Yacht Rock
Yacht Rock Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal
Play as 1970s soft rock musicians in Southern California. Score points over three rounds by creating swanky outfits, recording hit songs, and attending schmoozy parties.
After three rounds, whoever scored the most points wins!
Setup
- Place the game board and score track on the table.
- Each player chooses a guitar pick and places the same-colored score cube on the starting space of the score track.
- Shuffle the Style cards and count out a deck for the round according to the player count (see chart below). Place that deck face-down near the board and set the other cards off to the side for the next rounds.
Style Cards Dealt per Round
- 3 Players / 29 cards
- 4 Players / 38 cards
- 5 Players / 47 cards
- 6 Players / 56 cards
- Deal one Style card from the deck, face-up, to each of the five Style slots.
- Shuffle the Single cards into a deck and place it on the table. Deal one Single card, face-up, to each of the two spaces on the game board.
- Shuffle the Soirée cards into a deck and place it next to the score track. Deal one Soirée card, face-down, to each of the two spaces on the game board. If the party names on the two cards match, replace one Soirée card.
- Make a pool of the Single tokens beside the game board within reach of all players.
- The most relaxed player takes the First-Player token and goes first.
Score Track Legend
The score track shows these scoring reminders:
- 2nd Hand Sales: 1 point per item.
- Musical Style Cards: 1 point each at the end of the game.
- Recording Singles: 8 points / solo, 3 points / duet.
Understanding Card Types
There are three types of cards you will use in the game.
Style Cards
Clothing Style cards show you the clothes you will be wearing to a party in each round. They come in four different colors: Gold, Coral, Lavender, and Teal. Each Clothing Style card shows you what type of clothing it is in the top left and how many points it is worth in the top right. You can only have one Style card of each clothing type (Top, Bottom, Shoes, Sunglasses, and Hat) at any time. Sell the rest to the secondhand shop for 1 point each.
Musical Style cards show you the ideas you had in the studio for soothing Yacht Rock songs. They come in seven different varieties and can be discarded at the end of your turn to contribute to one of the Single cards on the board. You can record songs by yourself or collaborate with another player.
Soirée Cards
Soirée cards show you the different parties you will be able to attend each round. The backs of the cards show you two of the scoring bonus categories for each party, and the fronts of the cards show you what the bonuses are, as well as the secret In Vogue bonus. You have to choose which party to go to BEFORE turning Soirée cards face-up!
Single Cards
Single cards are scored by using Musical Style cards to record hit records. You'll get points and a Single token for obtaining a Single card immediately, and you may also get bonus points later for each of your Single tokens if you attend a Soirée with a record bonus icon on it.
On Your Turn
The player with the First-Player token goes first. A turn has three parts: the first is mandatory, and the last two are optional.
1. Mandatory: You must choose one of the five Style card slots and take all the cards in that slot (some slots may only have one card in them). Place all the cards face-up in front of you, for all to see. Then, deal one card from the Style deck, face-down, to the Style card slot you just took from AS WELL AS to the Style card slots to the left and right of it. Then turn those three new cards face-up.
- A. Choose a Style slot and take all the cards in that location.
- B. Draw three Style cards from the draw deck, face-down. Do not look at them.
- C. Deal one Style card face-down to the empty slot, then deal the two other cards face-down to the adjacent slots.
- D. Turn those three new Style cards face-up.
2. Optional: You may sell Clothing Style cards to the secondhand shop. At any time, you may only have one of each of the five types of clothing: Top, Bottom, Shoes, Sunglasses, and Hat. If you end up with duplicates after taking cards from a Style slot, you may sell as many of them as you'd like for 1 point each (these points are immediately scored on the score track). Discard any cards you sell.
3. Optional: You may record singles. Each Single card shows three attributes of a hit song. You can record this single with a fellow musician or on your own. (See Recording Singles on the next page.)
Recording Singles
To collaborate on a duet: You and another player each discard a Musical Style card showing one of the musical attributes on the Single card. You don't need the third attribute—the star power of your dynamic duo carries the track! You each score 3 points and take a Single token (Single tokens are investments that could reap additional points later in the game). The Musical Style cards you discard need to be different.
Example: John takes cards in a Style slot that include a Soothing Saxophone Musical Style card. One of the Single cards on display shows that a single with a Soothing Saxophone, a Heartfelt Anthem, and a Guitar Interlude would score right now. Daryl has a Guitar Interlude Musical Style card, so John offers to collaborate on a single. Daryl agrees, and so they both discard their Musical Style cards and collect a Single token, scoring 3 points each. They replace the Single card and take pride in their new hit song.
Note: You are not required to offer to collaborate, nor are you required to accept an offer to collaborate. Points for recording singles are scored immediately on the score track. When a song is recorded, place the Single card you chose above the score track to keep a record of the game's top hits. If the Musical Style cards are available to do so, you may record both available Single cards on your turn.
To record a single on your own: You must discard Musical Style cards that match all three musical attributes shown on the Single card. This is more difficult to do than collaborating, but you score 8 points and take a Single token.
Example: One of the Single cards on display shows that a single with a Timeless Refrain, Poetic Lyrics, and a Gentle Beat would score right now. Lionel has all three cards to record that Single. He discards those three Musical Style cards, scores 8 points, and takes a Single token.
Party Phase
When a player cannot deal new Style cards after taking the cards in a Style slot because there are no more Style cards, it is party time! That player finishes their turn, then everyone proceeds to the Party Phase. Each player will have taken three turns.
1. Choose Parties: Starting with the player who has the First-Player token, each player chooses which party they want to attend by placing their guitar pick on that Soirée card. The backs of the Soirée cards hint at two of the scoring bonuses for each party, but you have to go to the party to find out the third, In Vogue, scoring bonus.
2. Score Points: Now that it's known who is at each party, go inside and see what's hot! Flip both Soirée cards face-up, revealing the bonus points they will award. Players score one at a time, starting with the player who has the First-Player token.
Scoring
1. Score Your Base Points: These are the numbers shown in the upper right-hand corner of your Clothing Style cards. Score 1 point for each Coral, Lavender, or Teal card in your outfit, and 3 points for each Gold card.
2. Score Your Bonus Points: Each Soirée card has three ways to score bonus points. You can score bonus points in all three ways at once.
- The color icons score a bonus for each card you have of that color in your outfit.
- The record icon scores a bonus for each Single token you possess.
- The Hat, Sunglasses, and Shoes icons in the In Vogue section score 4 bonus points if you have that item in your outfit.
- The multicolor icon in the In Vogue section scores 1 bonus point for each different color you have in your outfit.
Note: Hat and Sunglasses cards have two different colors on their borders. These cards act as both colors and can score for multiple bonuses.
Round Two... and Beyond!
After you have finished scoring, collect your guitar picks for the next round. To prepare for the second and third rounds:
- Players keep any Musical Style cards and Single tokens they collected in previous rounds.
- Take all other Style cards, both discarded and unused cards from the previous round, and shuffle them together, creating a deck for the next round like you did at the beginning of the game (see chart on page 2). You need to shuffle together the outfits worn in this round, Style cards sold for points in this round, Musical Style cards used for Single cards in this round, and all the Style cards that you set aside at the start of this round.
- Deal two new Soirée cards, face-down, to the center of the play area, replacing the two that were there. If the party names on the two cards match, replace one Soirée card.
- Pass the First-Player token to the player with the most points. In case of a tie, pass it clockwise around the table to the nearest tied player.
Ending the Game
After three rounds, the game is over. Players score 1 point for each of their remaining Musical Style cards, and the player with the most points is the winner!