Nosh
Nosh Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 50 Treat cards (each a single item — there are 10 copies each of the 5 different treats)
- 40 blue Goal cards (these are used in Rounds 1–6)
- 15 red Goal cards (these are only used in Round 7, the final round)
- 5 Favorite cards (each of these shows a single treat the player likes more than the rest)
- 5 double-sided Appetite tokens
- 50 Coins (allowance, in three denominations)
- 1 "Me First!" card (held by the start player)
- 1 "Here!" token (current Stand)
How to Win
Your parents talked it over and each of you starts with the same allowance. You get 15 Coins at the start of the game and another 2 at the start of each round. That's all you'll ever get, so be careful how you spend it!
The game plays over seven rounds, and in each round only certain combinations of treats are available. Everyone bids on only one combination of treats at a time, and as each combination comes up you can bid some, none, or even all of your allowance on it. Remember to save for future rounds!
Each player may only collect one combination of treats in each round, so bid carefully. If you drive the price up for a combination you don't really want, you might just wind up paying for it!
Each round has a number of goals, which you can claim by noshing on some of the treats you've gained since the start of the game (in this case "noshing" means discarding — you spend those cards to claim a Goal card and score the points on that card).
At the end of the game, the happiest kid — the player with the most points — is the winner!
Set Up
- Shuffle each deck separately (Treats, blue Goals, red Goals, and Favorites).
- Each player takes 15 Coins from the supply and 1 Appetite token of their choice. All players flip these Appetite tokens to their green side.
- Each player draws 1 Treat their parents have already bought them before the start of the game.
- Each player draws 1 card from the Favorites deck and keeps it secret. Return the remaining Favorites to the box without looking at them. They're out of play for this game.
- In the center of the table, deal as many red Goal cards as you have players. These are the goals for the last round (Round 7). These cards are face-up and visible the entire game.
- Create 6 separate piles of blue Goal cards, each with as many cards as you have players. Each of these piles contains the goals for an earlier round of the game (Rounds 1–6). These piles are initially face-down.
- Reveal the blue Goal cards for Round 1. Only the goals for Rounds 1 and 7 are visible at the start of the game. The goals for Rounds 2–6 remain face-down for now.
- Optional: On Day 1 only, you may discard any blue Goal cards worth more than 3 points and draw replacements from the unused blue Goal cards. This gives everyone a better chance at collecting a Goal card in Round 1.
- Deal Treats for Round 1. Treats are grouped into Stands, with each Stand offering 2 or 3 Treats depending on the number of players...
| Number of Players | Number of Stands & Treats at Each Stand | Total Treats in Play |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3, 3, 2 | 8 |
| 4 | 3, 3, 2, 2 | 10 |
| 5 | 3, 3, 2, 2, 2 | 12 |
- The biggest kid at the table is the starting player. If you can't agree on the biggest kid, the player who most recently noshed on any Treat in the game is the starting player. They take the "Me First!" card and the "Here!" token, and choose the first Stand in Round 1.
See the other side for a diagram of a four-player game before Round 1. (The "Start of Play: Four Players" diagram is layout only and is not transcribed.)
Playing the Game
Nosh plays over 7 rounds. In each round, take the following steps in this order.
- The starting player chooses any 1 Stand and places the "Here!" token nearby to indicate that everyone will bid on that Stand next.
- The starting player makes a bid to buy the Treats at the chosen Stand. This bid may be as low as 0 Coins, or as high as all the Coins the player has.
- The next player to the left may then bid on the Treats at the same Stand. This player may not bid on another Stand. If this player chooses to bid, their bid must be at least 1 higher than the starting player's bid. If this player doesn't want to bid, they may pass. If they pass, they're out of the running for that Stand's Treats (they may not later bid on the same Stand).
- The next player to the left may then do the same, bidding higher on the same Stand or passing.
- Once bidding comes back around to the starting player, that player may bid again but this time they must bid higher than the most recent bid, or pass.
- This continues around the table until all but one player has passed. That player wins the bid, pays the Coins they most recently bid to the supply, and claims the Treat cards at the Stand.
- If the winner has the Treats displayed on any of the Goal cards for the current round, they may nosh (discard) those Treats to claim that Goal card. A player may only claim a Goal card for the current round, may only claim one Goal card per round, and may only claim a Goal card immediately after winning a bid. Claimed goals are placed face down in front of the player, near their Favorite card. The winner may choose not to claim a Goal card even if they can afford to claim one.
- The winner flips their Appetite token to the red side and is then out for the rest of the round (they may not bid on Stands until the next round). If the winner was the starting player, the "Me First!" card and the "Here!" token pass to the next player to their left who has not yet won a bid this round.
- The (possibly new) starting player then chooses a remaining Stand for this round, places the "Here!" token nearby, and makes the first bid for that Stand. Bidding continues as described above until someone wins this Stand, at which point that winner may claim one of the remaining Goal cards if they have the necessary Treats to nosh.
- This continues until only one player is left who hasn't won a bid this round. This last player claims the Treats at the last Stand for free. They waited their turn and didn't spoil their appetite. This is their reward.
The game plays exactly the same in the final round (Round 7), except that the red Goal cards have already been visible for six rounds prior, letting the players plan ahead for them.
End of the Game & Final Scoring
At the end of the game, each player totals the points on their collected Goal cards. They add 2 points for each of these cards that displays the treat on their Favorite card (only 2 points are added per Goal card displaying this treat, even if the treat is displayed multiple times).
Each player gains 1 additional point per 2 Coins they have remaining (they were good and saved some of their allowance for a rainy day).
The player with the highest score is the happiest kid at the fair and wins the game! If there's a tie, the player with the most remaining Coins is the winner. If there's still a tie, shake hands and smile together. You're both awesome!