using the cards numbered 3-10 and 3 Conductor tokens. Place the 3 Duet tiles beneath the Conductors. The Duet tiles limit how many cards may be played beneath each Conductor. Once both players have taken a Conductor, the round ends and any cards beneath the remaining Conductor are discarded face up off to one side, where players may see them.

• A 3rd card may not be placed here.
• A 4th card may not be placed here.
• A 5th card may not be placed here.

Quick Rules

Prepare the deck:

Players	Cards to Return to the Box
2	All of the 10, 11, 12, and 13 cards.
3	All of the 11, 12, and 13 cards.
4	All of the 12, and 13 cards.
5	All of the 13 cards.
6	None (Use all of the cards).

Use 1 Conductor per player.

On your Turn:

• Draw a Card ...and place it beneath a Conductor.
• OR Take a Conductor ...and their cards. You are out of the round.

Scoring:

• 1 POINT per Soloist
• 1 POINT per Quartet
• Advanced Scoring (optional): Soloists score their value. Each quartet scores 4 points.