Zoocracy Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Info
• Components
• Setup
• Game Overview
• Gameplay
• Presidential Election (§5A)
• Parliamentary Campaigning (§5B)
• Parliamentary Election (§5C)
• Formation of Government (§5D)
• Event (§5E)
• Vote of No Confidence (§5F)
• Progress (§5G)
• End of Game (§6)
• Rules for Two Players (§7)
• Advanced Rules (§8)
• Action Cards (§9a)
• Event Cards (§9b)

Game Info

• Number of players: 2–6
• Playing time: 60–120 min
• Suggested age: 12+

Components

• 150 Food Tokens (red, blue and yellow)
• 6 Seat Markers
• 1 Presidential Election Marker
• 6 Political Goal Markers
• 1 Round Marker
• 1 Parliamentary Election Marker
• 1 Majority Marker
• 1 Phase Marker
• 1 Manipulation Marker
• 1 Blockade Marker
• 6 Vote Markers
• 5 Political Office Cards
• 12 Government Program Markers
• 7 Event Cards
• 1 End of Game Card
• 47 Action Cards
• 6 Screens
• 6 Player Aids
• 1 Game Board

Setup

1. Choose a color and take all corresponding materials: 25 Food Tokens, 2 Government Program Markers, 1 Political Goal Marker, 1 Vote Marker, 1 Seat Marker and 1 Screen for your Party Funds.
2. Place your Political Goal Markers in the entry area of the zoo.
3. Place the Round Marker, the Parliamentary Election Marker, and the Presidential Election Marker on the first space of the Round Track. Place the Phase Marker on the first space of the Phase Track. Place the Majority Marker next to the Parliament Track.
4. Take a number of Food Tokens from the number of players as listed in the following table and place them in your Party Funds (behind your Screen).

Number of Players	Food Tokens
2	20
3	14
4	10
5 - 6	8

5. Shuffle the Action Cards and place them as a face down draw deck in the center of the playing area. Each player draws 2 cards.
6. Shuffle the Event Cards face down. Set 3 cards aside. Add the Game End Card to these 3 cards and shuffle them. Place the remaining Event Cards on top to form the Event Deck.
7. Place the Political Office Cards, the Manipulation Marker and the Blockade Marker nearby.

Game Overview

Finally, the zoo animals eked out their political autonomy and established a democracy as their form of government. Now, each party wants to implement their political agenda and triumph over the other parties.

You each lead one of the animal parties and you will need to construct a clever strategy and utilize your best negotiation tactics to make it successful. Trust your animal instincts!

In order to hold political offices and to be part of the government, your party needs to win elections and form beneficial coalitions. While the leaders reach for their political goals, the opposition plots and pressures the government. Allegiances can change at a whim. The powers that be might find themselves in opposition in no time.

In the end, whoever has implemented the most political goals will win.

Gameplay

Zoocracy is played in consecutive rounds until one of the game end conditions is triggered (see §6).

Each round consists of several phases which are indicated by the Phase Marker on the Phase Track. The phases are played in the order shown below.

NOTE: A turn does not necessarily contain all phases as some might be skipped. The table shows which phases are played and when.

The position of the Parliamentary Election Marker and the Presidential Election Marker on the Round Track show if the respective phases will be played or not.

In each phase, you will have the chance to play any number of Action Cards bearing the symbol of the respective phase. See §5 for details.

At the end of each phase, move the Phase Marker to the next space on the Phase Track that will be played in this round.

Phase	Name	When
A	Presidential Election	Regularly every second round
B	Parliamentary Campaigning	Each round
C	Parliamentary Election	Regularly every second round
D	Formation of Government	After each Parliamentary Election
E	Event	Each round
F	Vote of No Confidence	Only if the Governmental Parties no longer have a majority in the Parliament
G	Progress	Each round

Presidential Election (§5A)

In this phase, the Parties determine a new President. A Presidential Election occurs in the first round and in every other round thereafter.

Certain Action Cards (e.g. Early Presidential Election) may shift this cycle (see §9a).

In the Presidential Election, each Party secretly bids a certain amount of Food Tokens in order to become President. This phase is played simultaneously.

• Secretly choose any number (even 0) of Food Tokens you wish to bid from your Party Funds.
• Place them in your right hand.
• Place your closed right hands in the center of the playing area. As long as at least 1 player's hand is missing, you may still change your bid. Once all hands are placed in the center, open them.
• Check the results by comparing the number of bid Food Tokens.
  • The Party with the highest number of bid Food Tokens takes the President Card and places it face up in front of them. (The front shows the active symbol).
• All Parties return half the bid Food Tokens (rounded up) to the supply. They return the remaining tokens to their Party Funds.
  • If there is a tie in the bid, each Party returns half the bid Food Tokens (rounded up) to the supply.
  • Then, each of the parties in the tie places a second bid using the rules described above.
  • In case of another tie, the current President remains temporarily in office. If this happens during the very first Presidential Election, there is temporarily no President. Leave the Presidential Card where it is.
• Advance the Presidential Election Marker by 2 spaces on the Round Track. (The next Presidential Election will occur in the round after the next).
  • If there is no President or the current President remains temporarily in office, advance the Presidential Election Marker by 1 space. The next Presidential Election will occur next round. All parties will participate in this election.
• The Party of the newly chosen President immediately implements 1 Political Goal. Advance the Player Token of the corresponding Party by 1 step on the Political Goal Track.

Parliamentary Campaigning (§5B)

When Campaigning for the Parliamentary Election, bribe the zoo animals with food to coax them to vote for you in the upcoming Parliamentary Elections. The Party that places the most Food Tokens on a given species will receive the most votes from it.

Parliamentary Campaigning occurs each round. If there are no Parliamentary Elections this round, the Food Markers of this and the next Parliamentary Campaigning will add up for "Counting the Votes" next round. Each Party will take 1 turn to bribe the zoo animals.

First, the Defense Minister's Party and then the Finance Minister's Party decide if they want to use their Blockade and Manipulation Markers, respectively (see §5d). If they do, they flip the respective Office Cards face down. Both markers can be used on the same species. (In the very first round, these bonuses cannot be used as these Office Cards have not been distributed, yet.)

Afterwards, proceed with the rest of the phase in player order.

Check the Parliament Track to determine the player order. The Seat Markers indicate the number of Seats in Parliament of each Party. The Party with the most Seats goes first followed by the other Parties in descending order of Seats.

Example: The yellow Party currently has the most Seats in Parliament and will start the Parliamentary Campaigning phase. The blue Party will take their turn last.

• If 2 or more Parties have the same number of Seats, check the following list to see who goes first. If an element results in another tie, consult the next element on the list. Which party has
  1. implemented more Political Goals (the Party that is "in the lead" on the Political Goal Track)
  2. the Prime Minister Card
  3. the Defense Minister Card
  4. the Finance Minister Card
  5. the President Card
  6. the Opposition Leader Card
• If the tie remains, randomly determine who goes first.

Example: In the first round, all Parties have no Seats. Accordingly, the President's Party will go first. The other players' order is determined randomly.

On your turn, you may place a maximum of Food Tokens according to the number of players as listed in the following table from your Party Funds on the zoo animals.

Number of Players	Food Tokens
2	10
3	7
4	5
5 and 6	4

• On your turn, you may place up to 3 Food Tokens per species.
• On your turn, you may play any number of Action Cards that can be played during this phase (see §9a "Action Cards"). Then, discard the cards to a face up discard pile.

Office and Action Cards (see §5d and §9a) allow you to exceed the Food Token limits per round and species.

• The Prime Minister's Party may once place 2 additional Food Tokens from the supply on one species of its choice. If they do, they flip their Office Card face down to show that this bonus has already been used.
• The Opposition Leader's Party may once conduct a Negative Campaign (see §9a) on an animal of their choice. If they do, they flip their Office Card face down to show that this bonus has already been used.

Example: Red places 3 Food Tokens on the Polar Bears from their Party Funds. In addition, Red plays the Action Card "Negative Campaign" on the Polar Bears to replace 1 Green Food Token with 1 red Food Token from the Supply.

After placing your Tokens, no species may have the same amount of Tokens from 2 or more different colors. Accordingly, there may never be a tie in terms of Food Tokens on a species. If you cannot fulfil this rule for a given species, you may not place any Tokens on it.

Parliamentary Election (§5C)

During the Parliamentary Elections, you will count the votes of the zoo animals and determine the Parties' number of Seats in Parliament.

The Parliamentary Election is regularly played every second turn. Certain Action Cards (e.g. Early Parliamentary Election) and Events may shift this cycle (see §9a).

The Parliamentary Election is played as follows:

• First, remove all Seat Markers and the Majority Marker from the Parliament Track.
• In the current player order, each Party may play any number of Action Cards that can be played during this phase (§9a, "Action Cards").
• Determine the number of Seats each Party receives from the vote of the zoo animals. This is called Counting the Votes.
  • The number of Seats depends on the Food Token distribution and majority on the species. Determine the votes of each species in any order. We recommend starting with the elephants at the top left of the Game Board and continuing along the walkway.
  • The Party that placed the most Food Tokens on a given species receives votes according to the highest number indicated next to the species.
  • If more than one number is indicated, the Party that placed the second most number of Food Tokens receives votes according to the second highest number.
  • All other Parties receive no votes from this species.
• Sum up all your votes and mark them on the Parliament Track using your Seat Marker. This represents your Seats in Parliament. Remember this changes the player order (see page 6, Parliamentary Election).
• Finally, determine the number of Seats required for a majority in Parliament.
  • Sum up all Parties' Seats, divide by 2 (rounded down) and add 1.
  • Mark the number on the Parliament Track using the Majority Marker. You will need this number during the Formation of Government (§5d).

Example: The sum of all Seats is 51. Place the Majority Marker on 26.

• Remove all the Food Tokens of all Parties from the Game Board except those which remain thanks to a "Loyalty" Action Card. Place the Tokens in the supply.
• Advance the Parliamentary Election Marker by 2 spaces on the Round Track. (The next Parliamentary Election will occur in 2 rounds.)
• Each Party takes Food Tokens from the supply according to their number of Seats in Parliament and places them in their Party Funds.

Formation of Government (§5D)

A Government is formed after each Parliamentary Election.

In this phase, Parties form Coalitions. You will determine a Government, distribute the Political Offices and state who will implement Political Goals. Generally, it is desirable for a Party to take part in the Government as it may allow you to implement your Political Goals and Political Offices will give bonuses for Parliamentary Campaigning.

A Party that agreed to a successful Coalition Proposal (see below) is part of the Government. A Party that disagreed is in Opposition. Both can be advantageous. This is indicated by your Vote Marker.

During this phase you may discuss freely. You can make formal suggestions, offers, but you may NOT trade any game components, this includes Food Tokens, Action Cards, Seats and implemented Political Goals.

You try to form a Government, either on your own or by forming a Coalition. To do so, you will require a majority of Seats in Parliament to vote for you. The required number of Seats is always indicated on the Parliament Track by the Majority Marker.

For the Formation of Government however, there is a protocol.

• First, remove the two Government Program Markers from the Game Board.

• The Party with the most Seats in Parliament offers the first Coalition Proposal.

• In case of a tie, the Party with less implemented political goals among the Parties in the tie goes first. If there is still a tie, randomly determine who of those Parties goes first.

• Each Party may only offer 1 Coalition Proposal per round.

• The Party that offers the Proposal must announce it clearly. We recommend using: "I suggest the following distribution …", or a similar phrasing. It is important to know when the offer is made, as each Party may only offer 1 Proposal.

• Each Coalition Proposal must include:

  • The distribution of the 3 Government Offices (Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Defense Minister) represented by cards amongst the Parties. Please keep in mind that in Zoocracy the President is not considered to be part of the Government!
  • Each Government Party can receive between 0 and all 3 Government Offices.
  • A statement: which Party gets to implement a Political Goal in this and the next round. Note: 2 political goals will be implemented in the last round.

Now, you will vote.

• First, secretly decide if your Party agrees to the Coalition Proposal or not.
• Then, secretly turn your Vote Marker so the side showing your decision faces up ("yes" or "no"). Place the Marker in the center of the playing area but keep it hidden (e.g. underneath your hand).
• Once all Parties have decided, remove your hands. Sum up the number of Seats in Parliament of each Party that voted "yes".

Example: Yellow proposes the following: Yellow gets to implement the first Political Goal and gets the Prime Minister Card. Orange receives the Finance and the Defense Minister Cards and Red gets to implement the second Political Goal.

The Political Offices have the following advantages. They can be used once until the next Parliamentary Election.

• The Prime Minister's Party may once place 2 additional Food Tokens from the supply during Parliamentary Campaigning.

• The Finance Minister's Party may place its Manipulation Marker on any species once at the start of Parliamentary Campaigning covering the number(s) indicated next to the species. It remains there until the next Parliamentary Election and changes the number of votes from that species: the Party with the most Food Tokens on that species will receive 4 votes. No other Party receives any votes from that species.

• The Defense Minister's Party may once place its Blockade Marker at the beginning of Parliamentary Campaigning to prevent all Parties (including his own party) from placing any new food Markers on that species for that round (no matter the source). Remove the Blockade Marker from the Game Board at the end of the round.

• If the number of Seats that voted "yes" is greater than or equal to the number indicated by the Majority Marker on the Parliament Track, the Coalition Proposal is accepted and the new Government is elected. This Government currently has a majority in Parliament, as their combined number of Seats is greater than the sum of Seats of all Parties in Opposition.

  • Keep the Vote Marker in front of you to indicate if you are a part of the Government or in Opposition.
  • Each Party that voted in favor of the Proposal ("Yes") is in the Government. Each Party that opposed the Proposal ("No") is in Opposition.

Example: Yellow, Red and Orange voted in favor of the Coalition Proposal. Their combined seats (27) achieve a Majority in Parliament. Therefore, a new Government is elected. The vote markers of Green, Black and Blue show that they are now in Opposition.

• If a Government is elected, distribute the Political Office Cards as stated in the Coalition Proposal. Turn them face up (showing the active symbol).
• Place 1 Government Program Marker of the Party that was promised the implementation of the first Political Goal onto the space marked P1 on the Game Board. Do the same for the second Political Goal.
• The Party in Opposition with the most Seats in Parliament takes the Opposition Leader Card. They turn it face up (showing the active symbol).
  • In case of a tie, of those in question, the Party with the least number of implemented Political Goals takes the Card.
  • In case of another tie, randomly determine who receives the Card.
• If no Government is elected, do not offer further Coalition Proposals in this round.

Example: Yellow's Coalition Proposal only receives the votes of Yellow and Red (20, in total). However, the Majority Marker shows that at least 26 Seats are needed to form a Government. Therefore, Green, as the second strongest Party, is next to propose a Coalition to form a new Government.

• If the number of Seats that voted "yes" is smaller than the number indicated by the Majority Marker, the Coalition Proposal is declined.
• If the Coalition Proposal is declined, the Party with the second most Seats in Parliament offers the next Coalition Proposal. In case of a tie of Seats, apply the rules mentioned above (the Party with less implemented Political Goals goes first).
• Continue this process until a Government is elected or until each Party has offered a Coalition Proposal.
  • The former Government remains temporarily in office as an Interim Government (no matter if their Parties still have a majority in Parliament). Do not redistribute the Political Office Cards and do not turn them face up (i.e. reactivate them.)
  • The Party in Opposition with the most Seats in Parliament takes the Opposition Leader Card. They do not turn it face up (i.e. reactivate it).
  • If all Coalition Proposals are refused in the very first round, there is neither a Government nor an Opposition Leader. Do not distribute any Political Office Cards.
  • Move the Parliamentary Election Marker to the next round on the Round Track. The next Parliamentary Election will be next round.

The redistribution of Political Offices can only occur in a "Formation of Government" or "Vote of No Confidence" phase.

Event (§5E)

In this phase, the animals have to deal with unforeseen events.

An Event happens each round.

• Draw 1 Event Card and execute its effect (see §9b, "Event Cards"). Then, discard the Card to a discard pile.
• In player order, each Party may play any number of Action Cards that can be played during this phase (see §9a, "Action Cards").

Vote of No Confidence (§5F)

This phase is only played if the Government Parties lost the majority of Seats in the Parliament through Event or Action Cards. What that means is that the combined number of Seats of all Government Parties is no longer greater than or equal to the number indicated by the Majority Marker on the Parliament Track. In this case, the Opposition Leader's Party may offer a new Coalition Proposal.

A Vote of No Confidence is performed as follows:

• The Opposition Leader's Party offers a Coalition Proposal using the rules described under Formation of Government, §5d. If a Parliamentary Election occurs next round, this Proposal includes only a statement, which Party gets to implement a Political Goal this round as opposed to this and the next, as usual.
• Now, you will vote.
• If the Proposal is accepted, a new Government is elected.
  • Distribute the Political Office Cards according to the Coalition Proposal, but do not reactivate them. Their advantages can only be used if they are still face up.
  • Exchange the Government Program Markers on the spaces P1 and P2, as necessary.
  • The timing of the next Parliamentary Election remains unchanged. Do not move the Parliamentary Election Marker.
• If the Proposal is declined, nothing else happens.

Progress (§5G)

In this Phase, 1 Party gets to shine and implements part of its political agenda. This phase is played each round. It is played as follows:

• In turn order, each Government Party draws 1 Action Card. Each Party in Opposition draws 2 Action cards.
• First, in player order, each Party may play any number of Action Cards that can be played during this phase (see §9a, "Action Cards").
• If you have more than 5 Action Cards in hand, discard Action Cards until you have 5.
• If the draw deck is empty, shuffle the corresponding discard pile to form a new draw deck.
• If there was a Parliamentary Election this round, the Party whose Marker is on space P1 implements 1 Political Goal. If there was no Parliamentary Election this round, the Party whose Marker is on space P2 implements 1 Political Goal.
• Advance the Political Goal Marker of that Party by 1 step on the Political Goals Track. If there has been a Parliamentary Election in the 8th round, the Party or Parties whose markers are on space P1 and P2 each implement 1 Political Goal (see §5d).
• However, a Political Goal is not implemented in this manner if an Action or Event Card prevents it or if the Government Parties have lost their majority in Parliament. (Action Cards that allow to implement a Political Goal may still be played.)
• If there is an Interim Government (see §5d) in office that has a majority in Parliament, the Prime Minister's Party decides which Party implements 1 Political Goal. If the Interim Government does not have a majority in Parliament, do not implement a Political Goal.
• Advance the Round Marker on the Round Track by 1 step.
• Remove the Blockade Marker from the Game Board if it was placed this round.
• Start the next round.

Example: If only the Presidential Election Marker is on the next round, a Presidential Election occurs but not a Parliamentary Election.

End of Game (§6)

The game ends at the end of the round if one or both of the following conditions are met:

• A Political Goal Marker reaches the last space of the Political Goal Track. That Party wins the game.
• The "End of Game" card gets revealed.

The Party that has implemented the most Political Goals (the Party who is in the lead on the Political Goal Track) wins the game.

• In case of a tie, among the tied Parties, the one with more Food Tokens in the Party Funds is in the lead.
• In case of another tie, these Parties share the position.

Rules for Two Players (§7)

In Phase §5d Formation of Government, no Coalitions are formed. The Majority Marker is not used.

• Instead of a Coalition Proposal, the Party that has the most Seats in Parliament takes the Political Office Cards of the Prime, Finance and Defense Minister. The other Party is in Opposition and receives the Opposition Leader Card.
• In case of a tie in Seats, the current Government remains in office. Advance the Parliamentary Election Marker by 1 space on the Round Track, instead of 2. (The next Parliamentary Election will occur next round, instead of in 2 rounds.)

If a Party ever runs out of Food Tokens, they may use additional Food Tokens of another color.

Advanced Rules (§8)

For players who prefer a more political game with more negotiations, we propose the following rules changes:

• In phase §5g, the Prime Minister's Party decides which Party implements 1 Political Goal.

  The statement made in the Coalition Proposal is non-binding.

• Phase §5f is played in each round. The Opposition Leader's Party may offer a new Coalition Proposal even if the Governing Parties still have a majority in Parliament.

Action Cards (§9a)

Rally: Place up to 2 of your Food Tokens from the supply on the indicated species. After placing the Tokens, no species may have the same amount of Tokens from 2 or more different colors. If you cannot fulfil this rule for a given species, you may not play this card.

These cards can only be played during phase §5b "Parliamentary Campaigning".

Negative Campaign: Remove any 1 Food Token from another Party from the indicated animal species and put it back into the general supply. Place 1 of your Food Tokens from the supply on that species.

After that action, the species may not have the same amount of Tokens from 2 or more different Parties. (There may never be a tie in terms of Food Tokens from different Parties on a species.) If you cannot fulfil this rule, you may not play this card.

These cards can only be played during phase §5b "Parliamentary Campaigning".

Wet Season: This Parliamentary Election, the Parties that have the most Food Tokens on the species without a watering hole (elephants, monkeys, zebras, snakes and parrots), respectively, each receive 1 vote less than the highest number indicated next to the species.

This card can only be played during phase §5c "Parliamentary Election".

Dry Season: This Parliamentary Election, the Parties that have the most Food Tokens on the species with a watering hole (penguins, flamingos, hippos and polar bears), respectively, each receive 1 vote less than the highest number indicated next to the species.

This card can only be played during phase §5c "Parliamentary Election".

Migration: Your Party gets 1 additional Seat in Parliament.

This card can only be played during phase §5c "Parliamentary Election".

Overhang Mandate: The Party with the most Food Tokens on the illustrated species gets 1 additional Seat in Parliament for the current Parliamentary Election.

These cards can only be played during phase §5c "Parliamentary Election".

Early Presidential Election: Move the Presidential Election Marker to the next round on the Round Track. The next Presidential Election will be next round.

This card can only be played during phase §5e "Event".

Loyalty: Do not remove up to 2 Food Tokens from the indicated species after the current Parliamentary Election, but keep them on the species.

These cards can only be played during phase §5c "Parliamentary Election".

Defectors: Your party gets the indicated number of Seats in Parliament depending on the number of players. Any Party of your choice loses that number of Seats. Adjust the Seat Markers accordingly.

These cards can only be played during phase §5e "Event".

Early Parliamentary Election: Move the Parliamentary Election Marker to the next round on the Round Track. The next Parliamentary Election will be next round. The Political Goal for next round (agreed upon in §5d) will not get implemented.

This card can only be played during phase §5e "Event".

Assertiveness: Advance your Political Goal Marker by 1 step, i.e. implement 1 Political Goal.

These cards can only be played if you have the indicated Political Office Card and during phase §5g "Progress".

Event Cards (§9b)

Donation: For each indicated Political Office Card a Party has, they take the indicated number of Food Tokens from the supply and place them in their Party Funds.

Good Harvest: Next round, each Party may place up to 2 additional Food Tokens from their Party Funds during "Parliamentary Campaigning" (§5b).

Crop Failure: Next round, each Party may place 2 Food Tokens less from their Party Funds during "Parliamentary Campaigning" (§5b).

Strike: This turn, in phase §5g, do not implement the Political Goal that was promised in the Coalition Proposal. Political Goals from Action Cards may be implemented as usual.

Resistance: This turn, the Party destined to implement 1 Political Goal may only do so if they return 5 Food Tokens from their Party Funds to the supply. If they cannot or do not want to return the Food Tokens, they cannot implement a Political Goal this round.

End of Game: The game ends at the end of this round. The Party that has implemented the most Political Goals wins (see §6, "End of Game").