Ligretto
Ligretto Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
160 cards (4 sets of 40 cards – one set for each player)
Aim of the Game
The aim of the game is to get rid of all the cards of one's own Ligretto pile while earning as many points as possible. In Ligretto, everyone plays at the same time, so the faster you are the better your chances!
Game Setup
First, sort the cards according to the color of the Ligretto lettering on the back side of the cards.
Each player receives his own set of 40 cards with the same colored back side, which must then be shuffled. Each player then lays 3 cards down in front of him and next to one another from his own set with the number side facing up. These 3 cards are your row (1).
Next to his row, each player then lays down a pile of 10 cards, face up. This is your Ligretto pile (2). Hold the remaining cards from your set in your hand as a face-down reserve pile (3). Throughout the course of the game, you will have to turn over cards from your face-down reserve pile by placing them into your own face-up discard pile (4).
How to Play
Let the game begin!
At the same time, everyone tries to lay down his cards as fast as possible. Whoever has a 1, lays it in the center. Whoever has a 2 of the same color, lays it as fast as he can on top of the 1. The 3, 4, etc. are then laid on top. Each additional 1 is laid next to the other pile that has already been started in the center.
There can be multiple piles from each color at the same time.
The Card Areas
(1) Row
NOTE: For a 2-player game, lay down 5 cards each face up and next to one another in your row, for a 3-player game, 4 cards.
(2) Ligretto pile (10 cards to start)
(3) Face-down reserve pile (the cards held in your hand)
(4) Face-up discard pile
Center — the middle of the table, where the piles are built.
Laying Cards
You can lay down a card at any time!
Either...
- a card from your row (1),
- the top card from your Ligretto pile (2),
- or the top card from your face-up discard pile (4).
If you use a card from your row, you can immediately fill the space left behind in your row with a card from your Ligretto pile.
Reserve Deck
Players can also use face-down cards from their hand (3) at any time by turning over 3 cards together and lay them down face up, on top of one another in your face-up discard pile.
If the uppermost card from the face-up discard pile can be played in the center (either on a pile that has already been started, or if it's a 1, in a new pile), lay it accordingly as fast as possible. If, after playing the card from your face-up discard pile, the next card can also be played, you can also immediately play this card, too. The same also applies for the next card, etc.
If the card cannot be played, turn over another 3 cards onto the face-up discard pile. Once the face-down reserve pile has been used up, pick up the face-up discard pile, shuffle it face down and use it as your new face-down reserve pile, from which you again turn over 3 cards together.
DO NOT FORGET: In Ligretto, everyone plays at the same time and out of order!
End of Game
Whoever manages to play the last of his 10 cards from the Ligretto pile (either in the center or in his row), shouts "Ligretto, stop!" which ends the game.
IMPORTANT: In rare cases, no one will be able to play any more cards in the center because the cards needed are "hiding" in the Ligretto piles. If this happens, the game is over and the points that have been earned up until now are counted.
Scoring
Take all the cards from the center and sort them according to their back side (which corresponds to the individual players).
- For each card that a player was able to lay in the center he receives 1 plus point.
- For each card still in a player's Ligretto pile he receives 2 minus points.
Neither cards in the row, nor in the reserve piles, are counted.
The player with the most points wins the game! There can be more than one winner.
If multiple games are played, the points from each round are recorded, and the player with the most points (after the agreed number of games have been played) wins.
Game Variation: For Real Ligretto Experts!
In this game variation the rows can be used as a kind of "second reserve". You can lay cards from your reserve pile or from your Ligretto pile into your own row, as long as you observe the following two rules:
- Numbers must be laid in descending order.
- Cards lying side by side must have different colors.
Sounds good? You bet! Especially for getting rid of high cards from your Ligretto pile. But you better be careful: If you put too many cards in your row, you may block yourself from being able to lay any more cards from your Ligretto pile in your row!
More Players, More Chaos, More Fun!
Do you want to play with five, six or even as many as twelve players? No problem! Simply get the other Ligretto boxes with a different color. Ligretto comes in red, blue, and green, and each box has cards for 4 different players (3 boxes = 12 players)!
And, if you've had enough of cards, you can also play Ligretto Dice – action-packed and addictive fun!
Credits
Ligretto®, registered trademark, Schmidt Spiele
Schmidt Spiele GmbH, Lahnstraße 21, D-12055 Berlin — www.schmidtspiele.de — www.schmidtspiele-shop.de