Bohei
Bohei Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Shuffle all cards thoroughly and deal 3 cards face down to each player. The remaining cards are placed face down in the middle of the table to form the draw pile. Next to it, the discard pile will form. Space must also be kept on the table for the rule area, where rule cards are activated.
The most disorganised person begins the game.
Playing the Game
Players take turns in clockwise order.
A turn consists of 3 phases, which take place in the following order:
- The player decides whether or not to draw a card from the draw pile.
- The player must play a rule card, if one is in their hand.
- The player may play either an action or a challenge, or neither.
Then the next player takes their turn.
End of the Game
The winner is whoever begins their own turn with 7 cards in hand. At any other point in the game when a player has 7 cards in hand – even only briefly – they call out loudly "Bohei", so that all other players are warned.
Otherwise the game cannot be won on that player's next turn.
Additional Note
The hand of cards is always held above the table, so that all players can see who has how many cards. If cards are discarded because an action card specifies it (for example, "All wearers of glasses discard 2 cards."), the actions, rules and challenges printed on those cards are not carried out. The cards go to the discard pile without effect.
When the draw pile is empty, the discard pile is shuffled thoroughly and becomes the new draw pile.
Rule Cards
Rule cards influence the course of the game and in some cases even the win condition. Each player must activate a rule card on their turn if they hold one or more rule cards in hand. To do so, the card is placed face up, where everyone can see it, on one of the two spaces provided for this on the rule area. The whole group watches over the observance of the rule cards. If a player breaks a rule, they must discard 1 of their own hand cards if they have 7 or fewer cards in hand, and draw 1 additional card if they have 8 or more cards in hand.
No more than 2 rule cards can be active at the same time. A player who wants to activate a new rule decides for themselves which old rule is placed over and thereby deactivated.
The exceptions prove the rule: there is a rule card that allows the player who plays it to open an additional place for further rule cards. This card acts as an extension of the rule area. Conversely, there is also a rule card that allows the player who plays it to permanently close a place for rule cards. Activating further rule cards there is then no longer possible.
Action Cards
Action cards create dynamics and card exchange in the hand. They determine who draws or discards cards. Some action cards, if used cleverly, can increase the chance of winning.
Whoever plays an action card reads aloud the text printed on it, which all affected players must follow.
Two special cases exist among the action cards:
- Nö cards ("No" cards) can be played at any time and prevent a player from having to draw or discard cards (for example, due to another player's action card, or because the player has broken a rule themselves).
- Gegenteiltag cards ("Opposite Day" cards) can be played at any time and reverse, for the affected player, the effect of an action card that has been played (for example, the card "All dog owners draw 2 cards." becomes, for that player, "All dog owners discard 2 cards.").
Challenge Cards
Challenges are small tasks that are played either between 2 players or between the whole group.
In the 1-vs-1 challenges, the player who played the card chooses whom they want to face. Some challenges additionally require a neutral third player to be designated, who assists in carrying out the challenge. The winner may then reward themselves by either discarding up to 2 cards, drawing up to 2 cards, or doing nothing of the kind.
In the group challenges, the aim is to prevail against all other players. Players may drop out one by one. The person who remains last in the challenge may then reward themselves by either discarding up to 2 cards, drawing up to 2 cards, or doing nothing of the kind.
During a challenge, the rule cards are inactive for all challenge participants.
A challenge is always replayed until there is a clear winner.