Piranha Pedro facts for kids

Piranha Pedro is an exciting board game created by Jens-Peter Schliemann. It was first released by Goldsieber, Asmodée Editions, and Kanga Games. In 2005, this fun game won a special award called the Essen Feather.

What is Piranha Pedro?

The main character in this game is a brave explorer named Pedro. He starts his adventure on a small island. This island is surrounded by water, and guess what? The water is full of hungry piranhas!

How to Play the Game

Each player gets a set of 12 special cards. These cards are all the same for everyone.

• Three cards help Pedro move up.
• Three cards help Pedro move down.
• Three cards help Pedro move left.
• Three cards help Pedro move right.

Within each direction, one card moves Pedro one space. Another card moves him two spaces. The last card moves him three spaces.

Starting the Game

First, one player is chosen to start the game. Then, all players secretly pick one card from their hand to play. Everyone reveals their chosen cards at the same time!

The starting player's card takes effect first. They move Pedro the number of spaces shown on their card in the chosen direction. After that, the next player plays their card, and so on. This continues until all cards have been played, or until Pedro gets into trouble!

Avoiding the Piranhas

Pedro needs to be careful! If a player moves Pedro onto a water space, they must use one of their "rocks." Every player starts the game with four rocks. You place a rock on the water space where Pedro landed. Once a rock is placed, Pedro can safely move over that space again without using another rock.

Running Out of Rocks

If a player moves Pedro onto a water space but has no rocks left, Pedro "drowns." This means he is eaten by the piranhas! The player whose card caused Pedro to drown takes one piranha token from the board. This token counts as a point for them.

Landing on a Piranha

Sometimes, a card might make Pedro move directly onto a piranha already on the board. If this happens, Pedro is immediately eaten by that piranha!

Moving Off the Board

It's also important to keep Pedro on the game board. If a player's card makes Pedro move off the edge of the board, he drowns and is eaten by the piranhas.

What Happens After Pedro is Eaten?

When Pedro is eaten by piranhas, all players must get rid of any rocks they still have. Then, they look at the cards they did not play in that round.

• For each card that moves Pedro one space (and was not played), you get one new rock.
• For each card that moves Pedro two spaces (and was not played), you get half a rock (rounded down).
• You don't get any rocks for cards that move Pedro three spaces.

A player loses the game if Pedro is eaten by piranhas twice because of their cards. The player who causes Pedro to be eaten twice gets two piranha tokens. When this happens, that player loses, and all the other players win!

Continuing the Game

If all players successfully play their cards without Pedro being eaten, everyone chooses another card to play. The game continues like this until Pedro is eaten by piranhas. If players run out of cards, they simply get all their cards back to play again.

This game is all about trying to guess what the other players will do. It's a game of "second-guessing" your friends!