Oh Captain! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Contents
• Setup
  • The Captain
  • The Explorers
  • Choosing the Adventurers
  • The Cave
  • The Discard Pile
  • The First Player
• Playing the Game
• Turn Structure
  • A. Mutiny or Loyalty?
  • B. Exploration
  • C. The Captain's Choice
  • D. Challenges
• Card Effects
• Face-up / Face-down Cards
• The Discard Pile
• End of the Game
• Special Abilities

Object of the Game

By bluffing the Captain, you try to keep the most valuable items for yourself. At the end of the game, the Nomads will find you and your mates. The adventurer with the best loot earns the respect of his companions and is the winner. Don't forget, the richest is always the most powerful!

Contents

• 1 Captain's Bottle
• 30 Gold Coins (each worth 1 gold)
• 6 Adventurer Sheets (front: Captain, back: Explorer)
• 1 Card Dispenser (requiring assembly), representing the Nukha's cave
• 35 Cards:
  • 3 Lanterns (worth 3)
  • 4 Lanterns (worth 2)
  • 7 Nukha Eggs
  • 5 Grappling Hooks
  • 5 Lizards
  • 5 Pistols
  • 5 Purses
  • 1 Nomads' Arrival
• 3 Majority Tokens

Setup

Place the Majority tokens aside for now. They will only be used at the end of the game.

The Captain

Choose a Captain among the players using any way you prefer (arm wrestling, rock-paper-scissors, coin toss, etc.). Give him 5 Coins and the Captain's Bottle. This Bottle shows who the Captain is during the game.

The Explorers

The players other than the Captain are the Explorers. Give 3 Coins to each Explorer.

The remaining Coins are placed in the center of the table to form the supply.

Then, give 1 Purse card to each Explorer (each player except the Captain). These cards are placed face-down in front of each player to form his initial loot. Return any remaining Purse cards to the game box.

Choosing the Adventurers

Starting with the Captain and going clockwise, each player chooses an Adventurer. He takes the Adventurer sheet and places it in front of him on the side matching his current role (Captain or Explorer).

The Cave

Separate the Nomads' Arrival card from the other cards. Draw 3 cards randomly and shuffle them with the Nomads' Arrival card. Place them face-down into the card dispenser. Then, shuffle the remaining 26 cards and place them on top of these 4 cards, inside the Cave to form the deck.

The Discard Pile

Draw the top 3 cards from the deck and place them face-down under the Captain's Bottle to form the discard pile. The Captain can look at these cards secretly, and put them back under the Bottle.

The First Player

The Explorer on the Captain's left is the first player. He places the Cave in front of him to show that he is the active player.

Playing the Game

The players are split in two groups: the Captain and the Explorers. The Explorers are rummaging through the Cave while the Captain supervises his subordinates and tries to lay his hands on the most valuable items!

Going clockwise, Explorers take turns playing until the Nomads' Arrival card is drawn.

At the end of his turn, the active player gives the Cave to the player on his left. The Cave shows who the active player is, do not forget to pass it around.

The Captain does not take turns as the active player. So, the Cave passes directly from the Explorer on the Captain's right to the Explorer on the Captain's left.

Turn Structure

A. Mutiny or Loyalty?

This phase occurs only if you have more Coins than the Captain. In this case, you can declare mutiny (1) or pledge loyalty (2). Otherwise, proceed directly to the Exploration phase (B).

1. Declare Mutiny: Place the Captain's Bottle and the discard pile in front of you. Then, take 1 Coin from the supply. If there are no Coins left in the supply, you do not take a Coin. The former Captain becomes an Explorer, and you become the new Captain; both players flip their Adventurer sheets. Your turn ends immediately.
2. Pledge Loyalty: Give one of your Coins to the Captain. If you forget, the Captain can furiously demand it. Then, proceed with the Exploration phase.

B. Exploration

On your turn, draw the top card of the deck. Look at it secretly and tell the Captain what you have just found. Put on your best poker face.

"Oh Captain! I've found a Lantern! / a Grappling Hook! / a Lizard! / a Pistol!"

If you have found a Nukha Egg, you must lie and announce something else! The Nukha is a sacred creature! It saved your life, so you're not supposed to steal its eggs... Never!

Whatever you find, you may lie to the Captain. In fact, sometimes it might even be in your best interest to lie.

C. The Captain's Choice

After you tell the Captain about your discovery, the Captain must either buy the item (1) OR agree to let you use it (2).

1. If the Captain buys the item: The Captain gives you one of his Coins, reveals the card, and places it face-up in his loot. If and only if you told the truth, the Captain uses the item's effect to attack any Explorer (even you). For example: "Indeed, it's a Lizard. So cute! Well, I'll use it to steal a Coin from you!"
2. If the Captain lets you use the item: Place the card face-down in your loot. Then, attack another Explorer using the effect of the item you have just announced to the Captain, even if you know the item shown on the card is different (you cannot change your mind at this point). You can only target an Explorer on whom the item's effect can be used. If no Explorer can be targeted, then there is no attack. And no, you can't attack the Captain. Show some respect!

D. Challenges

The attacked Explorer can either accept the attack (1) or challenge you (2).

1. The attacked Explorer accepts the attack. Do not reveal your card and use the effect of the item you have announced.
2. The attacked Explorer challenges you and you lied. Reveal your card to show that you lied. Your opponent ignores the attack, and takes one of your Coins.
3. The attacked Explorer challenges you and you told the truth. Reveal the card to prove it. Use the item's effect. Then, take one of his Coins.

If the Explorer does not have any Coins, you do not receive a Coin, even if he loses the challenge.

Card Effects

Note: An attack can only target an Explorer on whom the item's effect can be used. If no Explorer can be targeted, then there is no attack; place the item in your loot without using its effect.

• Pistol - Discard a card. Choose a card in another Explorer's loot (if you choose a face-down card, you choose a card randomly) and place it face-down in the discard pile under the Captain's Bottle. And no, you can't use this to get rid of your Eggs.
• Lantern - Reveal a card. Reveal a face-down card in another Explorer's loot. This card remains face-up. It's not very good... but it's worth a lot with the Nomads.
• Lizard - Steal one Coin. Take 1 Coin from another Explorer.
• Grappling Hook - Steal a card. Choose a card in another Explorer's loot and place it in your loot, without flipping it (face-up or face-down).
• Nukha Egg - No effect. The Egg has no effect. Say something else! The Nukha is a sacred creature, so the Nomads will be angry at you for trying to steal its eggs.

Face-up / Face-down Cards

It is possible for a player to have both face-up and face-down cards in his loot. By default, cards are placed face-down in a player's loot. However, a card is flipped face-up when:

• The Captain buys that card.
• That card is revealed because of a Lantern's effect.
• That card is revealed because an opponent challenges you.

You are allowed to look at the face-down cards in your loot at any time. You can also rearrange them however you want and whenever you want.

The Discard Pile

The Captain can look at the cards in the discard pile at any time. That way, he knows which cards have been discarded since the start of the game, and he can use this information to better assess if the Explorers are lying or not.

End of the Game

When an Explorer draws the Nomads' Arrival card, the game ends immediately. The Nomads are interested in buying the Adventurers' loot.

Each player reveals his loot. Give the Pistol Majority token to the player with the most Pistols (in case of a tie, no one takes the token). Proceed the same way for the Grappling Hooks and the Lizards Majority tokens. The Nomads only deal with the best!

Each player adds up the points from his Lanterns (worth 2 or 3 points), his Purses (each worth 1 point), any Majority tokens, and his Coins (each worth 1 point). Then, each player subtracts the points from his Nukha Eggs (each worth -1 point).

The player with the most points wins the game. In case of a tie, the Captain is the winner if he is one of the tied players. If not, the winner is the tied player with the most Coins.

Special Abilities

Each Adventurer has a special ability:

• Lys: When Majority tokens are given out at the end of the game, Lys wins ties. So, she gains 4 points if she has the most Lizards (or Pistols, or Grappling Hooks), even if another Adventurer has the same number of Lizards (or Pistols, or Grappling Hooks).
• Nostromo: When Nostromo declares mutiny, in addition to taking 1 Coin from the supply, he can take 1 card of his choice from the discard pile and place it in his loot.
• Moon: At the end of her turn, Moon can flip up to 2 cards face-down in her loot. This ability cannot be used when Moon is the Captain.
• Red: At the end of his turn, if Red is the Adventurer with the least Coins (no tie), he takes 1 Coin from the Explorer of his choice (not from the Captain). This ability cannot be used when Red is the Captain.

In 5- or 6-player games, two more adventurers join the crew. It is recommended not to use the following characters in games with a lower player count:

• Siana: When Siana is the target of a Lantern, a Grappling Hook, or a Pistol's effect, she, not the attacker, chooses which one of her cards is affected. However, she is not allowed to choose a Nukha Egg.
• Ulrich: If Ulrich wins a challenge (being the attacker or the target of an attack), he takes 2 Coins from his opponent instead of 1.