Donkey Wars

Setup

Four animal suits — Panda, Platypus, Gecko, and Beaver — ranks 1–12, two copies of each (96 cards) plus four action cards. Each player starts with 10 cards. A match is 4 rounds. Roles rotate counter-clockwise.

Secret roles

• Panda — only ranks 6–12. Go out when every card fits.
• Platypus — only ranks 1–6. Go out when every card fits.
• Gecko — every card sits in a run of 3 or more. Select a run, then press and hold 1 second to stack it. Or select one card and tap a stack to add it.
• Beaver — every card sits in a pair or set of the same rank. Select a pair, then press and hold 1 second to stack it.

Rank 6 counts for both Panda and Platypus.

Scoring

At the end of the round, fitted cards add points and misfits subtract the same value:

• Ranks 1–6 → 5 points
• Ranks 7–12 → 10 points
• Wild Bamboo → 20 points

The highest score after four rounds wins.

Wild Bamboo

Before anyone looks at their hand, the Panda names one rank. Every card of that rank, in every animal, is wild for every player.

Your turn

Go out at the start of your turn if your hand qualifies. Otherwise tap the draw pile or the discard pile once or twice (max 2). You can drag a card onto the discard pile, or tap cards and press Discard.

• One draw, then Done drawing: discard exactly 1 (unless your hand already qualifies).
• Two draws: discard up to 2.

When someone goes out, everyone else gets one last turn. If both piles run out, the round ends immediately.

House rule: Same animal

Optional. Panda and Platypus hands must be one animal (wilds count as any). Each Gecko run is one animal. Each Beaver set is one animal. Different animals can still sit side by side as separate runs or sets.

House rule: Safe in the barn

Optional. The player who already went out cannot be hit by Donkey Stampede, The Zookeeper, or Tricky Trickster.

Action cards

They happen as soon as you draw them. They do not stay in your hand.

• Donkey Stampede — anyone with more than 20 cards discards down to 20.
• The Zookeeper — name a rank. Each other player gives you one card of that rank if they have it.
• River Burrow — look at up to 10 cards in the draw pile, keep 2, and shuffle the rest back.
• Tricky Trickster — take 2 random cards from an opponent. They draw 2 replacements.