Wild Fun West
Wild Fun West Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
Inside the Wild Fun West box you will discover:
- This booklet
- 102 Dollar coins (66 x $1 and 36 x $5)
- 1 First Player Card
- 69 Objective Cards (12 different sets)
- 12 Character Cards
- 28 Profession Cards (16 Open and 12 Closed Bid)
- 20 Buildings Cards
Game Set Up
- Separate the cards into Objective Cards, Profession Cards, Character Cards and Building Cards.
- Shuffle all the Profession Cards together; they become the Professions Deck. Shuffle the Building Cards and set them also aside on the table as the Buildings Deck.
- The Objective Cards should further be separated according to the Objective Set name (e.g. Santa Fe, see Appendix 1). The Objective Cards are now separated into 12 Objective sets.
- Choose one set of Objective Cards according to the number of players in the game. Shuffle the chosen set and distribute one Objective Card to each player. Players should keep their Objective cards secret until the end of the game.
- Shuffle all the Character Cards together and distribute one to each player (Appendix 2).
- Place all the $1 and $5 tokens in the middle of the table. Each player starts the game with $5. The money everyone has throughout the game is secret (secret = you can keep it in your pocket, cowboy hat, a shoe or in an envelope etc... just do not share confidential information with the other players).
Everything is set up, start the game.
Example - Setting Up the Game
The example shows the table layout: a Common Money Area holding the $1 and $5 tokens; the Professions Deck beside the Professions Bidding Area and the Discarded Professions Deck; the Buildings Deck beside the 3 Buildings Bidding Area and the Discarded Buildings Deck; and the Buildings Built In Town Area. Each player has an area with the starting conditions: $1 in front of them, their Objective Card, their Character Card (for example Billy the Kid), and space for up to 2 active Profession Cards.
Game Play
The game is divided into turns. In the first turn, the First Player Card is awarded to the player who says first: "I'm the sheriff here!" and is convincing enough so other the players fear him. Players are free to choose a different criterion for deciding the first player as long as it's Wild West related.
Step I: Bidding for Professions
Every turn, the players are bidding for Professions. The number of Profession Cards auctioned per turn depends on the number of players:
- 3 Profession Cards for a 4 or 5-player game
- 4 Profession Cards for a 6-player game
- 5 Profession Cards for a 7 or 8-player game
The auction process for each Profession Card consists of the following steps:
- Reveal the top Profession Card from the Professions Deck.
- Players bid for it (Closed or Open bid as specified on the Profession Card) - Appendix 3.
- Award the Profession Card to the winner or discard it if all the players bid zero (Closed Bid) or pass (Open Bid).
All the discarded Profession Cards are placed into the Discarded Professions Deck. As soon as the Professions Deck is empty, replace it with the Discarded Professions Deck, after shuffling it.
A Profession becomes active when a player pays $1 and places it in front of him face up on the table. At any point in the game, the players are allowed to have at most two active (on the table, face up) Professions. The players may keep in their hand any number of Profession Cards. They are allowed to swap them at any time except during the Receiving Income step of each turn.
EVERY TIME A PLAYER PUTS A PROFESSION IN PLAY, HE MUST PAY $1, REGARDLESS IF THAT PROFESSION REPLACED ANOTHER PROFESSION OR NOT.
A Profession that becomes banned by another Profession that entered play will be returned to the owner's hand immediately. A Banned Profession may not enter play (as long as it is banned - Appendix 1).
Step II: Bidding for Buildings
Reveal the top 3 Building Cards from the Buildings Deck and place them face up in the middle of the table. Starting with the first player and moving clockwise, players may:
a) place any number of coins on a Building Card or
b) pass. The auction continues until there are N-1 'passes' in succession where N is the number of players.
The Building with the most money on it is built in town, the other ones are discarded. If any number of Buildings are tied for the highest number of money on them, nothing is built in town and all three Buildings are added to the Discarded Buildings Deck.
Once a Building has been built, it will remain on the table until the end of the game. There are no means of removing Buildings from play. As soon as the Buildings Deck is empty, replace it with the Discarded Buildings Deck after shuffling it.
Step III: Receiving Income
Each Profession Card in play provides income for the player owning it (blue arrow pointing down - player's direction) and the player on his left (red arrow pointing left). To get the total income for a player, sum up the income from the Character Card (it is always 3), his Profession Cards, the Profession Cards from the player on his right and from the modifiers (see Appendix 4).
All the income is collected from the bank. If a player's grand total is less than 3, the player will still collect 3 Dollars from the bank.
At the end of this step, pass the First Player Card clockwise to the next player.
Auctions (Bidding)
Open Bid
Open bidding is an open ascending price auction. Starting with the first player and going clockwise, players bid one by one, each of them having to either raise the bid or pass. A player can rejoin the auction with a higher bid on his turn even if he had passed earlier. The auction continues until there are N-1 successive 'passes', with N being the number of players. The winner is the highest bidder. Only the player who wins the bid pays to the bank. (EXAMPLE A)
The players may never bid more than they can pay.
Open Bid Example
Example A
Let's consider a 5-player game where the Station Master Profession Card is up for auction. The open bidding:
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player 1 | $1 | PASS | $5 | PASS (3) |
| Player 2 | $2 | PASS | PASS | PASS (4) END |
| Player 3 | PASS | $4 | $6 | |
| Player 4 | $3 | PASS | PASS (1) | |
| Player 5 | PASS | PASS | PASS (2) |
The winner of the auction is Player 3, as there were 4 (N-1=5-1=4) consecutive "passes" following his bid. He must pay to the bank $6 and he is awarded the Station Master card.
Closed Bid
Closed bidding is an all-pay auction. This means that all players must pay regardless of whether they win or not. Each player will place in one closed (fist-making) hand the amount he wants to bid. All players reveal their hands at the same time and pay the money they bid to the bank. The winner is the highest bidder. In the case of a tie for the highest bid between two or more players, the winner is decided from those players after a round of open bidding. All players must participate in a closed bid, even if they are bidding zero. (EXAMPLES B&C)
Closed Bid Examples
Example B
Let's consider a 5-player game where the Prospector Profession Card is up for auction. The closed bidding:
| Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | $2 | $1 | $0 | $0 |
The winner of the auction is Player 2. All the money used for bidding are returned to the bank, regardless of the winner.
Example C
Let's consider a 5-player game where the Cowboy Profession Card is up for auction. The closed bidding:
| Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | $2 | $2 | $2 | $0 |
Everyone has to pay their bid to the bank. Players 2, 3 and 4 are tied for highest bidder. They proceed to open bidding:
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player 2 | $1 | $3 | $5 |
| Player 3 | PASS | $4 | PASS (1) |
| Player 4 | $2 | PASS | PASS (2) END |
Being the last one to raise the bid, Player 2 wins the auction (N-1=3-1=2) after 2 consecutive "passes". He has to pay 5 additional coins to the bank and he is awarded the Cowboy card (Player 2 paid a total of 7 coins).
Winning the Game
Check your Objective card! Do you see at least 4 out of 6 Buildings built in town (that means in play, on the table... face up)? Congratulations, you won the game. Show everyone your Objective card and enjoy the sweet taste of victory! Oh...wait... are there more players in the same situation (now, or later)? The amount of money each of them has is the tie breaker. Still equal? Then, you share the victory.
Short Game Rules
If your time is limited or you just want to play a shorter game, change the winning condition. Award the victory to a player who has built 3 (instead of 4) out of his 6 buildings on his Objective card.
Appendix 1: Profession Cards Symbols
Each Profession Card shows its name, its type of bid (Open or Closed), and its income: the income for the player who owns it (self) and the income for the player on your left. Beneath these are four kinds of symbol, numbered 1 to 4 on the card diagram:
- Not in play - Additional income from the Professions and Buildings mentioned next to the "not in play" symbol, only if those Profession and Building Cards are not in play (face up on the table). For example, as long as the Piano Player is NOT in play, you get an extra $1.
- In play - Additional income from the Professions and Buildings mentioned next to the "in play" symbol, only if those Profession and Building Cards are in play (face up on the table). For example, as long as any player employs the Preacher Man, you get an extra $1. You will get an additional $1 if there is the Sheriff's Office built in town.
- Build - The Building(s) mentioned next to the "build" symbol receive a subsidy from the bank when YOU (the owner) bid on them. For every $1 that you bid on that Building, an additional $1 from the bank is placed on it, effectively doubling your bid. For example, if you bid $5 on the School and if you have the Schoolmarm as an active Profession (in play), another $5 will be added on the General Store from the bank.
- Ban - All Professions mentioned next to the "ban" symbol may not be in play (face up on the table) as long as the banning Profession is active. If one of your active Professions is banned, take that card back into your hand. Some other Profession will ban the one that banned yours! A Profession that is banned cannot become active (may not be placed face up on the table).
Appendix 2: Objective Cards
Each Objective card lists 6 Buildings (Objectives); build 4 of them to win the game. During the game setup, separate the Objective cards by set (the objective set name is printed on each card).
Inside the Wild Fun West box you will find 12 different sets of Objective Cards. They are split into 4 categories based on the number of players.
- For 4 players there are 3 sets of 4 Objective Cards. They can build: Calico, Dodge City, Two Guns.
- For 5 players there are 3 sets of 5 Objective Cards. They can build: Canyon, [name not legible in the scanned rulebook], St. Elmo.
- For 6 players there are 2 sets of 6 Objective Cards. They can build: Bannack, Frisco.
- For 7 players there are 2 sets of 7 Objective Cards. They can build: El Paso, Santa Fe.
- For 8 players there are 2 sets of 8 Objective Cards. They can build: Bonanza, Eldorado.
Appendix 3: Character Cards Abilities
Each Character card shows the character's name and picture (flavor), the income for self, and a special ability. Each Character's special ability is as follows.
Annie Oakley - Once per game, at the beginning of the turn, you may forbid one player from participating in any auctions for Profession and from bidding on Buildings for the rest of the turn.
Belle Starr - Once per game, after the beginning of the 4th turn, you may steal $2 or less from each other player. Players who have in play the Sheriff, the Marshal or the Judge are not affected.
Bill McDonald - Once per game, when the Sheriff is revealed from the Professions Deck, you may take it without bidding. All abilities that ban the Sheriff are ignored for until the end of that turn. This ability brings the Sheriff into your hand. You still have to pay $1 to put the Sheriff in play.
Billy the Kid - Once per game, immediately after the Bank is built, gain $15.
Buffalo Bill - As long as there are at most 2 Buildings built in town, you may swap your Objective Card with another player of your choice. You give that player your Objective card and take his. You may not swap back the Objective cards.
Calamity Jane - Once per game, you may exchange one profession from your hand for another of your choice from the Professions Deck. You may look through the whole Professions Deck (not through the discarded Professions) and choose the Profession you want. After the exchange, shuffle the Professions Deck.
"Doc" Holliday - When the Dentist and/or the Gambler are revealed from the Professions Deck (the same turn or not), you may take them without bidding if you pay $4 to the bank for each of them.
Gorge Custer [printed this way in the source] - You may activate this ability once per game, during the Building Step, after the three Buildings are revealed and before the bidding starts. Discard those three Buildings. Then, shuffle together all the discarded Buildings in the Buldings [sic] Deck. Draw three new Buildings and continue the game.
Jesse James - Once per game, during the Building Step, you may steal up to $7 from the bids one Building. You may immediately place than money on any Building or you can keep if for later. The bidding process continues as if no one had already said "pass". All the stolen money ($7 or less) must come from the same Building, you may not take partial sums from more Buildings.
Judge Roy Bean - Once per game, if at the end of Bidding for Buildings Step two or more Buildings are tied for the highest amount of money on them, you may choose one to be built instead of discarding all of them.
Wild Bill Hickok - Once per game, when either the Stagecoach Driver or the Marshal is revealed from the Professions Deck, you may take it without bidding. You may obtain only one Profession this way.
Wyatt Earp - Once per turn, when a Profession is revealed, you may change the auction type from Closed Bid to Open Bid or other way around. This must be done before the bidding starts.
Appendix 4: Receiving Income Example
John has two Profession cards in front of him, the Schoolmarm and the Trapper. The player on his right, Mary, has the Blacksmith and the Piano Player. In the town, the players have already built the Saloon and the Sheriff's Office.
John's income is:
- From his cards in play (blue arrow, self): +3 from "Doc" Holliday, +1 from the Trapper, +1 from the Schoolmarm.
- Additional income from the Trapper:
- A. +2 from the Blacksmith being in play.
- B. +1 from General Store (because it is not built in town).
- Additional income from the Schoolmarm:
- C. +1 from the Sheriff's Office (it is built in town).
- From Mary's professions (red arrow, player on your left): +2 from the Blacksmith, +1 from the Piano Player.
The total is +12, so John will receive 12 Dollar coins.
Note on the printed source: the rulebook's internal cross-references to Appendices disagree with its own Appendix headings (Setup step 3 cites "Appendix 1" for the Objective sets, Setup step 5 cites "Appendix 2" for the Character cards, and Step I cites "Appendix 3" for bid types). They are transcribed here as printed. The Appendix headings are Appendix 1 Profession Card Symbols, Appendix 2 Objective Cards, Appendix 3 Character Cards Abilities and Appendix 4 Receiving Income Example.