Game Objective

In Zoo Fighters II, each player controls a Fighter and tries to gather three Special Moves, reveal their EX Form, and draw out their Legendary Weapon. When these three elements are in play simultaneously, the table enters the final stretch. Even so, the player who triggered the condition does not win automatically; all players still have one last chance to improve their position before the final point count. The winner is the one who accumulates the highest final score.

Setup

1. Each player chooses, or is randomly given, 1 Fighter.
2. The player takes the Guide Card corresponding to their Fighter.
3. Place the Fighter with the Initial Form face up.
4. Place that Fighter’s Legendary Weapon in the center of the table, still sheathed.
5. Return to the box any Fighters and their cards that did not enter the game.
6. Combine all the chosen Fighters’ cards with the Base Deck cards.
7. Shuffle everything to form a single Draw Deck.
8. Each player draws 4 cards.
9. The player controlling the Fighter with the lowest Willpower value starts the game.

Sheathed Weapon Rule: the owner of the weapon may look at the back of their own Legendary Weapon while it remains sheathed. Other players only discover what it does when it is drawn out.

Game Flow

The game follows a simple turn structure, as per the Turn Structure:

1. Draw cards – at the start of your turn, draw cards equal to your Fighter’s Willpower value (or 4 cards if your hand is empty).
2. Activate events – during your turn, you may play up to 2 Events (reveal Special Move, place Opponent, reveal EX Form, draw Legendary Weapon). Action and Chi cards do not count as Events.
3. Refresh exhausted cards – at the end of the turn, flip back all exhausted cards (Fighter, Special Moves, Legendary Weapon) to prepare them.
4. Pass the turn – declare that your turn is over.

The game proceeds clockwise, but cards can change the direction of play. When the end‑game condition is met, the final stretch begins: players continue to play until the turn returns to the player who triggered the end of the game, who then ends the game and starts the point count.

Actions and How to Play

Draw Cards (7.1)

At the start of your turn, draw cards equal to your Fighter’s Willpower. If your hand is empty, draw 4 cards. If the Draw Deck runs out, shuffle the Discard Pile to form a new deck.

Play Events (7.2)

During your turn, you may play up to 2 Events. Count as an Event:

• Reveal a Special Move
• Place an Opponent in front of someone
• Reveal your EX Form
• Draw a Legendary Weapon

Action and Chi cards do not count as Events.

Special Moves (7.3)

To play a Special Move, pay the card’s Chi cost and place it in front of you. Once in play, it remains with you until the end of the game. Special Moves can have three types of effect:

• On Reveal – the effect occurs immediately when the card enters play.
• Permanent – the effect continues while the card is in play and prepared.
• Exhaust – the effect can be used as an Action. After that, the card becomes exhausted until it is refreshed.

EX Form (7.4)

To reveal your EX Form, pay the cost shown on your Fighter’s card and flip the card to the correct side. The EX Form ability follows the same activation rules as Special Moves.

Opponents (7.5)

Opponents are cards placed in front of another player to hinder their plans.

• A player can never have more than 2 Opponents in front of them.
• You cannot defeat opponents of another player.
• A player with Opponents in front of them cannot activate Events.
• Even with Opponents, that player can still use Actions.

When an Opponent is defeated, it leaves the front of the player and goes to the Victory Stack of the one who defeated it. These defeated Opponents count points at the end of the game.

Legendary Weapons (7.6)

Legendary Weapons start the game sheathed in the center of the table. During your turn, you may draw a weapon. To do so, pay the weapon’s cost, flip the card to the drawn side, and immediately resolve the effect described on it. Drawing a weapon counts as an Event on your turn. Any Legendary Weapon in play can be drawn by any player. Each player can control only 1 Legendary Weapon. Weapons never leave the game.

Chi and Cost Payment (7.7 and 7.8)

There are 6 types of Chi: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Order, Chaos (wild). You can generate Chi in three ways:

1. Using cards from your own hand (consider the card’s color for this, without activating any effect described on it).
2. Using cards from the hands of adjacent players (left and right).
3. Exhausting your Fighter or your Special Moves in play that have the ability to generate Chi.

Double Chi cards are two Chis. When you use a card from an adjacent player’s hand as Chi, use the back of the card. After being used as Chi, the cards go to the discard pile.

You must pay the full cost of a card. If you lack Chi, the play does not happen. Empty Chi slots can be paid with any color. If a symbol requests a color that is not represented by any Fighter in play, that symbol is considered a Chaos Chi.

Reprisal (7.8)

Some cards have Reprisal. This effect only occurs when another player takes that card from your hand to use it as Chi. The Reprisal effect happens before the card turns into Chi. If no effect prevents Reprisal, it resolves normally and then goes to discard. If the use is prevented, the card with Reprisal goes to discard in the same way.

Action Cards (7.9)

Action cards have no cost and can be used at any time during the game. They serve to interfere with plays, increase costs, cancel effects, or create quick responses. If an Action interrupts an attempt to play an Event, the Event returns to where it left off, the Chi spent is lost, but the player does not lose one of their two Event uses for the round.

Ending the Turn (7.10)

When you’re done doing what you want to do:

1. Declare that your turn is over.
2. Refresh your exhausted cards (normally, this includes your Fighter, your Special Moves, and your Legendary Weapon if it was exhausted).

End of Game and Scoring

The final stretch begins when a player gathers the three elements of the game’s objective:

• At least 3 Special Moves.
• A Fighter in EX Form.
• A Legendary Weapon drawn.

After that, the other players still play until the turn returns to the player who triggered the end of the game. Instead of playing again, that player ends the game and everyone counts points.

For the final score, add:

• The points of your Special Moves.
• The points of your Legendary Weapon.
• The points of your defeated Opponents.
• 1 extra point for each card of the same color as your Fighter, counting Special Moves, Legendary Weapon, and Opponents.
• The player who triggered the end of the game receives 3 points.

The HIGHEST SCORE determines the Champion!

Tips to Win

• Plan your final combo early: start gathering Special Moves and drawing the weapon as soon as possible, but don’t forget to pay the cost of the EX Form. Having everything ready before your opponents can ensure you trigger the final stretch.
• Use Actions to block others’ events: if an opponent is about to play a Special Move or draw a weapon, respond with an Action that interrupts the event. This can delay their final stretch.
• Control Chi: take advantage of Double Chi cards and adjacent Chi sources to pay costs faster, allowing you to play more Events per turn.