Interrupts
Interrupt cards are played in response to a card another player has just played, even when it is not your turn. They are how you defend yourself, and how you turn an attack around.
The interrupt cards
| Card | Editions | Answers | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Falcon Interceptor / Distracting Booby | Innocent / Pure, Mounting | Any action, attack or interrupt card | Cancels it |
| Bouncing Penguin | Innocent, Pure | Attack cards and other Bouncing Penguins only | Redirects the attack: you choose who it hits, and it now counts as yours |
| Parroting Macaw | Innocent, Pure | Depends on the card it copies | Copies the last card played successfully |
| Flashy Peacock | Raging | Action cards; interrupt cards | Takes control of an action card; cancels an interrupt card |
| Belling Bellbird | Mounting | Action and attack cards | Cancels it, then returns to your hand |
Falcon Interceptor and Distracting Booby are the same card: Falcon Interceptor is its name in the Innocent Edition.
How a chain of interrupts works
- When a card is played, the other players may answer it with an interrupt card.
- That interrupt card can be answered too, and so on. This makes a chain.
- When nobody wants to add anything, the chain is settled from the last card played back to the first. Each card acts on the card directly below it.
- A cancelled card does nothing. Cancelling a cancel brings the card underneath back to life, so two Falcon Interceptors in a row cancel each other out and the original card goes ahead.
- A Bouncing Penguin cannot answer a Falcon Interceptor. But if two Falcon Interceptors cancel each other out, a Bouncing Penguin underneath them still redirects the attack.
Attacks that pick several cards (Fishing Frigate, Rampaging Cassowary) are carried out one pick at a time, and can be interrupted between picks. Picks already made stay made: an interrupt only affects the picks still to come. Be quick to get the most out of your interrupt cards!
Where the cards go: interrupt cards always go on the discard pile. A cancelled card goes on the discard pile too, except a cancelled Golden Goose or Flaming Galah, which returns to its owner’s hand.
Examples
Example 1: cancelling an action
- Player A plays Golden Goose.
- Player B plays Falcon Interceptor.
- Nobody plays anything else. The Golden Goose is cancelled and returns to Player A’s hand; only the Falcon Interceptor goes on the discard pile.
Example 2: cancelling an attack
- Player A plays Swift Bomber.
- Player B plays Falcon Interceptor.
- Nobody plays anything else. The attack is cancelled and both cards go on the discard pile.
Example 3: cancelling a redirect
- Player A plays Rampaging Cassowary against Player B.
- Player B plays Bouncing Penguin to send the attack back to Player A.
- Player A plays Falcon Interceptor to cancel the Bouncing Penguin.
- Nobody plays anything else. The Cassowary carries on against Player B, and Player A picks the cards to discard.
Example 4: cancelling a cancel
- Player A plays Rampaging Cassowary against Player B.
- Player C plays Bouncing Penguin to redirect the attack to Player A.
- Player A plays Falcon Interceptor to cancel the Bouncing Penguin.
- Player B plays Falcon Interceptor to cancel Player A’s Falcon Interceptor.
- The two Falcon Interceptors cancel out, so the Bouncing Penguin stands: the Cassowary hits Player A, and Player C picks the cards to discard.
Example 5: penguin on penguin
- Player A plays Fishing Frigate on Player B.
- Player B plays Bouncing Penguin to bounce it back to Player A.
- Player C plays Bouncing Penguin to redirect it to Players A and B.
- Nobody plays anything else. The last Penguin wins: Player C steals the 2 cards, from Players A and B.
Example 6: a Parroting Macaw as an interrupt
- Player A plays Fishing Frigate on Player B.
- Player B plays Bouncing Penguin to bounce it back to Player A.
- Player A plays Falcon Interceptor to cancel the Penguin.
- Player C plays Parroting Macaw, copying the Falcon Interceptor, to cancel Player A’s Falcon Interceptor.
- Nobody plays anything else. The Penguin stands: Player B steals 2 cards from Player A.