Designed and illustrated by Daniel Surjono, Fruit Punch is a light card game for 2-5 players that's quick and easy to learn and play.
The deck comprises a mix of animal and fruit cards, each of which can be played either to your tableau for its points score or to the discard pile for its text effect. On your turn, you can play any number of cards from your hand and then you end your turn by drawing at least one card up to your hand size of five. You must stop drawing when you draw an animal card, and if you draw a Mad Monkey card you are out of the game: you have to immediately play the Mad Monkey to your tableau, where it's worth minus 12 points, and you take no more turns. Fruit Punch doesn't necessarily reward the last player standing, however. Even tho' you are eliminated, you can still win if, when the game ends (all but one other player is eliminated) your tableau is worth more points than any others.
Players' starting hands all include a 'King Durian' card. This is worth 15 points in your tableau but if you play it for its text use then it allows you to return a Mad Monkey card to the deck in any position you choose - including on top of the deck, where another player is likely to be doomed to draw it. Everyone needs to decide, therefore, whether to play their King Durian for the high points boost or to hold onto it as a defensive card in case you draw a dreaded Mad Monkey...
The tactics are illustrated well in the sample game shown by the game's creator. Fruit Punch is definitely a 'take that' game where you'll be stealing cards from other players' hands and even their tableaus, and where you'll be sabotaging your opponents by giving them negative cards or laying Mad Monkey traps for them. Nevertheless, the whimsically naive art underlines the fact that this remains a light-hearted filler-length game where you'll probably forgive play from your opponents that, in other games, might be considered unforgivably aggressive - after all, it's only a Fruit Punch.