Will you stick your neck out for victory? In Giraffe Raffe, you guide a herd of hungry giraffes past various trees in search of a tasty snack. The giraffes are represented by cards, and you are trying to make sure another player is the first to lose. If you manage to stay in the game the longest, you will stand head and shoulders above the rest. Or, well, above at least one other player.
Before you can enjoy the proverbial fruits of the apple trees, you need to play cards—but at the same time, you do not want to play too many. Your goal is therefore not to collect the most points, but to avoid being the first to get your neck in a twist. In other words, you are trying not to be the first player eliminated from the game.
Arrange the tree tiles in a circle and deal each player a substantial hand of giraffe cards. On your turn, you have two options: play one or more giraffe cards next to a tree, or spend an apple you earned earlier to skip your turn. An apple is therefore not a healthy snack, but an emergency ration for when you are in danger of getting stuck.
Each tree calls for a particular combination, such as a single card, a pair, a set, or a run. If cards have already been played next to a tree, you must beat the previous combination. At some trees, you do so with a higher value; at others, you need to play more cards instead. As a result, what initially looks like low-hanging fruit may, a few turns later, be within reach only of a giraffe with an extendable neck.
Some trees reward a successful card combination with an apple or an extra card from the small draw pile. There are also copy cards, which take on the colour and value of another card in the same combination. Useful, flexible, and exactly the kind of cheating that the rules happily allow.
Unable to play a valid combination on your turn and out of apples to spend? The round ends immediately, and you are the sole loser. Everyone else gets to call themselves a joint winner, which is really just an elegant way of saying that they are relieved your giraffe got stuck first. If you prefer a longer game, you can play several rounds using rotten apples: lose a round and you receive one; collect two, and your herd has officially had its last bite.
Giraffe Raffe is unpredictable, delightfully mean, and wonderfully quick. In this colourful card game, you try to trip up the other players while reaching dizzying heights yourself.
