Espresso Doppio
Espresso Doppio Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 3 espresso cups
- 3 saucers
- 3 spoons
- 16 objective cards
- 60 coffee beans
- 1 table path with 5 round white spaces
Goal of the Game
Move and exchange the three espresso cups, saucers and spoons of different colors on the table path so as to fulfil as many as possible of the conditions shown on your objective cards. For these objectives you receive points in the form of coffee beans. The player who has accumulated the most coffee beans at the end of the game is declared the winner.
Game Setup
Unroll the table path between the players. Shuffle the objective cards. Each player receives 8 cards and places 3 of them face up in front of them. Form a draw pile with the remaining cards. Form a victory point reserve next to the table path with the coffee beans. Also place the espresso cups, saucers and spoons near the table path.
The last player who drank an espresso, or who at least smelled its aroma, is designated first player. They take one of the saucers and place it on one of the 5 coffee spaces of the table path. Then the other player takes a saucer and places it on one of the other unoccupied spaces. Next, the players take turns placing one element each, until all 9 elements are distributed: first the saucers, then the cups, and finally the spoons.
Warning: only different elements of a different color may be placed on the same space. Here is the placement sequence, starting with the first player:
| Player A | Player B |
|---|---|
| A places a saucer. | B places another saucer. |
| A places the last saucer. | B places a cup. |
| A places another cup. | B places the last cup. |
| A places a spoon. | B places another spoon. |
| A places the last spoon. | Then B becomes the first player and plays the first turn (see "Course of the Game"). |
(Example of setup: each player has 5 cards in front of them: 3 face up and a draw pile; the picture shows Player A and Player B on either side of the table path.)
Course of the Game
On their turn, a player may perform the following actions, in this order:
- Move or exchange elements.
- Move or exchange elements (optional).
- Move or exchange elements (optional).
- Score points for 1 or more cards.
Moving 1 or More Elements
The player takes 1 or more elements on a space and places them on another space.
Warning: at the end of an action there may never be more than one element of each type (espresso cup, saucer, spoon) on the same space! Colors may be mixed!
Example: the player moves the caramel-colored cup and the saucer to the space with the white spoon. This is allowed! But they cannot move the group to the space with the white spoon if two spoons would then be on the same space. That is forbidden!
Exchanging 1 to 3 Elements with 1 to 3 Other Elements
The player takes 1 or more elements on a space and exchanges them with 1 or more elements of another space. In other words, the player may take 1 element on a space and exchange it with 2 or 3 elements of another space, or vice versa.
Warning: at the end of an action there may never be more than one element of each type (espresso cup, saucer, spoon) on the same space! Colors may be mixed!
Example: First, the player exchanges the caramel-colored cup, the white saucer and the white spoon (3 elements) with the brown spoon (1 element). Then they exchange the brown cup (1 element) with the caramel-colored spoon (1 element).
Scoring Points for 1 or More Cards
After having moved or exchanged elements three times (or having renounced one or more of these actions), the player scores points for the face-up cards in front of them whose conditions are currently fulfilled on the table path. For this, the player has the right to rotate their objective cards by 180 degrees. However, they must choose one orientation: a card cannot earn points in one orientation and then earn other points in a different orientation.
The player takes the number of coffee beans shown on the fulfilled card. If a condition is fulfilled several times, the player scores points each time, taking from the coffee bean reserve.
Example: Player A scores 1 point for the sequence of the 3 saucers and 1 point for the sequence of the 3 brown elements. On the next turn, by simply exchanging the brown spoon with the brown cup, they will be able to score their 3-point card (and perhaps other cards).
Example: After only 2 exchanges, Player B scores a certain number of points. They gain 2 points for the sequence of the 3 spoons, then 2 x 2 points for the isolated cups.
After scoring points with a card, the player discards it face down to form a discard pile. Then they finish their turn by drawing new objective cards to have 3 in front of them. Then it is the opponent's turn to play.
End of the First Round
As soon as one of the players has scored points for all 8 of their cards, the first round of the game ends, even if the opposing player still has face-up cards in front of them (or even face-down cards) for which they have not scored points. Each player takes their 8 cards (whether or not they earned points), shuffles them and gives the pack to the opposing player. Then each player draws 3 cards from their new pile and places them in front of them.
The second round of the game begins. Play continues with the same rules, and the turn order does not change.
End of the Game
As soon as, again, one of the players has scored points for all 8 of their cards, the game ends. The player who has accumulated the most coffee beans is declared the winner. In case of a tie, the player who has not yet scored points for all of their cards during the second round wins.
Espresso Solo
It is sometimes pleasant to savor a coffee alone. That is why you can also play this game solo. Take the 16 objective cards and set up the game as described above. Reveal the first 3 cards and take 3 coffee beans. Each time you move one or more elements from one space to another, or exchange one or more elements between two spaces, you must put 1 coffee bean back into the general reserve. As soon as you score points for a card and take the corresponding number of coffee beans, immediately reveal a new card.
The game ends either when you have no more coffee beans, or when you score points for the last card.
Then count the coffee beans you have in front of you:
| Coffee beans | Result |
|---|---|
| 0 - 6 | You should rather drink tea. |
| 7 - 10 | You should be able to make filter coffee. |
| 11 - 13 | You surely know how to use a French press (plunger coffee maker). |
| 14 - 15 | You surely know how to use a professional espresso machine. |
| 16+ | You are a real barista! |
The Espresso Master (or "Coffee Without Sugar")
For players in search of a stronger challenge! While performing your three moves/exchanges, you may choose to count your cards before moving and exchanging elements. For example, you may score points for 1 or more cards, then exchange elements and score points again. You complete your set of 3 cards at the end of your turn. And do not forget: the best tactic is always to try to score cards several times, then leave a bad configuration to the opponent, to force them to make moves/exchanges if they want to score points.
Explanation of the Cards
There are 16 different cards in the game. You may rotate a card by 180 degrees to score points.
Bean values are the number of beans printed on each card (given in parentheses).
- 3 cards (1 bean each): 3 adjacent elements of the same type with the color sequence shown (for example, 3 spoons). The sequences are brown-white-black, white-black-brown and black-brown-white.
- 3 cards (3 beans each): 1 complete set of a single color on adjacent spaces, in the order shown (the elements may be alone on a space or share it with other elements). The three cards show the brown, black and white sets.
- Card (2 beans): a cup of any color (without saucer and without spoon).
- Card (3 beans): this precise set (as shown: white cup on a brown saucer with a black spoon).
- Card (3 beans): this precise set (as shown: brown cup on a brown saucer with a spoon).
- Card (1 bean): 2 cups and 2 saucers adjacent, of any color (with or without spoons).
- Card (2 beans): 2 cups and 2 saucers adjacent, of the colors shown (white cup on black saucer and black cup on white saucer), without spoons.
- Card (2 beans): 1 saucer of any color (without cup and without spoon).
- Card (2 beans): 3 adjacent spoons in this order (with or without cups and saucers).
- Card (2 beans): 1 spoon of any color (without cup and without saucer).
- Card (1 bean): 3 adjacent elements of the same color (only these, or with other elements).