Summer Camp Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• What's Inside
• Game Setup
  • Game Board
  • Choose 3 Camp Activities to Play
  • Activity Cards
  • Players
  • Starting Decks and Starting Hands
• Setup Example
  • Card Breakdown
  • Merit Badge Breakdown
• Objective
• How to Play
  • Play Cards
  • Buy Cards
  • Snack Bar Tokens
• End of Turn
• Merit Badges
• Important Rules
• A Turn Example
• Game End
  • Winning the Game
• Activity Card Reference
  • Base Cards (64)
  • Adventure (28)
  • Arts & Crafts (28)
  • Cooking (28)
  • Friendship (28)
  • Games (28)
  • Outdoors (28)
  • Water Sports (28)
• Merit Badges Reference
• Credits

What's Inside

7 Activity Packs (Adventure, Arts & Crafts, Friendship, Outdoors, Water Sports, Cooking, Games), each of which includes:

• 28 Activity Cards (196 total)
• 4 Merit Badges (28 total)

1 Base Pack, which includes:

• 64 Base Cards

• 6 Merit Badges (3 Participation, 3 Camp All-Star)

• 1 Lake Game Board

• 9 Path Boards

• 4 Player Boards

• 24 Snack Bar Tokens

• 1 Starting Camper Patch

• 12 Pawns (4 sets of 3)

Game Setup

Game Board

• Set up the map board in the middle of the table as shown in the diagram below. Place the fold-out lake board on top, then the 9 path boards in any 3x3 configuration below it so the 3 paths should move from left to right. The 9 path boards may be placed in any order each time you play.
• Take the 3 participation and 3 camp all-star merit badges from the base cards box.
• Place them on the indicated spaces on the lake board. Stack them in ascending order (with the highest value on top). Do this based on the number of players in the game, as per each indicated space for each badge.
• Return any unused merit badges to the base pack box.

Choose 3 Camp Activities to Play

• Choose any 3 of the 7 activity packs to use in the game (the 7 boxes inside the game box). They are adventure, arts & crafts, cooking, friendship, games, outdoors, or water sports.
• Each activity brings different types of actions into the game. For your first game we recommend using: cooking, outdoors, and water sports.
• Take the 4 merit badges and cards for each chosen activity out of their boxes.
• For each activity, place its merit badges to the right of the board at the end of a path (it does not matter which path). Stack the merit badges in ascending order from lowest to highest points (with the highest points on top). Do this based on the number of players in the game, as per the chart on the top-right of the lake board.
• Return any unused merit badges to their boxes.
• Each path now has its own stack of merit badges. These badges determine which activity each path will be associated with during the game. As the players move their pawns toward the merit badges on a path, they will gain experience in that activity.

Activity Cards

• For each chosen activity, set aside the 4 cards in each pack with a move 1 Space icon.
• For each chosen activity, shuffle the remaining 24 cards and place them in a face-down draw pile to the left of the path of the corresponding activity.
• For each activity, draw 2 cards and place them face-up beside their draw pile.
• From the base cards box, set aside all 28 lights out! cards. Then take all the s'mores, scavenger hunt, and free time cards and place them each in their own face-up piles to the right of the board.
• All 9 face-up cards are called the display.

Players

• Each player chooses a set of 3 pawns and a player board - all the same color.
• Players place their pawns in their starting positions:
  • In a 2-player game, each player places 1 of their pawns immediately to the left of the first space of each path (off the gameboard).
  • In a 3-player game, the pawns are placed on the first space of each path.
  • In a 4-player game, the pawns are placed on the third space of each path.
• Place all the snack bar tokens in a supply pile in reach of all players. Each player takes 1 snack bar token and places it next to their player board.
• Randomly choose someone to be the start player. This player places the starting camper patch beside their player board. They will keep it for the whole game.

Starting Decks and Starting Hands

• Each player makes their starting deck from the cards that were set aside earlier:
  • Take 7 lights out! cards from the base pack box AND a move 1 space card from each of the 3 activity packs.
  • Each player shuffles their cards together to make a deck of 10 cards, and places their deck face-down on the draw pile section of their player board.
• Any remaining lights out! and move 1 space cards are returned to their boxes and not used in the game.
• Moving clockwise around the table, each player will draw a different number of cards for their starting hand:
  • The start player draws 3 cards from their draw pile.
  • The player to their left draws 4 cards from their draw pile.
  • If there are 3 players, then the next player to their left draws 5 cards.
  • If there are 4 players, then the next player draws 6 cards.
• These starting hand amounts are just for the first turn. From the second turn of the game on, all players will have a hand of 5 cards.
• Each player looks at their own hands but keeps them hidden from other players - until they are played or discarded on a turn.

Setup Example

Example setup for a 2-player game: Assembled game board, 3 activity decks with 2 face-up display cards each, pawns placed to the left of each path, end-of-path merit badges, s'mores/scavenger hunt/free time cards in display, starting camper patch, and player boards for each color.

Card Breakdown

Here is how to understand the different parts of a card:

• Name — e.g. "Flashlight"
• Illustration
• Action — When played for it's action, this card lets you draw 2 more cards. (example)
• Cost to buy — This card cost 5 energy to buy. (example)
• Experience points — This card is worth 1 experience point at the end of the game. (example)
• Activity deck — which activity (e.g. Outdoors) the card belongs to

Merit Badge Breakdown

Each merit badge shows:

• Activity — which activity it belongs to (e.g. Outdoors)
• Experience points — the experience value needed/associated with that badge (e.g. 6)

Objective

Summer Camp is a deck building game where each player has their own deck of cards and their own discard pile. Players will choose how they want to build up their deck to help them gain more experience points to win the game.

Players are competing to earn the most experience points.

Experience points are gained by collecting merit badges from each of the 3 paths on the game board. Along the way players will also gain experience points through the cards they add to their deck. As soon as a player has collected all 3 merit badges at the end of each path, the last turns are played and the game ends. The player with the most experience points wins the game!

How to Play

The start player takes the first turn and then play moves clockwise around the table. Each player has a hand of cards they drew from their deck.

On their turn, the active player may play any cards from their hand and may buy cards from the display. They may do these things multiple times per turn and in any order.

Watch the video to learn how to play: buffalogames.com/summer-camp

Play Cards

The active player looks at their hand and may play as many cards in their hand as they like, in any order.

Each card can be played to EITHER:

1. Perform the action listed on the card

OR

2. Gain 1 energy to buy a card during that turn.

When a card is played, it is placed face-up above the player's board for all players to see.

If a card's action is to move on a path, the player must move their pawn forward (moving to the right) on the indicated path the specified number of spaces. This represents the player gaining experience in an activity and getting closer to being awarded a merit badge for that activity.

Any number of pawns may occupy a single space.

If a pawn ever moves onto or through a space with a bonus icon above it, its owner immediately receives this bonus, as described below. A player may receive multiple bonus icons in a turn:

• The player draws 1 card from their draw pile and adds it to their hand.
• The player takes 1 snack bar token from the supply and puts it next to their player board.
• The player immediately moves any 1 of their pawns 1 space forward on its path. If there is a bonus icon on the space they move to, they receive that bonus as well.

Buy Cards

At any time during a player's turn, they may buy a face-up card from the display to add it to their deck. Players buy a card by spending energy they have gained during that turn. The cost of energy needed to buy a card is listed at the bottom of the card.

A player may buy any number of cards, and at different times during a turn, but may only spend the energy they have gained during that turn. Any unspent energy is lost at the end of each turn.

All bought cards are immediately placed face-up on the player's discard pile.

Snack Bar Tokens

At any time during their turn, a player may return any number of their snack bar tokens to the supply pile to gain 1 energy per token. Remember, any unspent energy is lost at the end of the turn, but snack bar tokens can be kept between turns and used later in the game. (Players may hold a maximum of 6.)

End of Turn

When a player is finished playing and/or buying cards, they must do each of the following to end their turn:

• Discard – place all the cards they have played, and any cards remaining in their hand face-up on their discard pile.
• Draw a new hand – draw 5 face-down cards from the draw pile on their player board. (Each player always refills their hand to 5 cards at the end of their turn.)
• Refill the display – if there are any vacant spaces beside any activity draw piles due to cards being bought, fill them with new cards from the corresponding draw pile and place them face-up.
• Check for badges – check to see if the player has earned any merit badges.

Merit Badges

As players move each of their 3 pawns along the paths on the map board, they will collect merit badges at various times. After each turn, the player checks to see if they gained any merit badges:

• Participation badges - once a player gets all 3 of their pawns ON or TO THE RIGHT of the first bridge space, they take the highest value participation badge remaining on the lake board.
• All-star badges - once a player gets all 3 of their pawns ON or TO THE RIGHT of the second bridge space, they take the highest value all-star badge remaining on the lake board.
• Activity merit badges – once a player's pawn reaches the final bridge space on a path, the player takes the highest value merit badge remaining at the end of that path.

All collected merit badges are placed on the circle spaces on each player's board.

The turn is over, and it is now the next player's turn moving clockwise around the table.

Important Rules

• If your draw pile ever runs out of cards, shuffle all the cards in your discard pile to make a new face-down draw pile on your board, then continue drawing from it.
• A player's hand is always kept secret from the other players until cards are played or discarded.
• There is no limit to the number of cards a player may have in their hand at a time.
• A player may only have a maximum of 6 snack bar tokens at a time. If an action would put a player over the 6-token limit, simply stop taking additional tokens.
• If the s'mores, scavenger hunt, or free time cards run out, they can no longer be bought.
• If an activity draw pile ever runs out, then there will simply be fewer cards of this activity type available in the display.
• If a pawn is on the final bridge space of a path, it may no longer move.
• It is possible to miss out on a participation or all-star merit badge, so don't fall behind!

A Turn Example

At the start of her turn, Audrey has the following 5 cards in hand: Lights out!, lights out!, marshmallows, kitchen chores, and nature walk.

• She plays kitchen chores for its action: move 1 space on the cooking path. She moves her pawn on the cooking path and it lands on a space with the draw a card bonus icon. She draws 1 card from her draw pile and adds it to her hand — it is another lights out!

• She next plays marshmallows for its action: gain 2 snack bar tokens. She takes 2 snack bar tokens from the supply and places them beside her board.

• Audrey decides she wants to buy the hiking card from the display, which costs 5 energy. So, she plays her 3 lights out! cards and her nature walk card for energy — which gives her a total of 4 energy. She then turns in 1 of her snack bar tokens to the supply to gain 1 energy, bringing her total to 5. She now buys hiking, taking it from the display and placing it face-up in her discard pile.

  Lights out! + Lights out! + Lights out! + Nature Walk + Snack Bar token = 5 energy

• Audrey has done all she can do and finishes her turn. She places all her played cards in her discard pile. Then she draws 5 new cards. However, her draw pile runs out after drawing 4 cards. Therefore, she takes her discard pile, shuffles it, and places it face-down on her board as a new draw pile. She now draws her 5th card from it and is excited to see it is the hiking card she just bought!

• Finally, Audrey checks to see if she has gained any merit badges. She has not, because 1 of her pawns has not reached the first bridge space yet. Her turn is now over, and the player to her left starts their turn.

Game End

When a player collects all 3 merit badges at the end of each path, it signals the end of the game. However, players should continue taking turns until all players have had an equal number of turns. (When it becomes the start player's turn again, each player has taken the same number of turns, and the game is over.)

Each player calculates their final score by adding up:

• The experience points on all the merit badges on their player board.
• The experience points on all the cards in their deck (in their hand, draw pile and discard pile – as shown in the star icons on the bottom right-hand corners of cards).
• Experience points scored by each pawn that did not make it to the final bridge space. Each pawn scores the number of points listed on the lake board above the space it finished on.

Winning the Game

After each player counts of all their experience points, the player with the most points wins! In the case of a tie, the player with the most snack bar tokens is the winner.

Activity Card Reference

Base Cards (64)

• S'mores (14): Gain 2 energy to spend this turn.
• Scavenger hunt (14): Discard any 1–3 cards from your hand and place them face-up in your discard pile. For each card you discarded, draw 1 card from your draw pile and add it to your hand.
• Free time (8): Move 1 space on any path. If you land on a bonus icon, gain it as usual.
• Lights out! (28): There is no action for this card.

Adventure (28)

• Zip lining (3): Choose any card in the display that costs 4 energy or less and add it to your hand without spending any energy. You may now play it as usual.
• Ropes course (3): Choose any card in the display that costs 5 energy or less. Place it face-down on top of your draw pile without spending any energy.
• Climbing wall (3): Choose any card in the display that costs 6 energy or less. Place it face-up on your discard pile without spending any energy.
• Cave exploration (3): Choose 1 of the 3 activity draw piles. Draw the top card from it. Place it face-up on your discard pile without spending any energy.
• Tire swing (4): Move your pawn forward 1 space on the adventure path.
• Archery (7): Move your pawn forward 2 spaces on the adventure path.
• Mountain biking (5): Move your pawn forward 3 spaces on the adventure path.

Arts & Crafts (28)

• Tie dye (3): Discard any 1 card from your hand and then move 1 space on any path. If you land on a bonus icon, gain it as usual. You may do this action twice with this card.
• God's eye (3): Discard 2 snack bar tokens and then move 1 space on any path. If you land on a bonus icon, gain it as usual. You may do this action 3 times with this card.
• Macaroni sculpture (3): Discard any 1 card from your hand and then gain 3 snack bar tokens. You may do this action twice. You may only ever have 6 snack bar tokens at a time.
• Bird feeder (3): For this turn, any snack bar tokens you choose to spend are worth 2 energy instead of 1. Playing multiple bird feeder cards in a turn has no added effect.
• Boondoggle (4): Move your pawn forward 1 space on the arts & crafts path.
• Ceramics (7): Move your pawn forward 2 spaces on the arts & crafts path.
• Leatherwork (5): Move your pawn forward 3 spaces on the arts & crafts path.

Cooking (28)

• Bacon and eggs (4): Gain 3 energy to spend this turn.
• Stew (3): Gain 4 energy to spend this turn.
• Marshmallows (3): Gain 2 snack bar tokens from the supply. You may only ever have 6 snack bar tokens at a time.
• Hot cocoa (2): Gain 3 snack bar tokens from the supply. You may only ever have 6 snack bar tokens at a time.
• Kitchen chores (4): Move your pawn forward 1 space on the cooking path.
• Fire making (7): Move your pawn forward 2 spaces on the cooking path.
• Pizza making (5): Move your pawn forward 3 spaces on the cooking path.

Friendship (28)

• Secret admirer (3): Gain 5 energy to spend this turn. After playing this card you must put it face-up on the discard pile of an opponent of your choice. The card now belongs to them.
• Friendship bracelet (3): Draw 3 cards from your draw pile and add them to your hand. After playing this card you must put it face-up on the discard pile of an opponent of your choice. The card now belongs to them.
• Candy stash (3): Gain 3 snack bar tokens from the supply. Each other player gains 1 snack bar token from the supply. A player may only ever have 6 snack bar tokens at a time.
• Sing-along (3): Draw 2 cards from your draw pile and add them to your hand. Each other player draws 1 card and adds it to their hand.
• New friend (4): Move your pawn forward 1 space on the friendship path.
• Cabin loyalty (7): Move your pawn forward 2 spaces on the friendship path.
• Pen pals (5): Move your pawn forward 3 spaces on the friendship path.

Games (28)

• Tag (4): Move 1 space on any path. If you land on a bonus icon, gain it as usual. If you land on a space with a pawn belonging to the opponent sitting to your right, draw 1 card from your draw pile and add it to your hand.
• Capture the flag (3): Move 1 space on any path. If you land on a bonus icon, gain it as usual. If you land on a space with a pawn belonging to the opponent sitting to your right, gain 2 snack bar tokens. You may only ever have 6 snack bar tokens at a time.
• Dodgeball (2): Draw 2 cards from your draw pile and add them to your hand. Each of your opponents must choose 1 card from their hand and place it face-up on their discard pile.
• Tug-o-war (3): Gain 2 snack bar tokens. Each of your opponents must discard 1 snack bar token if they have at least 1. You may only ever have 6 snack bar tokens at a time.
• Tetherball (4): Move your pawn forward 1 space on the games path.
• Parachute games (7): Move your pawn forward 2 spaces on the games path.
• Color war (5): Move your pawn forward 3 spaces on the games path.

Outdoors (28)

• Flashlight (4): Draw 2 cards from your draw pile and add them to your hand.
• Pocket knife (2): Draw 3 cards from your draw pile and add them to your hand.
• Plant identification (3): Look through your discard pile and choose any card to add to your hand. You may now play this card as usual.
• Bird watching (3): Draw 3 cards from your draw pile and add them to your hand. Then you must choose any 3 cards from your hand and place them face-up on your discard pile.
• Nature walk (4): Move your pawn forward 1 space on the outdoors path.
• Hiking (7): Move your pawn forward 2 spaces on the outdoors path.
• Camping trip (5): Move your pawn forward 3 spaces on the outdoors path.

Water Sports (28)

• Water blob (3): Move 2 spaces on any 1 path. If you land on any bonus icons, gain them as usual.
• Fishing (3): Move 1 space on any path. If you land on a bonus icon, gain it as usual. If you land on any bridge space, draw 1 card from your draw pile and add it to your hand.
• Swim practice (3): Move 1 space on the path you have progressed the least on—that is, move the pawn that is furthest back out of your 3 pawns. If multiple pawns are tied for your furthest back, you may choose which of them to move. If you land on a bonus icon, gain it as usual.
• Water skiing (3): Move 1 space on the path you have progressed the most on—that is, move the pawn that is furthest forward out of your 3 pawns. If multiple pawns are tied for your furthest forward, you may choose which of them to move. If you land on a bonus icon, gain it as usual. If you have a pawn on the final bridge space of a path, it still counts as your furthest forward and it may no longer move.
• Water safety (4): Move your pawn forward 1 space on the water sports path.
• Canoeing (7): Move your pawn forward 2 spaces on the water sports path.
• Sailing (5): Move your pawn forward 3 spaces on the water sports path.

Merit Badges Reference

Base Pack (6): Camp All-Star (4, 6, 8), Participation (2, 4, 6)

• Adventure (4): 6, 8, 10, 12
• Games (4): 6, 8, 10, 12
• Arts & Crafts (4): 6, 8, 10, 12
• Outdoors (4): 6, 8, 10, 12
• Cooking (4): 6, 8, 10, 12
• Water Sports (4): 6, 8, 10, 12
• Friendship (4): 6, 8, 10, 12

Credits

Gameplay © Phil Walker-Harding. Game art by Adam Grason. © Buffalo Games, LLC. Buffalo Games, LLC, 220 James E Casey Dr., Buffalo, NY 14206.