Rafter Five
Rafter Five Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 42 Board Cards
- Each card has a Board side and a Sea side
- 1 Raft Base Card
- 5 Figures
- 7 Treasure Chests x 6 colors (42 total)
- 6 Penalty Boards
- Rules of Play
The rules are for 2-6 players. Rules for solo play are on the last page.
Objective
Use the figures and boards to carefully expand the raft and load treasure chests onto it. If 5 of your opponents' treasure chests fall into the sea, you lose. If your own treasure chests fall, it's no problem at all — you can even deliberately place your own chests in precarious spots to put pressure on your opponents.
Setup
- Each player takes the number of Penalty Boards shown in the table below, along with all Treasure Chests of the same color as their Penalty Boards. Any remaining Penalty Boards and Treasure Chests are not used in this game.
The back of each Penalty Board also shows how many chests to take.
| Number of players | Penalty Boards per player | Chests per player |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 3 colors x 7 = 21 chests |
| 3 | 2 | 2 colors x 7 = 14 chests |
| 4 or more | 1 | 1 color x 7 = 7 chests |
If you took more than one Penalty Board, stack them so they overlap, leaving only the colored strip of each showing.
-
Take all the components out of the box. Stack the box's top and bottom on top of each other as shown in the diagram. Place the Raft Base Card on top of the upper box half. This is now the "raft."
-
Flip all Board Cards to their Sea side, shuffle them well, and lay them out Sea-side up around the raft. The area around the raft is called the "sea."
-
Place the 5 Figures on the raft, in any positions you like (the golden figure is not used in this game).
-
Choose a first player.
Turn Structure
Turns are taken clockwise, starting with the first player.
Step 1. Take a Figure
Take one Figure from the raft. If there are any Figures in the sea (having fallen into the water), you must take one of those instead.
Step 2. Take and Place a Board
Take one Board Card from the sea and place it Board-side up on the raft. Then place the Figure you took in Step 1 on top of this board. The board and the figure may be placed at the same time.
- At least part of the new board must lie on top of other boards already on the raft. If there are no boards on the raft yet, it may be placed anywhere.
- A board may not be placed on top of a chest or a figure.
Step 3. Place a Chest
Place one of your own Treasure Chests (your color) on top of the board you just placed.
Chests are placed base-down.
Step 4. End of Turn
If you managed to safely place the figure and the chest, your turn ends. The next player (clockwise) takes their turn.
If a player has placed all of their treasure chests, their turn is skipped, and play passes to the next player.
If Boards, Chests, or Figures Fall Into the Sea
Your turn ends immediately. Anything you were trying to place, but did not finish placing, falls into the sea.
If treasure chests fell into the sea:
- Collect all the chests that fell.
- Return your own fallen chests to your own supply (you may use them again on later turns).
- Opponents' chests count as a penalty — place them on your Penalty Board, one at a time, in a row.
End of Game
The game ends immediately if any of conditions 1-3 are met:
- Someone has 5 or more penalties (opponents' chests on their Penalty Board).
- There are no Board Cards left in the sea.
- All players have placed all of their treasure chests.
Players who have placed all of their treasure chests no longer take turns. The game continues only with the remaining players.
Winner and Loser
The player with the most penalties is the loser. Everyone else wins.
If you need to determine a final ranking:
- Whoever has more penalties ranks lower.
- If penalties are tied, whoever has more of their own chests held as penalties by other players loses the tiebreak.
- If it's still tied, whoever has more of their own chests remaining in reserve (not placed on the raft) loses the tiebreak.
- If it's still tied after that, hug each other to lift everyone's spirits.
Frequently Asked Questions
- If you have touched a figure, you must use that same figure on your turn.
- When placing a Board Card, you are allowed to touch chests or figures already on the raft. However, you may not deliberately move a chest or figure.
- On your turn, you may use any Board Card in the sea that has fallen Board-side up (boards that are already attached to the raft are considered part of the raft — they cannot be taken).
- Figures or chests that partly overhang the edge of a board are allowed.
- When the raft collapses, leave all boards that are attached to the raft in place.
- If figures on the raft fall over but do not fall into the sea, continue your turn.
- If a figure or chest falls out of your hands (and the raft is undamaged), pick it back up and continue your turn.
Advanced Rules
There are two additional rules. In each of them, players must avoid placing boards, chests, and figures on certain marked features on the Board Cards.
Once you take a Board Card from the sea, you may not exchange it for another after taking it.
- Nails: You may not place anything touching a nail.
- Cracks: You may not place anything touching a crack.
Solo Play
Take all of the colored treasure chests (42 pieces). Penalty Boards are not used. Play alone: try to place as many chests as possible on the raft so that no board, figure, or chest falls into the sea. If you manage to place all 42 chests, try playing with the Advanced Rules as well.
Promotional Event Character
The Fussy King!
"Don't you dare place me on a nail or a crack! I could get hurt!"
Special rule for the King figure: pick the King up with both hands. When lifting or setting him down, say "Shitsurei shimasu" (Japanese for "Excuse me/Pardon me").