Zoology
Zoology Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 Primary animal board
- 4 Secondary (extension) animal boards
- 40 Animal cards, including 16 common animals and 6 animals from each specified region (Africa, America, Asia, Australia)
- 70 Question cards
- 6 Card holders
- 18 Guess tokens
- 24 Victory point tokens
- 1 Supply table
- 1 First player token
- 1 Rulebook
Setup
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Place the primary animal board (A) in the middle of the table. The board shows which animal species will be used in the game (for your first game, start with the primary animal board).
Note: If you are experienced, you may pick one or more secondary animal boards (B). Combining the boards will include more animals in the game. It's a good idea to search for and introduce those animals to all players, ensuring everyone has a brief knowledge of them.
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Each player takes a card holder (C), and places it in front of them.
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Prepare the deck of animal cards, based on the chosen animal board(s). Take the 16 common animal cards (or more cards if using secondary boards), shuffle them all to form a draw deck (D), and place it facedown.
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Deal 1 animal card to each player. Players must NOT look at their own cards and put the cards into card holders (E). The cards must face the other players so that they can see the animal on it.
Golden rule 1: You should NEVER look at the animal on your own card!
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Shuffle the question cards and deal 3 to each player (F).
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Prepare the supply of guess tokens, place them on the supply table (G). The number of tokens needed is shown in the following table:
Players Tokens 2 Players 10 Tokens 3 Players 12 Tokens
Goal of the Game
Collect information and earn victory points by identifying the animal you are holding. The game is played over multiple rounds, and the first player with 5 or more victory points will be the winner!
Time to Play!
Beginning with the first player, you take turns in clockwise order to do both of the followings:
- Play a question card
- Replenish
1. Play One of Your Question Cards
You pick a question card from your hand, reveal it and read it out loud.
All players then provide honest opinions and select one animal from the other players as the best answer. You cannot choose your own animal since you cannot see it. The order in which players give their opinions does not matter.
Golden rule 2: All players may discuss, but you MUST NOT mention ANY animal names, regardless of whether they are shown on the animal board. Instead, you should refer to the players by their names when discussing the animal cards they hold.
The animal selected by the majority becomes the Champion (most votes) for this turn. Place the question card as a reminder in front of the Champion. In the case of a tie, place it next to the animal board to indicate the tie.
Note: When asking the question on the card, you are free to specify whether the question pertains to a single animal, a particular group of animals, or the entire species. Feel free to explain this or any other distinctions.
2. Replenish
Draw 1 question card and take one guess token from the supply. You can keep as many guess tokens as you want.
Your turn is now complete. The game continues with the next player.
Example: In a 5-player game, Anna is holding an elephant, William is holding a horse and the other players are holding a cat, a pig and a mouse. It's Anna's turn. Anna plays a question card and asks, "Who is the largest?". From Anna's point of view, she thinks William (horse) is the largest compared to the cat, pig and mouse. After a discussion, the other players agree that Anna is the largest. With more votes, Anna (elephant) becomes the Champion and the card is placed in front of her as a reminder. As a result, everyone gains some clues about their animals. Anna then draws 1 question card and takes 1 guess token from the supply before ending the turn.
Guess!
After every player has completed their first turn, the first player shall flip the first player token to the B side. From now on, all players can make a guess by placing one of their guess tokens on an animal on the board at any time during the game. In other words, you do not need to wait for your turn in order to make a guess.
Golden rule 3: You MUST NOT place a guess token on animals held by other players.
Other players will verify whether you are correct.
- If correct, congratulations! Take 2 victory point tokens. Other players still have a chance of gaining 1 victory point. Refer to "Ending a Round" for more details.
- If incorrect, continue the game. The guess token remains on the animal board, indicating that no player is holding that animal in this game.
What if we guess correctly nearly at the same time? In rare cases, players might make a correct guess simultaneously. All those players take 2 victory point tokens, and proceed to "Ending a Round". This is the only situation that may lead to a share of victory!
Second Chance
When a player makes a correct guess or the last guess token from the supply is taken, the first player shall flip the first player token back to the A side immediately.
During this phase, players can only make guesses and CANNOT play question cards anymore.
Beginning with the first player, players take turns making one guess by placing one of their guess tokens. Players who guess correctly during this phase gain 1 victory point token. Any players who had already made a correct guess or used up all their guess tokens must pass. Repeat this process until all players have passed.
Ending a Round
To prepare for the next round,
- Return all the guess tokens to the supply.
- Each player ensures they have 3 question cards. Gather all the question cards revealed on the table to form a discard pile. (The discard pile shall be reshuffled to form a new deck when the question card deck is running out.)
- Gather and reshuffle ALL animal cards, including those used in this round and the draw deck. Deal a new one to each player, as seen in the setup.
- Finally, pass the first player token to the next player in a clockwise direction. The next round starts with the new first player, which proceeds just like the previous round.
Ending the Game
Once a player reaches 5 or more points, the game ends immediately. That player is declared the winner!
Interaction Between Players
This game is not about bluffing. Players should not intentionally provide false information. Even if your animal is not the Champion for that round, there is still valuable information to be found. If you disagree with another player's judgment on a question, feel free to share your thoughts. Players are encouraged to discuss and review any information they know, while trying not to give away too many clues. This balance is part of the fun! You could even fact-check after the game!
Cooperative Mode
In this mode, all the players work together as a team to help each other. The goal is to have all players correctly guess their animals after several rounds. The game follows the standard rules, with the following changes.
Additional Setup
Victory point tokens are not used in this mode, put them back in the box.
Gameplay Changes
- You should not make guesses before all guess tokens in the supply are taken. The first player token should always be kept at the A side to indicate no guesses are allowed.
- After the last guess token in the supply is taken, players cannot play any more question cards. Beginning with the first player, players take turns making one guess by placing a guess token. Repeat this process until ALL players have correctly guessed their animals or a player has used up ALL guess tokens.
- If you guessed correctly and still have guess tokens remaining, you can give ONE to a teammate who is still playing. Discard any remaining guess tokens.
- If all the players have correctly guessed their animal, congratulations! Your team has successfully completed the challenge. You may try a more challenging game with more additional boards. The final stage includes all 40 animals!
Note: As in the competitive game, players may discuss amongst each other. It is highly recommended to focus on the questions of the cards and avoid revealing excessive information. All players should prevent information leaks. If your group prefers a more challenging experience, you could simply vote on all questions, and refrain from further discussions.
Achievements
Players can gain achievement titles if all players successfully guessed their own animal in the Cooperative Mode!
| Title | Condition |
|---|---|
| Discoverer | 2-player game |
| Wildlife Wardens | 6-player game |
| Naturalist Novice | Primary animal board |
| New World Adventurer | Primary + America |
| Safari Specialist | Primary + Africa |
| Monsoon Voyager | Primary + Asia |
| Outback Ranger | Primary + Australia |
| Habitat Scholar | Primary + Any 2 regions |
| Biome Master | Primary + Any 3 regions |
| Zoologist Legend | Primary + All 4 regions |
Neutral Animals for a 2-3 Player Game
This variant can be used in both competitive and cooperative games.
Additional Setup
Draw 2 or 1 animal cards (in 2 or 3 player game) and place them in an additional card holder, facing all players. The cards represent neutral animal(s).
Gameplay Changes
- When answering questions, always include the neutral animal in the discussions.
- If the neutral animal becomes the Champion, place the question card in front of it as a reminder.
- In a 2-player game, ties for the Champion are common. It is recommended to place the question card between the two tied animals.
Quick Start: A Competitive Game
- Play a question card during your turn.
- Discuss and vote for the champion. Golden rule: You CANNOT mention any animal names during discussion. Shhhh...
- Draw a question card and take a guess token.
First player token: when the 2nd round of turns starts, flip to the B side — place a guess token onto the animal board at ANYTIME! Turn the A side face up when a) a player makes a correct guess, or b) there are no more guess tokens in supply — then, beginning with the first player, players take turns making a guess clockwise.