Rules of Croque Carotte

Goal of the Game

Win by getting one of your four bunnies to the top of the hill!

Setup

• Place the game board in the center of the table.
• Players choose their colors and each player receives the 4 bunnies of their color.
• All the bunnies start at the bottom of the hill next to the staircase.
• Shuffle all 48 cards. The cards are: Bunny (or Move Forward) cards (1, 2, or 3 spaces) and Clic! cards that cause you to rotate the carrot.

Course of the game

• The youngest player or the person who has lost the last game starts.
• During the game, you may have 1 or more bunnies on the board depending on your strategy.
• When it’s your turn, draw the top card and if it’s a Bunny card, then move a bunny of yours as many spaces up the hill as the number of spaces drawn on the card.
  1. You only count the unoccupied spaces when hopping up the hill. So if your opponent is standing on one of the spaces in front of you, you just don’t count that space.
• If you draw a Clic! card (the carrot card), then you must turn the carrot that’s on top of the hill until you hear a click. When you turn the carrot a random hole will open and if that hole has a bunny on it, the bunny falls into the hole and is eliminated from the game.

Specific Spaces

• There is a mole next to the 3rd space from the start. The mole can push away a bunny. When this happens the bunny will be knocked away from the game board. You can bring that bunny back into the game but it must start at the staircase, starting from the beginning once again.
• There is a drawbridge that gets lowered or raised every time you turn the carrot. The bunnies can only pass when the drawbridge is down.
  1. If you draw a Bunny card and try to move a bunny through the bridge when it’s up then your bunny will bounce back off the drawbridge and continue hopping the remaining number of spaces backward instead.
  2. To lower the raised drawbridge, a player must draw a Clic! card and turn the carrot.
• 3 squares before the finish there is a gate that can push your bunny a number of spaces back. If your bunny is pushed back by the gate then it must continue from the space it fell on.
  1. If your bunny falls on an occupied space, it is placed on the next space instead. If that space is also occupied then it is placed on the space after that one. The bunny will keep skipping occupied spaces until it reaches an empty one.

End of the Game

The game ends when a bunny reaches the top of the hill and gets on top of the carrot. The player who reaches the top is the winner.

• It’s important to remember that to finish the game, you must get the Bunny card with the exact number of spaces to the top of the hill. For example, if you’re 1 space away then to reach the carrot you’re going to need a 1 hop card. If the number you draw is too high, then your bunny won’t be able to move.

Official rules in PDF

Explore the official rules of Croque carotte in PDF

Questions & Answers

• Can a bunny jump over the open holes?

Yes, it can hop over the holes if you draw a higher number. That is to say that if the hole is 1 space away from the bunny, the player will be able to jump over it if they draw a 2 or 3 hop card.

• What happens if all of my bunnies are eliminated?

If you have all of your bunnies eliminated you can continue playing if you want by placing all your bunnies at the staircase again.

• What are the traps and obstacles?

There are several traps and obstacles on the board. The traps are certain spaces where a hole can open up into which your bunny could fall. The obstacles are the mole, drawbridge, and gate. Try to avoid all of those.🙂

• Can I choose not to move even if I draw a Bunny card?

No, you have to move forward even if your bunny is going to fall into a hole. It is, therefore, preferable to have several bunnies available on the board to keep moving without worries.

A Variation

Decide upon a number of bunnies that must reach the top of the hill to end the game. When the game ends, the player with the most bunnies on top wins.

For example, you can decide that the game ends when 3 bunnies of any color reach the top of the hill. This could make for a thrilling experience. Especially if 2 players have managed to get 1 bunny to the top each, because this would mean that the player who succeeds in getting a 2nd bunny to the top of the hill will be the winner!