Snakesss
Snakesss Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
Win the most points over six rounds.
You win points by answering questions correctly, or — if you are a Snake — by persuading the other players to choose a wrong answer.
Setup
Write each player's name on the scoresheet.
Give each player a set of 4 Answer tokens: A, B, C, and Snake.
Then take the number of Character tiles required for your player count, as shown in the table below. Put the unused Character tiles back in the box.
| Number of players | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humans | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Snakes | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Mongoose of Truth | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Dealing the Tiles
At the start of each round, shuffle the Character tiles and give one to each player, face down. Each player secretly checks the tile they received.
Important: Unless you are the Mongoose, NEVER reveal your Character tile! Doing so would spoil the game.
The Mongoose of Truth
If you received the Mongoose of Truth tile, reveal it immediately and place the matching figurine in front of you.
The Mongoose has no special power, but at least everyone knows they are NOT a Snake! You can therefore always trust them.
Questions
Randomly pick a player to be the reader (don't worry, they will play like everyone else).
The reader must read a Question card aloud, then place it on the table, without ever revealing the answer printed on the back (be careful, while reading the card, not to show the back to the other players!).
Revealing the Answer to the Snakes
Next, the reader gives the following sequence out loud. It is very important that all players make an effort to follow it!
- Everyone closes their eyes. Before closing their eyes, the reader puts their hand on the Question card.
- The reader turns the Question card over to reveal the answer, still without opening their eyes.
- The reader calls out to the Snakes: "Snakes, open your eyes!" (if the reader is themselves a Snake, the reader opens their eyes).
- The Snakes have 5 seconds to look at the displayed answer, after which the reader announces "Snakes, close your eyes!"
- The reader turns the Question card face down again, then asks all players to open their eyes.
The Snakes now know the correct answer, and have been able to identify the other Snakes.
Now it's time to mislead the other players!
Discussion
Start a 2-minute timer.
All players may discuss the question and which answer to give.
But be careful! Snakes are lurking in the savanna (or around the table). Their mission is to lead the other players astray.
If you don't know who to trust, remember that the Mongoose is a reliable ally.
Choose Your Answer
When the 2 minutes are up, each player chooses the Answer token that matches the answer they want to give (A, B, or C) and plays it face down. If you are a Snake, you must play your Snake token face down.
Now reveal the tokens, then turn the Question card back over to find out the correct answer.
Scoring
If you are a Human (or the Mongoose) and you gave the correct answer:
You score 1 point for every player who gave the correct answer (including yourself).
If you are a Human (or the Mongoose) and you gave the wrong answer:
You score no points.
If you are a Snake:
You score 1 point for every wrong answer given.
Example: The correct answer was B. Two players had the correct answer and score 2 points each. Two other players got it wrong: they score no points. But the Snakes score 2 points each.
Next Round
Note down each player's scores, then reshuffle the Character tiles and redistribute them. The reader takes a new Question card, and the second round begins.
Winning the Game
The player with the most points after six rounds wins the game. In case of a tie, play a quick round of rock, paper, sssnakes.
Contents
- 120 cards
- 8 Character tiles
- 32 Answer tokens
- 1 Mongoose figurine
- 1 scoresheet pad