Kabaleo
Kabaleo Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Info
2 to 4 players - ages 8 and up - playing time: 15 minutes.
Contents
66 pyramid pieces in urea plastic, a cloth bag, rules of play.
Object of the Game
Each player alone knows the color that has been assigned to them and tries, as discreetly as possible, to make that color the majority on the game board.
Naming and Selecting the Pieces
The 6 "Target" pyramids (see fig. 1) show a secret color that is only visible by turning them over.
The 24 "Bases" (see fig. 2) are the pyramids marked with a single ring of color.
The 36 "Pieces" (see fig. 3) are the pyramids that carry two rings of color.
- With 4 players, all the pyramids are used.
- With 3 players, only 5 colors are used, i.e. 55 pyramids: the Target, the 4 Bases, and the 6 Pieces of one color are put back in the box.
- With 2 players, 2 complete colors are put back in the box, so the game is played with 44 pyramids.
Setup
Each player draws their Target at random and in secret: the interior color shown by this pyramid becomes "their" color and stays secret until the end of the game.
The Bases are then laid out randomly on the table:
- With 4 players there will be 24 of them, i.e. 4 Bases of each of the 6 colors (see fig. 4).
- With 3 players there will be 20 Bases (4 of each of the 5 colors in play).
- With 2 players there will be 16 Bases (4 of each of the 4 colors in play).
This starting layout makes up the game board, which is now fixed: most of the Bases will be covered by Pieces, but every Base stays in place at this first level.
The players then divide up the Pieces (see below) and place them in front of themselves so that their stock stays clearly visible to the others for the whole game. There are 2 modes of play.
Random Mode (2, 3, or 4 players)
The Pieces to be played are put in the bag, then the players draw at random:
- With 4 players, each draws 9 Pieces.
- With 3 players, each draws 10.
- With 2 players, each draws 12.
Equitable Mode (2 or 3 players)
The Pieces are divided up strictly equally:
- With 3 players, each takes 2 of each of the 5 colors.
- With 2 players, each takes 3 of each of the 4 colors.
Playing the Game
The first player is chosen at random, then play continues clockwise.
On their turn, each player chooses one of their Pieces to place at the spot of their choice, following these rules:
- It is forbidden to play on the same stack/Base as the last move played.
- Placing on a Base. A Piece may only be placed on a Base of a different color. The stack then takes on the color of the top Piece; for example, if an orange Piece is placed on a green Base, the stack is now considered orange (see fig. 5).
- Placing on a Stack. Players may place their Piece directly on a stack.
- If the Piece placed is a different color from the top Piece of the stack, the stack changes color (see fig. 6: a blue Piece is placed on an orange Piece: the stack is now considered blue).
- If the Piece placed is the same color as the top Piece, the 2 Pieces in contact cancel each other out and the player removes them from the game for good: the spot then takes on the color of the Piece (or Base) beneath it (see fig. 7: a blue Piece is placed on another blue Piece: the player immediately removes these 2 blue Pieces from the game, revealing the color immediately below: the stack becomes orange again).
If a stack is brought back down to the level of the Base this way, it is once again forbidden to place a Piece of the same color on it: a Base can never be removed from the game.
There is no limit to the height of the stacks.
End of Game
The game continues until all the Pieces have been placed. The majority color on the game board is then determined. The color of a stack is that of its top Piece. The color of an uncovered Base is that of the Base.
Each player then reveals their secret Target: the player with the most spots in their color is declared the winner (see fig. 8: pink has won).
If there is a tie between several players, the one whose color covers the greatest number of stacks (Bases covered by at least 1 pyramid) is declared the winner.
If a tie still remains between several players, the one who owns the tallest stack is declared the winner.