Zinga
Zinga Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 6 dice of different colours
- 1 bell
- 1 pawn
- 4 different score pads
- 4 pencils
- The rulebook
Setup
Place the bell and the dice in the middle of the table, within everyone's reach. Also place the pawn nearby. Each player receives a score pad and a pencil.
Choose a first active player at random.
Note: Each score pad shows a different layout, which can be identified by the number in the top right corner. In these rules, the sheet to be filled in on the score pad is called the score sheet. Make sure the different score sheets are distributed as evenly as possible.
Playing with more than 4? No problem! The players who do not have a score pad receive a pencil and a sheet taken from one of the score pads.
How to Play
Play clockwise. The player whose turn it is is called the active player. During that turn, all the other players are called passive players. The active player starts by rolling the 6 dice. All players then try to find a number matching in colour and value on their own score sheet. The active player has more options than the passive players:
- The active player may choose a single coloured die, or may add one of the coloured dice to the white die.
- A passive player may only add one of the coloured dice to the white die.
As soon as a player (no matter who rolled the dice) finds a solution that suits them, they ring the bell and immediately announce a number and a colour. If this combination (number + colour) is still available on their score sheet, the player may now tick it off. Only the first player to ring the bell may do this.
The active player's turn is then over. The player to their left becomes the active player. This is also the case when no player can tick off a number.
Example with 4 players (Suzie, Félix, Célia and Clément): It is Félix's turn to roll the dice. Félix can choose one of the following options: 3 red, 4 red, 2 orange, 3 orange, 3 yellow, 4 yellow, 6 green, 7 green, 1 blue, 2 blue. The other players can only choose from: 4 red, 3 orange, 4 yellow, 7 green and 2 blue. Suzie quickly hits the bell and shouts "4 YELLOW!". She may therefore tick off the yellow 4 on her score sheet. Although it is Félix's turn, Suzie was the quickest. Félix's turn ends. Clockwise, it is now Célia's turn.
Bonus
If a player rings the bell and announces a combination (colour and number) that they have already ticked off, they may black out a box under the green PLUS, at the top right of the score sheet, if this has not already been done.
As soon as a player has blacked out the third marked box, they trigger a BONUS. They may immediately tick off a number of their choice on their grid. Each player may benefit from this bonus only once per game.
Exception: It is forbidden to use your bonus to complete a row of 5 numbers, which would mean victory.
Blunder
The following situations are considered blunders:
- A player rings the bell and announces a number–colour combination that is not on their score sheet or does not appear on the table.
- A player rings the bell but does not immediately announce a number and a colour.
- A player rings the bell, announces a number and/or a colour, and then corrects themselves.
- After announcing a number already ticked off, a player wants to use the BONUS, but has already blacked out the 3 boxes.
- A player who has not announced having ticked off 4 of 5 aligned numbers rings the bell and announces the 5th number (see "End of the Game").
When a player commits such a blunder, they must black out a box under the red cross, in the bottom right corner of the score sheet. This automatically ends the turn. During this turn, no number will be ticked off, even if another player sees an acceptable combination.
Note: As soon as a player has blacked out the third marked BLUNDER box, they are eliminated from the game.
Pawn
The central number of each score sheet is the BLUE NINE. A player who announces the BLUE NINE combination in accordance with the rules and ticks off that box (including by means of the bonus) may take the pawn and place it in front of them. If the pawn is already in front of another player, it is taken from that player. As soon as the next player has rolled the dice again, it is too late to claim the pawn.
Note: When all players have ticked off the blue 9 and all the bonus boxes have been blacked out, it becomes impossible to reassign the pawn.
The person in possession of the pawn has 2 options:
Option 1: If another player rings the bell and announces a number, the player may immediately give the pawn to that player and say STOP, in order to cancel their turn. The turn then stops immediately. The targeted player ticks off no number, and blacks out no BONUS or BLUNDER box. But they are now in possession of the pawn.
Option 2: If a player must black out their 3rd BLUNDER box, they may choose to return the pawn to the middle of the table to cancel their blunder. In that case, the player does not have to black out a box, but loses the pawn. The turn is then over.
End of the Game
The first player to have ticked off 5 aligned numbers (horizontally, vertically or diagonally) shouts ZINGA! and wins the game.
Note: As soon as a player has ticked off 4 aligned numbers, they must point it out and announce the missing number and colour before the start of the next turn. If they forget to do so and ring the bell in order to tick off the fifth number of the series, they commit a blunder. Instead of ticking off a number, they must black out a BLUNDER box. The player may still announce their series of 4 before one of the following turns.