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Pups box art
2016 Ranked #7,541

Pups

A trick-taking game has dog trainers bid how many showdowns their pups will win, then try to meet that claim. Exact bids offer richer rewards, while missed predictions bring penalties.

Animals Card Game Auction/Bidding Trick-taking

Players

2-5

Play time

15-30 min

Age

8+

Complexity

1.5/5

Rating

6.97

Harder to teach Highly interactive Deep strategy

Overview

At a glance

Is this game right for my group?

ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.

Teachability 2.4/5

Harder to teach

Replay value 3.9/5

High replayability

Interaction 3.7/5

Highly interactive

Player scaling 4.1/5

Scales well

Strategic depth 4.7/5

Deep strategy

See all 5 specifications

How it plays

How does it play?

In the game Pups you take the role of an aspiring dog trainer with dreams of winning big at the dog show. Each round you will gather a new pack of 7 lovable pups.

Core mechanisms

Key systems that shape the decisions players make.

Read the full game description

In the game Pups you take the role of an aspiring dog trainer with dreams of winning big at the dog show. Each round you will gather a new pack of 7 lovable pups. You must groom them for success by bidding on how well you think they can perform at the show. After everyone has placed their bids the action begins as the pups start facing off! If your pups can win the number of showdowns you bid before the round ends you will earn the reward treats. But watch out… if you miss your bid you must gain the penalty poos. The player who can collect the most treats is the winner! Pups is a lighthearted twist on classic trick-taking card games. 45 vibrant and adorable illustrations make up the deck in Pups and these cards are split between 5 unique suits: Lap dogs, Working dogs, Guard dogs, Family dogs and Mutts as a unique fifth suit. Combine a Mutt card with any other suit in the game to increase its value! Players place their bids each round by picking a bid card from the center of the table. The 1, 2 and 3 bid cards are all double sided, with one side displaying a safer “At Least” bid, and the other side displaying the more difficult (but more lucrative) “Exactly” bid. Pups is a fun and thoughtful game that is easy to learn for both gamers and non-games alike. It was designed to introduce a new generation to the fun of trick taking games while proving unique and challenging to veterans of the genre.

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Editions

Language and publisher variants currently recorded in the catalog.

Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
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Player resources

Rulebooks, player aids, FAQs, and solo resources.

No files imported yet.

Game and edition data

All specifications (5)

Play and group

Players
2–5
Best with
3–5
Play time
15–30 min
Age
8+
Complexity
1.5/5
Credits and catalog connections

Credits

Designers

1
Charlie Bink

Artists

1
David Jackson (II)

Publishers

1
Bink Ink LLC

Linked items

No published linked games yet.