Serengeti: A Race For Life Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setting Up the Game
• Turn Sequence
• Activation
• The Savannah
• Game End
• Card Reference
  • Trail, Drought and Infestation Cards
  • Special Cards

Components

• 1 competition track
• 2 wooden markers
• 10 trail cards
• 2 player cards
• 12 event cards:
  • 8 droughts
  • 4 infestations
• 80 wildlife cards:
  • 72 animal cards (8 types)
  • 8 rocks (one per animal)
• 16 special cards:
  • 8 scorpions
  • 8 carcasses

Setting Up the Game

1. Place the competition track between the players. It will be used to represent how players cope with various threats during the game. Place the small marker supplied with the game in the middle.

2. Leave some room on the side of the board, as indicated. This is the Savannah and will be used to lay lion cards during the game.

3. Create the supply in easy reach of the players: group animals by type to form 8 stacks. Then shuffle the rock card associated with each animal into the relevant stack. Ensure the rocks are not at the very top of the stacks (reshuffle if necessary).

4. Add the special cards, scorpions and carcasses, to the supply.

5. Shuffle the event deck and place it to the side of the board, opposite to the Savannah. Place the large marker supplied with the game near the event deck.

6. Give each player 5 trail cards as a starting hand. Leave room for a discard pile and draw deck on each player's side of the playing area.

7. Choose a starting player randomly and tuck the 'player A' card on their side of the board. Note that the 'player B' card is not required and may be returned to the box. They then draw a new hand of 5 cards.

Turn Sequence

The game takes place over a number of turns, ending after twelve seasons if no other game end condition has been met before (see 'Game End').

At the start of each season, the first player reveals the event at the top of the stack and places it on their side of the play area.

If it is a drought card, place the large marker supplied with the game onto the stack matching the animal in the supply. If an infestation occurs, place a scorpion card in each player's discard pile instead.

That player then takes their turn, playing cards from their hand in front of them to activate abilities, each time expending costs as required (see 'Activation'). Leave cards played in this manner in front of the player until their turn is finished.

The cards players acquire during the game are placed in a face up stack to one side of their player area, in their discard pile, unless stated otherwise. Players may look through their own discard pile at any time, but only the top card is visible to their opponent.

When they can no longer play cards from their hand, or do not wish to play any more, they then place all the cards in front of them as well as any remaining cards in their hand into their discard pile.

If they cannot draw the cards needed to replenish their hand during this step, they must first draw all the cards left in their current draw deck before shuffling their discard pile to form a new face-down stack. This is the player's new draw deck and the remaining cards are drawn from it.

Important: players may not refresh their deck if they have exactly the number of cards needed to replenish their hand, nor half way through their turn. In addition, they may not look through their draw deck, unless a card allows them to search it.

Last, they pass the event card to their opponent, who places it in front of them. Then the second player takes their turn, under the same drought conditions the first player was affected by, if applicable.

Once the second player is finished with their turn, a new season begins, starting with revealing a new event from the deck (return last season's event back to the box).

Activation

Animal skills and other cards abilities often require an activation cost to be paid before their effects can be applied.

This cost represents the effort or energy necessary to perform the action and is usually depicted using 'sun' icons. Some abilities may require the use of specific cards in addition to their 'sun' cost however.

All cards in the player's hand feature a sun on their back and can be used to power up other cards abilities.

Players cover these activation costs by placing cards face down under the card they wish to use. It is up to the players to decide which cards they use to meet these costs.

Example 1: the trail basic effect's cost is paid for with a card of the player's choice. The card used to pay for the effect does not have to be revealed.

Example 2: the skill described in the bottom part of the elephant card is paid for with 3 cards of the player's choice. In addition, another elephant must be played from that player's hand.

Example 3: the skill described in the top part of the antelope card does not have a cost. This means that the card can be played by itself, with no additional card required alongside it.

The Savannah

The area running along the side of the game board is called the Savannah and is an important part of the game to be in control of.

By expending 4 suns, players will be able to lay a lion in the Savannah. At the end of the game, the player with the most lion cards there will gain 3 victory points.

Note that lions sent to the Savannah do not count towards the total of specimens for that species in the players' deck when their content is evaluated at game end.

Game End

A game of Serengeti ends when one of the following condition occurs:

1. the entire event deck, twelve seasons, have been played through;
2. rocks are visible at the top of 5 animal stacks;
3. the marker on the competition track reaches one of the spots marked with a '5' on the track.

If one of the above condition occurs at any point during a player's turn, finish the current season, then play one final season if there are any cards left in the event deck.

Players then collect all of their cards, save for those in the Savannah, and separate them by card type in front of them.

Trails and scorpion cards can be returned to the game box, but carcasses must be kept in front of the players, along with the animals.

For each animal type, the player with the most specimens earns 1 victory point. The player with the most carcasses on the other hand loses 2 points.

Players then check for majority in the Savannah, worth an additional 3 points. Last the value indicated on the competition track is added to the score of the player the track is in favour of.

The player with the most points wins the game. In case of a tie, the player who placed the most lions in the Savannah wins. If there is still no clear winner, the score on the competition track decides the outcome, otherwise players share the victory.

Card Reference

Trail, Drought and Infestation Cards

Trail

• Expend 1 sun to track 1 animal and add it to your discard pile. This animal may not be located under a rock.
• Swap 1 rock located on top of an animal stack in the supply with the animal card right below it.

Drought

• Players may not track the animal affected by the drought card this season. The skills of this animal may be activated normally during the players' turn however.

Infestation

• At the start of the season, add 1 scorpion to the discard pile of every player.

Special Cards

Scorpion

• At the start of your turn, reveal all scorpions in your hand and move the marker on the competition track 1 step away from you for each scorpion revealed. Then place those scorpions in your discard pile.
• Draw 1 card from the top of your deck. Scorpions drawn in this manner are discarded but are not replaced.

Eagle

• Expend 1 sun to search your deck or discard pile for 1 scorpion and return it to the supply. Shuffle your deck afterwards if you searched it.
• Draw up to 2 cards from the top of your deck. Scorpions drawn in this manner are discarded but are not replaced.

Antelope

• Expend 1 sun to draw up to 4 cards. Choose 2 cards among those cards to add to your hand and place the others in your discard pile.
• Expend 2 suns to move the marker on the competition track 1 step towards you. Then add 1 carcass to your discard pile.

Lion

• Expend 4 suns to lay this lion in the Savannah. At the end of the game, the player with the most lions in the Savannah gains 3 points.

Hyena

• Expend 1 sun to search your deck or discard pile for 1 carcass and return it to the supply. Alternatively you may return 1 carcass from your hand instead. Shuffle your deck afterwards if you searched it.
• Search your deck or discard pile for 1 hyena and place it in front of you, or play 1 additional hyena from your hand. Remove the topmost card of an animal stack from the game. You may not remove a rock from the game. Shuffle your deck afterwards if you searched it.

Elephant

• Lay this animal face up next to your deck. At the end of your turn, draw cards as usual then add the elephants set aside in this manner during your turn back to your hand.
• Expend 3 suns and play 1 additional elephant from your hand to scare away 1 lion in the Savannah. Return it to its owner's discard pile.

Lizard

• Track 1 animal and add it to your discard pile. This animal may be located under a rock. Your turn then ends immediately.
• Expend 2 suns to track 1 animal and add it to your discard pile. This animal may be located under a rock.

Giraffe

• Look at the top 2 cards of any one stack. If you choose to inspect a stack in the supply, take it into your hand and peek under the top card to reveal the card just below.
• Expend 2 suns to track 1 animal and place it on top of your deck. This animal may not be located under a rock.

Monkey

• Expend 2 suns to choose a skill visible on one of the wildlife cards in the supply costing 0 or 1 sun and apply its effect (no additional cost is required). Skills with additional requirements and/or non-sun costs may not be chosen.
• Expend 1 sun to search your deck for an animal with a skill costing 0 or 1 sun and place it in front of you. Shuffle your deck then apply the effect of that 0/1 sun cost skill (no additional cost is required). Skills with additional requirements and/or non-sun costs may not be chosen.

Carcass

• Carcasses have no effect of their own during the game, but they may be used to pay activation costs of other cards.
• At the end of the game, the player with the most carcasses among the cards they have acquired during the game loses 2 points.