Piranha Pedro
Piranha Pedro Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 game board
- 1 Pedro figure
- 7 piranhas
- 72 move cards
- 4 landscape cards
- 1 sombrero card
- more than 100 carrara stones
Preparation
- The game board goes in the middle of the table.
- The 7 piranhas are distributed onto the marked spaces of the board.
- Pedro starts on the palm tree space.
- The 4 landscape cards are laid along the 4 edges of the board. They show the 4 directions Pedro can walk in: Village, Sun, Waterfall and Jungle.
- Any player takes the sombrero card and places it in front of himself.
- The remaining cards are sorted by the colour of their backs. Each player picks a colour and takes the matching cards into his hand. Every player gets the same 12 move cards. With fewer than 6 players, sets of cards are left over; they are not needed for the game.
- The stones are piled up within easy reach. Each player takes 4 stones as his personal supply.
And off you go!
Starting Layout
Laid out around the board: the stone supply in one pile; the four landscape cards (Village, Sun, Waterfall, Jungle) against the four edges of the board; Pedro standing on the palm tree; the piranhas on their marked spaces; the sombrero card in front of one player; and in front of each player his set of move cards (red, green, yellow, …) together with his 4 stones.
Course of Play
The Move Round
All players at the same time choose one of their cards and place it face down in front of themselves.
The player with the sombrero card is the first to turn his card over. The card shows a direction and 1, 2 or 3 arrows; he moves Pedro that many spaces in the direction shown. (For example: "Pedro moves 1 space towards the Jungle.")
The played card is then put away — best of all, you push it face down half under the board.
Then it is your left neighbour's turn: he turns his card over and moves Pedro, and so on, until every player has had his turn.
When everyone has had a turn, the move round is over. The sombrero card passes to the left neighbour and the second move round begins: each player chooses a card from his remaining 11 hand cards.
Stones and Water
As long as Pedro walks on sand, nothing happens — there is no cost.
But before Pedro steps onto an empty water space, the moving player must sacrifice a stone from his own supply and lay it on that space. A move of 2 spaces over open water therefore costs 2 stones; a move of 3 spaces of which the first two are dry costs only 1 stone.
Stones that are already lying on the board stay there and can be used again. If you send Pedro back over spaces that another player has already paid for, you simply use the stones from his move and pay nothing.
If Pedro does not stand properly on a stone, swap that stone for another one rather than forcing the figure onto it.
Pedro Falls into the Water
The move round is broken off immediately as soon as a player
- has to lay a stone although he has none left, or
- has to move Pedro over the edge of the board, or
- has to move Pedro onto a piranha.
Note on the board edge: a player may not simply walk Pedro over the edge into the deep water — stones do not help there. Even a player with plenty of stones left is punished if his card sends Pedro off the board.
Note on the piranhas: never step on a piranha. Pedro entering or crossing a space with a piranha ends the round in the same way.
As a punishment the guilty player takes any piranha he likes from the board and places it in front of himself.
As soon as a player receives his 2nd piranha, he has lost and the game ends immediately.
All cards played in this move round are pushed half under the board — including the cards of the players who, because of the break-off, never got to turn theirs over. Those players do not have to reveal their cards.
Then the evaluation follows.
Evaluation
All players give back the stones they did not use, returning them to the general supply.
Now there is fresh supply of stones, awarded for the cards still in hand — that is, the cards that are not lying under the board:
- For each move card with 1 arrow: take 1 stone from the supply.
- For each pair of move cards with 2 arrows: take 1 stone from the supply.
- For a single card with 2 arrows, and for cards with 3 arrows: no stones at all.
Courage and risk-taking are thus rewarded — the shorter the round was, the more cards you still hold and the more stones you get.
Afterwards every player takes back all the cards he pushed under the board, so that everyone holds all 12 cards again.
Pedro is put back on the last space he safely entered before he fell into the water.
The sombrero card is passed on to the left neighbour as usual, and a new move round begins with fresh equipment.
The End of the Game
As soon as a player receives his 2nd piranha, he has lost and the game ends. All the other players have won.
The Two-Player Game
The game also works with two players. The following changes apply:
- The player with the sombrero card lays out 2 cards face down instead of 1. He first turns over only one card and moves Pedro. Then it is his fellow player's turn with his single card. Finally the sombrero player turns over his second card and moves Pedro once more.
- Then the sombrero card passes to the other player, who now plays 2 cards while the first plays 1, and so on.
- Playing with two, the game ends as soon as a player collects his 3rd piranha.
Rare Situations
- All move cards have been played: the players take all 12 cards back into their hands and carry on playing with the full choice.
- There are not enough stones: no player receives new stones when an evaluation takes place.
Complete Short Rules
The checklist page as printed in the publisher's own English edition of the rules comic.
Contents
1 game board, 1 Pedro-figure, 7 piranhas, 72 move cards, 4 landscape cards, 1 sombrero card, more than 100 carrara stones.
Preparations
- Put all seven piranhas on the marked fields.
- Put Pedro on the palmtree field.
- Put a landscape card on each side of the game board.
- One of the players takes the sombrero card.
- Each player takes a set of move cards (each set contains 12 cards with the same backside color) in hand.
- Each player gets a private stock of 4 stones.
Game play — Move round
- Each player chooses one of his hand cards and puts it face-down in front of him.
- The player with the sombrero card shows his card first and moves Pedro the number of fields that is shown on the move card (1, 2 or 3 arrows). Note: before Pedro can step on a water field the player has to place one of his stones on it. After the player has moved Pedro he shoves the card he has played face-down half under the game board.
- The sombrero card is passed on to the left neighbor and a new move round begins.
Pedro falls into the water
The move round ends immediately when:
- a player has to place a stone on a water field but has none left in his stock, or
- a player has to move Pedro over the edge of the game board, or
- Pedro lands on or crosses a field with a piranha.
Now the player has to take one of the piranhas from the board as a punishment. He may choose which one and places it in front of him.
All played move cards are now shoved face-down under the game board (including the ones that weren't shown in this round). Now the so far gained points are being counted:
Evaluation
All players give back the stones left in their stock. They will receive new ones for the cards they still got in hand:
| For 1 stone each | For no stones |
|---|---|
| every move card with 1 arrow | every single move card with 2 arrows |
| every 2 move cards with 2 arrows | move cards with 3 arrows |
After that each player again takes all 12 move cards back in hand. The sombrero card is passed on to the left neighbor. Pedro starts on the last safe entered field before falling into the water. A new move round begins.
The end
As soon as a player receives his 2nd piranha, he has lost the game and all other players win.
Game for 2 players
Some rules change:
- The player with the sombrero card plays not 1 but 2 move cards. He turns over one of the cards and moves Pedro. Then it is his opponent's turn. After that he turns over the second card and moves Pedro again.
- The game ends as soon as a player receives his 3rd piranha.
Rare situations
- All move cards have been played: All players again take a full hand of 12 cards and continue the game.
- There aren't enough stones: None of the players get new stones when an evaluation occurs (see above).