Happy Salmon Rules
THE RULES
PLAYERS: 3-8
CONTENTS: 96 CARDS
Game designed by:
Ken Gruhl and Quentin Weir
Developed by:
Exploding Kittens
WHAT IS THIS?
Happy Salmon is physical, fast, and LOUD. So clear some space, get rid of your
chairs, and, if your heart rate goes above 120bpm, you’re probably doing it right.
GOAL
Be the first player to discard all of your cards.
SETUP
Stand around the table (we recommend standing instead of sitting and a table small enough that everyone can easily high five each other). Separate the cards by color so that you have 8 decks of cards.
Each player then chooses a deck color, takes all the cards of that color, and should now have a personal deck made up of 12 cards.
Shuffle your personal deck and hold the cards facedown in your hand.
Put the unclaimed decks back in the box.
You won’t need them.
GAMEPLAY
When the game starts, all players flip their personal decks over so that only
one card is visible. Your goal is to discard your visible card as quickly as possible. To do that, you have to find another player with a visible card that matches yours, and then both perform that action together
(we’ll talk more about the actions later).
To find a player with the same card as you, shout the phrase on your card to the other players and listen for someone shouting the same one. When you find a matching player, perform the action together, discard the card onto the table,
floor, or anywhere else that quickly gets it out of your way, and move on to
finding a matching player for your next card.
There are no turns!
All players shout and look for matching players at the same time.
The first player to discard all 12 cards in their hand wins
the game!
ACTIONS
Each player has an identical personal deck of 12 cards. In that deck, there are 3 of each action:
HIGH FIVE
Slap your partner with the palm of your hand on the palm of their hand.
How to get attention:
Hold your hand above your head
while shouting “High Five!”
FISH BUMP
Make a fist and then bump your front knuckles
into your partner’s front knuckles.
How to get attention:
Hold out your fist while
shouting “Fish Bump!”
HAPPY SALMON
Slap your partner’s forearm at least two times
while they slap your forearm.
How to get attention:
Wiggle your hand while
shouting “Happy Salmon!”
SWITCH IT UP
Trade places with your partner around the table.
(Take your personal deck of cards with you.)
How to get attention:
Spin a single finger in the air
while shouting “Switch it Up!”
CAN’T FIND A PARTNER?
If you are having trouble finding a player with a matching card, you can put that card on the bottom of your deck, exposing a new card. You will still eventually have to find a match for it, but for now you can move on to the next card, hoping to find a matching player.
HOW TO WIN
Be the first player to discard all your cards!
THREE PLAYER VARIANT
During setup, each player will remove all of the Fish Bump cards from their personal deck, and put them into the box. You won’t need them. Then give each player one High Five, one Switch it Up and one Happy Salmon from an unclaimed deck, so everyone now has four High Fives, four Switch it Ups and
four Happy Salmons. Your cards will not all be the same color, which is fine.
Now play the game as normal.
SILENT VARIANT (honestly not a great idea for blind people)
For crowded bars, libraries, and other gatherings that our playtesters got kicked out of.
Normally, shouting your action at the other players is a really great way to
find partners quickly and win, but in this variant, players must be completely silent while playing and must discover other ways to find partners.