Pedigree is a board game based on actual genetic biology and the real-life struggles of animal breeding to produce show ring champions and top-dollar animals. A hand-management game where you're managing two hands of cards. Your Action Cards allow you to choose to mitigate disease and conception problems, use biotechnology, hire a groom to help you win the trophy, plus other useful actions. Your Animal Cards are where you choose which matings to make and which offspring to sell or keep for breeding. You play one of four unique player roles (Manager, Showman, Technician, Veterinarian), each having a different set of Action Cards. The genetic-based game mechanic means that you are often faced with the decision to breed a proven animal or take your chance with an unproven animal. The game is played over five years with each year consisting of six season: 1. Planning season - decide your action cards for the year. 2. Breeding season - breed your females to your own sire or pay another player to use their sire. 3. Gestation season - pay your annual feed bill, find out if disease hits, and preg-check your females. 4. Birthing season - prove unproven parents and birth the new offspring. 5. Show season - take your best new offspring to the show and compete against other players for the trophy. 6. Market season - decide which offspring or parents you will keep versus sell to the bank or other players. The Action Cards that you play in one year must be discarded at the start of the next year, until you choose to play the Hired Hand card which retrieves all discarded Action Cards back to your hand. There are five trophies total, one is awarded each year, and when the trophies are gone, the game is over and whoever has the most money wins.
