American Bookshop
American Bookshop Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Info
- Players: 3-5 people
- Gametime: 30-50 minutes
- Ages: 8 & up
- Needed: A set of pen and paper or scoring chips
- Contents: Instructions, Short Story, 2 Quick Reference cards, 52 playing cards with 4 suits of 13 cards each (0 cards, 2 each; 1-11 cards, 1 each)
Preparations of Hands
In order to keep track of score, please prepare a pen and paper or score chips. If playing with 3 players, remove the suit of red-colored cards from the deck and set them aside. If playing with 4 or 5 players, use all the cards. Shuffle the cards face-down and distribute to all players equally. If there are not enough cards to distribute equally, remove any extra cards remaining and set them aside. They will not be used this round.
Progress of the Game
1. Acquiring Cards (a "Trick")
You may choose a dealer using any method you like. The dealer will begin by playing any card of their choice. The other players take turns placing cards in clockwise order from the dealer. If they have any cards in their hands with a color that matches the dealer's card, they MUST play one of those cards ("following suit"). If they do not have a card of the same color, they may play any card from their hand.
Every time a card is played, the player says the combined sum of all cards played in the round. If this number equals or surpasses the limit (3 player games have a limit of 14; 4-player games have a limit of 16; 5-player games have a limit of 17), the player wins their card as well as all other cards in the sum.
If all players play cards without equaling or exceeding the limit, then the player who has the highest-value card of the same color as the dealer wins all cards in the sum (the dealer may also win). If two players are tied for highest-value card (only possible with 0-value cards), the player who placed the card first wins all cards in the sum.
Example of Play
When the limit is exceeded: Turns proceed from Player A in clockwise order and Player A begins by playing beige 8. Player B plays beige 7, which adds to the total of 15. Because the 3-player limit (14) has been exceeded, Player B wins all cards in the sum. (Player C does not get to play a card in this round).
When the limit is not exceeded: Turns proceed from Player A in clockwise order and Player A begins by playing beige 2. Player B does not have any beige cards in his hand, so they play green 6. Player C plays beige 5, bringing the total sum to 13. The 3-player limit (13) has not been exceeded, so Player C wins the cards in the sum. This is because they played the card of highest-value (5) that matches the dealer's color (beige).
2. Preparing for the Next "Trick"
When a player wins cards, they must sort them into 3 or 4 lines (one for each color). Line the cards up so that the total number of cards is visible.
The player who won will become the new dealer and choose a card to play and begin building a new sum (starting a new "trick"). As with before, each player will play a card to determine who wins the sum.
This cycle continues until a player plays the last card from their hand. From that point, play will continue until all players have played a card or the limit is exceeded; a final sum of cards will be won.
3. Processing Remaining Cards
After a player has emptied their hand, the remaining players may choose any number of cards from their hands and play them face-down. When all players have made their decisions (or abstained), they will turn over and reveal their cards simultaneously. Each player combines these cards with their winnings. The round is finished and it is time to score.
4. Scoring
Each collected card is worth -1 points. However, players will check to see who has the most cards of each color. The player who has collected the most cards of a color will instead earn +1 point for each card in that color. If multiple players have the same number of cards in a color, those cards remain as -1 points.
Example of Scoring
- Player A: Has most (7) beige cards: +7. Has 4 green cards: -4. Has 1 blue card: -1. Total: +2 points.
- Player B: Has 2 beige cards: -2. Has most (7) green cards: +7. Tied for most blue cards: -6. Total: -1.
- Player C: Has 3 beige cards: -3. Has 0 green cards: 0. Tied for most blue cards: -6. Total: -9.
5. Round End
When players have finished calculating scores, record them on paper or distribute chips to players corresponding with their point score. If cards were set aside at the start, combine them with the cards in play and shuffle to form a new deck for the next round. The player with the most points in the round will choose the next round's dealer (they may choose themselves). In the event of a tie, the player with the most points who is closest clockwise to the dealer will be the next round's dealer.
The game is played over the same number of rounds as there are players (EG- a 4 player game will play over 4 rounds). After all rounds are completed, the player with the highest sum of round points is the winner.
Credits
- Game Designer: Taiki Shinzawa (サークル倦怠期)
- Artwork: 中村圭佑, 平本春香 (ampersands)
- Logo Design: くれよんカンパニー
- Short Story: 竹田信弥
- Planning: 田中佳祐
- Publisher: 双子のライオン堂書店 (Twins Lion Do)
- Special Thanks: タチキタプリント, 株式会社岩紙器
- Translation: William Harvey