The Bird Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Overview
• Setup
• How to Play
• Ending the Round
• After Each Round
• Final Scoring
• Clarification Rules About Balancing Birds
• Clarification Rules About Cards
• Tips

Components

• 15 Balancing Birds
• 40 Bird Cards
• 9 Scoring Cards (Medals on one side, Bird Droppings on the other side)

Overview

Each round, one player becomes the Handler, posing their hands as instructed by each new Bird Card. The Handler attempts to balance enough birds to earn one of the available Scoring Cards for the team.

All other players are Volunteers, taking turns drawing Bird Cards and giving the bird to the Handler for balancing.

The round ends in failure if The Handler drops any bird. The round ends in success once The Handler is balancing the number of birds shown on one of the available Scoring Cards and chooses to score.

Goal of the Game: Work together to earn Medals while avoiding Bird Droppings.

Setup

1. Place the Balancing Birds in the center of the table within easy reach.
2. Shuffle the Bird Cards and place them facedown to form the Bird Deck.
3. Shuffle the Scoring Cards and place two cards in the center of the table, medal side up. Place the remaining cards in a face-up stack nearby.
4. The player who has most recently handled an animal becomes the first Handler. All other players begin as Volunteers.

Now you're ready to play!

How to Play

1. The next clockwise Volunteer draws a Bird Card.
2. The Handler poses their hand(s) or finger(s) according to the card. The card includes a visual reference for the hand pose.
3. The Volunteer places a Balancing Bird onto the posed hand or finger as instructed by the Bird Card's pose.

IMPORTANT:

• The Handler must make their best effort to perform the hand pose.
• The Handler may choose which hand to pose, but the Balancing Bird must be placed on the newly posed hand.
• No stacking, gripping, pinching, or squeezing birds—this is a sanctuary, not a stress test.

EXAMPLE:

1. The Volunteer reveals the card.
2. The Handler positions a hand in the Hang-10 pose.
3. The Volunteer communicates with The Handler, and then places the bird gently on the Handler's pinky.

Play continues clockwise with a new Handler each round.

Ending the Round

The Handler may end the round voluntarily after successfully balancing a number of birds exactly matching one of the Scoring Cards in the center of the table, at which point they take that Scoring Card. If the Handler chooses to continue, Volunteers keep taking turns.

IMPORTANT: If any bird is dropped, the round ends immediately. The Handler must take any one available Scoring Card of their choice and flip it to the Dropping side.

After Each Round

1. Return all Balancing Birds to the center of the table.
2. Discard used Bird Cards into a discard pile; reshuffle if needed.
3. Replace the missing Scoring Card if necessary.
4. Pass the Handler role clockwise.

If all scoring cards have been claimed, or a third dropping card has been taken, the game is over. Proceed to Final Scoring.

Final Scoring

Add together your team's Scoring Card medal values to determine your team's final score.

• 10+ Cage Cleaner
• 20+ Bird Keeper
• 30+ Apprentice Handler
• 40+ Lead Handler
• 50+ Regional Trainer
• 60+ Master Falconer

Clarification Rules About Balancing Birds

• A Balancing Bird must be placed with its beak touching the Handler. Use your judgment when enforcing this rule.
• If a bird drops, changing position but remaining balanced on the Handler, it does not result in an end-of-round failure.
• If a disallowed pinch, squeeze, or grab occurs that prevents a bird from dropping, it must be repositioned into a non-pinched, non-squeezed, non-grabbed state before continuing or ending the round.

Clarification Rules About Cards

• Most bird cards show hand poses where The Handler must generally make their best effort to perform the hand pose.
• Some bird cards may show arrows to use a specific required finger to balance the bird. For these cards the hand pose does not matter.
• A few cards may show actions, which may not require a new balancing bird, but will require the volunteer to perform an action on a Balancing Bird currently balanced by The Handler.

Use your collective coop bird brains to solve any disputes.

Tips

• Use both hands as The Handler, but be thoughtful about which hand to pose.
• Reposition your hands slowly to achieve the necessary pose without dropping the birds.
• Communicate and cooperate with players at the table to make team decisions about Scoring Cards.