How to Play Zoo and More

Objective of the Game

Zoo and More is a compendium of card games, each using a standard deck of cards with unique additions. The overarching goal of the Through the Zoo game system, which combines these individual games, is for players to showcase their animal exhibits at Zü, Zooklyn's hot new zoo. Players will compete across multiple rounds, each featuring a different standard deck game, aiming to perform better than their opponents. The player with the most Game points at the end of 4 rounds wins the residency at Zü.

Preparation (Setup)

Chai Tea Jazz (3 Players)

1. The deck consists of 36 cards (ranks 1-9 in four suits).
2. Shuffle the deck and deal all cards equally, 12 to each player.
3. The start player for the first round is the last player to drink a chai. Give that player the 5-point Barrel card (0 side up).
4. Set the Current Bid/Bidder cards nearby.
5. Players agree on the amount of contracts (and which contracts) they will play in the game. The standard game uses one side of the Paper Pad (with room for additional contracts, if desired), while the opposite side has a fully blank contract list for full customization. For your first play, it is recommended to play the standard side without additional contracts (4 base: Trump, Under, Slalom, and Joker).

Short Zoot Suit

1. Build the deck and deal based on player count:
   • 2p: 2-9, 4 suits. Shuffle and deal all but 2 cards.
   • 3p: 2-13, 4 suits. Shuffle and deal all but 3 cards.
   • 4p: 1-13, 4 suits. Shuffle and deal all cards.
2. Give each player a player aid/Draw Deck card.
3. If playing with Intermediate Scoring, choose an Intermediate Scoring card.
4. The start player for the first round is the last player to watch a short film.
5. At the start of a round, players pick any 5 cards from the cards they were dealt. Players then flip these 5 cards facedown, shuffle them, and place them into a pile in front of themselves. This is the draw pile for the player.

Bug House Millionaire (4 Players)

1. Shuffle and evenly deal all the playing cards (64 cards, 0-15 in 4 Suits).
2. Players sit next to their partner, side by side, and across from their opponent.
3. Set up 2 chess timers, 1 between each of the pairs of opponents. The clock facing the player is their personal clock.
4. Players set the chess timers to 1:55 minutes each, no increment. (Note: the timer in the game is meant as a means of pressure, but not stress. If real-time games are abhorred or a beginner game is desired, add more time to the timers to balance out the pressure.)
5. There will be two start players. One of the start players for the first round is the person who last contemplated the crushing stress of buying a house. The other start player is the opponent diagonal to the first start player.

Hodge Podge Dodgeball (4 Players)

1. Players sit diagonally opposite of their partner.
2. Place the Team Bench cards next to each other nearby, with their '1 Timeout Left' side up.
3. Keep the Match Point card in the box, but give each player a Player Aide and a Team Marker card for their team in front of themselves as a reminder of which team they’re on.
4. Shuffle and evenly deal all the playing cards (52 Playing Cards (A-K in 4 suits) + 2 All-Stars (Jokers)).
5. Place an All-Star card (Joker) on each team’s bench.
6. Players simultaneously add 1 card from their hand to their respective benches, face-up.
7. Teammates simultaneously pass each other a card from their hand.
8. The start player for the first round is the last player to throw something (tosses count).

Through the Zoo

1. Players each get their own standard deck of cards (52 Cards, A-K in 4 Suits) that they shuffle and set in front of themselves.
2. Place the Zoo card (pick Zooklyn for your first game).
3. Get all of the Exhibit cards for the player count, shuffle them, and deal 4 Exhibit cards to the spots below the Zoo card.
4. Every player draws 13 cards from their personal deck.
5. Start player for the 1st round is the player whose favorite animal is the smallest. They get the Start Player Card.

Gameplay Flow

Chai Tea Jazz

The standard game lasts 12 rounds: 4 contracts, each played by the three players. Each round consists of two phases: a Picking phase and a Trick-Taking phase.

Picking Phase

To begin, the player with the Barrel card first looks at their hand, then either picks a contract for the round or passes.

• Pass: If they pass, the next player clockwise is in the same position where they must either pass or pick a contract. If everyone passes, that original player with the Barrel card is forced to pick a contract. The game is Hard Pass, meaning if a player passes then they are out for the remainder of that Picking phase. Players may not pick a contract they have already completed. Therefore, once a player has completed all contracts, they must pass for the rest of the game; they may not take on Bet Debt.
• Pick a Contract: If the player with the Barrel card did not pass, but rather picked a contract, then the next player clockwise may now either pass or incur Bet Debt to pick a different contract. Overall, if a contract has been picked and the next player has not yet passed, that next player may either pass or pick a new contract and increase the Bet Debt to any amount on the Barrel card, up to 35. When a player picks a contract, they take the Current Bidder card, not the Barrel card. They also put the Current Bid card near the contract board pointing to their current bid. If any Bet Debt is declared, the Barrel card is rotated and/or flipped to have that Bet Debt number at the top, to keep track of the current Bet Debt. The player who finally picked the contract is the declarer. The declarer plays alone against the other two players.

Trick-Taking Phase

After a contract is determined, the Trick-Taking phase involves one player trying to score points, while the other two players try to hinder that sole player. With the contract picked, the Current Bidder will lead to the first trick. The trick-taking is must-follow, may-trump (if trump was declared). If the contract has a trump suit, may-trump allows players to play a trump card, even if they could follow suit. If the trump suit is led, the following players must play a trump card, if they have one. The Current Bidder’s goal in the trick-taking phase is to capture the cards with the points on them; all of the odd cards have points. The number of points an odd card has is equal to the card’s rank. The strongest card wins the trick (which may be the highest, lowest, trump, or something else, depending on the contract). The winner of the trick leads to the next trick. Play out all of the tricks, taking note of who wins the last trick as it’s worth points.

Short Zoot Suit

Before every trick begins, anyone may draw 1 card from their personal draw deck. If, after this, anyone has 0 cards left in their hand (not draw deck), the round is over. The trick-taking is must-follow, with no trump. The highest card of the lead suit wins. The winner takes the trick, except for any non-lead-suit cards. Those cards go back to the player who played them, face-up into that player’s shorts pile.

Bug House Millionaire

Players are competing in two simultaneous, real-time, 2 player shedding/climbing games, where both games stop when either any player is out of cards or any player’s timer runs out. To begin, start the timers. Now, the start players will play to the table any valid meld. The following player must either play or pass. Anytime after leading, playing or passing, a player must hit their clock before the other player’s turn. A player does not need to take their turn until their opponent hits the clock. To play over the lead meld, a higher combination of the lead meld type must be played. If either player passes, the trick ends. The winner of the trick now picks any 1 card from the trick they just won and gives it over to their partner. They must give a card to their partner before they lead into their next trick. When passed a card, the partner takes the passed card immediately into their hand. Players may pass a card after some discussion, or may just give their partner a card if they wish to forgo communicating. The winner of a trick may delay passing a card to their partner, if desired. Though the winner is still using up their clock, it may be the better move to wait.

Hodge Podge Dodgeball

The trick-taking is must-not-follow suit. The highest card played usually wins the trick, regardless of suit. However, certain situations arise when multiple players play the highest card. Tricks continue until any player cannot make a valid play. When that happens, the round ends immediately. A trick resolves in one of four ways: When a player Gets hit by a ball, Blocks a ball for their partner, Catches a ball thrown by their opponent, or Can’t play a card. Resolve a trick at the end after every player has played a card, never during the trick. The only exception is when a player can’t play a card, which ends the round immediately.

Through the Zoo

The game will last 4 rounds where players will play a different standard deck game each round. The games that will be played are in order under the Zoo Setup card. If any player is not sure on the rules for a game, the list of games and their rules can be found here: Exhibit Cards have an organization: Game Name, Possible Rule Exceptions or Notes, Designer Name, Player Count (T means 4-player Teams), and Reminders of gameplay rules (mf: must follow, mnf: must not follow, Mf: May follow; nt: no trump, lt: later determined trump, (DHSC)t: (Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, Clubs) trump; Ah: Aces high, Al: Aces low, 2Ah: 2’s high then Aces high; CS: Climbing/Shedding; -: does not apply). Players now play the current round’s standard deck game. Through the Zoo is built on the knowledge of various standard deck games, so the rules for the current round’s game are not on the Exhibit card, but will be either easy to find online or linked from the QR on the previous page. Play for a round of that Exhibit’s game uses all the same rules of that game, with any changes or exceptions noted on the Exhibit card itself. The start player for the game is the player with the Start Player card. Every round starts with players activating the Prepare action of the zoo. In Zooklyn, players prepare by discarding up to 13 cards from their hand, drawing that many from their deck into their hand, then shuffling those discarded cards back into their deck. (Mulliganing up to 13).

Actions and How to Play

Chai Tea Jazz

Picking Phase Actions

• Pick a Contract: The player with the Barrel card can choose one of the available contracts (Trump, Under, Slalom, Joker). If they pick Trump, they declare which of the four suits is trump for the round. If they pick Joker, they declare it to be any of the other contracts, even one they've previously completed. When picking, they take the Current Bidder card and place the Current Bid card pointing to their chosen contract.
• Pass: A player can pass, removing themselves from the current Picking phase. If all other players pass, the player with the Barrel card is forced to pick a contract.
• Incur Bet Debt to Pick a Different Contract: If a contract has already been picked, the next player in turn order can choose to pick a different contract and increase the Bet Debt on the Barrel card up to 35. This player then becomes the Current Bidder.
• Passing the Barrel (Variant): When everybody passes and the player with the Barrel card is forced to pick a contract, they may instead reverse the Bet Debt by offering any amount out to other players to take the barrel instead. If accepted by another player, that player adds those offered points to the total that they get after picking a contract for themselves and playing that picked contract. The offer may keep growing, in the allotted increments, until either an opponent takes the offer, the max of the Bet Debt is offered, or the player with the Barrel card gives up, rescinds the offer, and picks a contract themselves.

Trick-Taking Phase Actions

• Play a Card: Players, in turn, play a card from their hand to the middle of the play area. The first player (or lead player) in any trick may play any card. The suit of this led card is the trick’s led suit. Remaining players must follow suit if able. If a player cannot follow suit, they are short-suited and may play any other card.
• May Trump: If a trump suit was declared, players may play a trump card even if they could follow suit. If the trump suit is led, following players must play a trump card if they have one.

Contract Types

• Trump (1 Game Point): The picking player decides which of the four suits is trump for the round. No trump suit is not allowed. The ranking is 9 (trump) > 1 (trump), then 9 (lead suit) > 1 (lead suit).
• Under (2 Game Points): The ranking is changed so the lowest card is the strongest: 1 > 2 > 3... > 9.
• Slalom (2 Game Points): The ranking alternates every trick between 9 > 1 and 1 < 9. The picking player chooses whether the round starts with highest being strongest or lowest.
• Joker (3 Game Points): This contract is whichever of the above contracts the player wants, declared when picked. It may be any contract, even one the player has previously completed.

Short Zoot Suit

• Draw a Card: Before every trick begins, any player may draw 1 card from their personal draw deck.
• Play a Card: Players must follow suit. There is no trump. The highest card of the lead suit wins.

Bug House Millionaire

• Play a Meld: Start players play any valid meld (Singles, Pairs, Suited Runs) to the table. Subsequent players must play a stronger combination of the same meld type or pass.
• Hit Clock: Anytime after leading, playing, or passing, a player must hit their clock before the other player’s turn.
• Pass: A player can pass, ending the trick.
• Give Card to Partner: The winner of a trick picks any 1 card from the trick they just won and gives it to their partner before leading the next trick.
• Open Communication: Players may say anything, ask partners what they need, talk about their hands, or discuss strategy. Players cannot show their hand or the contents of the collected trick to their partner.

Valid Melds

• Singles
• Pairs
• Suited Runs

Hodge Podge Dodgeball

• Play a Card: Players must-not-follow suit. The highest card played usually wins the trick, regardless of suit.
• Call a Timeout: Before any trick begins, any player may