Balloon Challenge
Balloon Challenge Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 50 cards
- 8 cards in each of 5 colors (Red, Blue, Water, Yellow and Grey)
- 10 black cards numbered 0-9 for the prince
- 12 bonus chips
- 1 rule book
Preparation
The start player is the player that most recently blew up a balloon. And the dealer is the player sitting to the right of the start player.
The start player places bonus chips in the middle of the table, following the number of players listed below. The remaining chips are put back in the box.
| Players | Bonus chips |
|---|---|
| 2 players | 4 chips |
| 3 players | 7 chips |
| 4 players | 10 chips |
| 5 players | All chips |
Rules
Example figure, for all players: The balloon size is the total number of played cards, currently at 8. If I play my 7, my sum is 11. The size goes to 9. Will the others play more cards?
Example figure, for this player: The sum of their cards is the volume of their own balloon, at 18 just now.
For 2 players, an additional rule is written on page 11.
The game is played over 5 rounds. Players score points at end of each round, and the winner is the player with the highest total at the end.
The dealer shuffles the whole deck and deals out cards face-down. The number of cards dealt to each player depends on which round it is (see below). Players take their cards into their hands and keep them secret. Undealt cards are placed to one side face-down.
| Round | Hand size |
|---|---|
| 1st round | 6 cards |
| 2nd round | 7 cards |
| 3rd round | 8 cards |
| 4th round | 9 cards |
| 5th round | 10 cards |
One bonus chip is put aside from the other chips. This is for "First dropping out bonus". (This is explained in Page 8 "Bonus chips".)
The turn starts from the start player and goes clockwise.
On their turn, a player chooses one of two actions.
- Play one card from their hand to the table
or
-
Drop out of the round
-
Play one card from their hand to the table
Cards are played face-up in rows. In the first turn, cards are played to the first row. In the second turn, cards are played to the second row, then the third and so on. This is to help count down the bonus available for the "Early dropping out bonus" (explained in Page 8 "Bonus Chips").
Figure: examples for 3 players and for 5 players.
- Drop out of the round
After dropping out, the player takes no more actions in the round. Place your hand face down on the table so it's clear who is still in.
(Leave a gap when a player drops out.)
Figure: example for a turn.
Bonus Chips
In the round, players receive bonus chips as follows. When there are not enough bonus chips left, the player takes whatever bonus chips remain.
Third bonus
When a player places the third card of one color on the table, the player receives one bonus chip. Playing the fourth or later card of the color does not give a bonus. And the third black card does not give a bonus, as that depicts the prince blowing up a balloon.
First dropping out bonus
Of all players, the first player to drop out in a round gets the one bonus chip which was put aside, regardless of which turn it is.
Early dropping out bonus
In the first turn, there is a bonus of three chips for each player that drops out that turn. This bonus goes down one chip for each turn played. As a new row of cards is started each turn, players can keep track of this bonus as it counts down. By the fourth round, this bonus is gone.
Complete bonus
If a player blows up the balloon completely, the player takes bonus chips. When the volume of the balloon is exactly equal to the size of the balloon, the player takes all the remaining bonus chips from the middle of the table.
If two or more players achieve this, the players divide the bonus chips between them equally. Any surplus chips are not given out.
Points of the bonus chip
In the 1st to 4th round, each bonus chip is counted as 2 points.
In the 5th round, each bonus chip is counted as 3 points.
Burst balloons still get points for bonus chips.
End of the Round and Scoring
When all players have dropped out of the round, the round is scored. First, check the size of the balloon. The size is the total number of cards in the rows.
Next, check the volume of each player's balloon. The volume is the sum of the numbers left in a player's hand. If this sum is more than the size of the balloon, then the player's balloon has burst, and the player scores no points.
Otherwise, the player's balloon is safe (the sum is less than or equal to the size) and they score points equal to their sum.
Keep a note of players' points each round for the final score.
Scoring example in the 1st round (8 cards in the row):
- Andy: (0 + 2 + 4) = 6, less than 8, 6 points.
- Andy, with one bonus chip: 6 + 2 = 8 points.
- Bero: (3 + 7) = 10, more than 8, no points.
- Bero, with two bonus chips: 0 + 4 = 4 points (burst balloons still get points for bonus chips).
New Round
The start player moves on clockwise to the next player.
The new dealer collects the cards, the new start player collects the bonus chips and places them in the middle of the table.
End of the Game
After the 5th round is scored, each player adds up their points. The winner is the player with the highest total score. If tied, both players are winners.
For Two Players
At the beginning of each round, deal five cards face-up in a row from the draw deck. This is the start of the new balloon. Now the two players play cards below this to begin row one. The bonus chips are handled the same way as the main game; one for the first to drop out, three for the first turn, two for the next and so on.