Moose Master Card Game: Rules for How to Play

Looking for specific Moose Master rules? | Setup | Playing the Game | Penalties | Winning the Game | Card Meanings |

Setup

• Sort the cards into three separate decks based on their backs. Shuffle the Moose Master and Penalty cards and place them face down in the middle of the table.
• Choose two of the Moose Rules cards, and place them face up on the table. Set aside the rest of the Moose Rules cards face down.
• Choose which of the two ways of playing the game you would like to use (see Winning the Game section).
• The player with the best laugh stars the game. Play proceeds in a clockwise direction.

How to Play Moose Master

You will begin your turn by drawing the top card from the Moose Master deck and placing it face up on the table so all of the players can read it. You will then read off the card. All of the players will take the corresponding action. There are a number of different Moose Master cards that have various effects on the game. See the Card Meanings section below for more details on what each card does.

The last player to perform the action based on the card that was flipped over has to draw a Penalty card. You will place the Penalty card face up in front of the player that performed the action last. Should one of the players perform the action incorrectly, they will have to draw the Penalty card instead of the last player to perform it.

After all of the players have performed the action and someone has drawn a Penalty card, the current turn end. Play passes to the next player in clockwise order.

Penalties

Throughout the game players need to keep track of the other players to make sure that they are currently complying with all of the rules in play. To begin the game two Moose Rules cards were played face up on the table. These rules are in play for the entire game. Players also have to follow the rules of the Moose Master card that was just flipped over.

Whenever a player breaks one of the rules they will draw the top penalty card and places it face up in front of themselves. There are three types of penalty cards.

Bummer!: The player that draws the Bummer! card has to keep it for the rest of the game.

Bonus!: You have to keep the Bonus! card. You do get to pick one of the moose rule cards though, and exchange it for a new moose rule card.

Lucky Day!: When you draw a Lucky Day! penalty card, you can choose to give it to another player.

Winning the Game

You can play Moose Master two different ways. Players will choose which of these two options they would like to use before they begin the game.

The first way to play Moose Master involves elimination. When a player acquires their seventh Penalty card, they are eliminated from the game. You will continue playing the game until only two players remain. The last two players will share the victory.

Otherwise you can play through the entire deck of Moose Master cards. Once the players have used all of the cards, the players compare how many Penalty cards they acquired during the game. The player who has acquired the least Penalty cards wins the game.

Moose Master Card Meanings

Moose Master

The player who draws this card places it in front of themselves. They will keep the card until another Moose Master card is revealed or a player steals it. When the player who controls the Moose Master card violates one of the Moose Rules, they can avoid taking a Penalty card by placing their hands on their head to simulate moose antlers.

If another player sees the Moose Master player breaking one of the Moose Rules cards, they can make moose antlers with their own hands. If they do this before the current Moose Master is able to, the Moose Master draws a penalty card. Additionally the player that made the moose antlers steals the Moose Master card.

When another Moose Master card is revealed, the previous Moose Master card is discarded.

Copy Cat Master

The player who draws this card becomes the Copy Cat Master. They will choose an action and one of the other players to be their mimic. Whenever the Copy Cat Master performs the chosen action, their mimic must repeat the action within three seconds. If the other player fails to mimic the action they will have to take a Penalty card. You will then discard the Copy Cat Master card.

Should a player draw another Copy Cat Master card, the player that had a Copy Cat Master card has to discard it.

Echo Master

The player who draws this card becomes the Echo Master. They will choose a word and a player that has to echo the word when the Echo Master says it. Each time the Echo Master says the chosen word, the chosen player has to repeat the word within three seconds. If they fail to repeat the word within three seconds, they will draw a Penalty card. The Echo Master then discards the Echo Master card.

Should a player draw an Echo Master card, the player who had an Echo Master card has to discard it.

Question Master

The player who draws this card is the Question Master. Whenever the Question Master asks a question all of the other players have two ways of responding. First they can ignore the person’s question and not say anything. Otherwise whenever a player talks, they have to respond with another question. Should a player talk but they don’t phrase it in the form of a question, they have to draw a Penalty card.

You will discard the Question Master card when a player draws a new Question Master card.

Thumb Master

The player who draws this card is the Thumb Master. At any point during the game the Thumb Master can put their thumb down on the table. All of the other players must then put their thumb on the table as quickly as possible. The last player to put their thumb on the table draws a Penalty card. Once this is done, the player discards the Thumb Master card.

When another Thumb Master card is drawn, the previous Thumb Master card is also discarded.

Bomb

The player who draws this card will draw a penalty card.

Categories

The player who draws the card chooses a category. All of the players take turns (clockwise) listing a different item that fits into the category. You may not repeat an answer given by another player. The first player who can’t list an item that fits the category or repeats one that has already been said draws a penalty card.

Action Story

The player who draws the card thinks of a simple action and performs it. The next player clockwise repeats the action and adds another simple action after it. The next player will repeat the first two actions before adding on a third action. This continues until one player messes up the set of actions and will have to draw a penalty card.

Name Game

The player who draws this card names a famous person. The next player (clockwise) will then have to come up with another famous person whose first name starts with the first letter of the previous person’s last name. For example if the first person says Tom Hanks the next player will have to name someone whose first name starts with a H. The next player could say Harrison Ford. The next player would then have to pick someone whose first name starts with a F. The first player who can’t come up with a name draws a Penalty card.

An alternative rule can be used when players name a person whose first and last name start with the same letter. When this happens, play reverses in the opposite direction.

Rhyme Time

The player who draws this card chooses a word. Starting with the next player clockwise, each player picks a word that rhymes with the first word. You may not repeat a word said by another player. The first person who can’t come up with a rhyming word draws a Penalty card.

Rock Paper Scissors

The player who draws the card chooses two of the other players to play rock, paper, scissors. The player who loses two rounds draws a Penalty card.

Story Time

The player who draws the card begins a story by saying a word. The next player (clockwise) repeats the word said by the first player and then adds another word to the story. This continues with each player repeating the story told so far and adding another word to the end. The first player to make a mistake in the story draws a Penalty card.

Action Cards

When one of these cards are revealed, all of the players will race to perform the action shown on the card. The last player to perform the action draws a Penalty card.

Components

• Moose Master Cards
  • 8 Action Cards (2 of each type)
  • 3 Action Story Cards
  • 3 Bomb Cards
  • 3 Categories Cards
  • 3 Copy Cat Master Cards
  • 3 Echo Master Cards
  • 3 Moose Master Cards
  • 3 Name Game Cards
  • 3 Question Master Cards
  • 3 Rhyme Time Cards
  • 3 Rock Paper Scissors Cards
  • 3 Story Time Cards
  • 3 Thumb Master Cards
• 46 Penalty Cards
  • 19 Bonus! Cards
  • 8 Lucky Day! Cards
  • 19 Bummer! Cards
• 20 Moose Rules Cards (2 Blank)

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Year: 2019 | Publisher: Boomer Games | Designer: Eric Stephenson

Genres: Card, Family, Party

Ages: 8+ | Number of Players: 3+ | Length of Game: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: High

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For more board and card game rules/how to plays, check out our complete alphabetical list of card and board game rules posts.