Survive The Serengeti
Survive The Serengeti Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 60 wildebeest cards (5 sets of 12)
- 12 Predator cards
- 12 Season cards
Set Up
- Give each player a matching set of 12 Wildebeest cards.
- Shuffle the 12 Predator cards and make a face down draw pile.
- You are ready to begin.
Aim of the Game
In the game you are trying to get your Wildebeest safely across the savannah. You do this by choosing cards that you think will allow your wildebeest to avoid predators. Make your choices based on the effects of the predators and what you think everyone else will play. Negotiation and collaboration is encouraged.
There are two ways to win: either get the biggest herd safely across, or have your wildebeest Go Extinct by getting more than half of them eaten!
A herd is a run of consecutive numbers (e.g. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 would be a herd of five cards) and the player who got the biggest run of consecutive numbers safely across wins if no one goes extinct!
Before You Start - Important Concepts
Before your first game it is important to be aware of the following concepts:
Herd - A herd is formed by two or more cards of the same or consecutive numbers. For example, if two 8s were played they would form a herd. Likewise, if a 7 and an 8 were played, they would also form a herd. On a turn you are often trying to be part of a herd with other player's cards, and at the end of the game you are aiming to create a herd with the consecutively numbered cards you managed to play successfully throughout the game.
Predators and Speed - Some predators will have a speed value and text that directs you to discard cards that are X value away from a herd. In these cases, look at the cards that have been played and identify any herds that have been created. Then, look at the other cards and see if any of them are that distance away from the nearest herd. For example, if the lowest value card in a herd is 10, and 8 would be considered 2+ away from that herd. If no herds are created, wildebeest played are still considered to be "away from a herd" since no herd exists.
Predators stay in play until their ability triggers and they successfully hunt a wildebeest. Once this happens that predator is removed from the game. It is possible to have more than one active predator at a time.
Play
The game is played over a series of turns (up to a max. of 12 turns per game).
Follow these steps each turn:
- Reveal the top card from the Predator deck and place it face up, to the right of a previous predator (if applicable).
- Players then choose one card from their hand to play this turn. Players must choose 2 cards if they were eaten in the previous turn.
- All cards are revealed simultaneously.
- Resolve Predators one at a time from left to right to see if any wildebeest are eaten. Remove the Predator if its effect is triggered.
- Any Wildebeest that get eaten are discarded and put to the side of that player's play area.
- All wildebeest that aren't eaten are safe on the other side and form face down piles sorted by each player's colour.
- If a player has their wildebeest eaten, they MUST play 2 wildebeest cards on the next turn.
- Repeat turns until all players have played all their cards.
Note: When resolving predators, look at the game state each time as it may have changed after a Predator's ability resolves. For example, after the first predator resolves, there may no longer be a herd in play, which may allow the next predator to trigger too.
Ending the Game
The game ends at the end of the turn in which the last remaining player has played their last card. It is possible that some players will finish a few turns earlier than others.
Winning
There are two ways to win: either have the biggest herd or going extinct.
Biggest Herd
After all cards have been played, reveal all the cards in the piles that made it safely. Each player then checks to see if they created any herds by looking to see if they have a run of consecutive numbers.
Players then announce the size of their biggest herd. E.g. "I had a herd of 4 cards!"
If one player has a bigger herd than all other players then they win.
If two more players tie for the biggest herd, the player with the LOWEST value herd wins. I.e. a four card herd of 1 - 4 will win over a herd of 2-5, since it is harder to get small cards safely across the savannah after all!
Editor's note: the source reads "If two more players tie"; this is almost certainly a typo for "two or more players", transcribed as printed.
Going Extinct
The other way to win is by Going Extinct. If you manage to end the game with 7 or more of your wildebeest in your discard pile, you win! If two or more players meet that criteria, then whoever had the most cards discarded wins.
Going Extinct overrides the biggest herd, and any player who goes extinct will win over the biggest herd played.
2 Player Variant
To play the game with two players, the following rules changes apply.
Set Up
Players will need to create a neutral deck. Choose an unused colour and remove the 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 cards. Shuffle the six removed cards and place them face down.
Then shuffle the remaining cards (1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12) and place them face down on top of the deck, creating a neutral deck of 12 cards.
Playing the Neutral Colour
Each turn, when players are choosing their cards to play, add the top card from the neutral deck to the played cards without looking at it.
Reveal the card from the neutral deck at the same time as the cards chosen by the players and resolve the turn normally.
If the neutral card is discarded by a predator, add two cards from the top of the dummy pile on the next turn as you would for a human player.
Editor's note: the source says "the top of the dummy pile"; this term is not defined elsewhere in the document and is transcribed as printed.
Winning
When players compare final scores, the colour with the largest herd, or the colour that Goes Extinct wins. If the neutral colour wins, both players lose.
If there is a tie between a player and the neutral player, the human player wins.