Haggle Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Object
• Preparation
• Playing
• Scoring
• Rule Cards

Components

Sid Sackson's Haggle uses two kinds of cards: rule-cards (the secret rule-information cards listed under Rule Cards below) and color-cards. The color-cards are the five colors Red, Yellow, Blue, Orange and White.

Note: The "color" cards are included in the source document just for completeness. A better solution is to just chop up colored card stock or construction paper to make the color-cards.

Object

Collect the most "valuable" hand of cards. Players will not know all of the rules, and during the course of the game, they will give and receive information and/or cards to/from other players. Players are free to negotiate trades of any sort: "haggling"! Trade color-cards for color-cards, rules for rules, colors for rules, a peek of a rule for a color-card, etc. Even just a verbal description of a rule may be traded for an actual card!

Preparation

Print enough rule-cards so that two (random, no duplicate) rule-cards can be given to each player. Print enough color-cards so that ten can be given to each player (print equal numbers of each color-card, shuffle them all, give ten to each player, multiples are ok). Place a set of two rule-cards and ten color-cards into an envelope for each player.

Playing

Distribute the envelopes to the players, and give them an end time. Players interact amongst themselves, making deals, haggling, and trying to collect a "valuable" set of cards. At the appointed end time, the game master collects the envelopes, and scores the card sets.

Scoring

Each set of cards is scored, using all of the rules: ignorance of a rule is no excuse! Scoring is a pain-in-the-tuckus: computer assistance will come in very handy. If you have the skills to set up a spread-sheet form or custom program, do so and test it thoroughly before you run the game!

Rule Cards

Each player holds two random, non-duplicate rule-cards. The rule-cards are numbered 1 to 15 and are reproduced here as printed on the card set.

1. Orange cards have a basic value of 4 and are equal to a red card and a yellow card.
2. White cards have the highest basic value and are equal to a red card and a blue card.
3. Blue cards have a basic value twice that of yellow and half that of orange.
4. If a player has more than three white cards, all of their white cards lose their value.
5. A player can score only as many orange cards as he/she has blue cards.
6. If a player has five or more blue cards, 10 points are deducted from every other player's score.
7. A set of three red cards protects you from one set of five blue cards.
8. The player with the most yellow cards gets a bonus of the number of those cards squared. (Tie-break sentence from the rules document, omitted on the card set: "If two or more players tie for most yellow, the bonus is calculated instead for the player with the next highest number of yellows.")
9. If a player hands in seven or more cards of the same color, they are eliminated from the game.
10. Each set of five different colors gives a bonus of 10 points.
11. If a pyramid (four of one color, three of a second, two of a third and one of a forth) is handed in with no other cards, the value is doubled. (Printed as "a forth" on the card set.)
12. The players with the most red cards doubles their value. If a tie, no player get the extra value. (Printed as "no player get the extra" on the card set.)
13. Each set of two yellow cards doubles the value of one white card.
14. Each set of three blue cards quadruples the value of one orange card.
15. No more than thirteen cards in a hand can be scored. If more are handed in, the excess will be removed at random.