Take the twelve Cat Companion cards and shuffle them.

Place them in a face down pile within easy reach of all players.

Sort all the characters into separate decks according to the picture on the front of the card.

Each player selects one character to play with, and then shuffles their chosen deck.

Important: Unlike other card games, in Zing-a-Zam you may not look at your own hand of cards! Take the shuffled cards and put them in your hand so that the backs of the cards are facing you.

Before the game begins, flip one of your cards in your hand so that you can see the front of the card.

The oldest player starts the game

Note: The fronts of the cards can only be seen by other players. Use the stars on the backs of the cards to help you arrange the cards properly. If you can see the stars on the backs of the cards, the opponents can see the numbers and icons on the fronts of the cards.