Cuba
Cuba Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Michael Rieneck & Stefan Stadler
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Table of contents CUBA
02-02 Object of the game A strategic game for 2 – 5
enterprising islanders
03-03 Game materials by Michael Rieneck
04-05 Set-up and Stefan Stadler
06-06 Overview of the game
Cuba prior to the revolution: Under
06-12 The 5 Phases of a round turbulent circumstances, the villages of
06-06 A Bills the island strive for independent wealth
and influence.
06-09 B Action phase Who can buy and sell his products and
The worker goods on the domestic market profitably
or take in the most on the trading ships? The tradeswoman Who can send the right delegate to
The architect parliament in order to influence the
The foreman government legislative process, or erect
distilleries, hotels and banks at the right
The mayor moment to the benefit of his village?
09-10 C Parliament phase
10-11 D Statute phase
12-12 E End of a round
Object of the game
12-12 End of the game Whoever has accumulated the most
13-16 Anhang victory points at the end of the game,
The buildings wins. Players earn victory points by
shipping merchandise from the
Strategic considerations harbor, but also by erecting and using
Game variant buildings, and by abiding by the law.
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Game materials 1 voting tile for the town hall
1 gameboard 1 veto tile for the church
5 playing pieces in the players' colors
5 plantation boards 5 playing markers in the players' colors
(example) 54 product pieces
25 character cards (18 octahedrons each in of
(5 each in blue, red, yellow, white, orange, and green)
green, and purple)
30 goods pieces (15 red rum bottles and
15 ship cards 15 brown cigar boxes)
(example)
1 starting player card (plus stand) 45 resource pieces
(15 cubes each in natural, red-brown, and blue)
24 small statute cards
6 other 6 Duty 60 coins
Acts Acts (45 x 1, 25 x 3 and 15 x 5 pesos)
6 Subsidy 6 Tax
Acts Acts
6 black marking pieces 25 building tiles
(example: Saw Mill) 4 short rules sheets
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Set-Up (wood) and blue (water) – and lay
them out as general stock.
-
Put the gameboard in the middle of the table.
-
Place the 25 building tiles face up onto the appropriate spaces onto and
next to the gameboard Note: During the game, it is important
to differentiate between resources, products, and goods. There are 3 kinds of resources (cubes), 3 sorts of products (octahedrons), and 2 kinds of goods (cigar boxes and rum bottles). The trading ships transport products as well as goods. Both of these together are called merchandise. Resources are not shipped.
-
Put the 6 black marking pieces next to the gameboard easily within reach.
-
Shuffle the 15 ship cards and place
-
Lay out the products and goods,
sorted by color, as general stock. them as a face-down pile next to the
After that, put 3 each of citrus fruit gameboard. Then lay the two top
(orange), sugar cane (white) and cards face up onto the first two
tobacco (green) on the appropriate docks in the harbor (one or two
gameboard spaces labeled with the victory points per load). The third
prices 6, 5, and 4. (This area of the dock in the harbor remains empty in
board is called "market"). In the the first round.
beginning of the game, rum bottles
(red) and cigar boxes (brown) are 7. Lay another ship card face up onto
only represented by 2 goods pieces the position shown on the edge of each on the market (prices 6 and 5). the gameboard close to the harbor. (The ship is theoretically still at sea, but already on target to reach the Cuban harbor in the next round.)
- There are 24 statute cards, divided into 4 types (I to IV), each of them with 6 acts. Form separate piles of
- Sort the resource pieces (cubes) also 6 cards for each type of act; shuffle by color – red-brown (stone), natural
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the cards and put them, face down, Either everybody plays with the same
on the spaces marked on the edge arrangement of fields, or the players
of the gameboard. decide to choose their individual
plantation boards.
I. Tax Acts
II. Duty Acts Theindividual boards are
III. Subsidy Acts often preferred since the
IV. Other Acts game is even more
interesting that way.
- seed money of 10 pesos. Each player's money lies face up in front of him.
The remaining coins are put aside as stock.
- Determine a starting player. He gets
the starting player card, puts it in the • 2 resource pieces (wood, stone or
stand, and places it in front of him. water) and 2 product pieces of his
choice (citrus fruit, tobacco or sugar cane).
- Each player chooses a color (blue,
red, yellow, green or purple) and gets: • a set of character cards, consisting of
5 cards of his color (worker, tradeswoman, architect, foreman, and mayor).
- a playing piece and a playing
marker of his color. 11. Each player places his playing
marker on the starting space of the victory point path (lighthouse on the gameboard) and his playing piece in the warehouse on his plantation board.
- a plantation board, also of his color.
Each of these boards has 12 fields It is easier if one player organizes the
(3 x 4) and consists of one warehouse monetary transactions with the coins (with a lot), one lake, two mountain
regions, two forests, and two tobacco, and another player takes care of the
two sugar cane and two citrus fruit resource, product and goods movement.
plantations. The arrangement of fields on one side of every board is identical but different on the other side.
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Overview The 5 phases
of the game of a round
The game plays for 6 rounds, each A Bills
of which is executed in 5 phases
in the same way: Turn over the top card of each of the
4 statute piles. The cards remain on
A. bills their piles until the next parliament
(overview of the potential statutes) phase, but they are now only B. action phase bills – proposals that the players (playing the character cards)
C. parliament phase take note of at this stage.
(voting on bills)
D. statute phase B Action phase
(implementing acts)
E. end of the round Overview of the flow of the action phase:
(preparing the next round) The starting player begins and the other
Hint for beginners: Cuba is an enthralling players follow one after another in
clockwise fashion: Each player plays any game with different courses of action and a one of his own character cards (by putting
variety of strategic possibilities. To become it face up in front of him) and carries out
familiar with the game, it is recommended the appropriate action(s). Whoever earns
that you just start playing first following victory points, records them immediately
the description below without regard to with his playing marker on the victory
point path. After that, it is the next losses, and then deal with the strategic player's turn. This continues
challenges as required (p. 15). until each player has played
HAVE FUN! 4 cards. (Each player lays down
the cards he played one on top of the other, slightly overlapping; the fifth card is kept in hand until the parliament phase.)
The 5 character cards:
The worker (1 voice in parliament)
If you play the worker, you may move the playing piece on your plantation in any way or leave it where it is. Then, you "activate" those 6 fields of your plantation that are in the same row and
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column as the piece. You "use" the your personal stock.
activated fields in the following ways: (resources and merchandise)
Note for the 2nd to 6th round: If you play the worker, take note of whether the Drought Act (IV) is currently in force.
„lot“
activated fields The tradeswoman (2 voices in parliament)
activated fields If you play this card, you may execute as many of the following transactions
- For each activated field (except for the as you want and can: warehouse or other buildings), you get
the respective resource piece or • You may buy any number of pieces
product piece from the stock. This of merchandise at the market. In
also applies to the field on which the doing so, you take the appropriate
piece is standing. However, since the pieces from the gameboard and pay
worker can use only a maximum of the price as indicated underneath the
2 product fields, you must choose merchandise to the general stock.
just 2 of them. This restriction does Put the merchandise in the lot in
front of your warehouse. not apply to the resource fields.
In the example above: 1x stone, 2x wood, 1x citrus fruit, 1x tobacco • You may also sell any number of
pieces of merchandise at the market
- By giving up water pieces, the if the appropriate spaces are still
worker may use one additional available. In doing so, put the pieces
activated product field per water on the gameboard and receive from
piece. He may also use water pieces the stock the price that is indicated
that he has gotten in the current underneath the spaces.
turn. However, he is not allowed to
use a field twice. • If no piece of a particular kind of
merchandise is left on the market,
- You deposit the resources and you may also buy units of this ind
products on your plantation in the from the general stock. The cost,
lot in front of the warehouse on regardless of the kind, is 7 pesos.
your plantation board.
- If the market is full, you may sell the
The lot is not a "field" and is products to the stock for 1 peso per piece
never activated. and the goods for 3 pesos per piece.
The lot is just a temporary depot for
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Alternative use of the tradeswoman:
Instead of operating on the market, you Cigar Factory
can take from the stock for free either Building costs:
- one resource of any kind 2 x wood + 2 x stone
(stone, wood, or water) or
- one unit of any product that currently has the lowest price at the market.
Alternative use of the architect:
Use of the black marking pieces: If you are the first player to play this
card in a round without erecting a
Application of the alternatives for the building, you earn 2 victory points; the
tradeswoman, architect, and mayor: second player still gains one victory
point. (For how to use the marking piece, If you use one of them, then cover the see example at bottom left.) respective space on the gameboard
with a black marking piece. Note for the 2nd to 6th round: If you play
This way each alternative can be the architect, take note of whether the
used only once per round. Building Act (IV) is currently in force.
The foreman (4 voices in parliament)
With the foreman, you can use the features of your buildings (appendix p. 13). You have 2 choices: The architect (3 voices in parliament)
- You use, in any order, all buildings
If you play this card, you may choose one that are in the same row or column
building from the stock (gameboard or as the playing piece, including the
next to it) and put ("build") it on any field building that may be underneath the
of your plantation board, also on the lake, playing piece (no matter if the worker
the mountain region or "underneath" the card has already been played).
worker piece, but not into the warehouse
or on top of another building. (2) You use any one of your buildings.
To build, you have to give resources to the
stock. The amount of resources required is One building, the warehouse, already
written on the top line of the building tiles. exists on the plantation board. If you use
To build a cigar factory, for instance, you must it with your foreman, you can place –
that means "store" there – all products pay 2 x stone and 2 x wood. you have at the moment. This is important since the players must give up all
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products they haven't stored at the end
of every round. You don't have to put Note for the 2nd to 6th round: If you
goods and resources into the warehouse. play the mayor, take note of whether the
Harbor Act (IV) is currently in force.
The merchandise in the lot and in the Alternative use of the mayor:
warehouse is available at any time, no
matter where the playing piece is. If you play the mayor, you can also forgo
the supplying of a ship. The first player who does so in a round gets 4 pesos; the
The mayor second player still gets 2 pesos.
(5 voices in parliament) (For how to use the marking piece, see p. 8.)
If you play the mayor, you may supply Changing the starting player
a ship of your choice in the harbor with at the end of the action phase:
any number of pieces of merchandise
and earn victory points for this action. After everybody has played his 4th
You may supply one ship only; card and performed the appropriate
you are not allowed to divide the action(s), a new starting player is
supply between several ships. determined immediately:
- If you supply a ship with merchan- • The player whose last (fourth) card
dise, lay the appropriate products or has the highest value becomes the
goods on the spots marked on the new starting player. (He now gets the
ship card. Each ship transports only starting player card.)
those pieces of merchandise for
which it has space available, and is • If more than one player has played
considered "fully loaded" when each the card with the highest value as the
of the 5 spaces is covered with a fourth card (e.g., the mayor), the player
piece of merchandise. who played his card last becomes the
starting player. Each ship can transport a
maximum of 5 defined C Parliament phase
pieces of merchandise.
Two of the four bills are now selected and passed in the following way:
- Depending on the position of the ship in the harbor, you earn 1, 2 or 3
victory points for each piece of • Each player reveals his 5th character
merchandise you supplied on the card (the one he has not played during
ship in this round. the action phase) and shows how
many votes he has in parliament:
- All ships remain in the harbor until The different characters have
the end of the first round. different values as indicated on the
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cards (1to 5). The value equals the • All money invested in votes is
number of votes that a player has in given to the stock. Everybody has
parliament in the current round. to pay what he bid, even if he could
not get a majority.
- Whoever has built the Town Hall
and used it with the foreman, gets Note for the 2nd to 6th round:
2 additional votes. Buying votes is not permitted if the
Corruption Act (IV) is currently in force.
- Then the players have the chance to
buy additional votes: One vote • Coalitions are not permitted.
costs one peso each. To do so, each
player takes as much of his money D Statute phase
as he thinks he needs, and holds it,
hidden in his fist, over the table. All Now the current acts (maximum of 4)
players bid at the same time. are put into action – as far as possible.
Whoever does not want or is not This is done in the order as described
able to buy votes, bids with his fist below (I – IV).
empty. The player who has the
most overall votes after the bidding, Tax Acts (I)
selects exactly 2 bills and passes
them as follows: In the beginning of the game, the tax is
2 pesos. When the act has been replaced by a new one, the tax can now vary
- Each selected act is put on the between 1 and 5 pesos. However, one appropriate space of its section of these acts is different: taxes are levied
(I-IV) in parliament and takes according to the current number of a effect immediately. If another player's buildings. statute is already on that space, it becomes invalid. The bills that have
- If you pay taxes to the stock not been selected are removed according to the current act, you earn from the game.
2 victory points; if you cannot or do not want to, naturally you get nothing.
- If more than one player has the
most votes after the first bidding Duty Acts (II)
round, the players involved may
buy votes once more. In case there In addition to the taxes, the players are
is still a tie, the starting player or the also supposed to give resources or
player involved who follows in products to the general stock. In the
clockwise order, wins. beginning of the game, the duty is
1x citrus fruit. Based on a new act, the duty can now be 1 x sugar cane, 1 x tobacco, 1 x water, or 2 resources
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or products of any kind. However, it now the
can also go back to 1 x citrus fruit. players carry out the regulations in
the statute phase:
- If you comply with the current duty
act, you earn, as in the tax act, One market act decreases the amount
2 victory points. of products offered by taking 2 x each
If you don't do that, you miss out. of citrus fruit, tobacco and sugar cane
off the market. The other one increases
Note: If you comply with the tax act the amount of products offered by
as well as with the duty act, you gain adding to the market two units of each
one additional victory point – i.e. a of the three products.
total of 5 (2 +2 +1). Three other acts apply only if you use certain character cards: Subsidy Acts (III)
- Drought Act: If you play the worker,
In the beginning of the game, there are you may use only one activated
no subsidies yet. When a subsidy act product field.
has passed during the first parliament (However, you still have the opportunity
phase, the players can now get to use additional [activated] product
additional victory points if they meet fields if you give up water pieces. The
the requirements, but they don't have resources are not affected by the act.)
to pay or give up anything!
- Building Act: If you play the
According to the current subsidy act, architect, you have to pay you earn one victory point for: 2 additional pesos to erect a building.
- each of your buildings
- each of your open resource fields 3) Harbor Act: If you have completed
- each of your open product fields the loading of a ship by using the
- each of your water pieces (7 VP maximum) mayor or one of the branch offices,
- each of your votes in parliament this ship leaves the harbor immediately.
(in this case, only the value of the All remaining ships move down one
respective character card counts; votes dock (see "End of a round", p. 12).
for town hall ownership or votes you have bought do not count)
- every 3 of your pesos (7 VP maximum) The Corruption Act applies to the parliament phase: It prohibits buying votes. In this case, only the value of the
Other acts (IV) 5th character card counts (plus the 2
votes from the Town Hall if you have it.) There are two Market Acts that regulate the amounts offered for products on the domestic market. If a Market Act has passed in parliament,
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If, contrary to expectations, a resource or
E End of a round merchandise is used up in the general
stock, the players will have to accept this
- Players must give up all products until the stock is refilled in the course of
that are still lying in the lot. the game. The players are not permitted
Products that are in the warehouse to trade among each other.
may be taken into the next round. The end of the 6th round
- Resources and goods is the end of the game. remain in the lot.
When you reach 80 points on the victory
- Fully loaded ships leave the harbor. point path before the game ends, you
Their load is put with the general continue counting your points by restar-
stock and the card is placed on the ting on the victory point path.
bottom of the ship card pile.
- All remaining ships move down one dock until one ship is lying in each dock and a new ship is lying at sea.
The direction downward is always from the ship card pile to the ship at sea to the docks.
- All black marking pieces are End of the game removed from their spaces.
herefore, the alternative use of • Players earn 2 additional victory
tradeswoman, architect, and mayor points for each of their own
can be employed again for all buildings. Money does not bring
players in the next round. any more victory points.
- The winner is the one who has earned the most victory points.
In the case of a tie, the player with the most money wins.
The end of the 2nd to 5th round is different from the end of the 1st round only in one way: there is a ship in the 3rd dock in the harbor; it leaves the harbor, regardless of its load.
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Appendix Victory points (10 buildings)
Cement Factory
The buildings Building costs:
1 x wood + 2 x stone.
A player can make use of a house under Feature:
the following conditions: turns maximum
4 x stone into 1 VP each.
- He must erect it on his plantation
board, while playing the architect Saw Mill
character card (p. 8). Building costs:
- He uses the features (advantages) of 2 x wood + 1 x stone.
his buildings by playing the foreman Feature
character card (p. 8). turns maximum
4 x stone into 1 VP each. A player may take all resources and
merchandise he needs only from his Golf Course
own warehouse or lot. Building costs:
2 x water.
Elaboration of the texts Feature:
on the building cards: turns maximum
4 x water into 1 VP each.
- The terms "building costs," "turn
into," and "sell" refer to putting the Monastery
appropriate resources and/or Building costs
merchandise into the general stock. 2 x wood + 1 x stone.
- The "feature" is valid once per round. Feature:
For example, the "Cement factory" turns maximum
"turns maximum 4 x stone 2 x product into 1 VP each
into 1 VP each" means:
If a player uses the building with the Rum Café
foreman, he may put up to 4 resource Building costs:
pieces of "stone" into the general 1 x wood, 1 x stone
stock, and gets one victory point for + 1 x water.
each stone. Feature:
turns maximum
To give you an easier approach and 3 x rum into 2 VP each.
better overview, the buildings are,
according to their features, (roughly) Zigarren-Café
assigned to the following sections: Building costs:
"victory points," "income sources," 1 x wood, 1 x stone
"factories and black market," and + 1 x water.
"power increase". Feature:
turns maximum 3 x cigars into 2 VP each.
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Small Branch Office Resource House
Building costs: Building costs:
2 x wood + 1 x stone. 1 x wood, 1 x stone
Feature: supplies a + 1 x water.
ship with one piece of Feature: allows selling
merchandise and gives maximum 2 x resource
VP(s) accordingly. for 2 pesos.
Large Branch Office Small Bank
Building costs: Building costs:
2 x wood + 2 x stone. 1 x wood + 1 x stone.
Feature: supplies a Feature:
ship with any number gives 2 pesos.
of one kind of mer-
chandise and gives Large Bank
VP(s) accordingly. Building costs:
2 x wood + 3 x stone.
Hotel Feature:
Building costs: gives 4 pesos.
2 x wood, 2 x stone + 1 x water.
Feature: gives 2 VP. Factories and Black Market
(5 buildings)
Inn Cigar Factory
Building costs: (2x)
1 x wood, 1 x stone Building costs:
+ 1 x water. 2 x wood + 2 x stone.
Feature: gives 1 VP. Feature:
turns any amount of tobacco, 1:1, into cigars. Income sources (5 buildings)
General Store Distillery
Building costs: (2x)
1 x wood + 2 x stone. Building costs:
Feature: 2 x wood + 2 x stone.
allows selling maximum Feature:
1 x goods for 6 pesos. turns any amount of
sugar cane, 1:1,
Product House into rum.
Building costs: 2 x wood + 1 x stone. Feature: allows selling maximum 1 x product for 4 pesos.
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Black Market Dam
Building costs: Building costs:
3 x wood + 2 x stone. 2 x stone.
Feature: Feature:
turns maximum 1 x gives 2x water.
product into 1 x goods
or vice versa. Lighthouse
Building costs: 1 x wood + 1 x stone.
Power increase (5 buildings) Feature:
allows for exchanging
Church the ship at sea for any
Building costs: one from the pile.
2 x wood + 2 x stone. Feature:
gives 1 veto Warehouse
against a bill. Building costs:
2 x wood. Feature: The "Church" veto tile allows a provides additional player to take a bill out of committee storage space. immediately. Consequently, there are only 3 bills left in the current round. After every use of the veto,
the veto tile is put next to the Strategic considerations:
respective pile of statute cards as a
reminder. That is done because the Since you have to keep one of your
owner of the Church may not refuse 5 character cards for the parliament
any bill of the same type in the next phase, you might want to consider at
round. The veto tile is put aside for the beginning of the action phase
the next veto.
- which of the current acts are advantageous or disadvantageous for you,
Town Hall
- how important you deem the
Building costs: implementation of 1 x wood + 1 x stone. 2 of the 4 current bills, Feature:
- whether you definitely want to gives 2 additional prevent one or two acts, votes in parliament.
- what card you can forgot in the action phase of this round.
If you use the Town Hall with your foreman, place the voting tile on the Town Hall tile, as a reminder, until the parliament phase, and remove it after that.
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Possible strategies: the players have to decide already at the
beginning of the action phase who they
- You earn many victory points by want to send to parliament. To do so, each
shipping merchandise early enough player lays the card he chooses face
in each round. To do so, you try to down in front of him and doesn't turn
get plenty of products or to erect one it over until the parliament phase begins.
This variant makes the game even a bit of the "Branch Offices" and to obtain more enthralling since, during the action
the "Black Market" that allows you phase, nobody knows exactly which
greater flexibility. character cards the other players still
have at their disposal.
- A good alternative to the ships is to
erect a "Factory" and to open up the Acknowledgments
appropriate "Café": if you combine
this with the proper product fields, The publisher and the authors thank the
you're assured victory points numerous assistants that contributed to
every round. "Cuba." Their ideas and suggestions hel-
ped the game idea grow and mature!
- Money rules the world: if, thanks to
"Banks" and "General Stores," you In particular, we want to mention
have enough pesos, you can pay the Thomas Mumm, Daniela Metzig,
taxes anytime and wield power in Klaus-Jürgen Danker, Detlef Kraut, and
parliament. Then, if you also "grab" Tobias Stapelfeldt. Without the support
the respective subsidies, you are in from Friedemann de Pedro and his
a good position. advertising agency, and without the
excellent collaboration with Michael
- It is also a good idea to gain victory Menzel, the realization of the game
points by using buildings: by erecting would not have been possible in this
the "Hotel" and the "Inn" and giving way. The playtesting groups in
up resources or products for victory Drübbern, at the Rieckhof, at the Café
points here and there, along with the Sternschanze, at FAIRspielt, in Herne
final scoring for the buildings at the and at the "Gathering of Friends" were
end of the game, you can get ahead also involved in this process.
very well.
Authors: Michael Rieneck and
There are more strategies, each of them Stefan Stadler
having certain advantages. But you will Illustrations: Michael Menzel
only win if you have an eye on the
Layout: Steffi Krage
whole game and make the best of your
chances in every situation. Text: Annegret Schoenfelder
English translation:
Game variant Sybille Aminzadah & Bruce Whitehill,
"Word for Wort" If you want to, you may play the
following variant: © eggertspiele oHG 2007, Hamburg
www.eggertspiele.de Instead of keeping the 5th character card on your hand until the parliament phase,