Couperation
Couperation Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 50 Glass cards (with values from 1 to 50)
- 1 Finish card
- 1 rulebook
1. Your first game
- This is a cooperative game. All the players have the same goal in mind and win or lose together.
- For your first game, we advise you to use the basic rules. With these rules, you will not need to use the Finish card.
2. Preparation of the game
Remove the Glass cards with value 1, 25 and 50. Shuffle all the remaining Glass cards together and give 3 cards to each player.
Place the cards 1 and 50, as well as 2 more Glass cards from the deck in a line in the center of the table. These Glass cards will compose what we call the Reserve.
Depending on the number of players, the number of Glass cards available in the Reserve will be different (see below). Then place the Glass card with a value of 25, leaving a distance of 7 cards from the Reserve (see below).
| Number of players | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Reserve cards | 6 | 5 | 4 |
Next to the Reserve cards and the deck of Glass cards, keep a space to create the discard. During the game, you might have some destroyed Glass cards to discard.
Example of a 4 player game: the deck of Glass cards, the Reserve (cards 1, 30, 42 and 50 in the example), and the discard are laid out side by side. Here you need to create a distance of 7 Glass cards between the Reserve and the Glass card with value 25.
Following what was explained during set-up, you have the value 25 Glass card right in the middle of the lowest level of Glass cards.
3. Goal of the game
The players have to create a Tower of Glass cards made of 7 levels. The lowest level is made of 7 cards, and you will need one less card on each new upper level you create. The last level is only made of 1 card. (Once you play with the regular rules, you will finish the pyramid of Glass cards with the Finish card.)
Example of a finished pyramid: the top level is 24, the second level 19 and 28, the third 14, 23 and 32, the fourth 10, 18, 29 and 37, the fifth 9, 16, 26, 35 and 42, the sixth 3, 15, 22, 30, 36 and 48, and the bottom level 1, 7, 17, 25, 33, 39 and 49.
- From left to right, the numbers showing on the Glass cards are going up.
- The card placed on top of the lower 2 cards have to show a number that is between those 2 lower cards.
You can always start working on the next level but you cannot place a card on a higher level if you do not have 2 cards under this newly placed card. You cannot move a card already placed during a previous turn.
Example of the rule: a card placed on a higher level must sit on top of two cards already in the Tower, and its number must lie between those two cards. A placement that does not respect the number order is crossed out, while the placements that respect it are marked as correct.
4. How to play the game
Important: during the game, the players can never show their hand of Glass cards nor give hints or information about their hand. Letting other players know where you plan on placing a card is also absolutely forbidden!
Choose who will be the First player in any way you like. At this moment, the only subject players can talk about is how much they want to become First player. It is forbidden to use this moment to share information about your hand.
Starting from the First player, players will play their turn in a clockwise order following steps 4.1 to 4.3. A player can never pass his or her turn.
4.1 Drawing cards
The First player of the game may draw one card from the deck to add to his or her hand. From then on, players will draw cards according to the symbol that is on the previously placed card. If the deck of Glass cards is depleted, this step is ignored.
If a Glass card has been played/placed face up: follow the symbol on the card and decide how many cards you want to draw. When you decide how many cards you intend to draw, you must draw all of them in one go.
Important: a face down card can be very helpful if you do not have a card that can be placed face up during your turn.
| Symbols | Blue diamond | Two blue diamonds | Heart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of cards you may draw | 1 | 2 | 0 to 4 |
If the symbol is a heart, follow these rules: draw the number of cards according to the cards below this card. If the card below is also showing a heart symbol, you draw 0 card.
Example: the placed card shows a heart and is the 33. The cards below it are the 30 (left) and the 42 (right). Left: 2 cards. Right: 0 card. For a total of 2 cards the player may draw from the deck.
If the Glass card has been placed face down, the player may draw as many cards as needed to go back to a hand of 2. (Less than 2, replenish to 2, more than 2, the player cannot draw cards).
4.2 Placing the Glass cards
The active player has to choose one action between 4 possible actions (A to D) on his or her turn. Follow the rules explained in 3. Goal of the game when you place a card.
A. Place a card face up from your hand. Choose a card from your hand and place it face up.
B. Place a card face down from your hand. Place a card face down from your hand without showing its value to the other players.
A Glass card face down allows the players to follow the rules of placement without having the right number to do so.
It is important to know that during the game a Glass card placed face down can be considered as a number already existing in the Tower, on top of being used as a legal number for placement.
Important: a face down card can be very helpful if you do not have a card that can be placed face up during your turn.
Example: a card with a value between 23 and 31 can be placed in the open space at the top of the Tower, between the 22 and the 48. A card placed face down in the position above the 17, 25 and 33 is considered to have a value between 26 and 32.
C. Open a card that was placed face down. Open the face down card without changing its position in the Tower. If the number showing on the card does not respect the rules, the players all lose the game immediately.
D. Open a card that was placed face down. (Printed as-is in the source. The heading for action D repeats the heading for action C; the body text describes taking a card from the Reserve.)
Choose 2 cards from your hand and place them in the Reserve. Now, you have two options: you can either add the numbers showing on these 2 cards, or calculate the difference between those two numbers. You can only take a card from the Reserve if the number on this card is equal to the total or the difference between the 2 cards from your hand. You may destroy other cards from your hand to change the difference or total by + or − 1 per card discarded.
You then place the card in the Tower immediately.
When you place a card taken from the Reserve, you get the unique chance to replace a previously placed card. Following the rules of placement, you remove one card, add it to your hand, and replace it in the Tower with the card taken from the Reserve. If the card you replace was a face down card, add it to your hand without showing its number to the other players.
Example: the Reserve holds 1, 30, 42 and 50. The player's hand holds the 3 and the 32, and the difference is 29. The player may destroy the 48 from the hand for a +1 (total becomes 30), then place the 30 from the Reserve in the Tower in place of a card that can be replaced.
4.3 Checking the hand limit
If you have a hand of more than 3 cards, every extra card must be destroyed and added to the discard pile.
If the number of cards available in the Reserve exceed the number of cards placed during set-up, the active player must destroy the extra cards without discussing his or her choice with the others.
The next player can now start his or her turn.
5. End of the game
If all the levels of the Tower are made of face up Glass cards, players can now add one final card. If they manage to do so following the placement rules, the players win. You cannot place a face down card as the final Glass card.
In any other situation, the players lose the game.
6. After you played your first game
Once you feel confident with the rules, you can add the Finish card. New rules are added to the basic game flow.
2 During set-up
Separate the deck of Glass cards in halves. Add the Finish card to the bottom half of the deck and shuffle the cards. Then combine both halves into one deck of Glass cards.
4.1 Drawing cards
If a player draws the Finish card, he or she must place it face up in front of him/her. That player draws one additional card from the deck. The Finish card is considered a part of that player's hand but does not count toward the hand limit.
As always, after placing the Finish card, a player draws as many cards as needed to go back to a hand of 2.
4.2 Placing the Glass cards
- (action B) You cannot place the Finish card face down.
- (action D) If the Finish card is removed from the Tower, it is then placed face up in front of the active player (it is not added to his or her hand).
Important: if the Finish card is sent to the Reserve, it allows other players to help placing it in the Tower.
5 End of the game
If all the levels of the Tower are made of face up Glass cards, players can now add the Finish card. If they manage to do so following the placement rules, the players win. The only card that can be placed at the top of the Tower is the Finish card.