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Hello,
Seasoned Bunny Fans!
As more of
you become experts in the game we must take a moment to acknowledge
the fact that some folks are still just beginners. If you have
one of these "Bunny new-bies" in your group, then please
be nice to them (until they make their first kill that is, then
let them have it!)
Also, if you
are looking for some suggestions on how to get players 'up to
speed' with the rest of us here is some advice:
Start with
just the Blue and Yellow Starter Deck (didn't we all) and just
12 Carrots. I just feel it's best not to overwhelm anyone the
first time out. I have written some playing suggestions as nuggets
of advice and quotations. Please use these only as a guideline.
I know that you can probably teach them well, but here are just
a few things that I have found to help out.
I wish you
all the best in developing your own style of instruction.
01) When teaching an entirely group
of people how to play Killer Bunnies I would not have more than
7 players. That includes you. A game of 8 is great but sometimes
it's a bit slow at the beginning. Also, try not to have a game
of less than 4 people.
02)
Let
people know that Killer Bunnies is a relatively easy game to
learn with only 8 major rules of play. Tell them that the best
way to learn is to understand 4 of those rules from the beginning
and then to learn the other 4 as the game progresses. With only
4 rules to learn most people will feel more comfortable.
03)
I start
off by setting up Kaballa's Market with the small Cabbage and
Water cards as well as the large Carrot Cards in plain view.
I shuffle the small Carrot Cards in front of the group and let
the person next to me cut the deck.
04)
"The
object of the game is to collect as many Carrots as possible."
Show the players the large Carrot cards.
 05)
"The
game is over when all of the Carrots have been taken from Kaballa's
Market. The pictures on the small Carrot Cards match the pictures
on the large Carrot cards. The player holding the Carrot on the
bottom of the deck is the winner."
06) "This may sound simple but
there is a catch. You must have a bunny alive at the end of the
game to win. If you do not have at least one bunny alive, then
you cannot win. You see during play I'll have some bunnies, you'll
have some bunnies, everyone will have some bunnies. I'll kill
some of yours and you'll kill some of mine and so on. But as
the pile of Carrots gets thin and the game nears the end try
to make sure that you have a bunny alive. You can have 11 of
the 12 Carrots but with no bunny you cannot win."
07)
At
this point I would not explain about the person with the most
money getting all of the Carrots belonging to the people who
did not make it to the final draw. If someone asks then you may
want to quickly explain that the person with the most money gets
those Carrots. The key to teaching Killer Bunnies is to keep
it simple at first and let all of the more subtle rules 'drip
down' into the players mind slowly. If you give them too much
at the beginning, it will overwhelm them unnecessarily.
08)
Next
deal out seven cards to each player.
09)
"Ok,
everyone gets 7 cards and you will always have seven cards when
playing. Listen carefully to the instructions and you won't get
lost. First off look for a card that says Kaballa Dolla on it.
Does anyone have one?" Show an example. "This is the
bunny money. Anytime during play that you have a Kaballa Dolla,
place it down beside you and save it. If during play you should
pick a replacement card that is a Kaballa Dolla place it right
down and draw another card."
10)
All
players should put their Dolla down and have replaced the cards
with ones before moving on to the next step.
11)
"Now
let me draw your attention to the words at the top of each card.
If you have any that say Play Immediately on them then put them
in the discard. These cards kill a bunny right away but since
there are no bunnies around yet we can't use them. If at any
time during play you pick a Play Immediately card then stop everyone
and announce that you have the card and play it immediately as
the name implies."
12)
Make
sure that all players have discarded their Play Immediately cards.
13) "At this point all of your
cards should say Run, Special, or Very Special on the top."
Make sure that everyone is on track.
14)
"Ok
everyone we just covered the first two rules. Hopefully everyone
is ready to move on."
 15)
"The
next rule has to do with the rectangle box on the left border
of every card. When the box is lit up pink it means that you'll
need a bunny down to play this card. If it's blank you won't
need a bunny. Does everyone have a bunny?" Show a bunny
if you have one. Bunnies come in five different colors and five
different kinds. Hold them up so everyone can see if you think
you have one." At this point make sure that all of the players
are showing a bunny if they have one. If a players doesn't you
may want to quickly shuffle through the draw pile and get them
one. If you have more than one then definitely give one up. Remember
you're not out to win. The reason that we want everyone to have
a bunny in the first play is that we don't want to explain about
discarding Run cards and saving Specials just yet.
16)
"Let's
all put the bunny face down in front of us. This card represents
the first card that you will play when we begin. But we have
to choose a second card as well. You see the strategy of Killer
Bunnies is to obligate your cards two rounds in advance. Since
we all have a bunny card down we are free to play any other card
from our hand whether it has a pink box lit or not."
17)
"Here
are three suggestions as to what card is best to play next. I
would play a Choose A Carrot card since the object of the game
is to get carrots. Next I might play a weapon card which can
be played to killed another player's bunny right away. Or I might
play a Feed The Bunny card which is used to kill a bunny slowly."
18)
As
you explain each of the three main choices show an example of
each card. If you are not holding a Choose A Carrot, weapon or
Feed The Bunny then simply ask who has one to show. You probably
don't want to get into the idea of the market or the Cabbage
and Water until a Feed The Bunny card is played or if someone
asks. Even if someone asks though, remember to keep the explanation
simple until you actually need to buy the Cabbage and Water.
19)
"Ok
so everyone pick a second card to play and place it down in front
of them under your first card." Demonstrate this and make
sure everyone is on track. "So a player must always have
5 cards in his hand and 2 down. That's out fourth rule. How is
everyone doing? Well, let's get started and we'll learn the other
rules as we go."
20)
So
far you should be about ten minutes into the demo and wow, you've
already started the game. Most people will forgive not knowing
ALL of the rules of a game before starting. Mostly they just
want t get started.
21)
"I'll
go first to get us started. I flip my first card and wow, what
a surprise it's a bunny. I place it face up, slide the Bottom
card into the Top card position, draw and replace. So it goes
Flip, Slide, Draw and Replace."
22)
Have
everyone in the circle go through the procedure. At this point
you can tell people that all of the bunny form The Bunny Circle.
Help people chose their next card to put down. Try to manipulate
them into a variety of the top three choices for the first round
or so.
23)
At
this point the game can go several different ways. Most people
will play a Choose A Carrot card that is easy to help with.
24)
When
a player plays a weapon for the first time then explain the fifth
rule about the eight boxes on the right border of each card.
A weapon will probably be the first card played with a box filled
in so you can explain that the colors correspond to the die (or
dice) that a player will need to roll for that card.
25)
The
next rule will most likely come into play when a player has no
bunny. The sixth rule deals with the difference between a Run
card and a Special card. When a player has no bunny and the Top
card is flipped then two things can happen. If it has no pink
box, then explain that it can still be played (or discarded).
If it does have a pink box, explain that it cannot be played
(if the player has no bunny) and MUST be discarded.
26)
"If
you find yourself without a bunny here's the best thing that
you can do. Play a Special card. You see if you need a bunny
for the card (show an example with a pink box) but you have none
then you can SAVE the card. Remember the two S's; SAVE a SPECIAL."
If a player does not have a Special card to play (and save) them
advise them to play a weak weapon or Feed The Bunny.
27)
I would
hold off telling them about the next rule right away which has
to do with playing a Special out of your hand immediately instead
of flipping. Again if you can demonstrate this yourself (with
Supplies Surprise or The Magic Fountain) this would be best.
While explaining this 'feature' of Special cards you may also
want to explain the very last rule which is the Very Special
card. Of course you know that Very Special cards can be played
during anyone's turn. That's the difference between Special and
Very Special cards, Special cards can be played during your turn
only and Very Special cards can be played during anyone's turn.
28)
A player
will eventually play a Feed The Bunny. You can even encourage
this so that you have an opportunity to show how spending money
is done to get the Cabbage and Water. Should a player get a total
of 10 Dolla before a Feed The Bunny card is played then you may
want to introduce the concept of the market a bit early since
they have the option to buy a Carrot as soon as they have 10
Dolla. Just try not to do it in the first round of play. Again,
everything is learned in time and in small doses.
29)
I would
remove the following cards from play: Cyber Bunny, The Trojan
Bunny, The Ebola Virus, Close the Market and the Minilith. The
reason is that they either slow the game down or are too complicated
for a first round player. Remember that the objective of the
first round is to teach the players the mechanics of the game.
These six cards are just a bit too much for the first time through.
Definitely, however, put them back in for the second round.
30)
Another
suggestion would be not to get more than two Carrots for yourself.
If you have an abundance of Choose A Carrot cards, give them
away to the player most in need under the 'guise' of making a
deal. In this manner you can also demonstrate the wheeling and
dealing aspects of the game. Try to keep the game 'even' between
players and keep as many folks alive until the end of the game.
Even though 'shutting out' players at the end of the game is
a valid strategy in Killer Bunnies, no one really appreciates
it in their first game and folks who don't make the final draw
are not likely to come back for more. Basically, play nice the
first game, then on the second game bury them. Tee hee!
Summary:
The Eight Rules of Killer Bunnies:
01)
Saving
Kaballa Dolla.
02)
Using
Play Immediately (Terrible Misfortune) cards.
03) The Pink rectangular
box on the left border tells a player if they need a bunny down
to play that card.
04) You must obligate cards
to play 2 rounds in advance. Always have 2 cards down and 5 in
your hand.
05) The 8 boxes on the
right border tells a player which die (or dice) they need to
roll to play that card.
06) The difference between
a Run card and a Special Card. The two S's -- SAVE a SPECIAL.
07) Play a Special directly
out of your hand instead of flipping the Top card.
08) The difference between
a Special card and a Very Special card. A Special card can be
played during a player's turn only. A Very Special can be played
during any player's turn.
Created
By Jeffrey Neil Bellinger
Graphic Design by Jonathan Young
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