Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Object
• Setup
• Game Play for 4 or 5 Players
• Game Play for 2 or 3 Players
  • The Staff are Flying Monkeys
• Appendix I: The Lounges
• Appendix II: Voodoo Portals
• Appendix III: Clique Cards
  • Full Value Contact
  • Adjusted Value Contact
  • Jivecat Spell
  • Zombie Spell
  • Cheval Spell
  • Rada Spell
  • Voodoo Spell
  • Mixology
• Appendix IV: Trend Cards
  • Well Connected
  • Counting Sheep
  • Absolute Aztec
  • Pele's Plaything
  • Salty Dawg
  • The In Crowd
  • Upwardly Mobile
  • Voodoo Priest
  • Wallflower
  • Friends Everywhere
  • Blue Bayou
  • Mellow Yellow
• Appendix V: Skull Cards

Components

• 1 Game Board
• 1 Rule Book
• 5 Martini Glasses
• 5 Quick Ref Coasters
• 15 each of Red, Blue, Green, Purple and Yellow chips
• 16 Skull Cards
• 16 Trend Cards
• 20 Blue Monkeys
• 20 Orange Monkeys
• 25 Skull Tokens
• 54 Clique Cards

Object

Score Monkeys to hang on your martini glass by adding Jivecat contacts to your clique and claiming Trend cards through skillful manipulation of your lounge contacts. Be the player with the most Monkeys at the end of the round in which a player scores their fifteenth Monkey and be crowned the winner!

Setup

Unfold the board and place it in the play area so that it is convenient to all players.

Give each player a quick reference coaster, a martini glass, 15 chips of their color, three Skull tokens, four orange Monkeys and four blue Monkeys. Each player can place their chips in their martini glasses for convenience. Players hang Monkeys on their martini glasses to represent their scores. An orange Monkey is worth 1 point. A blue Monkey is worth 5 points.

Shuffle the Skulls deck and deal three cards face down to the positions on the left side of the board. Place the remaining Skull cards nearby.

Shuffle the Trends deck and deal three cards face down to the positions on the right side of the board. Place the remaining Trend cards nearby.

Shuffle the Clique deck and deal four cards face down to each player. Place the remaining Clique cards where they are convenient to all players. Players may look at the cards dealt to them.

Select a first player through any method you like, or try these...

• The player who actually owns a voodoo doll
• The player who was last in a cocktail lounge
• The player who can mix the best martini

Beginning with the first player and moving clockwise, each player places one chip on the board on a starting contact (a character with a number in a white balloon). Then the process is repeated in reverse so that each player has two chips on starting contacts. Finally, flip over the Skull and Trend cards dealt to the board and begin playing in clockwise order starting with the first player.

Game Play for 4 or 5 Players

On your turn you may use as many of your Clique cards as you wish but each card may only be used once. If you are able to draw additional Clique cards during your turn, you may use them, too (refer to Appendix III for more details on Clique cards). Active Trends may be used once per turn (refer to Appendix IV for more details on Trend cards). Skull tokens are earned or paid immediately (refer to Appendix V for more details on Skull cards).

When your turn is over, keep or discard any unplayed Clique cards as you wish, then draw back up to a hand of four cards.

If the clique deck or Skull deck are exhausted during play, reshuffle those discards to create a new deck.

Every new chip you add to the board must be adjacent to one of your chips already on the board. Adjacency is shown by the connected spotlights illuminating each character on the board.

In the illustration, Blue has an 8 card in their hand. The Cocoa 8 is a valid play because it is adjacent to Blue's chip on the Cocoa 6. However, Blue has no chip adjacent to the Tiki 8 so Blue cannot use the 8 card to place a chip on that contact.

Only one chip may occupy each contact position on the board. You may not remove your own chips from the board. You may never have fewer than two chips on the board. If you place your last chip on the board, you must immediately remove five of your chips from the board.

During play, Low-Brows (contacts numbered 3 through 9) do not score, Hipsters (contacts numbered 2 and 10) score 1 Monkey, Jivecats (cats with martini glasses) score 2 or 3 Monkeys (see Appendix III), and Trend cards score 1 or 2 Monkeys based on their location next to the board (see Appendix IV).

Play continues until one player scores 15 or more Monkeys. The rest of the round is played out to the final player and the player with the most Monkey points is the winner. Remember, Orange Monkeys are worth 1 point and Blue Monkeys are worth 5 points.

Ties are broken by the player with the most ACTIVE Trends. If a tie persists, count each player's Skulls + unused chips.

If you have more than five Skull tokens at the end of your turn, discard down to five Skull tokens.

Game Play for 2 or 3 Players

Most rules remain the same, but to keep the board competitive, the two or three-player game introduces "The Staff".

The Staff are Flying Monkeys

At the start of the game, choose a non-player color to be The Staff.

After you have refilled your hand to four cards at the end of your turn, flip over the top card on the Clique Deck. Place a Staff chip on an unclaimed contact of a matching number that is adjacent to one of the four Staff icons or to a Staff chip already on the board, then discard the card. If the card is a "1" treat it as a "10". If all of the matching contacts are already claimed, discard the card without placing a chip.

If you place the last Staff chip on the board, the player with the lowest score immediately removes five Staff chips from the board and then play resumes.

Staff chips are vulnerable to Voodoo spells (see Appendix III) just like regular player chips.

Finally, in a two or three-player game, the contacts with white numbers in the center area of each Lounge are not available to anyone, player or Staff.

Appendix I: The Lounges

The main action in SJVL takes place in the four lounges (Cocoa Lounge, Lava Lounge, Tiki Lounge, Neptune Lounge) as you play your available cards to claim contacts, expand your clique and get access to the Hipsters and Jivecats that will score Monkeys.

Contacts are illuminated by spotlights that form adjacency where they overlap.

At the center of every lounge is a Private Party that acts like a single large contact. The characters within each Private Party are all adjacent to each other and to any contact outside the party that is connected by an overlapping spotlight. In the illustration, the Blue Jivecat (green arrow) is adjacent to all of the other contacts inside the private party (red arrows) and all of the spotlight-linked contacts outside of the party (orange arrows).

Appendix II: Voodoo Portals

If you have a chip adjacent to a Voodoo Portal icon, you may pay one Skull to open the portal. This immediately makes your chip adjacent to every contact that is adjacent to every Voodoo Portal on the game board.

The adjacency is temporary; it only lasts until you take an action through the Voodoo Portal. If you want to use the Voodoo Portal again, you'll have to pay another Skull token.

Appendix III: Clique Cards

The 54 clique cards are divided into five suits (Cheval, Zombie, Jivecat, Voodoo, Rada) and there are more cards in some suits than in others.

Each clique card has multiple uses, but only one use may be employed for each card you play. Trend cards (see Appendix IV) may affect the manner in which clique cards can be played.

Full Value Contact

You may use a clique card for its face value (number in upper left corner) and place a chip on a matching value contact on the board that is adjacent to any other chip you have on the board.

Adjusted Value Contact

You may add or subtract the face values of two or more clique cards to achieve an adjusted value and place a chip on a matching value contact on the board that is adjacent to any other chip you have on the board.

Placing a chip on a Hipster (#10 contact) scores the player 1 Monkey.

Each Clique card also has a special magical game power that can be used instead of the number.

Jivecat Spell

You may use a Jivecat (purple card) to place a chip on any Jivecat contact on the board that is adjacent to any other chip you have on the board. However, after doing so, you must remove two of your chips from the board. The removed chips must be from different lounges than the one where the new Jivecat contact is located. For example, if you place a chip on a Jivecat in the Tiki Lounge, you must remove two of your chips from the Lava Lounge, Neptune Lounge, and/or Cocoa Lounge. The player scores based on the chips they remove from the board, as shown in the following illustrations.

• Place 1 Jivecat and remove 2 Low-Brows and/or Hipsters (numbers 2 through 10) = 2 Monkeys
• Place 1 Jivecat and remove 2 other Jivecats of any color = 3 Monkeys

Zombie Spell

Place the Zombie (green card) face-up on the table and pay one Skull. This Zombie is now an extension of your hand that may be used for its face value once each turn, either on its own, with a second Zombie (if you have one), or in conjunction with other cards from your hand.

You may have a maximum of two Zombies at any time.

To use the Zombie, pay one Skull and twist the card a quarter-turn to show it has been used. If you want to use both of your Zombies, you must pay a Skull for each one.

After your turn is over, twist the Zombie to its original orientation to show it is available for use next turn.

Unused Zombies may be discarded as desired on a player's turn to make way for new zombies.

Cheval Spell

Play a Cheval (yellow card) to jump one of your chips on the board over an adjacent contact to land on the adjacent contact beyond that. You may jump a contact regardless of whether it is unoccupied or occupied by any player's chip, but the final destination contact must be unoccupied.

Rada Spell

Place a Rada (red card) face-up on the table and pay one Skull. Any opponent must pay you one Skull to play or use any card with a matching face value, regardless of the use to which their card is put. Only cards which are actually discarded (and not used for any other purpose) are exempt from this payment.

If an opponent cannot make the payment then they cannot play or use the card that matches your Rada. Each player may have only one Rada at any time. A Rada may be discarded as desired on a player's turn to make way for a new Rada.

Voodoo Spell

Play the Voodoo (blue card) and pay one Skull to the opponent targeted by your Voodoo spell. A Voodoo spell may be used for ONE of three possible effects:

• Discard a Zombie belonging to an opponent.
• Discard a Rada belonging to an opponent.
• Remove any one chip from the board. Affected player cannot have fewer than two chips on the board after this action.

Mixology

The final use of the Clique cards is reserved for gamers aged 21 and older. Every Clique card has a different cocktail recipe on the right side. Try Them All... Drink Responsibly... and Enjoy!

Appendix IV: Trend Cards

At any point on your turn you may claim a Trend card if your chip positions on the board meet the Trend's requirement. Place the claimed Trend face-up on the table in front of you. On the next player's turn, slide the Trends down the line then fill empty positions at the top of the line from the Trend deck.

When you claim a Trend you score Monkeys based on the Trend's position on the board. The first Trend (vogue) is worth 2 Monkeys, the second (passé) is worth 1 Monkey, and the third (retro) is worth 2 Monkeys.

A Trend card remains active if you maintain its chip requirement. You may use each of your active Trend cards once each turn. A Trend immediately deactivates if your chips no longer match the Trend's requirement. Twist a Trend sideways to show it is inactive. You do not lose any Monkeys when a Trend deactivates.

A Trend immediately reactivates when your chip positions again meet the Trend's requirement. You do not score any Monkeys for reactivating a Trend.

Well Connected

Connect any three lounges with one continuous clique. Voodoo Portals do not provide continuity when assessing this Trend. Active Power: Use a Voodoo Portal without paying its Skull cost.

Counting Sheep

Chips on any three contacts of the same value. Active Power: Pay 1 Skull to place a chip on an unclaimed contact of the same value without playing a card. Normal adjacency rules apply.

Absolute Aztec

Five or more chips in the Cocoa Lounge. Active Power: Rearrange the face-up Skull cards as you like.

Pele's Plaything

Five or more chips in the Lava Lounge. Active Power: Pay 1 Skull to move any chip in the Lava Lounge to any unclaimed contact of equal value in another lounge. No adjacency required.

Salty Dawg

Five or more chips in the Neptune Lounge. Active Power: Remove one of your chips from a Low-Brow contact (3 thru 9) in the Neptune Lounge to receive 2 Skulls.

The In Crowd

One or more chips in the private parties (center areas) of all four Lounges. Active Power: Pay 1 Skull to refill your hand to 5 cards instead of 4.

Upwardly Mobile

Chips on any two Hipster (10) contacts. Active Power: Pay 1 Skull to treat any card as a Jivecat card. Normal rules for placing a chip on a Jivecat contact apply.

Voodoo Priest

One or more chips adjacent to every Voodoo Portal. Active Power: Pay 1 Skull to move one of your chips from a Low-Brow contact (3 thru 9) to any unclaimed contact of equal value in a different Lounge. No adjacency required.

Wallflower

Five or more chips on the starter contacts. Active Power: If you have one Skull or less at the start of your turn, take two Skulls from the bank.

Friends Everywhere

Two or more chips in every lounge. Active Power: Pay 1 Skull to ignore the adjacency rule when placing a chip.

Blue Bayou

Chips on any two Blue-Drink Jivecats. Active Power: Pay 1 Skull to treat any card in your hand as a Cheval.

Mellow Yellow

Chips on any two Yellow-Drink Jivecats. Active Power: Pay an opponent 1 Skull then pay 1 Skull to the bank to use one of that player's Zombies as if it were your own.

Pretty in Pink

Chips on any two Pink-Drink Jivecats. Active Power: Pay an opponent 1 Skull to use one of their active Trends then pay the bank any Skull cost noted on the Trend you are using.

Odd Man Out

Chips on any set of 3, 5, 7, and 9 contacts. Active Power: Pay 1 Skull to place a chip on any unclaimed 2, 4, 6, or 8 contact without playing a card. Normal adjacency rules apply.

Even Steven

Chips on any set of 2, 4, 6, and 8 contacts. Active Power: Pay 1 Skull to place a chip on any unclaimed 3, 5, 7, or 9 contact without playing a card. Normal adjacency rules apply.

Big Kahuna

Five or more chips in the Tiki Lounge. Active Power: Pay 1 Skull to rearrange the face-up Trend cards as you like.

Appendix V: Skull Cards

When you place a chip on a contact that matches the number and Lounge shown on a Skull card along the left side of the board, you receive a number of Skull tokens as noted by that card's position on the line.

In the illustration, placing a chip on a 9 contact in the Tiki Lounge or the Neptune Lounge will earn you 1 Skull token (Mambo)... placing a chip on a 5 contact in the Cocoa Lounge or the Neptune Lounge will earn you 2 Skull tokens (Houngan)... and placing a chip on a 7 contact in the Cocoa Lounge or the Tiki Lounge will earn you 3 Skull tokens (Bokor). Remember, it's not the cards you play, but the contacts you make that earn you Skulls.

Immediately remove a Skull card from the line when you earn its Skulls. At the start of the next player's turn, slide the remaining Skull cards down the line then fill the empty positions at the top from the Skull deck.

If you have more than five Skull tokens at the end of your turn, discard down to five Skull tokens.