Bubble King
Bubble King Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 30 Order cards.
- 105 Ingredient cards.
- 4 Picky Customer cards.
Game Setup
- Shuffle all of the Ingredient cards face-down into a messy spread around the middle of the playing area. This is the Ingredient stock.
- Shuffle the Order cards face-down to form a deck. Place the deck in the playing area to the side of the Ingredient cards, and display 3 cards in a row face-up. This is the Order display.
- Deal 2 Order cards face-up in front of each player. You are ready to play!
Game Play
Bubble King is a real-time game that takes place simultaneously for all players. There are two phases in the game, the Drink-Making phase and the Scoring phase. Once these two phases are complete, the game is over.
1. Drink-Making Phase
When all players are ready to begin, everyone shouts "Bubble King!" and begins searching for ingredients that are required to complete their Order cards.
Searching for Ingredients
When searching, players may only have at most one Ingredient card in each hand. Players may look at the front of the cards but should return them face-down to the Ingredient stock if they choose not to take them.
When a player has found an ingredient that matches their Order cards, they may place it on their Order card face-up. For Delivery Orders (marked with a paper bag icon in the bottom right), place Ingredient cards face-down. (You have to remember what ingredients have been added to the drink!)
Completing Orders
When an Order card has all of the matching ingredients on it (or if a player just wants to complete the order), the player shouts out the name of the drink they just completed.
They then shift the completed Order card and its Ingredient cards to their scoring pile.
They then draw a new face-up Order card from the Order display, or a face-down Order card from the deck, to place face-up in front of them (all players should always have two active Order cards face-up in front of them at all times).
Be sure to refill the Order display to 3 cards if you are drawing from the display!
End of the Drink-Making Phase
When one player has completed 5 orders, they shout "Close Shop!" At this time, all players must stop searching for Ingredient cards and proceed to the Scoring phase.
If they have any matching Ingredient cards still in their hands, they may place them on their Order cards. Then, all players place their active orders into their scoring pile.
2. Scoring Phase
Now, all players score their Order cards from their scoring pile. For completed orders that are correct, you earn the amount stated on the card. Otherwise, you will earn $5 for each correct ingredient and minus $5 for each incorrect ingredient listed on the Order card.
Scoring Example
Bubble Queen has the following in her scoring pile:
- Bubble Tea order ($55): all of the listed ingredients are present. The order is complete, so she scores $55.
- Plum Green Tea order ($35): the order is wrong, as she has Black Tea instead of Green Tea. She scores $5 + $5 - $5 = $5 for the Plum Green Tea order.
- Winter Melon Tea with Pearls order ($50): the order is missing an Ice. She scores $10 for the Winter Melon and Pearls ingredients present.
Her total score is ($55 + $5 + $10) = $70!
Game End
The player who earned the most money wins the game and is the current Bubble King until dethroned! As an incentive, the player with the least money is suggested to make or buy a drink for the Bubble King!
Variants
Here are some fun ways to add more sugar to your Bubble King experience!
Team up and Speed up! (Team-mode Variant)
Play Bubble King in teams of 2! (2 vs. 2 OR 2 vs. 2 vs. 2) Sit next to your teammate. Shuffle the Order cards and deal 2 regular and 1 Delivery Order card in front of each team. During the game, each player can use only one hand to search for ingredients. The Drink-Making Phase ends when one team has completed 6 orders.
Picky Customers
Shovel the 4 Picky Customer cards into the Ingredient card spread. When you draw a Picky Customer card, place it face-up in front of an opponent. That player has to handle the urgent needs of the Picky Customer first and all they can do now is searching for the Picky Customer's requested ingredient. Once they find the ingredient, put it aside with the Picky Customer, which is worth $30. Afterward, they can work on their Order cards as usual.
Printed as "Shovel" in the source; kept as printed.
Bubble Master (Advanced Variant)
If you have played Bubble King a few times and the regular rules are no longer a challenge for your Bubble-Tea-making skills, play Bubble Master! Instead of playing with the Order cards face-up, play with them face-down (i.e. you won't be able to check what ingredients are listed on the Order cards, except through experience, like a real tea shop expert!)
Bubbleholic (Solo Variant)
You can practice your Bubble-Tea-making stills by playing Bubble King alone!
Play the game as per usual rules (don't forget to shout the orders when they are complete!). At the end of 5 minutes, tally up your score and see how well you do:
- $0 - $60: Drink some Bubble Tea and try again.
- $65 - $130: Not bad, but not yet a king.
- $135 - $190: Bubble Tea Lover.
- $195 - $250: Excellent flavors. Start your own Bubble Tea franchise!
- Above $250: Best Bubble Tea ever!