How to Play Bärenpark: The Bad News Bears

Game Objective

In Bärenpark: The Bad News Bears, players are expanding their bear parks to accommodate massive grizzly bears and build a monorail system for their visitors. The game ends when a player completes all of their Park Areas. The player with the most points wins.

Preparation (Setup)

Set up the game according to the base game rules and apply the following changes, depending on the modules you are using:

Module I – Grizzlies

1. In a 2- or 4-player game, add the 8-value Animal Houses to the top of their respective stacks. In a 3-player game, add the 7-value Animal Houses.
2. In a 2-player game, add the 18 and 20 value Bear Statues to the display. In a 3-player game, add values 15, 16, and 17. In a 4-player game, use all 20 Bear Statues.
3. Place the new Exit Park Areas near the base game Park Areas. Spread these new tiles out so they can all be seen.
4. Spread the 12 Grizzly Bear Habitats next to the supply board.

Module II – Monorails

1. Place the Monorail Towers next to the supply board, using seven Towers per player.
   • 2 players: 14 Monorail Towers
   • 3 players: 21 Monorail Towers
   • 4 players: 28 Monorail Towers
2. Place the Monorail Cars nearby, in stacks of equal value, using one Car of each value per player.
   • 2 players: 2 of each value (10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3)
   • 3 players: 3 of each value (10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3)
   • 4 players: 4 of each value (10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3)

Additionally

• Add the 6 additional Restroom Tiles to the base game supply.
• Add the 18 new Achievements (3 of each of the 6 types) to the base game Achievements. Choose your Achievements for the combined set game.

Game Flow

The game is played normally, except for the new elements added by the modules. The game progresses in turns, where players perform actions to expand their parks.

Adding a 5th Park Area (Grizzlies Module)

When you cover the Construction Crew symbol on your 4th Park Area, you will now receive an Exit Park Area as your 5th Park Area. You may choose from the available Exit Park Areas in the general supply. You may not take a normal Park Area instead. Add it to your park according to normal rules, except not directly below another Park Area. You must complete all five of your Park Areas to trigger the end of the game.

Exit Park Areas do not show any Construction Crew or Excavator symbols.

Actions and How to Play

Gaining a Grizzly Bear Habitat (Grizzlies Module)

Once per turn, at the beginning or end of your turn (i.e., before or after placing a tile or passing), you may discard one Green Area and one Animal House from your supply (not from your park) to gain an available Grizzly Bear Habitat from the general supply. Remove the discarded tiles from the game. If you do this at the beginning of your turn, you may place the chosen Grizzly Bear Habitat immediately (as your tile placement for that turn). Otherwise, or if you do not place the tile immediately, place it in your supply for later use.

You must discard exactly two tiles, one Green Area and one Animal House, to gain a Grizzly Bear Habitat. You may not substitute either of these tiles for a different tile type (e.g., discard two Animal Houses or gain an Enclosure). It does not matter which type of Green Area you discard.

There is no limit to the number of Grizzly Bear Habitats you can gain during the game, except for the fact that there are only 12 Grizzly Bear Habitats in total and space is limited in your park. When the supply of Grizzly Bear Enclosures runs out, you cannot gain any more.

Building the Monorail (Monorails Module)

Each time you place a Green Area in your park, including on the first turn of the game, you may immediately place a Monorail Tower from the general supply onto the Green Area, if you meet the requirements. You must place the Tower immediately or not place it at all — you cannot retroactively place Towers on Green Areas from previous turns.

The Tower must be placed on exactly one space within the Green Area. Restrooms have one space, Playgrounds two, Food Streets and Rivers three.

There are no further restrictions for the first Tower you place in the game. All subsequent Towers must be placed so that a Monorail Car can be attached to the new Tower.

There must be exactly two spaces, horizontally or vertically, between the new Tower and a previously placed one. It does not matter if these spaces are empty, covered by a tile, or pits (with or without a Bear Statue).

You must immediately attach a Monorail Car to the new Tower and the previously placed one, taking the remaining Monorail Car with the highest value from the general supply.

Additional Rules for the Monorail Line

• Only one line: You cannot start a new Monorail line, even if you get stuck.
• No straight lines: Each Tower can have at most two Cars attached to it occupying adjacent sides. (In other words, the Monorail must make 90° turns at all times and cannot have any intersections.) Consequently, you can only extend your Monorail line at its two ends.
• No loops: You can only place one Monorail Car per turn. (So, except for the first Tower placed, you will always place exactly one Tower and one Car or none.)

There is no limit to the number of Monorail Cars you can build during the game, except for the fact that there are only (up to) 24 Monorail Cars in total and space is limited in your park. When the supply of Monorail Cars runs out, you cannot get any more. (Monorail Towers cannot run out before Monorail Cars.)

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when a player completes their Left Park Area (if using the Grizzlies module) or their fourth Park Area (if using only the Monorails module). As normal, all other players receive one final turn before scoring. In the rare event that no one manages to complete their park, the game ends early.

Score your parks normally, including points from Grizzly Bear Habitats placed in your park and Monorail Cars. (Monorail Towers do not provide any points.) The player with the most points wins. Apply the usual tie-breaker, if necessary.

Tips for Winning

• When using the Grizzlies module, carefully plan the placement of Grizzly Bear Habitats, as they are large seven-space tiles and can be challenging to fit, but they offer an advantage in the race to complete your park.
• With the Monorails module, prioritize building your monorail as quickly as possible, as the higher-value Monorail Cars are taken first from the general supply.
• When combining the Grizzlies and Monorails modules, be aware that the game becomes quite complex. Managing space for Grizzly Bear Habitats and the Monorail building restrictions simultaneously will require careful planning.