Bountytown Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Characters
• Items
• Bounties
• Wounds
• Player Turn
• Movement
• Location Abilities
• Duels
  • Hand Rankings
  • Duels Against Players
  • Duels Against Bounties
• Reloading
• End Turn
  • Sample Turn
• Victory

Components

• 75 Duel cards
  • 15 1-value cards
  • 15 2-value cards
  • 15 3-value cards
  • 15 4-value cards
  • 15 5-value cards
• 20 Item cards
• 22 Wound cards
• 15 Character standees
• 1 Train card
• 31 Bounties
• 18 Location cards
• 15 Character cards

Setup

1. Construct Bountytown
   • Bountytown is made up of nine Location cards, organized in a 3 by 3 grid. Place the Sheriff's Office, Doc's, and General Store in the middle from left to right, in that order. Then, finish constructing Bountytown by placing three random Location cards above and below these fixed Locations.
   • To stock the General Store, shuffle the Item deck and place five face-up Item cards next to the General Store; these are the Items initially for sale. Place the remaining cards face down next to the store; these might enter play later.
2. Place Bounties
   • Set aside the Train card. Then construct the Bounty deck by shuffling the Bounty cards and drawing a number of cards, face down, as determined by the number of players (see below). Place the unused cards back in the box.
     • Three or four players: select 16 Bounties
     • Five or six players: select 22 Bounties
   • Take the bottom five cards and shuffle in the Train card. Then place the cards back on the bottom of the Bounty deck.
   • Draw three cards from the Bounty deck and place them face up on the left side of the town; these are the active Bounties the players can go after. If any of the Bounties have Items (indicated by the number in the lower right hand corner of their card) place that number of Items face down next to the Bounty.
3. Prepare Characters
   • Each player is randomly dealt two Character cards and selects one. Each player then receives the corresponding Character standee and places it on the Sheriff's Office. Return the unused Character cards to the box.
   • Shuffle the Duel deck and deal each player a number of face-down Duel cards equal to their hand limit (five cards). Keep the Duel, Wound, and Bounty decks near the grid.

The Setup Diagram in the rulebook shows the nine Location cards in play: Bandit Hideout, Boot Hill and Boarding House across the top row; Sheriff's Office, Doc's and General Store across the middle row; and Bank, Trading Post and Abandoned Jailhouse across the bottom row, with the Item cards for sale beside the General Store and the Bounty, Duel and Wound decks below the grid.

Characters

Each Character card lists the character's name and profession, as well as their special ability. The character's special ability grants them a unique bonus that can help them tremendously throughout the game. The character abilities are cumulative with Item and Location effects. In the case of a conflict with the rules, the card text takes precedence over the game rules.

Character cards are not secret and players can view them at any time.

Items

Throughout your adventures in Bountytown, it will often be to your advantage to obtain Items from Bounties or to buy them from the General Store. To buy an available Item, you must use an Action to play Gold cards of equal or greater value to the Item(s) you want to buy. You may purchase as many Items in one Action as you would like and can afford. Place any purchased Items face up in front of you; they are not secret.

You can also obtain Items from Bounties (see the Bounty section on the next page).

Once you obtain an Item, you receive the card and can use its ability whenever it is applicable by discarding the card (all Items are one-time use). In the case of a conflict with the rules, the card text takes precedence.

Note: You can only have one Item of a given type at a time (i.e., you cannot have two pistols, though you may have a pistol, a knife, and a rifle).

The Item cards in the game are:

Item	Value	Ability
First Aid Kit	$3	Discard during your turn to immediately remove all your Wounds.
Rifle	$3	Discard during your turn to Duel another player or Bounty in any location you do not occupy.
Crucifix	$4	Discard after combat to take no Wounds.
Box of Ammunition	$4	Discard at any time to perform a Reload action.
Cowboy Hat	$5	Discard when someone declares a Duel against you to cancel the Duel (the player does not get their action back).

Bounties

The game revolves around capturing Bounties. The Bounties are represented by cards, listing their name, profession, where they can be Dueled, what Duel cards they receive in a Duel, how many cards they draw in a Duel, their Renown value, and how many Items (if any) they have.

The 3 by 3 grid on the Bounty card corresponds to the Location cards making up Bountytown, with the gray box being the Sheriff's Office. The Bounty may be found in either of the two orange Locations shown on their card.

Some Bounties have a number in the bottom right hand corner of their card. This is the number of Items the Bounty has on them. When a Bounty with Items is revealed, draw the specified number of Items and place them face down next to the Bounty.

If a Bounty escapes, they are permanently discarded and any Items they had are placed in the General Store.

When you capture a Bounty, they are placed face up in front of you. While they are in front of you, you receive the Renown value listed on the bottom left of the card. If the Bounty had any Items you can look at them and take one. Any additional items go to the General Store.

What Bounties you have is not secret, other players can look at your captured Bounties at any time. If one of your Bounties is stolen by another player or escapes during a Duel, you no longer receive their Renown value. By contrast, if you spend two Actions to turn a Bounty in at the Sheriff's Office, place the Bounty under your Character card to lock its Renown value. Turned-in Bounties cannot be taken from you for the rest of the game.

Wounds

Over the course of the game you might take a few hits from Bounties and other players. Whenever you lose or tie a Duel, you receive a Wound card.

Wound cards are blank cards in your hand and count against your hand limit. They cannot be played in a Duel or discarded, they are simply dead space in your hand. If drawing a Wound puts you over your hand limit, you must discard a non-Wound card (if any).

You can only get rid of a Wound card by spending an Action at Doc's or if you take too many Wounds. If the number of Wounds in your hand equals or exceeds your hand limit, you are critically Wounded and must:

• Discard one of your captured Bounties (your choice if multiple).
  • If you have any Items, discard one at random.
• Remove all your Wound cards and draw up to your hand limit.
• Immediately move your Character to Doc's; if it was your turn, your turn is now over.

Player Turn

During your player turn, you can perform up to three Actions (including the same Action multiple times).

• Move your character to any Location.
• Use the General Store, Doc's, or the Sheriff's Office Location ability.
• Duel a Bounty or another player in your current Location.
• Reload your hand.

Movement

A player may move their Character standee to any Location on the board (regardless of starting position). There is no limit to the number of Characters who can be in a Location.

Location Abilities

Each Location has a special static ability, described on the bottom of the card. These abilities are always in effect and must be used in combat if relevant. If a Duel occurs in multiple Locations (due to the Rifle Item), then the players receive the effect of the Location they are currently in (if applicable).

Many Locations have an ability that you can use, such as taking a card from the Discard pile. This can be done between Actions (i.e., after moving but before Dueling), once per Location during your turn. It does not count as an Action to use a Location's ability.

Note: Doc's, the General Store, and the Sheriff's Office are slightly different; you must spend an Action to heal/buy items and you must spend two Actions to turn in a Bounty.

The Location cards shown in the rulebook's Setup Diagram and component pages carry these abilities:

Location	Ability
Bandit Hideout	Ambush: If you lose or tie a Duel here, take 2 Wounds.
Boot Hill	Pilfer the Remains: During your turn you can take the top card of the Discard pile and discard a Duel card from your hand.
Boarding House	Rest Up: Take no Wounds.
Sheriff's Office	Lockup: You can spend two Actions to turn in one of your captured Bounties and lock their Renown.
Doc's	Get Patched Up: Spend an Action to remove a Wound.
General Store	Stock Up: Spend an Action and discard Gold cards to buy Items.
Bank	Git Along: Upon declaring a Duel, the involved player(s) must discard a Duel card (Bounties are unaffected).
Trading Post	Makin' a Trade: During your turn you can take the top card of the Draw pile and discard a Duel card from your hand.
Abandoned Jailhouse	Rummaging for Ammo: If you lose or tie a Duel here, take 2 Wounds.

Source note: the Sheriff's Office ability text is partly obscured by the Character standees in the printed Setup Diagram; "lock their Renown" is taken from the card text as it appears in the PDF text layer and matches the Bounties section.

Duels

If you are in the same Location as a Bounty or another player, you can choose to Duel one of them. The procedure for Dueling Bounties and other players is slightly different.

Duels are fought a lot like poker, with the following differences:

• There are 5 suits instead of the usual 4.
• The cards go from 1 to 5 and there are 3 of each rank.
• If two players have the same hand rank (i.e., both have Three of a Kind) high values do not win and it is a tie.
• You must play at least one card, but can play as many as five (though this can be modified by abilities).
• The Hand Rankings are slightly modifed, as detailed below.

Note: During a Duel, it is possible to gain cards through Locations, Items, and Abilities. A player can temporarily go over their hand limit during a Duel, but must discard down to their hand limit at the end of the Duel.

Hand Rankings

Highest Rank wins. If both hands have the same rank, it is a tie regardless of card value.

Rank	Name	Description
1	Straight Flush	Five cards of the same suit whose values are in a continuous ascending numerical sequence
2	Five of a Kind	Five cards of the same value
3	Flush	Five cards of the same suit
4	Rainbow	One card of each suit
5	Straight	Five cards whose values are in a continuous ascending numerical sequence
6	Four of a Kind	Four cards of the same value
7	Full House	Three of a Kind and another Pair
8	Two Pair

The rulebook illustrates the hand rankings with example card layouts; those illustrations are not reproduced here.

Duels Against Players

To Duel another player you must meet two requirements: One, you and your target must be in the same Location; Two, your target must have at least as much Renown as you. To Duel another player, perform these steps:

1. Declaration Step
   • Declare which player you are Dueling and which of their non-turned-in Bounties you are trying to steal (if they have any).
2. Draw Step
   • The attacker discards any Duel cards they do not want from their hand and then draws an equal number back from the Draw deck.
   • The defender then does the same.
3. Selection Step
   • Both players secretly select the card(s) they want to play and declare when they are ready.
   • If a player has no cards or has only Wounds, they simply play the top card of the Draw deck.
   • Another player draws the number of cards indicated on the selected Bounty's card for the Bounty's escape attempt.
4. Showdown Step
   • All three hands are revealed simultaneously.
   • Construct the best hand possible for the Bounty using their drawn cards in addition to the base hand shown on their card.
   • Whoever has the best hand wins the Duel (see the Hand Rankings above).
   • If the attacker ties for the best hand, they take the Bounty but both players take a Wound.
   • If the attacker wins, they take the selected Bounty and the defender gets a Wound.
   • If the defender wins, they keep the Bounty and the attacker takes a Wound.
   • If the Bounty wins, both players take a Wound and the Bounty is discarded.

After the Duel, all used cards are discarded. If, after the Duel, a player has more cards than their hand limit allows, they must discard down to their hand limit.

Duels Against Bounties

In order to Duel an Active Bounty, you must be in one of the Locations shown on their card. The procedure for Dueling is as follows:

1. Declaration Step
   • Declare which Bounty you are Dueling.
2. Draw Step
   • Discard any Duel cards you do not want from your hand and draw an equal number back from the Draw deck.
3. Selection Step
   • Select the cards you want to play against the Bounty.
   • Another player draws the number of cards indicated on the Bounty's card.
4. Showdown Step
   • Both hands are revealed simultaneously.
   • Construct the best hand possible for the Bounty using their drawn cards in addition to the base hand shown on their card.
   • Whoever has the best hand wins the Duel.
   • If both hands have the same Rank, the player wins but takes a Wound.
   • If you win, take the Bounty and put it next to your Character card.
   • If you lose, discard the Bounty and take a Wound.

Reloading

When you reload, simply draw enough cards from the Duel deck to get your hand back up to your hand limit (five cards). When the Duel deck is depleted, shuffle the Discard pile and use it as the new Duel deck.

End Turn

After a player has conducted their three Actions, their turn is over. If any Active Bounties were Dueled during the turn, draw more Bounties from the Bounty deck to replace them. Play then proceeds to the player on their left.

Sample Turn

At the start of his turn, Bart finds himself at the Trading Post. He decides to use the Location's static ability, and discards a 3 of Hearts to draw a new card from the Draw deck.

To his excitement, he draws a 5 of Gold. He could use it to buy an Item, but with his 5 of Spades, 1 of Clubs, and pair of 2's, he now has Two Pair (5's and 2's).

He decides a decent hand is too good to pass up, and uses his first Action to move to the Bandit Hideout, where Valentina just captured Butch Cassidy.

He then announces that he is going to Duel her in order to steal Butch. He is pretty happy with his Two Pair, but decides to discard his 1 of Clubs hoping for something better. He struggles to maintain a good poker face when he draws a 2, as he now has a Full House!

Valentina does not get to discard any of her cards because of Bart's special ability, but her special ability allows her to draw a card from the Draw deck, bringing her hand up to six cards.

The sample turn shows these two character abilities:

• Legwork: When Dueling another player, they do not get a Draw step.
• Fastest in the West: When you are involved in any Duel, draw an extra card prior to the Draw step.

Bart declares that he is ready to reveal, and after a moment's thought Valentina does the same. Before they reveal, Terry draws five cards for Butch Cassidy's escape attempt. Then they all reveal.

Valentina winces when she sees Bart's Full House since it beats her Three of a Kind. Bart is distressed that with the cards on his Bounty card, Butch Cassidy has a Full House as well. However, the attacker wins ties, and so Bart takes the Butch Cassidy Bounty card from Valentina and both Valentina and Bart must take a Wound.

Unfortunately, because they are in the Bandit Hideout they both take two Wounds instead! Because the Wounds count against her hand, Valentina does not draw any cards.

Bart decides to discard his Crucifix to avoid taking any Wounds, and uses his final Action to Reload and hope he can hold onto Butch Cassidy.

Victory

The game ends as soon as the Train card is revealed. At that time, the person with the most Renown wins the game and is called the Hero of Bountytown!

In the case of a tie, the tied players play a final Duel with their current hands. Whoever wins the Duel wins the game. If it is still a tie, the players both win and share the title.