Barrakuda
Barrakuda Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 20 Movement cards
- 4 Barracuda cards
- 12 Shipwreck cards (each shows a General Action and a Special Action)
- 4 Coin Bag cards
- 4 Vault cards
- 4 Wooden pawns (representing the divers)
- 36 Gold pieces (values 1 and 3)
- 1 Barracuda meeple
- 1 Distance die
- 1 Direction die
Goal of the Game
Explore the Shipwrecks, and be the first to return 8 Gold pieces to the vault on your boat, using your coin bag. Choose your movements carefully in order to avoid your opponents or to rob them of their coin bag. Chase the Barracuda away, or send it towards the other players.
Setup
A. Construct the ocean floor by taking the 6 Shipwreck cards that show this symbol (a circle icon). Shuffle them, and place them face up on the table in such a way that each card is connected to the next by at least one side. Return the remaining Shipwreck cards to the box.
B. Each player chooses a color and takes the corresponding 5 Movement cards and Barracuda card. Also take the pawn, Coin Bag card and Vault card of your color, and place them in front of you.
C. The Gold pieces come in values of 1 and 3. In this rulebook, a 'Gold piece' refers to a piece of value 1. Each player places 2 pieces on their Coin Bag card. Place the remaining Gold pieces in a general reserve.
D. Place the dice within reach.
E. Place the Barracuda meeple on Shipwreck card 6.
Example of the Shipwreck card placement for your first game (shown in the setup illustration).
Round Overview
In any given round, follow these 3 steps:
- Moving the Divers
- Moving the Barracuda
- Resolution
1. Moving the Divers
Each round, you may either explore the Shipwrecks (using Movement cards) or try to control the Barracuda (using a Barracuda card).
All players simultaneously choose one card from their hand, placing it face down in front of them. When everyone is ready, reveal the cards. If you played a Movement card, place your pawn on the corresponding Shipwreck card. If you played a Barracuda card, you stay where you are and place your pawn down on its side.
Place each Movement card you played face up in front of you, and don't change the order in which you played them. These cards will determine the initiative. Any Barracuda cards that were played are placed in the center of the table. If you just played your last Movement card, take them all back into your hand.
2. Moving the Barracuda
If no Barracuda cards, or more than one Barracuda card was played, roll the two dice. The Barracuda will move by a number of cards based on the Distance die in the direction of the Shipwreck card shown on the Direction die. The Barracuda always takes the shortest route towards its destination. If several routes are possible, he passes by the Shipwreck card(s) with the highest value.
If exactly one Barracuda card was played, that player managed to distract the Barracuda. He or she rolls the Distance die only, and moves the Barracuda in the direction of their choice. The die indicates the maximum distance it can move. You're allowed to stop sooner, or even to leave the Barracuda on its current Shipwreck.
Note: the Barracuda cannot move diagonally.
3. Resolution
Resolve the Shipwreck cards in ascending order. There are three possible scenarios.
- You are alone (and without the Barracuda). Carry out the Special Action and the General Action of your Shipwreck card (see SHIPWRECK ACTIONS).
- You and the Barracuda are on the same Shipwreck. You drop all the gold pieces in our [sic: "your"] coin bag onto the Shipwreck. Each Shipwreck can contain up to 4 Gold pieces. Any excessive pieces are returned to the general reserve. You only get to carry out the General Action. Gold pieces that are left behind this way can be collected starting from the next round, by the next player who is standing upright on the card and who has the initiative (this collection does not count as an action, and takes place at the start of the Resolution phase).
- Several players are on the same card (and without the Barracuda). The player with the fewest Movement cards in front of them has the initiative.
- 3A. The player with the initiative chooses to either carry out the Special Action, or to rob an opponent who's also on the card (add the contents of their coin bag to yours). Next, all players whose pawns are on the card get to carry out the General Action.
- 3B. If there's a tie, all players with an upright pawn on the card get to carry out the General Action.
The player(s) that played a Barracuda card:
- Don't carry out the actions of the Shipwreck where their pawn is located;
- Are open to being robbed, regardless of their initiative;
- Are protected from the Barracuda, provided they have control over it.
Example of a round (from the rulebook):
Moving the Divers. Red, Blue, Yellow and Green have played cards 2, 4, 2 and 3 respectively. Everyone places their pawn on their corresponding Shipwreck card.
Moving the Barracuda. Nobody played a Barracuda card, so the two dice are rolled. The Barracuda moves towards Shipwreck 3, with a distance of 2. It passes by Shipwreck 2 (higher value than Shipwreck 1), ignoring Red and Yellow and joining Green.
Resolution.
- A. Since Yellow has played more Movement cards than Red, Red has the initiative and may choose to either rob Yellow (1 piece), or to carry out the Special Action. Yellow and Red then carry out the General Action.
- B. Green is on the same card as the Barracuda. Green drops the 3 Gold pieces in their coin bag onto the Shipwreck, but keeps the piece in their vault: this piece is safe and cannot be stolen by other players or lost in a Barracuda attack. Green then carries out the General Action.
- C. Blue is alone on the Shipwreck and may carry out all actions on the card, collecting a total of 3 Gold pieces.
At the End of Each Round
- Place any pawns that are lying down upright again.
- If a Shipwreck action allows you to take back Movement cards, always start with the 'oldest' ones (the ones you played first).
- If the Barracuda meeple is on Shipwreck 6 or if all Barracuda cards have been played, everyone takes back their Barracuda card.
Shipwreck Cards
Special Action. You may only carry out this action if you're alone or if you have the initiative.
General Action. Carry out this action if your pawn is upright and is sharing the Shipwreck card with one or more other pawns.
If you choose the 'red' part of this action, carry it out at the very end of the round, after all players have taken back their cards.
The Barracuda action: This action is triggered when the Barracuda meeple stops on this Shipwreck card.
Shipwreck actions (each icon on a Shipwreck card):
- X (in a circle): Place X pieces in your coin bag.
- -1/2 / +1: Take the first Movement card you played back into your hand - or - draw two cards from an opponent's hand, place one in front of them (as if they had played the card) and give them back the other. The latter action is carried out after all players have taken back their cards.
- Coin bag with arrow to vault: Move all the Gold pieces in your coin bag to your vault.
- Protected symbol (crossed-out Barracuda): You are protected from the Barracuda.
- Barracuda card with red diagonal: Take back your Barracuda card, or force an opponent to discard theirs to the center of the table.
- Barracuda card with circle: All players take back their Barracuda card.
- MAX 7 (coin bag): Move up to 7 pieces from your coin bag to your vault.
- +X (Movement cards): Take back the first X Movement cards you played.
- Barracuda card with Direction die and Barracuda fish: Roll the Direction die. The Barracuda moves to the corresponding Shipwreck immediately. If you roll a 6, reroll the die!
End of the Game
The first player to secure Gold pieces with a total value of 8 or more in their vault wins the game.
Team Mode
- Each player still has their own coin bag, but each team shares a single vault.
- Team members are allowed to communicate before playing their cards.
- If two members of the same team are on the same Shipwreck, they may exchange any number of Gold pieces in their coin bags. This exchange counts as a Special Action for one of the team members. Teams can only carry out this action if they have the initiative over the opposing team.
- Your team wins if you managed to secure 12 or more Gold pieces in your vault.
Extra Shipwreck Cards
The game is played with an additional 6 Shipwreck cards. You may replace 1 or 2 of the starting Shipwreck cards (marked with the circle symbol) with new cards. Make sure to swap cards that show the same number, so you always have 6 different numbers.
Variants
- The configuration of the Shipwreck cards in the example above does not cause the Barracuda to be very aggressive. Other configurations - easier as well as harder ones - can be found at isaacpante.net/barrakuda! The danger level of the ocean floor is up to you!
- Over too soon? Extend your games by playing to 10 Gold pieces instead!