Koffer, Katze & Sombrero
Koffer, Katze & Sombrero Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 40 number cards: values 1–10 in four colours, black, red, blue and yellow.
- 32 chips.
- 15 special cards (additionally for experts).
Setup
Shuffle the 40 number cards and place 7 cards face up in a row in the middle of the table. Place the remaining cards as a face-down draw pile at the end of the row. Leave some room in front of each player for their layout.
Then each player takes 7 chips and places them in front of them as their personal supply. Return any unused chips to the box. You do not need the 15 special cards for your first game.
Gameplay
The player who has the largest suitcase at home begins. On your turn, carry out the following 3 steps in this order:
- Take a card from the row
- Place the card in your layout
- Refill the card row
Then the next player clockwise takes a turn.
1. Take a card from the row
Take any card from the card row. You may simply take the first card at the start of the row. If you want to take a different card, you must place a chip on each card you skip. For example, if you want to take the second card in the row, you must place one of your chips on the first card. If you want to take the third card, you must place one chip each on the first and the second card, and so on.
If you have no chips left in your supply, you must take the first card.
If you take a card from the row that already has chips on it, you take both the card and the chips on it.
Example: Amelia wants to take the red 1 from the card row. To do so she places one of her chips each on the red 10 and on the black 2.
2. Place the card in your layout
Place the card you took face up in front of you. It forms the start of your layout. Your layout consists of up to four ascending colour rows, one per colour. If later in the game you take a card of a colour you already have in your layout, place the new card slightly offset on top of it. Compare the value of the top card of the colour row with the new card:
- If the new card has a higher value, place it face up in the colour row.
- If the new card has a lower value, you must turn the card over and place it face down in the colour row.
Each of your face-down cards gives you 1 minus point at the end of the game. You may place another card of any value on a face-down card.
Example: Amelia places her red 1 in her layout and starts her red colour row.
Later in the game Amelia takes a black 2 from the card row. Since the top card of her black colour row is a 6, her new card has a lower value. So she must place the black 2 face down. She can later place another black card of any value on this face-down card.
3. Refill the card row
Finally, refill the card row. To do so, slide cards from the draw pile along the row until the gap is filled. Then turn over a new card from the draw pile onto the now empty space directly next to the pile.
Example: Amelia slides the right four cards of the row along to close the gap. Then she turns a new card over from the draw pile.
End of the Game
The game ends as soon as you can no longer refill the card row because the draw pile is empty. Finish the round so that everyone has taken the same number of turns.
Now add up your points. A card scores points equal to its value; a 10 is worth 10 points. Add the values of all face-up number cards in your layout. Subtract 1 point for each face-down card in your layout. In addition, each chip still in your supply is worth 1 point.
The player with the most points wins! If several of you have the most points, you share the victory.
You can also play several games of Koffer, Katze & Sombrero and note your score after each game. Whoever has the highest total score at the end wins!
Example: Amelia, Viktor and Enrique add up their points at the end of the game. Amelia scores 1+5+7 = 13 points for red, 6+10-1 = 15 points for yellow, 4+6-1+5 = 14 points for black and 4+9 = 13 points for blue. In addition she scores 3 points for her remaining chips. Her total score is therefore 13+15+14+13+3 = 58 points.
Special Cards
If you are familiar with the basic game, you can add the special cards. Special cards supplement or change the basic rules for everyone. This creates new strategic options, gives cards additional functions, and makes every game even more varied!
At the start of the game, shuffle the 15 special cards and reveal 3 random cards. Lay them out face up where everyone can see them. The first time you play with special cards, we recommend laying out special cards 1, 9 and 13 face up. Return the remaining special cards to the box.
Special cards have either a permanent effect that applies for the entire duration of the game, or an end-of-game effect that applies only to the final scoring.
Note: resolve end-of-game effects in ascending order. Start with the special card with the lowest number, shown bottom right.
Example: You reveal these three special cards. For this game, these three special rules apply to everyone.
Special card texts printed in this rulebook
The rulebook prints the text of the following special cards. Card numbers are shown in the bottom-right corner of each card.
Card 2: When you take a 4 from the row, you pay no chips, regardless of its position.
Card 3: When you take a 7 from the row, you may place it in any colour row. It takes on the colour of that colour row. The placement rules must still be observed. If you place a 7 on a 7, you must place it face down.
Card 4: When you take a card from the row that has 3 or more chips on it, you immediately take an additional turn. Refill the row in between as usual.
Card 6: You may always place a 5 face up in your layout, regardless of whether its value is lower or higher than the previous card in this colour row.
Card 13: End of the game: Your colour row with the smallest sum does not score. In a tie, only one of them does not score. A missing colour does not count as the lowest. Face-down cards count.
Card 15: End of the game: You receive 1 minus point per chip instead of 1 plus point.
Cards not printed in this rulebook
The official rulebook shows the text of only the cards listed above. The text of the other special cards (including the recommended cards 1 and 9, and cards 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 14) is not printed in the rules document, so it is not transcribed here. The numbers of cards 2 and 3 are read from the partly hidden card faces in the components illustration and are a judgment call in the transcription.