Pirate Tricks
Pirate Tricks Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
60 crew cards (1-20 in 3 suits), 10 recruitment score cards, 9 capture score cards, 7 treasure score cards, 5 bid cards, 5 bid markers, 1 Go First marker, 5 loon coins (10 value), 18 loon coins (5 value), 48 loon coins (1 value), 5 screens
Ages 10+, Players 3-5, Duration 45 minutes.
Object
To win the game and inherit the title of Supreme Admiral, have the most loon at the end of 3 rounds of play.
For longer games, play 4 or 5 rounds of play.
Set up
- Prepare the three crew card sets (red, green and blue) based on the number of players:
- 5 Players: remove no cards.
- 4 Players: remove the cards numbered 1-4 from each set.
- 3 Players: remove the cards numbered 1-8 from each set.
- Shuffle each of the three score card decks (recruitment cards, treasure cards and capture cards), and place each deck facedown.
- Each player takes 12 loon: 1 five-value coin and 7 one-value coin.
- Each player takes a bid card (numbered 0 to 10) and a bid marker.
- Each player takes one screen to hide his loon.
- Place the remaining loon coins in a pile, which will serve as the bank.
Setting Up for a Round of Play
Each game consists of three rounds of play. To set up for each round, you'll need to draw the score cards and deal out the crew cards that will be used in that round.
Draw the Score Cards
Start the round by drawing two recruitment score cards, one treasure score card, and one capture score card. Place the cards faceup in view of all players.
Score card layout: the two recruitment cards, the treasure card and the capture card are placed side by side. (Examples shown: Recruitment "Beringa Backing — Each odd green card is +1 Loon"; Treasure "Rich Rewards — Each trick taken is +2 Loon"; Capture "Mustel Bounty — Each blue card taken is +1 Loon".)
Deal the Crew Cards
- Shuffle the crew card deck, then deal five cards facedown to each player. Players put their cards in their hands, keeping them secret from other players.
- Create as many rows of five faceup crew cards as there are players. Place two crew cards facedown beside each faceup five-card row.
- Place the Go First marker near the row of cards at the top.
Crew card layout for a 3-player game: three rows, each of five faceup cards plus two facedown cards beside it, with the Go First marker near the top row.
Gameplay
During a round, do the following in this order:
- Each player will bid on rows of crew cards to build a twelve-card hand.
- Players then each remove two cards, to create a final hand of ten cards.
- Once all hands are complete, players place any crew cards faceup to score and collect loon for the two recruitment cards in play.
- Players then return their crew cards to their hands.
- Now it's trick-taking time as players compete to win as much loon as possible in 10 tricks.
Place Your Bids
All players now bid for the seven-card rows to complete their twelve-card hands. Each player can bid no more than twice for the same row.
Bid on the row near the Go First marker first. To bid, all players secretly hold any number of loon (including zero) in one hand. All players then simultaneously hold out their hands and reveal their bids.
- If there is a clear winner (meaning no ties for the highest bid), the winner pays his loon to the bank and adds the seven cards in that row to his hand. The winner of the row with the Go First marker also takes the marker. All players who did not win keep their loon. Then the remaining players who still need seven cards secretly place any number of loon in one hand and bid on the next set of crew cards, in order, from top to bottom.
- If players tie (except on a zero bid), each tying player selects a card from his hand and places it facedown. The tying players then flip over their selected cards. The player with the highest number wins the row. If the numbers match, red beats green and blue, and green beats blue. All tying players place their revealed cards back in their hands. Then the remaining players bid on the next set of crew cards, in order, from top to bottom.
- If players tie on a zero bid, place 2 one-value loon from the bank on that row, then proceed to bid on the next row, in order, from top to bottom.
- After bidding on all rows once, if there are still more than two rows with 2 loon on them, the remaining players bid on the top row. Bidding on a row with 2 loons: If players tie on a zero bid for such a row, each tying player selects any card from his hand and places it facedown. The tying players then flip over their selected cards. The player with the highest number chooses which player wins that row. If the numbers match, red beats green, and green beats blue.
- When only one row is left, the remaining player takes that row for free.
Ditch Two Crew Cards
Once all players have completed their hands, each player must place two cards of his choice out of play for the round. They cannot be used for recruitment or end-of-round scoring.
Before Playing Tricks
Before playing any tricks, follow these rules depending on the score cards in play.
Special Treasure Cards
If the Tempt Fortune or Extra Loot treasure card is in play, each player must predict how many of the 10 tricks he will take in this round.
The player owning the Go First marker predicts first. Then the player to his or her left makes a prediction, and so on, until all players have made a prediction. To make a prediction, players place their bid markers on a number on their bid cards.
Recruitment Cards
Now all players place any crew cards faceup that meet the scoring requirements on the two recruitment cards in play. Each player collects loon as stated on the recruitment cards. Players then return their crew cards to their hands.
Never use the same crew card twice for one recruitment card: A single crew card can be used only once for a particular recruitment card.
EXAMPLE: If Gang of Three is in play and you have these cards (red 15, 16, 17, 18), you can collect only 3 loon for one run of 3. You cannot use the 16 red and the 17 red twice to make two runs of three. Similarly, if Gang of Two is in play and you have these cards (14 green, 14 red, 14 blue), you can collect 2 loon since each card is used only once to make two different 2-card runs.
EXAMPLE: Partners in Crime is in play and you have these cards, you can collect only 2 loon. You cannot use any card twice to make an additional two of a kind.
You can use the same crew card twice for two different recruitment cards. For example, if the recruitment cards are Gang of Three and Partners in Crime, and you have 13 red, 14 red, 15 red and 13 green, you can collect loon for both cards.
Trick-Taking Time
If you're already familiar with trick-taking games, keep reading. If not, see Trick Taking Rules on page 6.
The player with the Go First marker leads the first card. There are 10 tricks in each round.
Play tricks as you would play a normal trick-taking game, with these rules:
- You must follow suit if you have it.
- High card takes the trick.
- Red always trumps green and blue.
- You can lead with trump (which is always red).
- If you cannot follow suit, you must play any card, including trump.
After the last trick is taken, all players collect (or pay) loon according to the capture score card and the treasure score card in play. If you owe more than you have, pay all of your loon to the bank.
- If there is a tie on a score card, all tied players collect the amount of loon shown.
EXAMPLE: The treasure card is Bountiful Booty (Most Tricks = 6 Loon, 2nd Most Tricks = 4 Loon, 3rd Most Tricks = 2 Loon). In a four-player game, players Troy and Luke each took 3 tricks. Players Faith and Drake each took 2 tricks. Troy and Luke tied for first place, so they each collect 6 loon. Faith and Drake tied for second, so they each collect 4 loon. No one came in third, so no one collects 2 loon.
Running out of Loon
At the start of a round, if you have less than 5 loon, you may collect loon until you have 5 loon.
Winning the Game
The game ends after three rounds of play. The player with the most loon wins. If players tie for the win, then all tying players share the victory.
Trick-Taking Rules
A trick is a group of played faceup cards, one from each player. There are 10 tricks in each round. The crew cards consist of three suits: red, blue, and green.
The player with the Go First marker begins the round by choosing any card in his hand to play as the first card in the first trick. He plays this card faceup in the center of the playing area. The player to his left must now play a card faceup near the card in the center. When playing cards, follow these rules:
- You must follow suit if you have it.
- High card takes the trick.
- Red always trumps green and blue.
- You can lead with trump (which is always red).
- If you cannot follow suit, you must play any card, including trump.
Play continues to the left with players each playing one card faceup until all players have played one card.
Now all players look at the cards played to see which player won the trick. The player who played the highest number card in the suit of the first played card in the trick wins, unless one or more red (trump) cards were played. Red is trump, which means it always wins over the other two suits. If one or more red cards were played, the player who played the highest red card always wins the trick.
If you win the trick, flip over all of the faceup cards and put them in a facedown pile in front of you. The player who wins the trick, plays the first card for the next trick. Keep playing until all 10 tricks are won.