Restriction
Players may only rummage with one hand; the other must rest on their lap at all times.
During rummaging, each player may only use one hand to search through the sock heap. The other hand must remain on the player's lap (or under the table, per some language editions) at all times. This restriction applies to all players throughout the rummaging phase.
Restriction
Once a pair is placed in front of a player, it cannot be taken by another player.
A pair of socks that a player has successfully identified and laid down in front of themselves is permanently secured. No other player may steal, take, or otherwise remove those socks from that player's collection for the remainder of the round.
General
A valid pair consists of two socks that are completely identical from top to bottom.
The socks in the game look very similar to one another. A valid matching pair requires both socks to be completely identical in pattern and color from top to bottom. Players must take great care when claiming pairs, as incorrect pairs carry a penalty for the monster-grabber.
Turn structure
A round ends immediately when a player places five pairs in front of themselves and grabs the Sock Monster.
As soon as any player has five matching pairs laid out in front of them, they must grab the Sock Monster from the center of the table. This action immediately ends the rummaging phase for all players. Any socks still held in a player's hand at that moment must be dropped back onto the heap and cannot be added to that player's collection.
Restriction
Socks held in hand when the Sock Monster is grabbed must be returned to the heap and cannot be kept.
When the round ends (Sock Monster is grabbed), any socks a player is still holding in their hand must immediately be dropped back onto the central heap. These socks may not be added to the player's personal collection or counted as pairs.
Special
After the round ends, all players collectively verify whether the monster-grabber's pairs are all correct.
Once the Sock Monster is grabbed and rummaging stops, all players together inspect the pairs laid out by the player who grabbed the Sock Monster. They confirm whether every pair is a true match (identical from top to bottom). This check applies only to the monster-grabber's pairs.
Scoring
The monster-grabber earns one clothes-peg if all their pairs are correct; no peg if any pair is wrong.
After verification: if all pairs laid out by the monster-grabber are correct, they receive one clothes-peg as a reward. If even a single pair is found to be incorrect, the monster-grabber receives no clothes-peg for this round. In the case of an incorrect pair, the player among the remaining players who has the most correct pairs instead receives the clothes-peg.
Scoring
The non-monster-grabber player with the most correct pairs earns one clothes-peg; ties give each tied player a peg.
After the monster-grabber's pairs are verified, all other players count their own correct pairs. The player among them who collected the most correct pairs earns one clothes-peg. If multiple players are tied for the most pairs, each of those tied players receives one clothes-peg.
