Sheep 'n' Sheep Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Game Objective
• Game Setup
• Flow of the Game
• Flow of a Turn
  • A. Replenish their hand by drawing 2 cards
  • B. Place one or more cards on your pasture
    • Common rules for placing cards
    • a) Place one or more cards of the same number
    • b) Place one or more consecutive number cards
    • c) Place one card of your choice
• Game End Condition
• Calculating VP
  • 1. Number of connected bells
  • 2. Hearts and Stars
  • 3. 1 VP Sheep
  • 4. Sheep groupings
  • 5. Pasture Oversize Penalty
• Winning

Contents

• 100 sheep cards. Each card shows: a number (1 to 5), the number of sheep (grouping condition), the victory points (VP) gained when the grouping condition is satisfied, and possibly a special effect icon (bell, heart, star, 1 VP sheep, or draw-one-card icon). There are 6 different colours of sheep.
• 7 bonus cards: used to count VP at the end of the game.
• 1 Start player card.

Game Objective

Each player places sheep cards (cards) in their own playing area (pasture) to earn the most victory points. There are grouping conditions on each card to gain VP. Cards of the same type that are connected orthogonally (to the top, bottom, right or left) are called a "group". The main way to earn VP is to group sheep together in the head count that they desire to be grouped.

For example, in the case of a single sheep grouping condition (2 VP), if there are no other cards of the same colour to the top, bottom, left or right, the player gains 2 VP.

In the case of a 4 sheep grouping condition (8 VP), you must have exactly 4 sheep in the group to gain 8 VP (i.e. no points for 3 or 5 sheep).

Game Setup

1. The player who most recently saw sheep in any form becomes the start player and receives the start player card. Otherwise, any other preferred method of choosing a start player will suffice. The start player card will remain in the same place without moving till the end of the game.
2. Ensure that each player has enough empty table space in front of them to place cards. This space will be each player's pasture.
3. Leave all the bonus cards to the side of the table.
4. The start player shuffles all the cards thoroughly face down. They then form a deck according to the number of players:
   • 2 players: Divide the cards into 2 equal decks. One of them will be the deck and set the other half aside as the stock.
   • 3 players: Divide the cards into 4 equal decks. Stack 3 of these decks together to form the deck and set the last deck aside as the stock.
   • 4 players: The whole deck is the deck.
5. The start player deals two cards from the deck to each player.
6. The start player draws 4 sets of two cards from the deck to form the replenishment area. The setup is now complete.

Flow of the Game

Play starts from the start player, performing turns clockwise until the end condition of the game is satisfied. When the end condition of the game is satisfied, play continues to the last player (such that all players have had an equal number of turns), then all players will perform one more turn. Please refer to Game End Condition for details.

Flow of a Turn

The player on turn must do ONE of the following two actions:

• A. Replenish their hand by drawing 2 cards.
• B. Place one or more cards on your pasture.

When a player has 0 cards, they must carry out option A, and if they have 6 or more cards, they must carry out option B. After carrying out A or B, it becomes the next player's turn.

A. Replenish their hand by drawing 2 cards

Choose one of the sets of 2 cards from the replenishment area and add that set of 2 cards to your hand. After that, draw two cards from the deck to form a new set in the replenishment area.

If there is a card with an icon that draws one card among the cards added to your hand, add 1 card for each card with this icon, and add the card from your deck to your hand.

B. Place one or more cards on your pasture

When this action is chosen, select one of the following three options to place cards in the pasture:

• a) Place one or more cards of the same number
• b) Place one or more consecutive number cards
• c) Place one card of your choice

Common rules for placing cards

• Once you have decided on the starting card (see below), use the starting card as the guide to lay the other cards.
• Cards must be placed such that they are perfectly contiguous with the top and bottom, left and right sides of cards already placed.
• You cannot lay a card on top of another card.
• Place cards one by one instead of placing them all at the same time.

a) Place one or more cards of the same number

Choose one card in the pasture. You may place one or more cards of the same number as that card.

• If you have not placed any cards yet in the pasture, the starting card will be the first card that you lay down. Place the other cards of the same number type contiguous to this one.
• If you already have one or more cards in the pasture, choose one of the cards in the pasture and make this card the starting card. Then, place one or more cards with the same number type contiguous to this one.

Example: Choose a starting card to start laying cards from. From the starting card, cards of the same number type (for example, 3s) are placed contiguously (up or down or left or right) in a connected string.

b) Place one or more consecutive number cards

Choose one card in the pasture. From this card, place a card string of consecutive numbers (1-2-3, 2-3-4-5, 4-3-2-1 etc.).

• If you have not placed any cards yet in the pasture, the starting card will be the smallest card in the sequence that you lay down. Place the other consecutive numbers contiguous to this card in sequence.
• If you already have one or more cards in the pasture, choose one of the cards in the pasture and make this card the starting card. Then, place one or more cards with consecutive sequential numbers contiguous to this one.

Example: Choose a starting card to start laying cards from. From the starting card, cards in consecutive sequence are placed contiguously (up or down or left or right) in a connected string. From a 4, you may choose to play a 5 and/or 3-2-1.

c) Place one card of your choice

First, discard 1 card from your hand. Then, place one card of your choice from your hand next to any card in your pasture.

Game hint: This option is not advised, only use it when absolutely necessary.

Game End Condition

When you are unable to form the 4th set in the replenishing area from the deck (i.e. the deck is empty), the game end is triggered. In a 2-3 player game, draw cards from the stock to replenish the sets for the rest of the game. In a 4 player game, carry on the game without replenishing the sets.

After all players have had an equal number of turns, all players now take one last action.

In the unlikely event that there are no sets left to carry out action A, do not draw any cards and do nothing instead.

Calculating VP

When the game is over, calculate the amount of VP obtained by using the following steps 1-5 in order:

1. Number of connected bells

Each player counts the number of connected cards with bell icons in their pasture. The players with the most connected bell icons gain the following bonuses: most bells: 8 VP, second most: 4 VP, third most: 2 VP. In the case of a tie, all tied players receive the points of the next rank down and the next rank is eliminated. (For example: if there are two players tied for 2nd place, they receive 2 VP each and since the 3rd place is treated as 4th place, no points are given for 3rd place.)

2. Hearts and Stars

Each player counts the number of heart icons in their pasture. Unlike bells, these do not need to be adjacent. The players with the most heart icons gain the following bonuses: most hearts: 4 VP, second most: 2 VP. In the case of a tie, all tied players receive the points of the next rank down and the next rank is eliminated. (For example: if there are two players tied for 2nd place, they receive 0 points each since there is no points for 3rd place.)

Carry out the same process for star icons: most stars: 4 VP, second most: 2 VP.

3. 1 VP Sheep

Each player counts the number of 1 VP icons in their pasture and adds this to their point total. There is no need for these sheep to be adjacent.

4. Sheep groupings

For each sheep grouping (group of sheep cards of the same type (= colour) that are connected), each player checks whether each grouping meets the condition of the card (number of sheep in the grouping).

Example: if there are exactly 4 sheep in a grouping with an 8 VP condition, the player scores 8 VP. If there are not exactly 4 sheep in the grouping, the player scores 0 VP.

For ease of calculation, turn cards that do not meet the grouping condition face down. Each group of cards gains the VP stated (i.e. 8 VP for the whole group of 4, not for each card).

Game hint: Single sheep groupings are the fastest to calculate for 2 VP each.

5. Pasture Oversize Penalty

Count the vertical length and horizontal length of your pasture and minus 1 VP per width and height of the pasture. (Example: a width of 5 is minus 5 VP, a height of 4 is minus 4 VP.)

Winning

The player with the most VP is the winner! In the case of a tie, the player with the most connected bells is the winner. If that is also tied, then all tied players share the victory.