Wampoo

Wampoo

What you need to play

2-4 players
1 Wampoo board
1 standard deck of 54 cards (Jokers are used)
4 sets of 4 different colored marbles

Starting the game

Each player sits at one side of the game board. Each player takes four marbles of the colour of his choosing and puts them in the 4 diagonal holes of his START row. All players must use a unique colour for their marbles.

How to win

The object of the game is to move all 4 marbles from your START row to your HOME row by moving clockwise around the game board.

Dealing the cards

An arbitrary dealer deals cards to each player until someone is dealt a Spade. That person then becomes the dealer for the first round of the game. The dealer deals 5 cards to each player, starting with the player to his left, and puts the remaining cards in the deck facedown in the middle of the game board. In subsequent deals, the dealer deals only 4 cards to each player, until there are only 2 cards remaining in the deck (in a 3-player game there will be 3 cards remaining in the deck and in a 2-player game there will be 4 cards remaining in the deck). The play begins with the first person to the dealer's left. Each player plays one card (if possible) and then the play continues to the left. After the round is over, the deal passes to the next person to the left.

Getting out

Before a player can begin moving any of his marbles towards HOME, he must get at least one marble out of the START row. Only one marble can be taken out of the START row at a time and only special starter cards can be used to get the marble out. These special starter cards are the Ace, King, and Joker. If a player does not have any marbles out of his START row and does not have an Ace, King, or Joker in his hand, he must throw away his cards and forfeit the hand. If a player does have an Ace, King or Joker, he can play one of these cards and move one of his marbles to the STARTER hole on the board (indicated by an x in the figure above). It is possible (though not always advisable) for a player to have all 4 of his marbles out of the START row and on the board.

Moving towards home

Once a marble is out of the START row, the player can use the cards in his hand to move his marble clockwise around the board, towards his HOME. Each card can be used to move only one marble. The number of holes that a marble can be moved with each card is shown below:

Ace	1
2	2
3	3
4	4 (move backwards)
5	5
6	6
7	7
8	8
9	9
10	10
Jack	11
Queen	12
King	13
Joker	20

Knocking players off

If you play a card which causes one of your marbles to land in a hole occupied by an opponent's marble, your opponent's marble is returned to his START row. This is called knocking off or "killing" your opponent's marble. This is one of the ways you can set back your opponent while you make your way toward your HOME. Beware, however, that no two marbles can occupy the same hole at the same time, so it is possible (and sometimes unavoidable) to knock off instead of your opponent.

Special cards

There are several cards in the deck which have special features that you can use to advance in the game:

4 - move back 4 spaces instead of ahead. This card is especially useful when used from the STARTER hole, since it puts your marble next to your HOME row. Just like when you move forwards, you can knock off an opponent's marble if you land on a hole occupied by one of his marbles.
7 - the "killer card". This card allows you to move forward 7 spaces, but your marble knocks off every other marble along the way. This card can be dangerous if you are forced to knock off your own or your teammate's marbles.
Jack - move 11 spaces ahead OR swap any two marbles on the board. You must have at least one marble in play (not in the START row or HOME row) to swap marbles with a Jack.
Joker - move 20 spaces ahead AND be able to pass a marble on a player's STARTER hole. If one of the players has a marble in his STARTER hole, you cannot kill that marble or swap that marble with a Jack. You also cannot move past the marble in the STARTER hole, unless you have a Joker.

Special rules

There are a number of special rules which must be followed that make the game more interesting:

If at any time you cannot play any of your cards, you must throw away your cards and forfeit the hand.
You MUST play one of your cards if possible, even if it means knocking off one of your own or your teammate’s marbles. You cannot throw away your hand simply because your only possible move is undesirable.
Knocking marbles off is not optional. Two marbles cannot occupy the same hole at the same time. The same rule applies to the special 7 card.
A marble in your STARTER hole blocks all other marbles from knocking you off or moving past you in either direction (unless a player has a joker). However, the STARTER hole rule applies only until the marble is first moved out of the STARTER hole. For example, if a marble was moved out of the STARTER hole, and is later moved back into the STARTER hole as a result of a swap (by a Jack), that marble would not block other marbles from passing and would not be safe from being knocked off.
Any number of marbles can be on the board at the same time, but only one marble can be moved by each card.
There is absolutely no discussion between teammates concerning the course of play. In time, you will learn your teammate's playing style and be able to anticipate.
The Jack swaps any two marbles, no matter which players they belong to (unless a marble is in a player's STARTER hole). However, swapping marbles of the same colour is not allowed, since this does not change the placement of marbles on the board.
A Jack can only be used by a player to swap marbles if that player has a marble in play on the board. Marbles in the START row and HOME row are not considered in play.

Getting home

Once a player's marble makes it all the way around the board, he must try to get his marbles into the HOME row. The HOME row is a special area of the board and, as such, has its own special set of rules:

A player must move an exact number of spaces in the HOME row. For example, if a player is just outside the HOME row and does not have an Ace, 2, or 3, he cannot move his marble inside the HOME row.
Once a player is next to his HOME row, he must forfeit his hand if he does not have a small enough card to enter the HOME row. A player will only have to move a marble around the board again if someone knocks it off or swaps the marble with a Jack.
A player cannot jump over his own marbles in the HOME row. Each marble has to be moved ahead before another marble can take its place.
A player cannot use a 4 to move backwards out of the HOME row. Once a marble is in the HOME row, it can only be moved forward.
No player can ever enter another player's HOME row. If a player finds himself just outside another player's HOME row, he must simply continue around the board.
Once a player's marble has entered the HOME row, it is considered out of play and untouchable (it can never be knocked off).