Puerto Banana
Puerto Banana Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the Game
To have more bananas than your opponents at the end of the game.
Components
- 6 cargo ship boards
- 6 dry-wipe markers
- 1 banana crate board, with a guide to winnings and bonuses on the back
Setup
- Place the banana crate board in the middle of the table.
- Give each player a cargo ship board and a marker.
- Write the number 10 in the "stock" section of your cargo ship board: each player starts the game with a stock of 10 bananas.
Each cargo ship board has two sections: a "bid" section and a "stock" section.
Now you're ready to play!
Round Overview
Each round of the game is an auction. There are 3 stages to an auction:
- Preparing the auction
- Bidding
- Winnings and bonuses
Preparing the Auction
Write the number of bananas up for auction this round on the banana crate board.
To determine this number, check the stocks of all players. The number of bananas up for auction is equal to the number of bananas in the highest stock.
This means the first auction in each game is always for 10 bananas.
Example: At the start of the game, the highest stock is 10 bananas. So, one of the players writes 10 on the banana crate board for the first auction.
Example: After a few rounds, player A has the highest stock with 18 bananas (the other players have 10, 10, 10 and 12). So, one of the players writes 18 on the banana crate board for the next auction.
Bidding
Each player secretly writes a whole number (0 or above) in the "bid" section of their cargo ship board. There is no limit to the number you can bid, but if your bid is too high, you may have to pay a large bonus (see below).
Important: you do not bid from your own stock of bananas, so you can bid higher than the number in your stock. However, you will have to use your bananas to pay bonuses.
When all players have written the number they wish to bid, everyone reveals their cargo ship board at the same time.
Winnings and Bonuses
Once all the cargo ship boards have been revealed, players must determine the outcome of the auction so winnings and bonuses can be allocated accordingly:
1. One player has bid the highest number
This player wins all the bananas up for auction on the banana crate board. They must then pay the player with the second-highest bid the difference between their bids as a bonus. The other players' bids are disregarded for this round and their stocks remain unchanged.
If more than one player has made exactly the same second-highest bid, the bonus is shared equally by dividing the number of bananas between these players (rounding down).
Note: the player with the highest bid always receives their winnings before paying out bonuses.
Example: During the first round of the game, before winnings and bonuses are calculated, each player has a stock of 10 bananas. Player A placed the highest bid with 21 and player B had the second-highest bid with 18. Player A therefore wins 10 bananas and adds these to their existing stock of 10. They must then give 3 bananas (21 - 18) to player B, so player A ends this round with a stock of 17 bananas. Player B adds the 3 bananas paid by player A and updates their stock to 13 (10 + 3).
You can find a guide to winnings and bonuses on the back of the banana crate board.
Unable to pay the bonus
If the player with the highest bid is unable to pay the bonus, their bid is withdrawn and they are removed from the current auction. They receive no winnings and lose their entire stock of bananas, which falls back to 0.
Note: in a 2-player game, if a player is unable to pay the bonus, they are removed from the auction but do not lose any of their stock.
- The player who was previously in second place now becomes the highest bidder. They receive the winnings and pay a bonus to the player newly promoted into second place.
- Players must follow the same process if the new highest bidder is unable to pay the bonus. However, if all but one of the players are removed from the auction because they are unable to pay the bonus, the last remaining player keeps all the winnings.
Example: In this 3-player game, players A, B and C each have a stock of 10 bananas and are therefore bidding for 10 bananas. Player A bids 60, player B 30 and player C 8. Even if they were to win the 10 bananas, neither player A nor player B could pay the bonus, so they are removed from the auction. Player C wins all 10 bananas without having to pay a bonus to player A or B, ending with a stock of 20.
2. More than one player has bid the highest number
All these players win the auction. They share the winnings by dividing the number of bananas equally between them (rounding down) and do not pay a bonus to the player(s) in second place.
Example: 21 bananas are up for auction. Player A bids 35 and player B also bids 35, which is the highest bid; player C bids 28 and player D bids 20. Players A and B share the bananas up for auction equally (21/2 = 10, rounded down) and do not pay a bonus. Player A goes from a stock of 21 to 31, and player B from 10 to 20.
End of a Round
Each player updates their stock of bananas on their cargo ship board to reflect their winnings and bonuses from this auction, then all players wipe away their bids.
Now begin a new round.
End of the Game
The game ends when at least one player has a stock of 200 or more bananas at the end of a round.
The player with the highest stock of bananas wins the game.
In case of a tie, the tied players are declared joint winners.