Snailed It!
Snailed It! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
Try to get rid of the cards in your hand as quickly as possible by placing them cleverly and without any gaps, because you will get negative points for them at the end. This would be very simple if it weren't for the other players. If a gap opens up, everyone shouts "Cabanga!" − and you get more cards thrown at you.
Who will have the fewest negative points after several rounds and win with a final "Cabanga!"?
Game Materials
84 cards:
- 4 row cards (in red, blue, purple, and yellow)
- 8 start cards (with the numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 12, 14, 16, 18)
- 72 number cards (with the numbers 1–18 in red, blue, purple, and yellow)
Setup
Place the 4 row cards in a vertical line in the middle of the table. Then shuffle the 8 start cards. Place a random start card face up to the left and to the right of each row card. Each start card will be the beginning of 1 of 2 discard piles for that color. Shuffle all the number cards and deal 8 cards to each player. Keep these hidden in your hand. The remaining number cards will become a face-down penalty pile available to all players above the row cards. Get a pen and paper to jot down negative points… and now you're ready to play!
Gameplay
The first player to spell Cabanga! backwards goes first and plays one card. After that, the player to their left goes next.
Playing Cards
When it's your turn, play 1 card in the row with the matching color. It's up to you which card you play and which of the 2 discard piles of the matching color you place it on. It doesn't matter which number cards or start cards are already there.
Example: A yellow card is placed on either the left or the right discard pile in the yellow row; in this example, the card is placed on either the start card 5 or the start card 12.
Important: If you play the same color as the person before you, you then have to draw a card from the penalty pile.
Cabanga!
Playing your card can create a number gap between the number on your card and the number on the top card of the other discard pile in that row. Now all the other players have to pay close attention! If they have one or more cards of the same color in their hand that fit in the number gap created, they can yell "Cabanga!" and throw those cards at you.
Example A: You placed your yellow 6 on the left discard pile of the yellow row. This creates a very large number gap in the yellow row, in this case from 6 to 12. The other players can now throw any yellow cards in their hands that fit in this number gap at you. In this example, these would be the yellow 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.
Example B: Instead of placing your yellow 6 on the starting card 12 anymore, you play more cleverly and place it on the 5. This way there is no gap between the numbers, and no one can throw any cards at you.
Important: For each card that is thrown at you, you must draw 1 card from the penalty pile. Do not put the cards thrown at you in your hand; just set them aside.
You should not need the cards that have been set aside in this round. But if the penalty pile runs out, shuffle the cards that have been set aside and place them face down as a new penalty pile.
After you've played a card, it's the person on your left's turn. Until they have played their card, the other players can still yell "Cabanga!" and throw any matching cards at you.
End of a Round
A round ends when one of you has no cards in their hand at the end of a turn. This can happen either by playing cards or throwing them.
If it's your turn and you play your last card, all the others can still throw matching cards at you. This means that the game doesn't necessarily end when you play your last card, since you still have to draw a penalty card for every card thrown at you. If you've thrown your last card(s) at someone else, the round ends after they draw their penalty cards, which ends their turn.
It's possible for several players to have no cards left in their hand at the end of a turn.
At the end of the round, you will receive one to three negative points for each card remaining in your hand, depending on the number of symbols shown on the card. Write down each player's negative points on the piece of paper.
Example: At the end of the round, you still have these cards in your hand, which means you have 6 negative points (2+1+3).
Now start a new round. Place the cards as described in the Setup section again. The player to the left of the person who went last in the previous round starts the new round.
Play as many rounds as it takes to reach the end of the game.
End of the Game
The game ends once a player has a total of at least 18 negative points. The player who then has the least negative points wins! If more than one of you has the least number of negative points, you both win.
For shorter games or longer fun, you can of course agree on a different number of points or play a number of rounds that you decide on in advance.
Credits
What are you waiting for?
© AMIGO Spiel + Freizeit GmbH, 63128 Dietzenbach, Germany, 2023 — Version 1.0