Regatta (2010)
Regatta (2010) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
53 cards, 4 boats of different colours, 4 coloured buoys, 1 small bag, rules of the game.
Object of the Game
In the sailing race, the winner is the player who is first to sail around all the buoys in the order shown in fig. 1.
Game Setup
Place 2 white and 2 coloured buoys as shown in fig. 2. The size of the race course and the length of the game are determined by the participants. Each player is dealt 5 cards; the remaining cards are placed in one deck. The starting player is determined by lot. Each player takes a boat and places it in front of the starting line. The game proceeds clockwise.
Playing the Game
On their turn a player must use one of the cards in their hand as follows (fig. 3):
- The player places the chosen card in front of their boat, in the same direction as the vessel (a).
- The player takes their boat and places it opposite one of the arrows on the card, so that the boat faces the same direction as the arrow (b).
- If the card shows several different arrows, the player chooses any one of them (fig. 4).
- The player takes the played card and places it in the discard pile beside the deck.
- The player adds a new card from the deck to their hand.
Then the next player's turn begins.
Notes
- On their turn a player must not touch other players' boats, buoys or obstacles.
- Boats cannot collide; in other words, a player cannot leave the bow of their boat in front of another player's boat: the size of the "closed" zone equals the size of the card placed directly in front of that player's boat (fig. 5). If a player has no other options except to end movement in this "closed" zone of another player, their boat stops before the border of that zone (fig. 6).
- When a buoy or boat prevents a player from placing a card on the table, they may hold it in the air. However, the boat must move exactly along the arrow shown on the card, and not touch any boats or buoys. If this is impossible, the player may use another card from their hand or skip the turn.
If they wish, a player may skip their turn. Sometimes they are obliged to do so because of obstacles in the way or because of the action of a "Sun" card. In this case they do not play a card from their hand, but may:
- exchange 1, 2 or 3 cards for cards from the deck
OR
- turn their boat to face any direction.
In both cases, the player does not move their boat forward and cannot play a "Sun" card.
When the deck runs out of cards, the player who is now due to draw a card turns over the discard pile, shuffles it and makes it the new deck.
Special Cards
Some cards show special symbols. Their effect is described below.
Strong Gale (fig. 7): the player gets an extra turn. If they wish, they may immediately play one more card. They get only one repeat turn, even if the second card played is also a "Strong Gale".
Tailwind (fig. 8): this is a double-action card and must be played twice in one turn.
Dead Calm (fig. 9): the "Sun" card creates a calm for another player's boat, immobilising it. Player "A" first places in front of their own boat a card allowing a move, and then places the "Sun" card in front of player "B". Then player "A" takes 2 cards from the deck, so as to have 5 cards in hand. Player "B" skips their next turn and only then discards the "Sun" card.
End of the Game
The winner is the player who is first to cross the finish line after sailing the whole course in the designated order.