Overview

Match of the Penguins is a fast-paced pattern-matching card game. Players flip cards showing penguins with various colored accessories and race to spot matching elements between cards. Different types of matches have different values, and players grab penguin pawns or call out matches to claim cards. The player who collects the most cards wins.

Components

• 64 penguin cards (each showing a penguin with 6 colored elements: umbrella, sunglasses, lei, shirt, blanket, fish in pail)
• 3 penguin pawns (2 black, 1 white)

Setup

1. Shuffle the deck and place it face-down in the center.
2. Space the penguin pawns evenly within reach of all players, with the white pawn in the middle.
3. In 2-player games, remove 1 black pawn.
4. Familiarize players with the 6 elements on each card.

Turn Structure

The player closest to the South Pole starts as the “flipper.” Play proceeds as:

1. The flipper slowly places cards face-up in a line, one at a time.
2. All players watch for matches between any two face-up cards.
3. When a match is spotted, the player acts immediately (grab a pawn, call out, or knock).

Actions

Match Types (ranked lowest to highest priority)

Priority	Match Type	Action	Reward
Lowest	One matching element	Call out the element name	Win ALL face-up cards
Medium	Multiple matching elements	Grab a black pawn	Win ONE face-up card
High	Two identical cards	Grab the white pawn	Win ALL face-up cards
Highest	Two fish in one pail on a single card	Knock on the table	Win ALL face-up cards (beats everything)

Priority Rules

• Higher-priority matches beat lower-priority ones.
• If someone grabs the white pawn (identical match) and someone else calls a single match, the white pawn wins.
• Knocking (two fish) always beats everything.

Penalties

If a player makes an incorrect call or grab, they place 1 previously won card out of play. If they have no cards, no penalty applies.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

A round ends when at least one player correctly claims cards. Return pawns to center, and pass the deck to the next player clockwise.

After the final card is flipped, everyone has one last chance to make a match. The player who has collected the most cards wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Some cards show close-ups of a single element – these count for matching purposes.
• “Two fish in a pail” on a single card is a special trigger; you knock instead of grabbing.
• If multiple players act simultaneously, the first to complete their action (grab/call/knock) wins.
• Cards won through incorrect calls are permanently removed from the game.
• The flipper should place cards slowly enough for everyone to see them.

Player Reference

To Claim	Do This
1 matching element	Call out the element name
Multiple matching elements	Grab black pawn
2 identical cards	Grab white pawn
2 fish in 1 pail	Knock on table