Gamehelpraceforthechinesezodiac

Goal and quick start

Race your animal to the Heavenly Palace, beyond space 36. The base game supports 3–5 players and twelve animal signs. Solo learning mode on BGA is practice with computer-controlled opponents, not a separate competitive game.

Choose your animal, then select a starting action without an energy card. That choice sets starting karma; the ordinary action effect does not happen. Starting energy is 1, 1, 2, 2 and 3. Rat receives an additional 3 and three extra karma.

Each normal round:

1. Choose an available action and an energy card from your hand.
2. Check any karma cost and lock your plan. Choices stay concealed until everyone is ready.
3. Reveal together, then follow the action, animal and optional-reward prompts.
4. Recover or spend resources where appropriate. After resolution the wheel turns one sector clockwise.

Actions, energy and karma

Played action/energy pairs remain in your played row until recovered. You cannot choose an action still in that row.

An action with a lower printed number than the preceding played action costs karma: one number lower costs 1; two or more lower costs 2. Higher or equal numbers cost nothing. Rabbit reduces that cost by 1, to a minimum of zero.

One energy card in hand means you must Strategise. Cards in hand and total cards owned are different: owned cards include energy in your played row. Recovering played energy can restore your options.

Players sharing an effective action add their energy to select its wheel sector. N means the number of players in that action group. Individual energy ranking also gives competition movement: 1 space for each lower-energy opponent at 4–5 players, or 2 spaces at 3 players. Equal energy gives no competition movement.

Action	Main effect
1 — Cheat	Only a sole highest-energy player receives the wheel reward. Everyone else retreats 1 space.
2 — Help	Everyone receives the wheel's karma reward. The sole highest at 3–4 players also gains an energy-1 card; at 5 players, tied highest players receive this bonus too.
3 — Run	Only the sole highest receives the wheel reward. Everyone else advances 1 space.
4 — Rest	Everyone receives the wheel's energy-1-card reward. The sole highest at 3–4 players also gains 1 karma; at 5 players, tied highest players receive this bonus too.
5 — Cooperate	All highest-energy players, including ties, receive the wheel reward.
6 — Walk	Only the sole highest receives the wheel reward. Walk is unavailable with 3 players.
7 — Repeat	Copies the preceding eligible action 1–6 and joins that action's group, using this round's energy. It cannot copy Strategise. Its printed number remains 7.
8 — Strategise	Recovers played pairs except the leftmost. The sole highest at 3–4 players recovers that pair too; at 5 players all highest players do. The current Strategise pair is recovered. Apply competition and river effects as prompted.

Competition movement is additional to the main action. A zero wheel reward does not cancel competition or animal abilities.

Exchanges and limits

An exchange symbol offers one optional exchange. Combine at least two lower-value hand cards into one higher card, or split one higher card into at least two lower cards. Total payment must cover the received value; excess is lost, not returned as change.

Receiving 4 requires owning a 3 or 4; receiving 5 requires a 4 or 5; receiving 6 requires a 5 and no owned 6. Played energy counts for these prerequisites, but payment comes from hand. You may own at most one energy-6 card.

You may own at most 12 energy cards and hold at most 8 karma. An exchange must fit the full receipt within the card limit. A karma-movement symbol lets you pay 2 karma to move 3 spaces.

In BGA, review an exchange before confirming it. Splitting can restore several playable energy cards. Consolidating everything into one card can be dangerous: follow any safeguard explanation shown by the interface.

The river and recovery

Land is spaces 1–18; the river is 19–36. Entering the river through an ordinary movement action does not itself require a card payment.

After Strategise and all its effects, a non-Dog player finishing in the river normally returns one energy card. If Strategise began in the river, retreating 8 spaces is an alternative and also recovers the remaining leftmost pair. The BGA adaptation applies continuation safeguards where necessary; follow its payment/retreat prompt.

Dog instead gains an energy-1 card when Strategising on land, or advances 1 space in the river without returning energy.

Animal abilities

Animal	Ability reminder
Rat	Extra starting energy and karma; priority in a tied first-place finish.
Ox	Combining into energy 4 moves 1 space; combining into 5 or 6 moves 2. Splitting gives no movement.
Tiger	Combining costs one less energy. Declining an available exchange moves 1 space.
Rabbit	Reduces downward-action karma cost by 1.
Dragon	Adds 1 to a positive karma gain. May spend 1 karma as 2 energy during an exchange.
Snake	Moves 1 space per karma actually paid for a lower-numbered action.
Horse	Gains one extra step when sharing an action with a lower-energy player. At round end may retreat 1 space to gain an energy-1 card and 1 karma; not at Start or after finishing.
Goat	Sharing an action gives one optional bonus exchange per round, regardless of energy ranking.
Monkey	Sharing an action gives an energy-1 card, once per round and subject to the ownership limit.
Rooster	Sharing an action gives 1 karma, once per round and subject to the karma limit.
Dog	Special Strategise benefit described above; exempt from river payment.
Pig	At 3 players, qualifies with the uniquely lowest printed action. At 4–5, either unique highest or unique lowest qualifies. Choose an energy-1 card or 1 karma; at 5 players, moving 1 space is another choice. Repeat counts as 7.

Where action and animal effects interact, use the effect-order choices offered by BGA. Caps, recovery and location can make the order matter.

Winning

When someone reaches the Heavenly Palace, finish resolving the round. Finishers rank before non-finishers. Among finishers, Rat has priority, then the lower printed action number, then more karma. Remaining identical ties share rank in this adaptation. Non-finishers rank by distance along the track.

BGA controls and adaptation notes

• Player aid gives an overview; Action card help explains individual actions.
• You can change a sealed plan only before everyone reveals. You cannot undo a revealed round.
• Effect-resolution ties on position use reverse Zodiac order: Pig, Dog, Rooster, Monkey, Goat, Horse, Snake, Dragon, Rabbit, Tiger, Ox, Rat. Track position takes priority. This does not replace energy competition rules.
• Layout and playback settings affect your view. Shared exchanges and other required decisions still need confirmation.
• Check hand count separately from owned count. Save a recovery route before your options shrink.

Official rules and further reading

This is an original learning summary, not a replacement for the complete rulebook.

• Official English rulebook
• Publisher rules and downloads
• BoardGameGeek game entry