Jackaroo is a board game that shares similarities with the Wahoo game board . It is designed for 2-4 players and involves the use of playing cards and marbles. In this game, two players facing each other to form a team. The objective is to skillfully maneuver your marbles around the track zone and ensure they reach the safety zone without being captured. The movement of marbles is guided by playing cards.
Gamer’s Guide and Rule book
This page is a reference guide for me and my gaming group, and we keep it open while playing Jackaroo. We have customized some of the rules based on our experiences and the satisfaction of our successes.
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Overview of Jackaroo Board Zones
- Outside Zone: Start off the game and return from being captured.
- Base Hole: 🂡 Aces or 👑 Kings allow a marble to enter the base hole.
- Track Zone: The movement on the track is a clockwise
left to right. - Fire Pit: Where cards are thrown after use or being discarded.
- Safety Zone: Filled from the top down and can not jump over other marbles.
Rules
- Partners are sat across from each other. Each player selects a color of marbles.
- Cards are discarded in the fire pit after being used.
- Marbles are placed at the outside zone at the start of the game until a 🂡 Ace or a 👑 King is played.
- Marbles are moved in clockwise
left to rightdirection along the track zone until they reach the safety zone. Marbles placed on top of other marbles would be removed from play and placed back at the outside zonecaptured. - Marbles cannot skip over marbles of their own color unless with a 👑 King.
- Marbles placed on the base hole cannot be passed, removed, or exchanged.
- If a player cannot make a move, they must discard a card in the fire pit.
- For marbles to enter the safety zone, the cards must be sufficient to enter. Having a number more than the steps needed will not allow you to enter.
- Marbles can be placed anywhere in the safety zone, but the first marble entered must be moved on top to allow all 4 marbles to enter.
- Once a player has all 4 marbles in the safety zone, then they can play for their partner.
- Once a team has all 8 marbles in the safety zone then they are the winners of the game.
Dealing
Start the game by choosing a dealer. The dealer deals 4 cards for 2 rounds then deals 5 cards on every 3rd round for each player starting to hand the cards clockwise left to right. The player sitting to the dealer’s left starts the game and moves clockwise left to right direction.
Card Movies
| Card | Moves |
|---|---|
| 🂡 Ace | Places a marble from the outside zone to base hole. |
| 1 or 11 steps (Player’s choice) | |
| 👑 King | Places a marble from the outside zone to base hole. |
| 13 steps removing all marbles in the track zone including their own to the outside zone. | |
| 👑 Queen Black | 12 steps. |
| 👑 Queen Red | Pick unrevealed card from the next player and discard it. |
| 🃏 Jack | Exchange a player marble that is not in the base hole with any other color marble. |
| 1️⃣0️⃣ | 10 steps or forces the next player to discard a card. |
| 7️⃣ | 7 steps from your own marble - steps can be split into 2 of your own. |
| 5️⃣ | 5 steps for any marble in play that isn’t in the base hole. |
| 4️⃣ | 4 steps backward. Can be used from the base hole as shortcut to safety zone. |
| Other cards | The numbers represent the steps. |