Jumping Jack Board Game: Rules and Instructions for How to Play

Objective of Jumping Jack

The objective of Jumping Jack is to collect carrots and catch Jack when he jumps into the air.

Setup

Place the bunny hill in the center of the play area.
Place one carrot into each hole in the bunny hill. Push on each carrot until you hear a clicking sound.
Place Jack on top of the bunny hill. Keep pushing until he locks into place.
Set the spinner somewhere on the table where everyone can reach it.
Each player chooses a basket and places it in front of themselves.
The youngest player starts the game.

Playing Jumping Jack

You will begin your turn by spinning the spinner. What you spin on the spinner determines what you will do on your turn.

Spinner

1 Carrot: You will take one carrot out of the bunny hill and add it to your basket.

Spinning One Carrot — This player has spun one carrot on the spinner. They will take one carrot from the bunny hill.

2 Carrots: You will choose two carrots to pull out of the bunny hill and add to your basket.

Spinning two carrots — The current player has spun two carrots on the spinner. They will take two carrots from the bunny hill.

Eaten Carrot: Should you spin the eaten carrot, you will remove one of the carrots from your basket and set it aside. If you do not have any carrots, you will not take an action on your turn.

Spinning an eaten carrot — This player spun the eaten carrot on the spinner. They will have to discard one of the carrots they already collected.

Red X: When you spin a red x, you will lose your turn and not take any actions.

Spinning a red x — This player has spun the red x. They will skip their turn.

Taking Carrots

If you spun a section that has you take carrots, you will have to pick one or two carrots from the bunny hill (depending on what you spun).

You can choose any carrot you want from the bunny hill. Once you touch a carrot though, you must pull it out.

Taking a carrot in Jumping Jack — This player has decided to remove this carrot from the bunny hill.

Once you pull out a carrot, you will add it to your basket.

Putting a carrot in a basket in Jumping Jack — After removing the carrot from the bunny hill, the player placed it in their basket.

If you spun a two carrots section on the spinner, you will choose two carrots to pull from the bunny hill.

End of Turn

After you have taken your turn, play passes to the next player in a clockwise direction.

End of Jumping Jack

One of the carrots inserted into the bunny hill makes Jack jump when it is pulled out. When you pull the carrot that makes Jack jump, you should try and catch him. Only the player that pulled out the last carrot can try and catch Jack.

If you successfully catch Jack, you immediately win the game.

Catching Jack to win Jumping Jack — This player successfully caught Jack. They have won the game.

Should you fail to catch Jack, the game ends. All of the players count up how many carrots they collected during the game. All carrots players had to set aside due spinning an Eaten Carrot do not count. The player that collected the most carrots wins the game.

Winning Jumping Jack — When Jack jumped into the air the player did not catch him. Therefore the players compare the number of carrots they collected during the game. The top player collected four carrots which was the most. The top player has won the game.

To play another game insert the carrots and Jack back onto the bunny hill like during setup. The player who would have taken the next turn in the previous game should start the next game.

Variant Game

In the variant game all of the players should keep their hands on the table except when they are spinning the spinner and gathering a carrot(s) on their turn.

When Jack jumps into the air, all of the players try to catch him. Whichever player catches Jack wins the game. If no one catches Jack, the players count up how many carrots they collected in the game. The player that collected the most carrots wins the game.

Jumping Jack FAQs

If you have any questions about how to play Jumping Jack, leave a comment below on this post. I will try to answer any questions asked as best and as quickly as possible.

Jumping Jack Components

Bunny Hill
Jumping Jack Rabbit
12 Carrots
Spinner
4 Baskets
Instructions

Year: 2013 | Publisher: Goliath Games

Genres: Action, Children’s

Ages: 4+ | Number of Players: 2-4 | Length of Game: 5-10 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: High

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