Are you ready for some Holiday Mayhem?! Dolphin Hat Games is pleased to announce we've added a little Ho-Ho-Ho to your family night festivities! This is the Christmas themed edition of our wildly popular hand-slapping party game, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza! The premise of these games is simple - say the next word in the pattern (in this version, "Santa, cookie, elf, candy, snowman") and at the same time flip a card from your personal deck. If it matches the pattern word you said then everyone slaps the card pile. Whoever is last takes the pile and adds it to their personal deck. Similarly, special cards require everyone do a specific action and then not be the last to slap the deck afterwards. The game ends when one player successfully plays all the cards in their personal deck. This festive game includes new cards and special actions to add to your game night merriment. It's fast, fun & friendly...the Dolphin Hat way!
Game intelligence
1. Shuffle the full deck of cards.\n2. Deal all cards out as evenly as possible to each player, face-down. These form each player's personal deck.\n3. Players hold their personal deck face-down in front of them, ready to flip.\n4. Designate a central area for the shared card pile that players will slap.\n5. Decide which player goes first (e.g., youngest player, or random).
Play proceeds around the table. On their turn, the active player says the next word in the five-word repeating pattern — Santa, Cookie, Elf, Candy, Snowman, Santa, Cookie, Elf, Candy, Snowman, and so on — and simultaneously flips the top card of their personal deck face-up onto the central pile. If the flipped card matches the word just spoken, all players must immediately slap the central card pile; the last player to slap takes the entire pile and adds it to the bottom of their personal deck. If a special card is flipped, all players must perform the required action shown on the card, and then again the last player to slap the pile takes it. If no match and no special card occurs, play continues to the next player, who says the next word in the pattern and flips their top card.
The winner is the first player to empty their personal deck by successfully playing all their cards. Target score: 0 cards remaining in personal deck Scoring sources: Being first to deplete your personal deck of all cards
Source: Rulebook
The most useful rules for getting a first game right.
The game uses a fixed, repeating five-word pattern: Santa → Cookie → Elf → Candy → Snowman → Santa → Cookie → Elf → Candy → Snowman → ... and so on indefinitely. Each time a player takes a turn, they must say the next word in this sequence aloud. The pattern loops back to 'Santa' after 'Snowman' and never resets.
The active player must say the next pattern word and flip the top card of their personal deck simultaneously — not one before the other. The card is flipped face-up onto the central card pile. The timing is intentional: it creates uncertainty about whether the card will match the spoken word.
If the card the active player flips matches the word they just said (e.g., they said 'Elf' and flipped an Elf card), a slap event is triggered. All players — including the active player — must immediately slap the central card pile as fast as possible.
When a slap event is triggered (either by a match or a special card), the player who is last to place their hand on the central card pile must take all cards in the pile. These cards are added to the player's personal deck (typically to the bottom). This increases the size of their deck, making it harder for them to win.
Certain cards in the deck are special cards. When a special card is flipped, all players must first perform the specific action indicated on that card. After completing the action, a slap event occurs: all players slap the central pile, and the last to slap takes the pile and adds it to their personal deck.
If the card flipped by the active player does not match the word they said, and is not a special card, nothing happens. The card remains on the central pile and play passes clockwise to the next player, who says the next word in the pattern and flips their top card.
The game ends immediately when a player flips the last card from their personal deck and it does not trigger a slap event that causes them to take cards back — i.e., they successfully empty their hand. That player wins the game. If a player flips their last card but triggers a slap event and is last to slap, they must take the pile back and have not yet won.
Whenever a player is last to slap the pile, they take all cards in the central pile and add them to their personal deck. This grows their deck and moves them further from winning. Cards should be added to the bottom of the personal deck so the player can continue flipping from the top.
Internalizing the five-word pattern (Santa → Cookie → Elf → Candy → Snowman) deeply is critical. Because you must speak and flip simultaneously, hesitating on the word slows your flip and costs you reaction time during slap events.
Being last to slap is the primary way to accumulate cards. Staying alert and physically ready to slap at all times — especially when you or others are nearing a match in the pattern — minimizes how often you take the pile.
When a player has very few cards left, the stakes of every slap event are heightened. Other players should try especially hard not to be last on those turns, as taking a full pile late in the game is particularly costly. Meanwhile, the leading player must remain focused through the finish to avoid a last-card slap-back.
Special cards require an action before the slap. Players who quickly recognize a special card and immediately begin the required action will have a head start on slapping, while others are still processing. Learn the special card designs to react faster.
Yes. If the player flips their last card and triggers a slap event but is NOT last to slap, they do not take the pile back. Since they have no cards left in their deck, they win. Only if they are last to slap must they take the pile back, at which point they have not won.
Players must complete the required action shown on the special card FIRST, and only then do all players slap the pile. The last to slap after the action takes the pile.
No. The word must be spoken and the card flipped simultaneously. The simultaneous nature of the action is a core rule — players cannot use the spoken word to gain advance knowledge of whether to rush or delay their flip.
Yes. Every card flipped on a player's turn is added to the central pile, regardless of a match. The pile grows with each flip and is only cleared when a slap event occurs and the last-to-slap player takes it all.
We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Attempting to reconnect
