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JINGLE BELL RUN
Welcome to Jingle Bell Run, a super fun racing game for 2 to 6 players! In this game, we’ll have a blast navigating the board and collecting sets of lights to move around. The goal? Be the first player to reach the opposite corner from where we start. Let’s dive in and get ready for an epic race!
THE CARDS & THE DEAL
To play Jingle Bell Run, you’ll need a few components from the Christmas Lights card game. Here’s what you’ll need: 16 pattern cards, 7 bulbs of each color (that’s a total of 42 bulbs), 8 plug cards, 5 broken bulbs, 6 bubble cards, and up to 6 character cards.
To set up the game, start by shuffling the pattern cards and arranging them in a 4×4 grid. Make sure the pattern cards are face up so that everyone can see them.
Next, shuffle the colored bulbs, bubble bulbs, broken bulbs, and plugs together to create one deck. Deal each player 5 cards from this deck.
Now, take five cards from the deck and place them face up in a row. This row is called the “market.” The remaining cards are placed face down to form a stock.
That’s it! You’re all set to start playing Jingle Bell Run.
So, here’s what you do. First, pick a character card that represents you. You can choose any of the really cool cards they have for the game. Once you’ve got your card, place it in one of the four corners on the pattern grid. That’s where your race starts, and where the fun begins.
Now, as you play, try to finish patterns. When you do, you can move your character around the grid. It’s pretty awesome. Oh, and here’s something cool – you get to see your hand before you pick your starting position. So you can plan ahead and think about where you want to go.
Oh, and one more thing. You’re not the only one who can start in a corner. Other players can join you! So you might have some company as you race to the finish line. Let the games begin!
MEET THE GAME
It’s my turn when I’m the youngest player. And when it’s my turn, I get to pick one thing to do.
GET NEW CARDS
You can choose to get two new cards either from the pile of cards or from the cards that are laid out.
If you decide to take a special bubble card from the laid-out cards, you can only get one new card. But if you grab a bubble card from the pile, then you can treat it like a regular card and grab another one.
When you get cards from the laid-out ones, take them one at a time and quickly put a new card from the pile in its place. If there are ever three special cards laid out, we throw them all away and replace them with five new cards.
If the pile of cards ever runs out, we mix up the cards we already played and make a new pile.
GIVE AWAY MY BROKEN CARD
When you’re playing, you have the option to give one or more broken bulbs to one of your opponents. In return, you get to draw the same number of cards from their hand. The broken bulbs go into their hand after you’ve drawn the cards.
Plug and Swap
If you play a plug card, you just put it in the discard pile. But here’s the fun part: you get to swap two pattern cards in the grid. The catch is, the cards you choose to swap must be empty, with no player occupying them.
Play and Move
To navigate the grid, I need to find sets of cards that match the pattern on the card I want to move to. Once I have a set of five matching cards, I can discard them and move my character card to the pattern card.
At the beginning, my character card will start beside a specific card, and that becomes the first pattern I need to complete. Once my character is on the grid, I can only move orthogonally – left, right, up, or down.
If I end my turn with more than 7 cards, I have to discard down to 7. I can discard any type of card from my hand.
The game continues in a clockwise direction until one player reaches the pattern card that is on the opposite corner from where they started.