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== Goal of the game ==
The animals of the zoo have founded a democracy. You lead one of its political parties: win elections, form coalitions, hold Political Offices and push your agenda through.

The party that has '''implemented the most Political Goals''' at the end of the game wins. Your score on BGA is the number of Political Goals you have implemented.

== Key concepts ==

* '''Food Tokens''' are the currency of the game. The ones in your '''Party Funds''' are hidden from the other players; only you can see your amount.
* '''Seats''' come from the Parliamentary Election. They decide the turn order, who proposes coalitions first, and how many Food Tokens you receive after each election.
* The '''Majority''' is the number of Seats needed to form a Government: half of all Seats in Parliament (rounded down) plus 1.
* The '''Government''' is made of the parties that voted Yes to the accepted Coalition Proposal. Everybody else is in the '''Opposition'''. The President is ''not'' part of the Government.
* '''Political Goals''' move your marker along the Political Goals track (8 spaces, A to H).

== Setup ==
Everything is done automatically when the table starts:

* Each party receives Food Tokens in its Party Funds: '''20''' with 2 players, '''14''' with 3, '''10''' with 4 and '''8''' with 5 or 6.
* Each party draws '''2 Action cards'''.
* The 5 Political Office Cards, the Blockade Marker and the Manipulation Marker are available; nobody holds them yet.
* The '''End of Game''' card is shuffled among the last 4 cards of the Event deck.

== Round overview ==
A round has up to seven phases, always in the same order. Some of them are skipped in some rounds. Hover over the Phase Track (top right of the board) to see the name of each phase.
{| class="wikitable"
!Phase
!Name
!When
|-
|A
|Presidential Election
|Round 1, then every 2 rounds
|-
|B
|Parliamentary Campaigning
|Every round
|-
|C
|Parliamentary Election
|Round 1, then every 2 rounds
|-
|D
|Formation of Government
|After every Parliamentary Election
|-
|E
|Event
|Every round
|-
|F
|Vote of No Confidence
|Only if the Government has lost its Majority because of cards
|-
|G
|Progress
|Every round
|}
The '''Presidential Election Marker''' and the '''Parliamentary Election Marker''' on the Round Track show in which round the next election takes place. Some Action cards move them forward.

== Phase A: Presidential Election ==
All parties bid '''at the same time and in secret''' any number of Food Tokens from their Party Funds (0 is allowed).

* The highest bid wins the '''President''' card.
* '''Every''' party, winner or not, loses half of its bid (rounded up) to the supply. The rest goes back to its Party Funds. Example: a bid of 3 costs 2 Food Tokens.
* In case of a tie for the highest bid, only the tied parties bid again, once. If they tie again, there is no President in the first election of the game; in later elections the current President stays in office as interim President.
* The new President's party '''immediately implements 1 Political Goal''' and draws 1 Action card.
* The next Presidential Election takes place 2 rounds later, or in the next round if nobody was elected.

== Phase B: Parliamentary Campaigning ==
You buy votes for the next Parliamentary Election by placing Food Tokens on the nine species of the zoo.

=== Office bonuses ===
Before anybody places Food Tokens, the '''Defense Minister''' may place the '''Blockade Marker''' and the '''Finance Minister''' may place the '''Manipulation Marker''' (see Political Office Cards below).

=== Turn order ===
The party with the most Seats plays first, then the others in descending order of Seats. Ties are broken by: more Political Goals implemented, then holding the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, Finance Minister, President and Opposition Leader cards (in that order), then at random. In round 1 nobody has Seats yet: the President plays first and the rest of the order is random.

=== Your turn ===

* Place Food Tokens from your Party Funds on any species. The maximum per turn is '''10''' with 2 players, '''7''' with 3, '''5''' with 4 and '''4''' with 5 or 6 (the Good Harvest and Crop Failure events change it by 2).
* You may place at most '''3 Food Tokens on the same species''' per turn.
* You may play any number of '''Rally''' and '''Negative Campaign''' cards.
* The Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader may use their Office bonuses.
* Food Tokens placed by cards and Office bonuses come from the supply and do not count against these limits.

=== The no-tie rule ===
After every placement, '''no species may have the same number of Food Tokens of two different colours'''. If placing on a species would create such a tie, you cannot place there. The same applies to Rally and Negative Campaign cards: if the result would be a tie, the card cannot be played.

== Phase C: Parliamentary Election ==

# All Seat Markers and the Majority Marker are removed.
# In turn order, each party may play any number of '''Wet Season''', '''Dry Season''', '''Migration''', '''Overhang Mandate''' and '''Loyalty''' cards.
# The votes are counted species by species: the party with the most Food Tokens on a species receives the first number of votes, the party with the second most receives the second number (if there is one). Nobody else receives votes from that species.
# Each party gets one '''Seat''' per vote, and the new Majority is calculated.
# All Food Tokens are removed from the board, except those protected by Loyalty.
# Each party takes '''one Food Token per Seat''' from the supply into its Party Funds.

{| class="wikitable"
!Species
!Most Food Tokens
!Second most
!Watering hole
|-
|Elephants
|4
|1
|No
|-
|Monkeys
|2
|–
|No
|-
|Zebras
|3
|1
|No
|-
|Snakes
|3
|–
|No
|-
|Parrots
|4
|2
|No
|-
|Penguins
|5
|2
|Yes
|-
|Flamingos
|5
|1
|Yes
|-
|Hippos
|6
|2
|Yes
|-
|Polar Bears
|5
|3
|Yes
|}
If the '''Manipulation Marker''' is on a species, the party with the most Food Tokens there receives '''4 votes''' and nobody else receives any votes from it.

== Phase D: Formation of Government ==
The parties try to form a Government. You may negotiate freely in the chat, but you may never exchange Food Tokens, cards, Seats or Political Goals.

# The party with the most Seats makes the first '''Coalition Proposal''' (ties: the party with fewer Political Goals, then at random).
# A proposal states who receives each of the three Government Offices ('''Prime Minister''', '''Finance Minister''', '''Defense Minister'''; a party may receive none, one or several) and which party implements the Political Goal '''this round''' (P1) and '''next round''' (P2).
# All parties vote '''Yes''' or '''No''' in secret, at the same time.
# If the Seats of the parties voting Yes reach the Majority, the proposal is accepted:
#* The parties that voted Yes form the Government; the others are the Opposition.
#* The Office Cards are handed out face up, so their bonuses are available again.
#* The Opposition party with the most Seats becomes '''Opposition Leader''' (ties: fewer Political Goals, then at random).
# If the proposal is rejected, the party with the next most Seats proposes. Each party may make only one proposal per round.

An Office or a Political Goal may be given to a party that then votes No: that party still receives it, but it sits in the Opposition.

If every proposal is rejected, no Offices are handed out. In the first Formation of Government of the game there is then no Government at all. Later on, the previous Government stays in office as an '''Interim Government''': the Office Cards stay where they are and are not turned face up again, and the next Parliamentary Election takes place in the next round.

== Phase E: Event ==
The top card of the Event deck is revealed and resolved. Then, in turn order, each party may play any number of '''Early Parliamentary Elections''', '''Early Presidential Elections''' and '''Defector''' cards.
{| class="wikitable"
!Event
!Effect
|-
|Donation (Prime Minister)
|The Prime Minister's party takes 3 Food Tokens.
|-
|Donation (Opposition Leader)
|The Opposition Leader's party takes 3 Food Tokens.
|-
|Donation (Ministers)
|The Finance Minister's party and the Defense Minister's party take 1 Food Token each.
|-
|Strike
|This round, the Political Goal promised in the Coalition Proposal is not implemented. Assertiveness cards still work.
|-
|Resistance
|This round, a party may only implement the Government's Political Goal by returning 5 Food Tokens from its Party Funds.
|-
|Good Harvest
|Next round, every party may place 2 more Food Tokens during Parliamentary Campaigning.
|-
|Crop Failure
|Next round, every party may place 2 fewer Food Tokens during Parliamentary Campaigning.
|-
|End of Game
|The game ends at the end of this round.
|}

== Phase F: Vote of No Confidence ==
This phase is only played if the Government parties no longer have the Majority because of cards (Defectors). A Government that simply has no Majority after an election does not trigger it.

* The '''Opposition Leader''' may make a new Coalition Proposal, or decline.
* If the next round has a Parliamentary Election, the proposal includes only '''one''' Political Goal, the one for this round. The Offices are handed out as usual.
* Everybody votes as in Phase D. If the proposal is accepted, the new Government takes office, but the Office Cards are '''not''' turned face up again. The election schedule does not change.
* If it is rejected, nothing changes.

== Phase G: Progress ==

# In turn order, each Government party draws '''1''' Action card and each Opposition party draws '''2'''.
# In turn order, parties may play '''Assertiveness''' cards.
# Anybody with more than '''5''' Action cards must discard down to 5.
# '''One Political Goal is implemented''':
#* If there was a Parliamentary Election this round, the party on '''P1''' implements it; otherwise the party on '''P2''' does.
#* If there was a Parliamentary Election in round 8, both the P1 and the P2 parties implement one.
#* An Interim Government that has the Majority lets the Prime Minister choose which party implements it.
#* No Political Goal is implemented if the Government parties do not have the Majority, or because of the Strike or Resistance events.
# The Blockade Marker is removed and the next round begins.

== Political Office Cards ==
Each Office bonus can be used '''once per electoral cycle''': the card is turned face down after use. Cards are only turned face up again when they are handed out in a Formation of Government after a Parliamentary Election.
{| class="wikitable"
!Office
!Bonus
|-
|President (Turtle)
|When elected: implement 1 Political Goal and draw 1 Action card. Not part of the Government.
|-
|Prime Minister (Lion)
|During Parliamentary Campaigning: place 2 Food Tokens from the supply on any species.
|-
|Finance Minister (Giraffe)
|At the start of Parliamentary Campaigning: place the Manipulation Marker on a species. Until the next Parliamentary Election, the party with the most Food Tokens there receives 4 votes and nobody else receives votes from it.
|-
|Defense Minister (Rhino)
|At the start of Parliamentary Campaigning: place the Blockade Marker on a species. Nobody, not even you, may place new Food Tokens there this round, by any means.
|-
|Opposition Leader (Crocodile)
|During Parliamentary Campaigning: make a Negative Campaign on any species, without the card.
|}

== Action cards ==
Every Action card shows the phase in which it can be played. Hover over a card to read its full text.
{| class="wikitable"
!Card
!Phase
!Effect
|-
|Rally
|B
|Place up to 2 Food Tokens from the supply on the species shown.
|-
|Negative Campaign
|B
|Remove 1 Food Token of another party from the species shown and place 1 of yours from the supply there.
|-
|Wet Season
|C
|The leading party on each species ''without'' a watering hole receives 1 vote less.
|-
|Dry Season
|C
|The leading party on each species ''with'' a watering hole receives 1 vote less.
|-
|Migration
|C
|Your party gets 1 extra Seat.
|-
|Overhang Mandate
|C
|The party with the most Food Tokens on the species shown gets 1 extra Seat.
|-
|Loyalty
|C
|Up to 2 of your Food Tokens stay on the species shown after the election.
|-
|Early Parliamentary Elections
|E
|The next Parliamentary Election takes place next round. The Political Goal agreed for next round (if any) is lost.
|-
|Early Presidential Elections
|E
|The next Presidential Election takes place next round.
|-
|Defector 1
|E
|You take Seats from any party: 5 with 2 players, 4 with 3, 3 with 4, 2 with 5 or 6.
|-
|Defector 2
|E
|You take Seats from any party: 3 with 2 players, 2 with 3 or 4, 1 with 5 or 6.
|-
|Assertiveness
|G
|Implement 1 Political Goal. Only playable if you hold the Office shown (Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Defense Minister or President).
|}
With Defectors you can only take as many Seats as the target party actually has.

== End of the game ==
The game ends '''at the end of the round''' in which:

* a party reaches the last space (H) of the Political Goals track, or
* the '''End of Game''' card is revealed in the Event phase.

Since the End of Game card is among the last 4 cards of the Event deck, the game lasts between 5 and 8 rounds, unless a party reaches the end of the Political Goals track first.

The party with the most Political Goals wins. Ties are broken by the most Food Tokens in the Party Funds; if still tied, the tied parties share the victory.

== Two-player game ==
There are no coalitions and no Majority Marker:

* After each Parliamentary Election, the party with more Seats takes the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Defense Minister cards and implements both Political Goals (P1 and P2). The other party becomes Opposition Leader.
* If both parties have the same number of Seats, the current Government stays in office and the next Parliamentary Election takes place in the next round. In the first election of the game there is then no Government.
* If cards (Defectors) leave the Government with fewer Seats than the Opposition, the roles are swapped without a vote; the Office Cards are not turned face up again.

== Table options ==

=== Advanced rules ===

* '''Disabled''' (default): the party promised in the Coalition Proposal (P1/P2) implements the Political Goal, and a Vote of No Confidence only happens when the Government loses its Majority through cards.
* '''Enabled''': a more political game. In the Progress phase, the Prime Minister's party decides which party implements the Political Goal, so the promise in the Coalition Proposal is not binding. The Opposition Leader may call a Vote of No Confidence every round, even if the Government still has its Majority.

== Playing on BGA ==

* '''Party Funds''': your player panel shows your hidden Food Tokens. Nobody else can see the amount.
* '''Presidential Election''': set your bid with the − and + buttons and confirm it. A sealed ballot appears next to every party that has bid. As long as somebody has not bid yet, you can still use '''Change my bid'''.
* '''Blockade and Manipulation Markers''': click a species to preview the marker, then confirm it or undo it.
* '''Placing Food Tokens''': the species where you can place are highlighted. Each click on a species places one more Food Token, up to 3. If one more token would create a tie, the click places the smallest amount that avoids it: if the other parties already have 1 and 2 tokens there, a single click places 3.
* '''Undo everything this turn''': during Parliamentary Campaigning, this button takes back all the Food Tokens you placed, the cards you played and the Office bonuses you used this turn, so you can start your turn again.
* '''Action cards''': your hand is in the bar at the bottom of the screen. Playable cards are highlighted; click one to play it.
* '''Coalition Proposals''': click a box in the proposal panel to give that Office or Political Goal to a party, then offer the proposal. Votes are revealed when everybody has voted.
* '''Assertiveness turn''': only the parties holding the President, Prime Minister, Finance Minister or Defense Minister card are asked, whether they have the card or not.
* '''Turn-based games''': during the card turns of phases C, E and G, parties without a playable card are skipped automatically, so the game does not wait for them.
* '''Information''': hover over a species to see the Food Tokens on it and its votes, over the Phase Track to see the phase names, and over cards, markers and Offices for their details. On a phone or tablet, press and hold instead.
* '''Animation speed''' can be changed in the game preferences.

== Good to know ==

* Seats are income: after every Parliamentary Election you receive one Food Token per Seat.
* Half of every presidential bid is lost, even when you lose the election.
* Thanks to the no-tie rule, the order in which parties place Food Tokens matters a lot: sometimes one more token on a species is impossible and you have to place two.
* Being in the Opposition is not all bad: Opposition parties draw 2 Action cards in the Progress phase instead of 1.

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