Zirkus Stapelix takes place in a circus setting. The active player flips open the top card from one of the three stacks (showing 1, 2, or 3 balls depending on the degree of difficuly of the card) in the middle of the table and memorises the arrangement of the playing pieces (animals, director, balls etc.) After turning the card face down, the player tries to arrange the pieces in the same order that is shown on the card. In the meantime, the other players roll dice. If they manage to roll the star symbol four times before the active player completes his/her task, the attempt ends. If not, the active player keeps the card, as long as they got the playing pieces arranged correctly. At the end of the game, the player with the highest number of balls on his/her cards is the winner.