Shady Pets Instructions:
Please see the following step by step instructions (with lots of pics) on how to setup and play Shady Pets or Pets Gone Shady. See exactly how to select the mystery pets, deal the cards for 2-5 players, and how to play the game with references to some select Action Cards such as No Way and Facial (Throw Octopus).
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1) To start the game, separate the Action Cards (left) from the Pet Cards (right). Place the Action Cards aside as we will first hide the Mystery Pets then distribute the Pet Cards to each player. Separate the Pet Cards into four groups; 1) Dogs 2) Cats 3) Hamsters and 4) Reptiles. For reference; there are 52 Action Cards and 32 Pet Cards (8 Pet Cards for each of the 4 Pet Card types). There are 4 Mystery Card Holders. See photo below.
Shuffle each of the Pet Card groups then select one (without anybody looking) and place it in the Mystery Card Holder. Shown below is selection of the Mystery Reptile card.
Shuffle the 8 reptile cards well (face down) then have someone select one of the cards.
Without looking, place the selected card in it’s Mystery Card Holder. Once you do this, place the other Reptile Pet Cards to the side (for a moment).
Do the same for the remaining Pet Cards; Separate each of the pet cards in their respective groups, shuffle and select one from each group to place their respective Mystery Card Holders. Place the Mystery Card Holders in the middle of the table. These are the mystery cards that each player will be trying to guess in order to score points and win the game.
Once all the Mystery Pets have been selected and placed in the Mystery Card Holders, shuffle all of the remaining Pet Cards together.
Deal the remaining Pet Cards face down to each player in this fashion:
2 Players: 10 Pet Cards/each
3 Players: 8 Pet Cards/each
4 Players: 7 Pet Cards/each (photo is shown above)
5 Players: 5 Pet Cards/each
In the 2,3 and 5 player games, after you deal the Pet Cards to each player, there will be a few remaining cards. See below:
2 Player Game: After you deal 10 Pet Cards to each player, expose 4 cards (face up) to the table near the Mystery Card Holders so all players can see and mark on their score sheet. Leave these cards on the table for the remainder of the game. Shuffle the remaining 4 Pet Cards with the Action Cards.
3 Player Game: After you deal 8 Pet Cards to each player, expose 4 cards (face up) to the table near the Mystery Card Holders so all players can see and mark on their score sheet. Leave these cards on the table for the remainder of the game.
4 Player Game: After you deal 7 Pet Cards to each player, there will be no remaining Pet Cards.
5 Player Game: After you deal 5 Pet Cards to each player, expose 4 cards (face up) to the table near the Mystery Card Holders so all players can see and mark on their score sheet. Leave these cards on the table for the remainder of the game. Shuffle the remaining 3 Pet Cards with the Action Cards.
Once each player receives their Pet Cards, mark them on your score sheet.
Be careful not to let other players see your scoresheet. In fact, it is easier and provides faster game play to hold your scoresheet in your hand with your cards at all time (see photo above for example).
The next step is to shuffle all the action cards.
Shuffle all the Action Cards well. If you had remaining Pet Cards, place them into the Action Card pile and shuffle. Do not expose these Pet Cards during the shuffle process. They need to be kept hidden.
Deal 5 Action Cards to each player face down then place the remaining Action Cards into a Draw Pile that is placed in the middle of the table (near the Mystery Card Holders).
Each player combines their Action cards with their Pet Cards and their scoresheet in their hand like this (see above). This is the recommend way to hold your cards. Other methods (ex. making piles) will slow the game down and make it harder to manage or keep track of your cards.
You are now ready to start the game!
The game starts “clockwise”. Youngest player goes first. A turn commences as a player draws one card from the Draw Pile then either 1) Plays one Action Card face up in a newly created Play Pile and redeems its power (See Action Card List) or 2) Exposes one Pet Card face up to the table then draws one additional Action Card to end their turn.
* Note: Most of the time, you’ll want to just draw a new Action Card (Option 1 above) to start your turn. You can use Option 2 when one of the Mystery Pets has been solved and you’re one or more of those Pet Cards in your hand. This method allows you to get rid of those cards (one at a time) and allows you to draw a new card in return.
When new Pet Cards are revealed, mark them privately on your score sheet. If all the Action Cards have been played, reshuffle to form a new Draw Pile & play continues.
For example, you decide to play the “Ambush Card”. The Ambush Card allows you to receive a Pet Card (see designated pet type) from the next player (player on your left). In this example, the Ambush Card allows you to get a “Cat Card”. If the other player does not have a Cat Card in their hand, then the turn is over and it becomes the next player’s turn.
In this example, the other player hands you the Green 4 Cat Card “Smarty”. Make sure not to show other players during the exchange.
Mark this card on your scoresheet. With each new pet card you reveal, you’re getting closer to solving the Mystery Pets that were hidden during the setup phase of the game.
One of the Action Cards you can play is the “Sneak Peek” card. This card allows you to look at one of the Mystery Pet cards. Because this card gives the player a shortcut, it will be a highly valuable card to steal or block its play by other players. When you play this card, you must wait for others to “react” (10 seconds). You can not play the card then grab and look at the mystery card holder in one movement.
Another player might play a “Facial Card” in reaction. The Facial Card allows the other player to steal the power of the turn’s first card played. In this case, the other play would steal the power of the Sneak Peak card. (Note; only one Facial card can be played per turn, so make sure you’re quick to have first right on stealing a card).
If you have the Throw Octopus or Baby Throw Octopus add-on, when you play the Facial Card, you have the option to throw the octopus at the person who played the first card.
But this doesn’t mean the first player can’t respond.
You can play the “No Way” card in reaction. The No Way card voids the card just played. In this case, the No Way card would void the “Facial” card, thereby returning the Sneak Peek to the person who originally played it.
Unless another player (anybody) plays a No Way card on top of the No Way card. In this case, the prior No Way card is voided (so now both No Ways cancel out) and card before now becomes active again. In this case, the person that played the Facial Card would have the Sneak Peek power.
There’s no limit to how many No Way cards can be played during a turn.
IMPORTANT: By using a Facial Card and taking the power of the Action Card, there is no modification to the turn order. Once the “stolen” Action Card is played, the next turn returns to the person who was next in the original turn order.
Example; If you have 4 players and player 1 has his action card stolen by player 4 using the Facial Card. Once player 4 redeems the power of that card, it would be player 2’s turn.
Scoring:
When a player is ready to guess any of the Mystery Cards, he/she must reveal their intention at the start of their turn then announce their guess. Example: “The Shady Dog is Red 8”. Wait a moment for others to check their cards.
If another player has that card, they expose the card to the table. The mistaken player subtracts the Mystery Card’s point value (see below) from their score & they lose their next turn. Play continues as next player takes their turn.
If no other player has the card, the player opens the appropriate Mystery Card Holder and reveals the Mystery Card to all. If he/she is correct, they earn and accumulate points in this manner (tiers):
1st Mystery Pet Solved: 5 Pts
2nd Mystery Pet Solved: 10 Pts
3rd Mystery Pet Solved: 15 Pts
4th Mystery Pet Solved: 20 Pts
Mark points won/lost on score sheet. Expose the revealed Mystery Pet Card face up/vertically in Mystery Card holder so all can see & remember.
In addition, the player who makes the correct guess has the option to guess another Mystery Card or can pass play to the next player. The next Mystery Pet is valued at the next point tier regardless of who solved the last Mystery Pet.
In the example above, the player guesses the Mystery Dog is “Red 8” and is correct. They mark on their scoresheet that they scored 5 points since it was the first Mystery Pet guessed.
When other players correctly guess the Mystery Pets mark them on your scoresheet. In the above example you can see that you guessed the first Mystery Pet and scored 5, Jennifer (J) guessed the 2nd Mystery Pet and score 10 points. McKenna (M) guessed the 3rd Mystery Pet and scored 15 points.
You attempted to guess the 4th Mystery Pet (Cat) as Cat #2 and were wrong. The actual Mystery Cat was Cat #3. Shown on the scoresheet is -20 points.
So the final score for this round was;
You: -15 points, Jennifer: 10 points, and McKenna 15 points.
Play one round or play until first player reaches 50 points.
Each round (game) takes about 15-20 minutes.
Common Questions —
Once a Mystery Pet has been guessed, what do you do with the remaining pets cards of that type?
There’s no real downside to having those cards in your hand. However, when it is your turn, after you draw one card from the Draw Pile, you can expose any Pet Card face up to the table, then you can draw another card. Upon drawing this card, your turn is over.
The advantage to keeping these cards in your hand is that they can help protect your other cards against a “Grab Bag”; If they pick a dead pet card type (since already guessed), they lose out and is often times something to laugh at!
For more information about rules of each Action Card, see Action Card Library