Game Rules

Age: 6+ | Players: 2+ | Goal: Be the first player to empty your hand.

1. Setup

• Standard Deck: 54 Cards (40 Animals, 4 Stampedes, 4 Traps, 4 Shields, 2 Woofs.)

• Kickstarter Special Edition Deck: number of cards TBD (Animals, Stampedes,Traps, Shields, Woof, Great Crossing, Hurricane, Scratch), skin safe marker.

• The Deal: Shuffle the deck and deal 7 cards to each player.

• The Wild (Draw Pile): Place the remaining cards face-down in the center.

• The Sanctuary (Discard Pile): The youngest player places any card from their hand face-up to start the pile. Play proceeds clockwise.

2. How to Play

On your turn, you must play a card that is stronger than the one currently on top of the Sanctuary.

The Animal Hierarchy (Rank 1–10) 
Animals are ranked by size and strength:
Mouse (1) is weakest. Elephant (10) is the strongest.

The Element Hierarchy (Power 1–4)
If two animals have the same Rank, the Element (Color) determines the winner:
Tree (Green/1) < Fire (Red/2) < Water (Blue/3) < Energy (Yellow/4)

Mandatory Vocalization 
When playing an animal, you must call out its name (e.g., "Cat" or "Gato" or “Meo”) or say "Hello" in the language featured on the card, or for extra fun, let out a "Roar!" when playing a Lion or Tiger.

Special Rules

• David vs. Goliath: The Mouse is the only animal that can defeat the Elephant (of any color). If a Mouse is played on an Elephant, the hierarchy resets; the next player must beat the Mouse with a Rank 2 animal or higher.

• Drawing Cards: If you cannot play a higher card, draw one card from The Wild. Your turn then ends.

• Reset: If a full circle passes and no player can beat the top card, the last person who played clears the Sanctuary and starts a fresh round with any card.

3. Special Action Cards

• 🐂 THE STAMPEDE (The Flow): Reverses the direction of play. The next player must play any card that matches the Element featured on the Stampede card.

• 🪤 THE TRAP (The Slap): Can be played on any turn. When played, all players must quickly slap the pile. The last person to slap draws 2 cards. The "Trapper" clears the Sanctuary and starts a new round.

• 🛡️ THE SHIELD (The Interrupt): * On Your Turn: Functions as a Wild Card. You may "save" a species by playing the Shield and tucking one extra animal card from your hand underneath it. The next player must beat the Rank of that tucked animal. 
  The Hero Move: Can be played out of turn to block a Trap! It must be played immediately after the first slap. This cancels the penalty, the pile is cleared, and the next player starts fresh.

• 🐕 THE WOOF (The Loyal Friend/Leader): It allows you to play one or multiple "friends" (animals of the same element) at once with the Woof. The next player must then beat the highest-ranking animal in that group using the same element color.

4. Winning the Game
To win you must remember to shout

• MewMew: Shout "MewMew!" when you have only one card remaining.

• Woof: Shout "Woof!" when you play your final card.

• Busted!: If you forget to shout "MewMew" or "Woof" and another player calls "Busted!" before the next card is played, you must draw 2 cards.

• The Combo Win: If a player holds two Cats and one Woof card, they may play them together and shout "MewMew! Woof!" to win the game instantly.

5. Kickstarter Special Edition Rules

The Special Edition includes three high-stakes "Chaos" cards:

• 🔄 THE GREAT CROSSING (The Migration): This card is unranked and cannot be blocked by a Shield. When played, choose an opponent and swap your entire hand with theirs. The Sanctuary is cleared, and the player who played the card starts a new round.  You cannot choose an opponent who has already shouted "MewMew!" (1 card left).

• 🌪️ THE HURRICANE (The Tactical Swap): When played, the active player chooses to take or pass one card to their neighbor. This triggers a chain reaction where every player must do the same. The Hurricane player then starts a new round.

• 💅 THE SCRATCH: Can be played at any time to reset the Sanctuary.

  • The Cat Combo: If played alongside a Cat, the player may "Scratch" the previous player (mechanically: mark a scratch on their hands with a skin safe marker or force them to draw 3 cards). This combination beats any card in the game.