Setup

1. Determine Player Count:

   • The number of players determines which cards to exclude:

     • 5 players: Use all cards.

     • 4 players: Exclude all 9 cards.

     • 3 players: Exclude all 7, 8, and 9 cards.

     • 2 players: Exclude all 6, 7, 8, and 9 cards.

2. Prepare the Research Board:

   • 5 players: Use the purple side of the research cards and fully extend the board.

   • 4 players: Use either the white or purple side, but place observed tokens (cat heads) on the number 9 spaces. Fully extend the board.

   • 3 players: Use either side. If using the purple side, block numbers 7–9. If using the white side, do not extend the board.

   • 2 players: Use the white side only and block off the number 6 spaces.

3. Distribute Cards:

   • Shuffle the cards and deal:

     • 9 cards per player for 5 players.

     • 10 cards per player for 2–4 players.

   • Each player also gets a set of player tokens and a player board. Place one token on each of the four Xs on the player board.

4. Choose a Starting Player: Select the first player randomly, and you're ready to begin!
   

Gameplay

Dealing Cards:

After receiving your cards:

1. Examine your hand and discard one card to a shared discard pile.

2. Choose a card to discard based on potential future conflicts—having too many of the same number could lead to a paradox.

Predicting Tricks:

• 4–5 players: Predict how many tricks you’ll win: 1, 2, or 3.

• 3 players: Predict: 1, 3, or 4 tricks.

• Place a token on your player board to show your prediction. Predictions will affect end-round scoring.
  

Playing Cards:

1. The starting player plays a card, declares its color (except red), and places a token on the research board to mark the chosen number/color combination.

2. Other players, in clockwise order, play cards following these rules:

   • Follow the lead color (if possible) and place a token on the research board.

   • If you cannot follow the lead color, remove your token from that color's X on your player board to show you’re out of that color.

3. Winning a Trick:

   • The player who played the highest card in the lead color wins the trick and collects the played cards.

   • If a red card (trump color) is played, it beats all other colors unless multiple red cards are played, in which case the highest red wins.

4. The trick winner starts the next round by playing a new card and declaring its color.

   • Note: You cannot declare a color/number combination that is already marked on the research board.
     

Special Cases

Unable to Follow the Lead Color:

• If you cannot play a card of the lead color, reveal this by removing your token from that color on your player board. This informs other players of your limitations.

Playing the Trump Color (Red):

• When not following the lead color, you can play a red card.

• Red cards beat all lead-color cards unless multiple red cards are played, in which case the highest red wins. Once red is introduced, players can lead with red.

Paradox:

• A paradox occurs when a player cannot play any cards from their hand because all possible number/color combinations have been marked on the research board.

• A paradox immediately ends the round.
  

End of Round

A round ends when:

1. A paradox is declared, or

2. Players have one card left in their hands.
   

Scoring:

1. Tricks: Players score 1 point per trick won.

   • A player causing a paradox loses 1 point per trick they won.

2. Predictions: If a player wins exactly as many tricks as they predicted, they score bonus points based on their largest connected group of tokens on the research board (orthogonally adjacent).

   • Players causing a paradox are ineligible for bonus points.
     

End of Game

After all players have had one turn as the starting player:

1. Add up each player’s scores from all rounds.

2. The player with the highest total wins.

3. Tiebreaker: The player with the highest score in the final round wins.
   

Two-Player Variant:

• Predictions are removed in two-player games.

• After dealing 10 cards to each player, reveal 3 cards from the deck to represent a “third player.”

  • Place tokens on the green row for these cards. If duplicates exist, also place them on the yellow row (and blue row if all three are the same).