JUST HATCHED

Hatch your plan, heckle your opponents, and cluck and crow your way to victory!

BIG CHICKEN: Just Hatched is a simplified-ruleset version of the original BIG CHICKEN base game. This version is designed for beginners and those not experienced with traditional card games.

Just Hatched is a good introduction to traditional card game mechanics, like set collecting, hand management, and more, with a healthy dose of strategy.

The Just Hatched version of the game can be played with any existing BIG CHICKEN deck.

We are currently working on a How-to-Play video for BIG CHICKEN: Just Hatched, and hope to have it done before the end of the year (2024).

PLAYERS / AGE / TIME

BIG CHICKEN: Just Hatched is recommended for ages 7 and up, and plays in about 30 minutes (once everyone knows how to play).

BALANCED FOR 3 to 6 PLAYERS

BIG CHICKEN: Just Hatched has been designed to play well with 3 to 6 players (playing individually, not as teams or partners). We’ve worked hard to preserve the most important aspects of gameplay no matter the number of players – with as little mechanical difference as possible – so the same strategies and planning can be applied to any player count variation.

2-PLAYER VARIANT

To play the 2-Player variant of Just Hatched, first learn the base game (for 3-6 players) as the rules are the same, with some exceptions / additions.

We don’t have the 2-Player rules for Just Hatched written out at the moment (we will by the end of the week, 2024-11-29). Until then you can look at the 2-Player Rules for the BIG CHICKEN base game, and infer the minor differences. If you want to be notified of our rule updates, be sure to join our Mailing List.

BASIC CONCEPTS / VOCABULARY

• The “Game” is made up of “Rounds.”
• The “Rounds” are made up of “Runs.”
• Within “Runs,” players play cards or sets of cards called “Lays” (as in “laying eggs”).

OBJECT

• The OBJECT OF THE GAME is to have the LOWEST score when the Game ends.
• The OBJECT OF A ROUND is for players to get rid of all the cards in their hand before any of the other players do.
• The OBJECT OF A RUN is to play the highest Lay (card or set of cards).
• A Run ends when no other player can or will beat the card(s) in the last Lay.
• A Round ends when one player has gotten rid of all of the cards in their hand.
• Players score points at the end of a Round based on the number of cards they have left in their hand, plus any penalties incurred (see LAST EGG).
• The Game ends at the end of 5 Rounds.

DECK SETUP

In Just Hatched, unlike the BIG CHICKEN base game, you always use all 4 suits, no matter what player count.

In order to balance the game as evenly as possible for all player counts, some lower-numbered cards are left out, depending on the number of players (see the DECK SETUP table).

Just like in the base game, in Just Hatched, for all player counts, ALL Chicken cards are ALWAYS used. All Duck cards are used — except for in the 3-player game version, where only one is used.

Only use the numbered Egg cards in each suit that is specified in the table, leaving out the numbered Egg cards not listed.

When removing the lowest Egg cards, consider the suit order when doing so, and remove the lowest numbered cards from the lowest-valued suits.

DECK SETUP

PECKING ORDER

The “Pecking Order” describes the hierarchy of the suits (colors) and cards.

The colors of the game are the colors of the rainbow. They were chosen because they’re bright and cheerful, but also because most everyone already knows the order of the colors of the rainbow, and thus can easily understand the hierarchy of suits. They also represent acceptance and inclusivity, and a desire by the game designer to make games that bring people together.

The suits (colors) are ordered from lowest to highest, like a rainbow:
BLUE then GREEN then YELLOW then ORANGE.

However, NUMBERS take precedence OVER SUITS in determining card order: a higher-numbered card will always be higher than a lower-numbered card of a higher suit. (See example below.)

TYPES OF LAYS

SINGLE: Single card.
–

TWO-OF-A-KIND: Set of two cards with the same number (also called a Pair).

THREE-OF-A-KIND: Set of three cards with the same number (also called Trips).

COOP: Four or Five cards with the same number (also called a Four-of-a-Kind or Five-of-a-Kind).

NOTE: With the exception of a Coop and Big Red, no type of Lay is “higher” or more powerful than any other type of Lay (for example, a Three-of-a-Kind doesn’t beat a Two-of-a-Kind), as different types of Lays cannot be played on top of one another (see the rules on COOPS, BIG RED, and the MOST IMPORTANT RULE).

GAME START

After the deck has been prepared for the specific player count, it is shuffled and all the cards are dealt to the players until there are none left (in Just Hatched, each player should have 10 cards in their hand).

DIRECTION OF PLAY: Place the Direction of Play card to one side of the center of the play area. It helps players to keep track of the direction of play, and is flipped over when the play is reversed. The Direction of Play card starts on the “Cluckwise” side, and the direction of play starts clockwise until the card is flipped.

In ONLY the first Round, the first player is the player holding Big Red, and they must show all other players that they have Big Red. The first player for all other Rounds is determined differently (see the rules about BEGINNING OF THE NEXT ROUND).

While it is advantageous to be holding Big Red at the start of the game and also be able to lead the first Run, all other players now know that the player has Big Red, so the advantage is somewhat diminished, and the game starts with some balance.

HOW TO PLAY

The first player to play a Lay (this is called leading) in a given Run determines the kinds of Lays that will be used for that Run. They will play a Single card, Two-of-a-Kind, Three-of-a-Kind, or Coop.

All subsequent Lays must be higher than the Lay played by the previous player – they cannot be of a lower value or the same card or the same set.

Once no player can or will (see the rules on CLUCKING) beat the Lay, the winner of Run is the person who played the last Lay.

After the Run, any player clears the cards from the center of the table and piles them FACE DOWN to the side. (It doesn’t matter where they’re piled – but it’s recommended to keep just one pile, out of the Lay area at the center of the table.)

The player who won the last Run leads the next Run with ANY type of Lay.

The Round continues until one player runs out of cards. This is called “Going Out.”

CLUCKING (PASS)

You may choose to not play a card or set at any time, even if you have playable cards in your hand. You can play later in the same Run even if you have previously passed.

If you choose to pass you must say “Cluck.”

CHICKENS

Think of chickens as the “face cards” of this deck (like the King, Queen, or Jack of a regular deck of cards). They are separate from Egg cards, and don’t represent a number. They are the highest cards in the deck, higher than any Egg (number) card. Chickens follow the same pecking order of suit value, from the Blue Chicken as the lowest to Big Red as the highest Chicken.

Because of their value, they are better than Eggs - and they know it. They also see themselves as better than the Ducks and can’t stand those loners.

• Chickens are NOT wild (thus they cannot represent a number card).
• Chickens are NOT equivalent to number cards (they don’t equal numbers, such as 13-17).
• Chickens CANNOT be used with Ducks in the same Lay (because the Chickens don’t like the ducks).
• Chickens can be used as a Single card Lay (higher than any number card).
• 2 Chickens can be used as a Two-of-a-Kind in a 2-card Lay.
• 3 Chickens can be used as a Three-of-a-Kind in a 3-card Lay.

BIG RED

• Big Red is a rooster with attitude, and it’s well-deserved: he’s not just another Chicken, he’s the highest, most powerful Chicken, and the most powerful card in the deck. He’s the Ruler of the Roost, the King of the Coop!
• KING OF THE COOP: He is the only single card that can beat a Coop, and he CANNOT be beaten by a Coop. But he only beats a Coop when played as a single card. He doesn’t beat it if he’s part of another set.
• STILL A CHICKEN: He’s still a Chicken, and can be used just like all other Chickens (with another Chicken in a Two-of-a-Kind or with two other Chickens in a Three-of-a-Kind, and with three or four other Chickens in Coops).

DUCKS

Ducks are solitary creatures that occasionally wander into the yard and try to fit in. But the chickens don’t like the ducks, so the chickens don’t allow the ducks to hang out with them, and keep them out of the chicken coop. However, not being hatched yet, the eggs have no say, so the ducks sit with them instead.

• Ducks are wild cards and can represent ANY other numbered (Egg) card, no matter what suit.
• Ducks CANNOT be used in Coops.
• Ducks CANNOT be used to represent a Chicken (the chickens wouldn’t put up with that).
• The player playing the Duck determines its suit and value, and MUST state it when playing it.
• Only 1 Duck can be used in a Lay at a time.

FLIP

When you play a Duck, you MUST reverse the direction of play. Turn over the Cluckwise / Counter-Cluckwise card to keep track of the direction of play.

When you lay a Duck, you need to make sure that the direction of play is reversed. If you forget and play moves on beyond the next player, it’s too late and the game continues without the Flip.

COOPS

In real life, chicken coops are sturdy little houses where chickens live and eggs are laid.

Accordingly, in BIG CHICKEN: Just Hatched a Coop is a powerful Lay that can rarely be beat.

• Coops are a 4-card or 5-card Lay, all of the same number (of-a-kind) or all chickens.
• A Four-of-a-Kind is called a Little Coop, and a Five-of-a-Kind is called a Big Coop.
• Coops CANNOT contain Ducks.
• Coops may be made up of ALL Chickens.
• Coops can be played on top of (and beat) any type of Lay (Single card, Two-of-a-Kind, Three-of-a-Kind, lower Coops, see the MOST IMPORTANT RULE.)
• Coops can ONLY be beaten by a higher Coop or Big Red (when Big Red is played as a single card, not as a set).

FLIP OR SKIP

When you play a Coop, you may choose to reverse the direction of play OR skip the next player. You HAVE to do one or the other, but you can’t do both.

When you lay a Coop, you need to make sure that the direction of play is reversed or that a player is skipped. If you forget and play moves on beyond the next player, it’s too late and the game continues without the Flip or Skip.

LAST EGG

When you have one card left, you must say “Last Egg.” (You only have to say it once, not every time the play comes around to you after you’ve declared it the first time.)

If you forget to say Last Egg, another player can “Catch” you by saying “Last Egg” first. (The other player cannot catch you until you have taken your hand off the cards or set that you are laying.) Multiple players can be Caught in a Round.

If a player is Caught, then all current discard piles must be shuffled together, and the Caught player will be dealt 2 cards off the top of the pile.

END OF A ROUND / SCORING

The Round continues until one player runs out of cards. This is called “Going Out.”

At the end of a Round, players get a “Card Score” based on the number of cards they have left — one point per card.

Multipliers (see the CARD SCORE table below) are applied to the Card Score and then any penalty points are added.

NOTE: penalty points are NEVER multiplied, and are always added after the Card Score is multiplied.

(The scoring in Just Hatched is simplified from the base game, as there are no differences between the player counts.)

CARD SCORE

An example of a Just Hatched scorecard usage is below. Since a 5-player game is being played, the reference sections for 2, 3, 4, and 6-player games have been crossed out. Note that the first row of each round contains the score from the round, and the second row of each round contains the running total.

A printable version of the Just Hatched score card can be downloaded in a 4-up, 2-up, or 1-up sheet here.

BAD EGG / GOOD EGG

At the end of a Round, the player who scored the most points is called the “Bad Egg,” and the player who scored the least points is called the “Good Egg.” If there is a tie for either title, then they are determined by the score from the previous Round(s). If this is the first Round of the game, then the tying Player for Bad Egg who has the highest card still in their hand breaks that tie and is Bad Egg.

BEGINNING THE NEXT ROUND

The Bad Egg must shuffle and deal the cards for the next Round. At the beginning of the next Round, the Good Egg MUST give their best card (except Big Red) to the Bad Egg – face up so that all other players can see it. The Bad Egg MUST take the card, whether they want it or not. The Bad Egg then gives to the Good Egg any other card from their hand that they want – face up so that all other players can see it – but they can’t give back the card they were just given.

The play at the start of the new Round continues in the same direction it was going at the end of the previous Round.

The first player of the next round is the Good Egg from the last Round.

END OF THE GAME

When 5 Rounds are completed, the Game is over.

ROTTEN EGG

The player with the most points is the “Rotten Egg.”

In case of a tie for Rotten Egg, all tying players share the title.

GOLDEN EGG

The player with the least points is the “Golden Egg” (winner).  While other players may not want to praise them, some good-natured bragging from the Golden Egg will be tolerated — but only until the next Game starts, and then they need to shut their beaks.

In case of a tie for Golden Egg, the full deck used for this specific game will be shuffled, and all tying players shall pull one card from the top of the deck, starting with the last Good Egg and going clockwise, and the highest card wins. The order of value, lowest to highest: numbered Egg cards by suit, then Chickens by suit, but Duck cards automatically lose.

If a tie still exists, they keep pulling cards from the rest of the same deck until the tie is resolved.

OPTIONAL / HOUSE RULES

AN EGG LAYED

“A card layed is a card played.” Unless a card has been illegally played, it cannot be picked up / replaced once it has been layed — that is, when the player takes their fingers off of the card(s).

For the first or second round of a Just Hatched teaching game you can ignore this rule.  But try to implement it as early as possible!

DECLARE THE LAY

OPTIONAL, BUT ENCOURAGED: Every time a card or set is Played, the player doing so MUST state what the lay consists of, describing it in detail.

This allows the game to have a faster pace and helps reinforce the fundamentals for inexperienced players.

SLOW PLAY / TAUNTING

OPTIONAL: If a player is taking too long to play, other players are encouraged to taunt them by making chicken noises and imply their cowardice. “Bawk, bawk, bawwwwk…” Flapping their arms like a chicken is also optional, but highly encouraged.

(This is recommended for experienced players ONLY. Until everyone gets the hang of Just Hatched, give those learning a break and let them take their time to strategize.)

CHANGELOG

UPDATE 20241119: Fixed more errors in the recent Just Hatched changes, and updated the graphics to reflect the latest printing version. Posted the rules for Just Hatched again.
UPDATE 20241029: A few errors were found in the Just Hatched rules as they were written, and some other rewrites were warranted. Taking the rules offline temporarily while we work on edits.
UPDATE 20241022: Posted the updated rules for Just Hatched.
UPDATE 20241004: While doing some additional playtesting with the nieces and nephew, we found some flaws, and took the Just Hatched rules offline while we make some revisions and do some additional playtesting.
UPDATE 20240926: Posted the rules for Just Hatched for the first time publically.