Rocking Raft
Rocking Raft Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 Raft (with tilting tray)
- 27 gems (in 4 colors)
- 1 First Player token
- 1 Pirate Flag card
- 39 Lifeboat cards
- 16 Water Tokens (for Sinking Lifeboats variant)
Goal of the Game
Yer job is simple: grab as many of those shiny gems as ye can and load 'em safe onto yer lifeboats. Each lifeboat ye fill will bring ye closer to glory—and maybe a bit o' pirate gold, eh?
But mind this, ye scallywags: I don't want any of ye riskin' yer necks for too long. When the sea grows wild and the raft starts to sink, I'll raise me Pirate Flag high in the air. That'll be yer signal to scoop up the last of the gems and row back with whatever treasure ye managed to rescue!
Whoever saves the most treasure will earn the grand honor of bein' me First Mate—the bravest, cleverest, and most treasure-hungry pirate among ye! Now, steady yer hands and get ready to rock the raft!
Game Setup
-
Place the tilting tray in the middle of the table and set the cardboard raft on top of it.
-
Take the gems needed for the game according to the number of players (see below) and return any unused gems to the box.
| Players | Yellow gems | Blue gems | Red gems | Black gems |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| 3 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| 4 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 3 |
-
Randomly place 1 gem in each of the 8 outer spaces of the raft's 3×3 grid. Drop the rest of the gems into the center space—it's ok if a few roll into the adjacent spaces as they settle.
-
Shuffle the Lifeboat deck. Deal 2 Lifeboat cards face-up to each player. Place the rest of the deck on the table, in reach of all players.
-
Insert the Pirate Flag card into the deck at a depth depending on the number of players:
- 2 players: Place the Pirate Flag after 10 cards.
- 3 players: Place the Pirate Flag after 15 cards.
- 4 players: Place the Pirate Flag after 20 cards.
-
Randomly determine a First Player and give them the First Player token.
How to Play
The game is played in turns starting with the First Player and going clockwise. On your turn:
1. Rotate the Raft
You may rotate the raft (slowly!—You don't want to fall off!) on the table as much as you like, to line up the openings where you want, but be careful not to move or slide any gems while doing so.
2. Rock the Raft
When you're ready, press firmly on any of the designated finger spaces (marked with a dashed line) along the edge closest to you, tilting the raft until the edge touches the table so gems slide toward your side (see figure).
Gems may move through the openings in the walls and may fall out of the raft.
You may keep the raft tilted for as long as you like (by holding your finger still), letting as few or as many gems fall out as you wish.
When you release the raft, you must lift your finger quickly so it swings back upright, causing the remaining gems to roll and bounce toward the center of their spaces.
3. Place Gems on Lifeboats
Take all the gems that fell out of the raft and place them onto the empty spaces of your Lifeboat cards:
- Red, yellow, and blue gems must match their spaces.
- Black gems are wild and may fill spaces of any color.
If you cannot place all the gems:
- If there are any black gems that you did not use, immediately discard them to the center space of the raft.
- Then, if you have unplaced gems of any other color, pass them to the player on your left.
- That player may place them on their lifeboats immediately.
- If they cannot use all of those gems, they must pass the leftovers to the next player on their left, and so on.
- If there are any gems left that no one can place, discard them to the center space of the raft.
Black Gems
Black gems are "wild" and may fill spaces of any color. Black gems are never passed to the other players. If you have any black gems that you do not use on your turn, you must return them to the center of the raft right away.
Filling Lifeboats
After the leftover gems have been passed around and possibly returned to the raft, if any of your cards have gems in all of their spaces, that lifeboat is filled!
Take all the gems on that lifeboat and drop them into the center space of the raft; it's ok if they roll into the adjacent spaces. Place the filled lifeboat in your personal face-down scoring pile.
At the end of your turn, draw a new Lifeboat card for each one you filled so you again have 2 cards in front of you.
If you draw the Pirate Flag card, the endgame is triggered (see below). Set it aside and immediately draw another Lifeboat card.
Note: If you fill a lifeboat outside of your turn, thanks to gems passed to you, follow the same steps: Drop the gems into the center space of the raft, add the lifeboat to your scoring pile, then draw a new card at the end of the current player's turn, in turn order.
Example
During his turn, Jack got 4 red, 3 blue, 1 black, and 1 yellow from the raft. After placing gems on his lifeboats, Jack has 1 black, 3 red, and 3 blue left—he was definitely too greedy! The black gem must be dropped immediately into the raft's center space; the rest go to Elizabeth, who can place only 1 blue gem. She passes the leftovers to Will, who places 2 red and 1 blue. The final 2 gems reach Angelica, who can place only the blue one; the remaining red gem is dropped into the center space of the raft.
At the end of Jack's turn, he scores his 2 filled lifeboats and draws 2 replacement cards, then Will scores his completed lifeboat and replaces it.
End of the Game
The end of the game is triggered when the Pirate Flag card is drawn. The player who draws the Pirate Flag sets it aside and immediately draws another Lifeboat card, so they still have 2 cards in front of them. Play then continues until the player to the right of the First Player has finished their turn.
Note: It is possible to complete a lifeboat after your final turn, thanks to gems passed to you. In that case, follow the normal procedure at the end of the turn (return gems to the raft, add the lifeboat to your scoring pile, draw a new card). Since cards are drawn in turn order starting from the current player, in the extremely unlikely event that the deck runs out, some players may not get to draw replacements and must finish the game with less than 2 lifeboats.
Scoring
At the end of the game, each player adds up the points on their completed Lifeboat cards (you can also just count all the knots on the ropes).
The player with the most points wins!
In case of a tie, the tied player who completed the most lifeboats is the winner.
Sinking Lifeboats Variant
Ahoy, brave pirates! Ye thought gatherin' gems on yer lifeboats was tricky before? Ha! Try Captain Glitterbeard's Advanced Challenge, if ye dare… When the sea grows wilder and the waves sneakier, yer lifeboats may sink if ye dawdle too long! Only the boldest and quickest sailors will get treasure back home—and earn glory. This challenge is for experienced pirates only… the rest of ye best stick to the calm waters of the standard game!
Sinking Lifeboats is an advanced, daring version where the lifeboats must be filled quickly. Each turn, Water tokens collect on your lifeboats, and if a boat fills with too much water, it sinks! Collect treasures fast, save as many lifeboats as you can, and become the bravest First Mate on the seas!
Rule Changes
To play the expert version of the game, the basic rules remain the same with the following changes:
1. Add Water Tokens
At the start of your turn, place 1 Water token on each of your Lifeboat cards.
2. Check for Sinking
At the end of your turn, any Lifeboat card that is still incomplete and has 2 Water tokens sinks:
- Drop all the gems on that card into the center space of the raft.
- Discard the sunk lifeboat to the bottom of the deck.
Whenever a lifeboat either sinks or is filled, return its Water tokens to the general supply.