Captain Bluff
Captain Bluff Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 71 cards in total:
- 6 Carousel cards (conveyor belts).
- 51 Baggage cards, numbered from 1 to 17 for each of the origin cities (Hong Kong, Honolulu, San Francisco).
- 14 Airport special cards.
- 1 rules sheet.
Goal of the Game
The first player to get rid of all of their cards, both Baggage and Airport cards, wins the game and the title of Captain Bluff!
Setup
- Line up the 6 carousels.
- Shuffle the Baggage cards and deal them according to the number of players (see the table below).
| Players | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baggage cards dealt to each player | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 |
- Place the remaining cards beside the carousels. They form the draw pile. When the draw pile is empty during the game, shuffle the discard pile to form a new draw pile.
- Deal 2 Airport special cards to each player (3 each for a two-player game). The remaining Airport cards are not used in this game.
- Before the game starts, each player places one card from their hand face down above one of the carousels, to determine an origin city for the bags on that carousel. (The player chooses which card to place.) In a two-player game, each player places two cards from their hand face down.
The cards placed above the carousels determine the origin cities of the Baggage cards placed beneath each carousel. Players may place Baggage cards for the matching origin city, or place Baggage cards for a different origin city: this is called bluffing. Be careful: sometimes players do not know all of the origin cities placed face down, and they may take a risk and bluff without realising it.
When a player places bags on a carousel (face up, beneath the carousel), the other players may call a bluff and challenge the play. The origin city of that carousel is then revealed (the face-down card above it):
- If it is different from the origin city of the bags placed beneath the carousel, the player who placed the cards takes back into their hand all of the bags and the origin city card of the carousel.
- If, on the contrary, the origin city above the carousel and the city of the bags are identical, the player who called the bluff takes all of the cards.
Turn Structure
The last player to have taken a plane starts the game. In turn, each player performs one action from the 5 possible actions and, if they wish, also plays one Airport special card.
The Actions
1. Place bags on a carousel.
Place one or more bags on a carousel, face up, respecting the following placement rules:
- Players may place one or more Baggage cards if they form a sequence (bag numbers that follow each other directly).
- Bags must be placed in ascending or descending order: the second card placed decides the order of the sequence.
- All bags on a carousel must come from the same origin city.
- You may only begin placing bags on a carousel if there is a face-down card above the carousel.
- Only one carousel may be open per origin city (and therefore, at most 3 carousels at the same time).
2. Define an origin city for a carousel.
Place one card face down above a carousel. You may choose to place a Baggage card or an Airport card. You must then take one card from the draw pile.
3. Check the origin city of one of the carousels.
Secretly look at one of the face-down cards above a carousel.
4. Change the origin city of a carousel.
Exchange a face-down card above a carousel with a card from your hand, which also remains face down. You may not look at the carousel's card before exchanging it for one of your cards.
Attention: this action is only possible if there is at least one Baggage card on the carousel.
5. Close a carousel.
Remove all cards from a carousel: the bags, and the origin city card face down above the check-in counter. These cards are then discarded face down, and the origin city card is not shown.
Attention: this action is only possible if there is at least one Baggage card on the carousel.
Airport Special Cards
Each player may, if they wish, play one of these cards during their turn, in addition to their action.
If one of these cards is placed above a carousel and is revealed during a bluff, then the player who bluffed has lost and automatically takes all of the bags and that card.
- Around the World (star icon): this bag has been around the world! It replaces any other bag, regardless of its origin city and bag number. It is very useful for making sequences. This card is placed on a carousel, together with the other bags. Attention: this card cannot be placed below 1 or above 17, and it must replace another card. As a result, a sequence such as 3, Around the World, 4, 5 is not allowed.
- Reverse Direction (up-and-down arrows icon): the carousel changes direction! You may now place bags in the reverse order. This card is placed on a carousel.
- Notice Board (eye icon): take a look at the bags' origin cities. You may secretly look at 2 of the origin city cards placed face down above the carousels, then put them back face down. This card is played and then immediately discarded.
- Delayed Flight (+1 cards icon): extra flights are arriving with delay and extra bags... All players who have fewer than 5 cards in hand draw one extra Baggage card. The player who played the card is not affected by it. This card is played and then immediately discarded.
Baggage Recovery
At any time, even outside of their turn, a player may take one or more bags from the play area. A player may only take the last bags of a carousel (and may not recover Airport cards: if there is an Airport card, the player must stop and may not take any cards above it), and must leave at least one bag on the carousel. The recovered bags go into the player's hand, and they may then place them on a carousel during their turn.
End of the Game
The first player to have placed all of their cards, Baggage and Airport cards, wins the game and is crowned Captain Bluff.