Dinosaurs Vs. Army Men® Game Rules
Shuffle deck THOROUGHLY. Deal all cards face-down and as equally as possible to each player, creating individual piles. The player on the dealer’s left starts the game by QUICKLY flipping the top card of his pile AWAY from him to create a central pile of face-up cards within easy reach of all players. (FASTER GAMEPLAY IS THE most FUN.) Players must NEVER look at their cards or crowd the central pile with their hands. Play continues clockwise with each player, in turn, quickly flipping a single top card until a Battle Round! or Smack Attack! card is placed on top of the central pile.
When a Battle Round! card is played, the player who flipped the Battle Round! card chooses aloud to battle either dinosaurs or army men—making them the opposite character for this battle. Starting with the player to their left, all players flip cards, IN TURN, placing them next to the central pile until they flip the required army or dinosaur card. The player with the highest-numbered card wins all the piles of overturned cards, ending the battle round. (For example, if the player who flips the Battle Round! card chooses to battle “army men,” all other players will flip cards, in turn, until an army card is turned over, and lastly, the choosing player takes their turn flipping cards until a dinosaur card is overturned, and vice versa. The highest-numbered card wins the battle and the piles of overturned cards.) If, during a battle round, any player places another Battle Round! card on a pile, the battle round immediately starts over, and the player who flipped this new Battle Round! card gets to choose aloud to battle either dinosaurs or army men.
ANYTIME a Smack Attack! card is placed on top of the pile (including battle rounds), the first player to smack the card wins the central pile, or battle round. (Smacking MUST be done gently to avoid injury to yourself and other players. Remember, players are not permitted to “hover” their hands near overturned cards.) In the event of a tie, the player whose hand is closest to Smack Attack! card’s bulls-eye center dot wins. When a player wins cards, those cards are added face-down to his own pile (shuffling is optional) and they restart play. The game continues until only one player has any cards left. ( Again, FASTER gameplay is the most fun! )
False Smack & Cheating: A player smacking any card but the Smack Attack! card (a “false smack”) or caught cheating must forfeit one card and place it face-up at the bottom of the central pile.
Out of Cards: Players with no cards have lost the game. However, they can still harass remaining players by smacking the Smack Attack! card and, if successfully won, REMOVE this pile of cards from play. (This helps end the game quicker.) The player to the smacker’s left restarts play. If a player with no cards “false smacks,” they are permanently out of the game.
When a Battle Round! card is played, the player who flipped the Battle Round! card chooses aloud to battle either dinosaurs or army men—making them the opposite character for this battle. Starting with the player to their left, all players flip cards, IN TURN, placing them next to the central pile until they flip the required army or dinosaur card. The player with the highest-numbered card wins all the piles of overturned cards, ending the battle round. (For example, if the player who flips the Battle Round! card chooses to battle “army men,” all other players will flip cards, in turn, until an army card is turned over, and lastly, the choosing player takes their turn flipping cards until a dinosaur card is overturned, and vice versa. The highest-numbered card wins the battle and the piles of overturned cards.) If, during a battle round, any player places another Battle Round! card on a pile, the battle round immediately starts over, and the player who flipped this new Battle Round! card gets to choose aloud to battle either dinosaurs or army men.
ANYTIME a Smack Attack! card is placed on top of the pile (including battle rounds), the first player to smack the card wins the central pile, or battle round. (Smacking MUST be done gently to avoid injury to yourself and other players. Remember, players are not permitted to “hover” their hands near overturned cards.) In the event of a tie, the player whose hand is closest to Smack Attack! card’s bulls-eye center dot wins. When a player wins cards, those cards are added face-down to his own pile (shuffling is optional) and they restart play. The game continues until only one player has any cards left. ( Again, FASTER gameplay is the most fun! )
False Smack & Cheating: A player smacking any card but the Smack Attack! card (a “false smack”) or caught cheating must forfeit one card and place it face-up at the bottom of the central pile.
Out of Cards: Players with no cards have lost the game. However, they can still harass remaining players by smacking the Smack Attack! card and, if successfully won, REMOVE this pile of cards from play. (This helps end the game quicker.) The player to the smacker’s left restarts play. If a player with no cards “false smacks,” they are permanently out of the game.