Big Easy Busking Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• How the Game Works
• Components
  • Crowd Cards
  • Song Cards
  • Player Cards
  • Moods
• Game Setup
• Player Setup
• Goal
• Gameplay
• Player Turns
  • 1. Finish Playing a Song
  • 2. Tip (optional)
  • 3. Perform Action
    • Learn a Song
    • Play a Song
    • Pass
• End of Round
  • Pay Out Crowd Cards
• End of the Game
• Mardi Gras Variant
• Deluxe Edition
• Solo Game
  • Solo Setup
  • Solo Gameplay
  • Solo Scoring
  • Solo Scaling Difficulty
• Quick Start Guide

How the Game Works

In Big Easy Busking, players take on the role of a group of street musicians (buskers) ready to make it big in New Orleans. They accomplish this by playing songs to different adoring crowds. In the hopes of earning the most money, buskers will compete for attention from the crowds, trying to play songs that match their mood.

The game is played over three rounds; the busker who's earned the most money at the end of the third round wins!

Components

• 15 Crowd Cards
• 33 Song Cards
  • 15 Player Song Cards
  • 6 Ability Song Cards
  • 12 Hit Song Cards
• 5 Player Cards
• 5 Turn Sequence Cards
• 2 Robot Cards
• 5 sets of 15 Energy Tokens (75 total Tokens)
• 14 Mood Tokens
• 4 Standard Tokens
• 50 dollar Tokens: 28 $1, 12 $5, and 10 $10

Crowd Cards

A Crowd Card shows a Location, a Mood Token (placed on it), a 1st Place Payout, a Crowd Threshold and a Threshold Payout.

Song Cards

Song Card types: Player Song, Ability Song, Hit Song. A Song Card shows its Mood, and the Energy Needed Per Musician. Ability Song Cards also have an Ability Description (only Ability cards).

Player Cards

A Player Card shows the Player Color, Musician Icons (band members), and spaces for Mood Tokens, Standard Tokens, Dollar Tokens and Energy Tokens. The card has a front and a back.

Moods

Chill, Party, Romantic, and Wild! (Wild matches all Moods).

Game Setup

• Shuffle all Crowd Cards and place 3 face up in a horizontal line to form Royal Street.
• Place all Mood Tokens face down and draw 3, placing each one face up on a Crowd Card in Royal Street. Set the remaining Mood Tokens to the side, out of the play area. These will be used in later rounds.
• Separate the Ability Song Cards from the rest of the Song deck. Reveal 1 Ability Song Card and place the card above Royal Street. Return the rest of the Ability Song Cards to the box.
• Shuffle the Hit Song Cards. Draw 2 and add them to the Ability Song Card to create the Standard Song Cards.
  • Hit Song Cards do not have a border or Ability text at the bottom.
• Place the 3 Standard Tokens face up on the 3 Standard Songs.
• Draw 3 cards from the Hit Song Cards and place them above the Standard Songs. This is the Melody Market, the songs that players can learn during the game.
• Place the remaining Hit Song Cards face down next to the Melody Market.
• Place the dollar tokens near Royal Street to create a bank. (Optional): Use the game's box top to hold the dollar tokens.

Crowd Cards should be in one line, if possible.

Did you know? The most famous nickname for New Orleans is "The Big Easy." It describes the gentle, slow, and easy-going way of life in New Orleans.

Player Setup

• Give each player:
  • A Player Card, 15 Energy Tokens, and 3 Player Song Cards in the matching color of their choice
  • A Turn Sequence Card
  • Three $1 Tokens
• Each player places 4 Energy Tokens on each band member on their Player Card and places the remaining 3 Energy Tokens in their reserve, which is to the left of their Player Card.
• Return all unused Player Cards, Energy Tokens, Player Song Cards, and Turn Sequence Cards to the box.

Goal

The goal is to be the player with the most money at the end of 3 rounds. Each player will take multiple turns each round until they choose to pass. Players earn money by playing songs for crowds. At the end of each round, players will be paid money based on which crowds they performed for and how much energy they put into each performance.

Gameplay

The player who has most recently tipped a street musician takes the first turn in the starting round. Play proceeds clockwise.

Player Turns

Starting with the first player, on their turn each player completes the following actions.

1. Finish Playing a Song
2. Tip (optional)
3. Perform Action: Learn Song, Play Song, or Pass

1. Finish Playing a Song

If this is your first turn in a round, go directly to step 3: Perform Action.

If you played a song on your previous turn (see Play a Song), you must finish playing the song at the beginning of your turn.

Note: If the song or crowd mood is Wild, then moods match.

Moods do not Match. If the Song's mood and the Crowd's mood do not match, place all the Energy Tokens from the Song Card onto the Crowd Card.

OR

Moods Match. If the Song's mood and the Crowd's mood match, do one of the following:

• Place all the Energy Tokens from the Song Card onto the Crowd Card and receive $1 from the bank.
• Place 1 or more Energy Tokens from the Song Card onto the Crowd Card, returning any unplaced Energy Tokens back onto your band members. The returned Energy Tokens can be distributed among your band members in any way you wish.

Once all Energy Tokens have been removed from the Song Card, place it face down in your discard pile unless the song is a Standard Song. Standard Songs are returned to Royal Street and the Standard Token is set to 2.

If the Song you finished was a Standard Song with an Ability, you may use the Ability at this time.

2. Tip (optional)

Tipping band members money is optional.

Band Members may be tipped to increase their Energy. Return money to the bank equal to the amount of Energy Tokens you wish to transfer from your reserve to the Band Members of your choice. There is no limit to the amount or number of Band Members you can tip other than the amount of Energy in your reserve.

3. Perform Action

You must perform one and only one of the following actions: Learn a Song, Play a Song, or Pass.

Learn a Song

To learn a Song, place 1 Energy Token from each of your Band Members into your reserve. Select a Song Card from the Melody Market or from the top of the Hit Song deck and put it into your hand. After you learn a song from the Melody Market, immediately draw a song from the Hit Song deck to replace it. Players cannot learn Standard songs.

Note: If there are no more Song Cards in the Melody Market, players can no longer learn Songs.

Did you know? New Orleans is widely considered to be the birthplace of both Poker and Craps.

Play a Song

To play a song, select a Song Card from your hand or a Standard song that isn't currently being played. Move the Energy required by the song from your Band Members to the Song Card. Select a Crowd to play the song for, then move the Song Card next to the selected Crowd. The Song Card with the energy on it will remain there until the beginning of your next turn.

For example, if the song requires 2 trumpet energy and 1 drum energy, you must spend 2 energy from your trumpet player and 1 energy from your drummer.

When playing a Standard song, you must pay the cost currently represented on the Standard Token (1 or 2) in addition to the song's Energy cost. You can pay with either Dollar Tokens or Energy Tokens from your band members and these are either returned to the bank (Dollar Tokens) or to your reserve (Energy Tokens).

You cannot play the same Standard song in the same turn you finished playing it.

Pass

To pass, state out loud you are passing or "taking a break" and flip over your Player Card. Once you pass, you no longer take a turn for the rest of the round. If a player is unable to learn or play a song, they must pass.

End of Round

The round ends when each player has taken the pass action. At the end of a round, perform the following steps.

Note: Perform only the first step after round 3.

• Pay out each Crowd Card. (see Pay Out Crowd Cards)
• Set all Standard Tokens to 1.
• Each player returns all played Song Cards to their hand.
• Each player places 4 Energy Tokens on each of their Band Members and 3 Energy Tokens in their reserve.
• Return the scored Crowd Cards to the box.
• Reveal new Crowd Cards.
  • Reveal 4 Crowd Cards in round 2.
  • Reveal 5 Crowd Cards in round 3.
• Draw a Mood Token for each revealed Crowd Card and place one face up on each of the Crowd Cards.

The player with the most money is now the Starting player. If there is a tie, the player with the most Mood Tokens is the Starting player. If there is still a tie, the player who took the last action in the previous round is the Starting player.

Did you know? Masks and beads represent the Chill and Party moods as they are associated with Mardi Gras, a popular celebration in New Orleans.

Pay Out Crowd Cards

There are two ways to receive a payout from a Crowd Card.

1st Place Payout. The player with the most Energy Tokens on a Crowd Card at the end of a round collects the amount of money equal to the 1st player payout and takes the Mood Token from the Crowd Card. If there is a tie for 1st Place, both players collect the payout and the Mood Token is returned to the box.

Threshold Payout. All players who have Energy Tokens equal to or greater than the crowd threshold collect the amount of money equal to the threshold payout.

Note: The player who collected the 1st Place Payout can also collect the Threshold Payout, if they have enough Energy Tokens on the crowd.

End of the Game

The game is complete after 3 rounds. The player with the most money wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most Song Cards wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most Mood Tokens wins.

Did you know? The fleur-de-lis is the official symbol of the state of Louisiana.

Mardi Gras Variant

During setup, instead of playing with one Ability Song Card and 2 Hit Song Cards for the Standard Songs, play with 3 Ability Song Cards. This is for players that want to play an advanced game.

Deluxe Edition

The Deluxe Edition adds in custom meeples and custom sleeves for the Song Cards. The custom meeples are in the shape of a trumpet, saxophone, fleur de lis, alligator, and the state of Louisiana.

Solo Game

The Solo Game adds an automated Robot player. This player does not take turns like a regular player or make choices, but it does use Energy Tokens and gains Dollar Tokens.

Solo Setup

• Follow the Player Setup for only you.
• The Robot is the first player during each round.
• Follow the Game Setup.
• Choose a Robot Player to battle against and take the corresponding Robot Card.
• Choose a set of Energy Tokens for the Robot Player to use and set it aside, along with $3 in Dollar Tokens.
• Create a deck of Song Cards made up of all of the player Song Cards not currently being used. This is the Robot's Song Deck.

Solo Gameplay

• The Robot player takes their turn first. Follow the text on the chosen Robot Card.
• The player takes a turn as described in the multiplayer rules.
• Play continues going from the Robot player's turn and to your own until you pass. The Robot takes one last turn, then the round is over.
  • For example, if you pass, the typical Robot will finish playing their current song and the round will then be over.

Note: If the Robot player runs out of Energy Tokens, give it another set of Energy Tokens from the box.

Solo Scoring

If you have more money than the Robot at the end of the game, you win!

Solo Scaling Difficulty

• Easy: The Robot does not start with any Dollar Tokens.
• Medium: Play using the normal solo rules.
• Medium Advanced: When the Robot finishes playing a song and the mood matches, tip the robot $2 instead of $1.
• Advanced: The Robot takes two turns at the end of the round. For example, if you pass, the typical Robot will finish playing their current song, start playing another song, then finish that song, and the round will then be over.
• Professional: The Robot takes two turns at the end of the round AND gets $2 in tips instead of $1.

Quick Start Guide

• Give each player:
  • a Player Card in the color of their choice, 15 matching Energy Tokens, 3 matching Player Song Cards
  • a Reference Card
  • three $1 Tokens
• Each player places 4 Energy Tokens on each of their band members on their Player Card and places their remaining 3 Energy Tokens in their reserve, which is to the left of their Player Card.
• Place 3 Crowd Cards face up in a horizontal line to form Royal Street.
• Place all Mood Tokens face down and draw 3, placing each one on a Crowd Card in Royal Street.
• Create the Standard Songs by revealing 1 Ability Song Card and 2 Hit Songs and placing them in a row.
• Place the 3 Standard Tokens face up on the 3 Standard Songs.
• Draw 3 cards from the Hit Song Deck and place them above the Standard Songs to form Melody Market.
• Place the Hit Song deck next to the Melody Market.