About Hidden Panda
Hidden Panda is a light social deduction game (hidden teams, open voting) for 5 to 8 players by Peter C. Hayward, with art by Kelly Jo, published by Jellybean Games. Three Bandits have been stealing baby panda cubs; a Rescue Team of Pandas, zookeepers (the Keepers) and Grandma has sneaked into their camp to get the cubs back. Grandma is the only public role. Everyone else keeps their card face down and shows their colours only through what they do with the cubs and the nets.
Each turn is simple: hand out three cubs and place one net. There is no moderator and no night phase once the opening script is read, and a game runs about 20 minutes, so it works as a warm-up or with players who find Werewolf-style elimination games too slow. The publisher lists it for ages 8 and up. Jellybean Games puts the rulebook, cards and token sheets on its free print-and-play page; the files carry a plain copyright notice, so the download button goes there.
How to play in one minute
- Use the player-count card to pick the roles (for 8 players: 3 Bandits, 2 Pandas, 2 Keepers and Grandma) and the cubs that start in the Bandit Stash. Deal roles face down. Grandma reveals herself, takes 3 nets, the cup of tea and a 5-cub token, then reads the eyes-closed script so the Keepers, the Pandas and the Bandits each learn their teammates.
- On your turn, take 3 cubs from the supply and give 2 to one player and 1 to another (never to Grandma or a netted player). Then place a net on another player’s card: it says “I think you are a Panda”.
- A player who receives a third net is voted on. Thumbs up from more than half of the others and they are netted: they keep the nets and give all their cubs away. If the vote fails, the cubs of the player who placed the net go to the Bandit Stash.
- On her second turn Grandma hands out the cup of tea, which counts as two nets.
- The game ends at once if every Panda is netted (Bandits win), or after everyone has had two turns: reveal roles, count cubs, add the Stash to the Bandits. The team with more cubs wins.
What’s in the PDF
- Rulebook: 12 small pages in colour with the setup script and an example 8-player game.
- Cards: 2 Letter sheets with the 8 role cards, two double-sided player-count cards and the script card.
- Tokens: 2 Letter sheets with 45 panda cub tokens, 20 nets and the cup of tea. Print on card stock and cut; nothing else is needed.
In the PDF
- Rulebook (12 pages)
- Role cards, player-count cards and script card (2 pages, Letter)
- Panda cub tokens, net tokens and the cup of tea (2 pages, Letter)
