The UFO Ranch | How to Play

About The UFO Ranch, from BoardGameGeek:

Strange visitors have descended on the countryside, and the race is on to become the greatest rancher in the universe. Players gather sheep, cows, and chickens while mysterious UFOs abduct animals and teleport cards between ranches, creating a chaotic competition where the best livestock collection wins. The UFO Ranch is a trick-taking game for 2–5 players where players compare card strength each trick, determine ranking, and then claim cards and animal/UFO chips from a shared ranch area according to that order. Players must follow the lead suit if possible, while UFO cards act as value 5 and can always be played as if matching the lead suit. The game is played in two halves: in the first half, players score only collected chips, then use collected cards to form their second-half hands; in the second half, both cards and chips score by the number of animals shown. UFO chips trigger “Abduction,” allowing chip swaps, while UFO cards trigger “Teleport,” allowing card swaps, adding interaction and tactical disruption to the trick-taking structure.