Print double-sided (duplex on long edge) then cut pages in half, 9/02/2017
separating top and bottom. Fold in half left-to-right, staple into
a booklet, and trim the edges.
the queue
for the ark
A solitaire game (for 1 player) aged 6 and up.
Aim: To clear the queue and get all of the animals onto
the ark.
Set up
Place the unicorn card face up on the table.
Shuffle the remaining cards and lay out four more in
a row, face up, to the right of the unicorn. Then lay
out face up from RIGHT to LEFT another five cards
directly below these, and five more from LEFT to
RIGHT below these.
You should now have 3 rows unicorn card
of 5 cards, with the unicorn at
the top left. These represent
the animals queued up to go
onto the ark, with the unicorn
first in line and the rest of
the queue snaking left-right,
then right-left, then left-right the queue
again.
13
unicorn
by John Kean
games
• the playful unicorn (pages 3-4)
a push-your-luck game for 2-4 players aged 3 and up.
• go unicorn (pages 5-6)
a Go Fish variant for 3 to 5 players, aged 4 and up.
• unicorn elimination (pages 7-8)
a Guess Who variant for 2 players aged 4 and up.
• unicorn memory (pages 9-10)
a memory game for 2 to 4 players, aged 5 and up.
• unicorn pick-a-Pile (pages 11-12)
a simple simultaneous action game for 2 to 4 players,
aged 6 and up.
• the queue for the ark (pages 13-14)
a solitaire (or co-op parent and child) game for ages
6 and up.
2
1

unicorn
Unicorn is a group of games designed
for young children to play with each other
or with their families.
All games use a simple deck of 27 cards, consisting
of 13 pairs of animal cards and 1 unicorn card.
credits
Cards and games created by John Kean
© 2016 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Thanks to lampeter, Nigel Swan, Marianne Waage, C.L.,
Charles Ward and their children for playtesting and
feedback.
1 14
the playful
unicorn
A push-your-luck game for 2 to 4 Players (2 is best),
aged 3 and up.
Note: There is a storybook to accompany this game.
Set up
Place all cards face down and mix them up. The
youngest player starts, and turns proceed to the left.
On your turn
Draw cards one at a time and lay them face up in a
line in front of you. You may stop drawing cards at
any time.
If you stop before turning over the unicorn, then you
get to keep any pairs that you have made. The next
player carries on from where you left off.
3 12
9/02/2017
Game play
You, as Noah, are looking out for joined pairs, where
two animals of the same type are right next to each
other either left-right, top-bottom, or directly diagonal.
When you spot a joined pair like this you may remove
them (load them on the ark). The queue then moves up
to fill the gaps, snaking up the line towards the
unicorn (see diagram). You then deal 2 new cards into
the gaps at the bottom right end of the queue.
If you can't find any joined pairs, then the unicorn
gets sick of waiting and runs away. Snake the rest of
the queue up to fill his gap and add a card at the end
of the queue.
Game end
Eventually you will run out of cards to add to the end
of the queue, but keep removing joined pairs and
snaking up the queue.
The game ends when you have loaded all pairs into the
ark (you win) or there are no more joined pairs in the
queue (you lose). If you end up with just the unicorn
in the queue then you win double!
Now take one of the piles in front of the player to
your right. If there is only one pile and one card, you
must take it. Then pick up the pile remaining in front
of you (the one not chosen by the player to your left).
Check for pairs and repeat.
Game end
Repeat this process until all of the pairs have been
found and only the unicorn card remains in
someone's hand. If you run out of cards you must
sit out and wait for the other players to finish.
Players get one point for each pair they have, and the
player left holding the unicorn must subtract one point
from their score. The player with the highest points
wins. If there's a tie, both players win.
? What is the name of the big rock on the
kangaroo card? Can you find it on a map?
2

unicorn
pick-a-pile
A simple simultaneous action game for 2 to 4 players
aged 6 and up.
Set up
Deal all of the cards out to the players. It doesn't
matter if some players have one more card than the
others.
To play
All players act at the same time.
First, check your cards to see if you have any pairs.
If you do, place them face up on the table in front of
you.
Next, divide your cards into two face down piles. You
can have any number of cards in each pile, but each
pile must have at least one card (unless you only have
one card in your hand). Fan the piles out slightly so
other players can tell how many cards there are.
11
unicorn
memory
A memory game for 2 to 4 players, aged 4 and up.
Set up
Lay the all of the cards face down on the table, mix
them up, and spread them out so that no cards are
touching.
The youngest player goes first, followed by the
person to their left.
On your turn
Turn any card face up. If it matches an already face
up card, then collect the pair and have another turn.
Otherwise turn a second card face up. Likewise, if this
matches another face up card then collect the pair and
have another turn.
But if you have turned over two cards without making
a match, then turn face down any two face up cards.
Your turn is over.
9 6
9/02/2017
? What country are the tapirs pictured in?
(Hint: identify the waterfall)
If you decide to keep going and you draw the unicorn
card then you lose all of the face up cards, including
any pairs (though you still keep any pairs earned in
previous turns). Flip the cards face down again and
mix them up for the next player. Your turn is over.
Game end
The game ends when all pairs have been claimed and
only the unicorn remains.
The player with the most pairs wins. If there's a draw,
both players win.
? What do bats feed their babies?
4
On your turn
Ask a question about your opponent's special animal.
For example "Does it fly?" or "Is it a herbivore (eats
only plants)?" Your opponent must answer yes or no
truthfully, and using that information you then turn
face down any cards in front of you that can be
eliminated.
For example, if you asked "Can it wiggle its nose
around and use it as a tool?" and the answer was no,
then you can turn the elephant and the tapir face
down.
(Note that for the purposes of this game, the unicorn
is just a horse with a horn).
Game end
The winner is the first player to correctly guess their
opponent's special animal e.g. by asking "Is it the
crocodile?"
3

unicorn
elimination
A Guess Who variant for 2 players aged 4 and up.
Aim: To be the first to discover your opponent's
special animal.
Set up
Divide the deck in half so that each player has one of
each pair of cards. Give the single unicorn card to the
older player. Each player lays their cards out face up in
front of them.
Secretly choose one card from in front of your
opponent to be your special animal and memorise it.
The youngest player goes first.
5 10
GO unicorn
A Go Fish variant for 3-5 players, aged 4 and up.
Set up
Shuffle the deck and deal 4 cards to each player (3
cards if 5 players). Place the remaining cards face
down as the draw pile.
The youngest player plays first, followed by the player
to their left.
Any time
At any time, if you can form a pair from your hand,
place them face up on the table in front of you.
If you ever run out of cards in your hand, take two
from the top of the draw pile.
7 8
9/02/2017
The unicorn
If at any point you turn up the unicorn, you must
turn back down any cards that you just turned up,
including the unicorn. Then you must return one of
your pairs to the table (if you have any), placing one
card face up and the other face down. Finally mix up
the cards on the table as in the set up phase (but
don’t let any flip over). Your turn is finished.
Game end
The game is over once all pairs have been found and
only the face down unicorn card remains.
The player with the most pairs wins. If there is a draw
then both players win!
On your turn
On your turn, ask another player for a particular card
that you have in your hand (e.g. "Leo, do you have a
lion?"). If the player has that card, they must hand it
to you, you use it to form a pair on the table, and you
have another turn. However, if the other player does
not have the card that you ask for, they reply "Go
unicorn!" and you must take a card from the draw pile;
your turn is over.
The unicorn
If someone asks you for a card that you have, and
you also have the unicorn, then you can give them
the unicorn card instead. Then they must give you
their card, which you use to form a pair on the table in
front of you, and their turn is over.
Game end
The game ends when all pairs have been formed and
only the unicorn card remains. Players score one
point for each pair they have, and the player with the
unicorn loses one point. The player (or players) with
the highest score wins!