In Risky Chicken, each player is a chicken who wants to get rich. The winning player is the first to obtain a certain number of Gold Coins.

Players take turns being the Leader of climbs up the Golden Mountain, each turn choosing a Sidekick to join them on this journey. As players ascend the Golden Mountain, they land on levels with increasing amounts of Gold Coins, but they also grow likelier to “fall off” the mountain.

At every level, the Leader and Sidekick must each decide whether to Climb (continue to press their luck) or Chicken Out (cash out and end the turn.) Both players often agree that Chickening Out is a wise decision, and they may agree to play their Chicken Out cards. However, each player can benefit by breaking their promise and playing Climb, at the expense of the other. This dynamic is inspired by the “Repeated Prisoner’s Dilemma” model of game theory. Players must weigh their greed in the short term against the value of their alliances.

Each player also receives one Chicken Trick card which gives them a special rule-bending ability (variable player power). There are 12 Chicken Trick cards, each representing a unique, silly chicken character.