Savannah Café
Savannah Café Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 1 game board
- 12 animal pawns: 4 gazelles, 4 lions and 4 hippopotamuses
- 27 movement cards
- 1 rule book
Objective
The objective of the game is to be the first to get one animal (gazelle, lion or hippopotamus) to the café.
Preparation
Each player chooses a color and takes the three pawns (gazelle, lion and hippo) in that color. These pawns are placed on the spaces marked with the corresponding animal mask on the board.
The cards are shuffled, and three are dealt to each player. The players look at their cards, and place them face down (mask side up) in front of themselves. The rest of the cards form the deck which is placed face down beside the board in a place where all players can reach it.
The youngest player begins the game. Players then take turns in clockwise order.
The Cards
The back of the cards has a mask. This mask indicates which type of animal is moved by the card.
Each animal may be moved the number of spaces (from the minimum to the maximum number) as shown in the front of the card.
There are two types of cards for each animal.
Gazelle Cards
- 0: The gazelle is grazing and remains in the current space.
- 1 to 9: The gazelle sprints forward 1 to 9 spaces.
Lion Cards
- 1: The lion moves forward 1 space.
- 1 to 4: The lion moves forward 1 to 4 spaces.
If a lion ends its move on the same space as the gazelle of an opposing player, the gazelle is eaten. The eaten gazelle is immediately moved to the gazelle starting space and will restart the race as a new gazelle.
NOTE: A lion never eats a gazelle if the lion has been moved backwards by a roaring Hippopotamus (see below).
Hippopotamus Cards
- 1 to 2: The hippo moves forward 1 to 2 spaces.
- −1 to −8: The hippo does not move, but the player moves back an opponent's lion up to 8 spaces. The lion does not need to be on the same space as the roaring hippo.
Playing the Game
On his turn a player must perform one of the following two options:
- Draw the top card from the deck, look at it and then place it face down next to the three cards in front of him. The player then flips over one of the four cards, and moves the corresponding animal according to the number on the front of the card; or
- Draw the top card from the deck, do not look at it, place it face down in front of an opponent and then take one of that opponent's cards. The player then looks at this new card and adds it to the cards in front of him. He then flips over one of his four cards and moves his animal according to the card.
Each player will always have three cards in front of them at all times.
When the deck is depleted, shuffle the discards to form a new draw pile.
End of the Game
The game ends as soon as any animal arrives at the café. The owner of that animal wins the game.
Variant Rules
Memory variant: instead of shuffling the discards, simply turn the stack over to form the new draw pile.
Strategic Suggestions
Gazelles do no always win the race. Savannah Café has many subtleties which you will discover once you have played a few times. After the first couple of races, the competition will become much fiercer. Here are some observations and suggestions that should put you on track.
There is only a limited number of each card that will advance each of the three animals. Given that, there are two basic strategies that you should employ:
- Try to count the cards that have been played.
- Try to keep the cards that are likely to help the others or to obstruct you.
Some examples of tactics for each animal:
The Gazelle Strategies
Remember that there are only three cards that move the gazelle. If you have them, keep them instead of playing them at the beginning of the game. Your opponents will think that you are keeping them because they are grazing gazelles. Also, if you mix the cards in front of you, your opponents will have a harder time taking your good cards from you.
The Lion Strategies
If you have the cards for it, advance your lion 4 spaces on the first turn. That will keep the gazelles in range if they try to get a quick lead. As soon as the gazelles get ahead, you should try to catch them and send them back to the beginning.
Try to collect the roaring hippopotamus cards, either by drawing them from the draw pile, or by taking them from your opponents' face down cards. Keep them to force an opponent to retreat his lion at a good time. Obviously, advance your own lion whenever practical.
The Hippopotamus Strategies
Nothing can stop a hippopotamus. So, advance the Hippo on the first turn of the race, if you have the cards. Try to monopolise all of the hippopotamus cards by taking them from opponents and the draw pile.
General Strategies
Obviously, by memorizing the cards already played, players can have a better idea of the cards that their opponents could have face down in front of them. This is particularly true when playing the "Memory" variant, because it allows good card counters to predict the order of the cards in the draw pile.