The Great Race
Twelve animals, one river, one minute. Paint stepping stones with your finger and race the other eleven to the Jade Emperor. Everyone gets the same river today.
How to play
- Pick your animal, or type your birth year.
- Draw a stroke starting from your animal. It becomes a path of ink, and your animal runs along it.
- End your stroke on a stone or a lotus leaf. Strokes drift with the current and fade after a few seconds, so keep moving.
- Ink runs out with long strokes and comes back slowly. Pick up ink drops on the water.
- Each animal has one special move, from the story. Use it once per race.
The story
The Jade Emperor called a race: the order in which the animals crossed the great river would be the order of the years. This is a folk tale, told many ways; here is the version most often told.
- Rat: Rode across on the Ox’s back and jumped off first.
- Ox: Swam steadily across, carrying the Rat.
- Tiger: Fought the strong current all the way.
- Rabbit: Hopped from stone to stone, then rode a floating log.
- Dragon: Stopped to bring rain to a dry village on the way.
- Snake: Hid on the Horse’s hoof and slipped ahead at the end.
- Horse: Galloped up the bank, then was startled by the Snake.
- Goat: Crossed on a raft with the Monkey and the Rooster.
- Monkey: Cleared the weeds from the raft they shared.
- Rooster: Found the raft and led the other two to it.
- Dog: Stopped to play and bathe in the river.
- Pig: Stopped for a meal and a nap, and came last.