7Seas
7Seas Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Materials
- 40 booty cards in 4 colours (Gold, Crystals, Rum, Curses), each with a strength from 1 to 10. The strength value is shown in the corners of the cards. The treasure chests in the middle indicate the booty value.
- 4 treasure chest cards in the 4 player colours. The back shows an overview of the strength values and booty values.
- 1 "Compass" starting-player card.
- 4 ships in the 4 player colours.
- 1 rules booklet including a nautical chart for noting the navigation points. The left side depicts the harbour; the centre shows the information about the navigation points you can get in the different categories. Separate the nautical chart from the rules booklet by cutting it along the dashed line.
Game Description
Booty cards in the middle of the table form the so-called display; this represents the treasure island. On your turn, you play one card from your hand. If the value of this card matches the value of one or more of the displayed booty cards, you have to put them underneath your treasure chest. If you manage to clear the display, you may additionally nick one booty card. Once all players have played their cards, the round ends and players can score navigation points for the most captured cards, for the most gold, for the pirate lady, the pirate king, and for the highest total booty value. For every navigation point you get, you move your ship one space ahead on the nautical chart. As soon as one player has reached space 7 on the nautical chart, the game ends.
Set-Up of the Game
- Place the nautical chart in the middle of the table.
- Everybody chooses one player colour and takes the treasure chest and the ship of that colour. Put the treasure chest in front of you and place your ship to the left of space 1 on the nautical chart.
- The player who last went to sea becomes the starting player and puts the compass card in front of him.
Preparation of the Round
The starting player shuffles all booty cards and lays out 4 cards face up to the right of the nautical chart in the middle of the table. This is the display.
Important: At the beginning of a round, the display may never include more than 2 cards with a strength of 10. If the starting player reveals a third strength-10 card, he immediately has to reshuffle all booty cards and form a new display.
After that, the starting player deals out cards to all players, in turn:
- In the four-player game, everybody gets 8 booty cards. The remaining 4 cards are put in the harbour on the left of the nautical chart as a face-down pile.
- In the three-player game, everybody gets 11 booty cards. The remaining 3 cards are put in the harbour as a face-down pile.
- In the two-player game, everybody gets 8 booty cards. Four more cards are put in the harbour as a face-down pile, and the remaining 16 cards are put aside for the time being.
Course of the Game
The special rule for 2 players is explained later, under "End of the Round".
7 Seas is played over several rounds. Each round begins with the starting player and proceeds in clockwise order. Every time it's your turn, you have to play exactly one booty card. The following rules apply:
The examples refer to a display with the booty cards shown in the rulebook illustration (the harbour, nautical chart and display are labelled in the illustration).
1. If the display contains one booty card of the same strength value as the card you have played, you must take this card. If there are several cards of the same strength in the display, you may choose which card to take.
Example: Barbara plays a booty card with a strength of 3. Since there is only one card of this strength in the display, Barbara has to take this card and put it underneath her treasure chest, along with the strength-3 card she has played.
2. If the display contains two or more booty cards that have the same total strength value as the card you have played, you must take these cards.
If there are several card combinations with the same total strength, you may choose which combination to take.
Example: Clark plays a booty card with a strength of 8. Since there is no 8 on display, Clark checks whether there is any card combination with a total strength of 8. The strength-5 card and the strength-3 card can be combined to form a total value of 8. Consequently, Clark puts the 5, the 3, and the strength-8 card he has played underneath his treasure chest.
3. If the display contains a single booty card with the same strength AND a card combination with the same total strength value, you always must take the single card with the same strength (rule 1).
Example: Pia plays a booty card with a strength of 10. There are two possible strength-10 combinations: 2+5+3 or 7+3. But since there is a single strength-10 card on display, this is the card that Pia has to take.
4. If the display contains neither a single booty card nor a card combination that matches the strength of the card you have played, you must add your card to the display. The number of cards in the display is not limited.
Example: Barbara plays a booty card with a strength of 4. The display contains neither a single strength-4 card nor a card combination with a total strength of 4. Consequently, Barbara has to add her 4 as a sixth card to the display.
5. If the display contains a booty card with a strength of 10, you may take this card if you play a card with a strength of 1 – also with the kraken. But if the display contains a booty card with a strength of 1, you have to take this card (rule 1).
6. The kraken! Curse and blessing: If you play the kraken, you may take all the booty cards of the display – regardless of their strength values. If you take all the displayed cards, you must also take the kraken. If you don't want to take all the cards and the kraken, you may add the kraken to the display instead. But if the display contains a strength-1 card, you must – in compliance with rule 1 – take this card.
Example rules 5 and 6: Clark plays the kraken. He could either add it as a sixth card to the display or take the 10 (rule 5). But he chooses to take all the booty cards and, with this, clears the display (rule 6).
The following general rule applies: If you take one or more booty cards from the display, you always put these cards underneath your treasure chest along with the card you have played – this is your booty. You may not look at your booty at any time during the game.
Clearing and Nicking
Whenever you manage to clear the display – that means you take the last booty card (or cards, in the case of a suitable card combination) from the display – you may nick 1 card. To do so, choose either another player's treasure chest OR the cards in the harbour. Look secretly at all the cards, pick 1 booty card and put it face down underneath your treasure chest. The remaining booty cards are either given back to the player you stole from or returned face down to the harbour.
Important: The kraken! Curse and blessing. If you play the kraken and take all the booty cards from the display, you may not nick any card.
Attention! If it is your turn and the display has been cleared by the previous player, you have to start a new display by playing a booty card and placing it in the middle of the table.
End of the Round
Once all hand cards have been played and the last player has finished his turn, the current round is over and a scoring takes place.
In the two-player game, a round consists of 2 cycles. Once both players have played the last of their 8 hand cards, the 16 cards that were put aside at the beginning of the round are now dealt out. So players begin the second cycle also with 8 cards each. The display and the harbour remain unchanged for the second cycle, and the starting player doesn't change either. The round ends after the second cycle.
Scoring
Tip: In order to keep the scoring easy and clear, sort the cards you have captured by type and lay out each type in front of you in columns, overlapping.
Navigation points are scored for these 5 categories:
- 1 navigation point for the player with the most booty cards. In case of a tie, all players involved get 1 point each.
- 1 navigation point for the player with the most gold coins. Each gold card is worth 1 coin, except for the strength-1 card – this card counts 3 coins. In case of a tie, all players involved get 1 point each.
- 1 navigation point for the player who has captured the pirate lady (crystal with a strength of 1).
- 1 navigation point for the player who has captured the pirate king (rum with a strength of 1).
- 2 navigation points for the player with the highest total booty value. In case of a tie, all players involved get 2 points each.
Determine your total booty value as follows: Select the card with the highest booty value for each card type (gold, crystals, rum, curses). (The highest booty value for the curses is the curse with the lowest minus value.) The sum of your highest booty values is your total booty value.
The curse of the kraken: If you have captured the kraken, the booty value of your curses automatically is -7 points (regardless of whether you have a curse with fewer minus points). In this case, the highest booty value of your curses is ignored.
Example: Your total booty value is 12 (1 + 7 + 6-2). If you had captured the kraken, your curses would automatically count -7, and your total booty value would be 7 (1 + 7 + 6 -7).
For each navigation point you gain, move your ship one space ahead on the nautical chart.
After the scoring, you prepare a new round, as described under "Preparation of the Round". The current starting player hands the compass card to the next player, in clockwise order.
End of the Game
The game ends after the scoring in which a player's ship has reached at least space 7 on the nautical chart. The player whose ship is furthest ahead wins. In case of a tie, the players involved share victory.
More of 7Seas
If you have enjoyed playing 7 Seas, try out the following variants. Of course, you can combine these variants in any way you want.
A Longer Game
7Seas becomes even more thrilling when the tactical manoeuvring for the most navigation points turns into a true neck-and-neck race at sea. Before you begin, agree on whether the game ends as soon as one player has reached space 11 or space 14 on the nautical chart. (If you achieve more than 14 navigation points, move your ship on to space 1.)
The Last One Clears the Display
Once all hand cards have been played, the player who last took booty cards from the display clears the display and takes all remaining cards. (This doesn't necessarily have to be the player who lays out the last card.) However, he is not allowed to additionally nick a card.
7Seas as a Team Game
This variant works for the four-player game only. There are two teams, each formed by the two players sitting opposite each other.
Each team chooses one player colour and, accordingly, has only one ship and one treasure chest under which the two players collect their shared booty. Other than that, the game set-up and the preparation of the round remain unchanged, and the game proceeds in compliance with the rules explained above.
The ultimate team variant: At the beginning of a round, all cards are dealt out to the players. That means everybody gets 10 cards; there is no harbour.