Banana Governance Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
  • 56 first half of the game cards (draft)
  • 16 divider cards
  • 22 second half of the game cards (auction)
  • Other
• Overview
• Preparation
• First Half: Draft Phase
• Second Half: Auction Phase (5 Rounds)
  • Preparation
  • Auction
  • Auction Resolution
• Scoring
  • Scoring Example
• FAQ

Contents

56 first half of the game cards (draft)

It mainly contains banana cards, with a few pass bird cards and monkey cards.

• 44 banana cards
  • 4 cards each: 20, 16, 12, 10, 6
  • 8 cards each: 8, 4, 2
• 6 monkey cards: one 12vp card, two 10vp cards (one of them is the starting player card), two 8vp cards, one 6vp card
• 6 pass bird cards

16 divider cards

• 12 banana cards: 4 cards each of 10, 6, 2
• 4 monkey hand cards

22 second half of the game cards (auction)

It contains mainly monkey cards, with a few monkey & bird cards and bird add-on cards.

• Monkey cards: 2 cards each of 30, 24, 20, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4 (one each of 24, 20, 16, 14, 10, and 8 are monkey & bird cards)
• 2 bird add-on cards

Other

• 5 round counting bird cards
• Summary cards

Overview

Banana Governance consists of two phases.

In the first half of the draft phase, players divide their hands with divider cards and distribute cards to other players. During this phase, players will acquire banana cards to use in the auction in the second half of the game.

In the second auction phase, players bid on monkey cards over five rounds. In each round, players use banana cards to participate in the auction, and the highest bidder wins the monkey card. However, the player with the lowest bid must win a bird card, which is a penalty.

At the end of the game, the total value of the remaining banana cards is multiplied by the total value of the monkey cards to calculate the score. However, points will be deducted according to the number of bird cards collected.

Preparation

Shuffle the cards for the first half of the game and place them face down in a deck.

Similarly, shuffle the cards for the second half of the game and place them face down in a deck. Distribute a summary and divider cards to each player:

• 3 players: Deal each player the 6 and 2 banana divider cards and a monkey hand divider card. (Remaining cards will be returned to the box.)
• 4 players: Deal each player the 10, 6 and 2 banana divider cards and a monkey hand divider card.

First Half: Draft Phase

Divide the banana bunch as evenly as possible, but be aware that there will be good and bad bananas in the same bunch!

Each player is dealt 14 cards for the first half of the game.

Note: The cards you are dealt cannot be rearranged.

When playing with three players, 14 cards will remain. Return them to the box without using them. However, the start player card must be used. Make sure that it is dealt to someone. Do not return the start player card to the box.

Each player checks the cards they have been dealt and divides the 14 cards into separate pieces using the divider cards.

• The monkey hand divider card must always be placed at the end of the 14 cards.
• Banana divider cards can be inserted anywhere between the 14 cards.

The 14 cards will be divided into groups equal to the number of players by divider cards (4 players: 4 groups). The monkey's paw goes to the back.

Once everyone has finished dividing their cards, they pass their cards face down to the player on their left. Check the cards passed to you, choose one of the groups separated by a divider card, and take all of its cards.

A group is from a divider card to just before the next divider card (i.e. you only get one divider card per group).

Note: Keep the cards you have acquired aside so they do not get mixed up with the others.

Once everyone has acquired a group of cards, they pass the remaining cards face down to the player on their left.

This process of "acquiring a group → passing the remaining cards to the left" is repeated the same number of times as the number of players.

All the acquired cards will be in your hand and you will then play the second half, the auction phase. You can rearrange the cards in your hand.

Note: The last group of cards you get will be the unpopular cards that no one else chose from the ones you divided. The more evenly you divide the cards, the better your gain.

Second Half: Auction Phase (5 Rounds)

Use bananas to gain the monkeys' support! However, if you use too many bananas, you will lose influence.

The Auction Phase lasts for 5 rounds.

The starting player for the first round is the player who acquired the Start Player Card (10-point Monkey card) during the Draft Phase.

The starting player for rounds 2 to 5 is the player who submitted the highest bid in the previous round.

Preparation

Flip over [number of players − 1] cards from the second half card deck and place them in the center of the table (4 players: flip 3 cards from the second half deck).

Take one round counting bird card and place it in the center of the table. These cards will be the subject of the auction for this round.

Bird add-on card: If you flip a bird add-on card from the deck of cards for the second half, place the bird add-on card on top of the round counting bird card. Then flip over another card. In this round, the player who submitted the lowest bid must receive two bird cards. If two bird add-on cards are revealed in the same round, the second card is returned to the deck, shuffled, and another card is revealed.

Auction

Starting with the start player, players take actions in clockwise order. Each player can only take one action.

1. Presenting a bid: Place one banana card from your hand in front of you. At this time, you can only play cards with a value equal to or greater than the last banana card you played in the same round. Place the played banana cards in a different position so that the total bid price is easier to see.
   • Note: You can play a card even if your bid is lower than the total of the other players' bids.
2. Pass: If you don't want to or can't play any more banana cards, pass. If you pass, you will not be able to submit any more bids in this round.
3. Use the Pass Bird Card: Play the Pass Bird card from your hand. Unlike 2 Pass, you can submit a bid on your next turn in this round. Place the used Pass Bird cards face up in front of you. (Points will be deducted at the end of the game.)

Once everyone has taken 2 Pass, the auction is resolved.

Auction Resolution

The player with the highest total bid wins the monkey card of their choice in the center of the table. The player with the lowest bid wins the bird card in the center of the table. If there are any bird add-on cards flipped over, they win both of them.

Note: If multiple players have the same total bid, the player who passed first will be considered to have made the higher bid. By passing early, you can put pressure on other players with the same bid to play their banana cards.

Place the cards you have acquired face up in front of you. Then play the next round. At the end of the fifth round, calculate the scores.

Scoring

At the end of the game, the score is calculated as follows:

First, calculate the sum of the values of the banana cards in each player's hand.

Next, calculate the sum of the values of the monkey cards they have acquired.

Next, calculate the points deducted due to bird cards. Points are deducted based on the number of bird cards in their hand (including cards used as passes) and the number of bird cards they have acquired. The number of bird cards includes monkey & bird cards and pass bird cards.

Number of bird cards	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9+
Deduction	2	5	9	14	20	27	35	44	54

Score = Total value of bananas × (Total value of monkeys − Bird deduction)

The result of this calculation is each player's score.

The player with the most points will become the Great Boss Monkey and win. In the event of a tie, the victory will be shared.

Scoring Example

At the end of the game, you have these cards: bananas in hand worth 10 + 12 + 20 = 42; monkeys acquired in the auction phase worth 10 + 8 + 12 + 14 + 16 = 60; 6 birds, for a deduction of 27.

42 × (60 − 27) = 1386 points.

FAQ

Q. During the draft phase, can there be no other cards between the divider cards? A. Yes, that's not a problem. However, be aware that if there's a block with only one divider card, you're more likely to end up taking it.

Q. Can the banana divider cards be used during the game? A. Yes, just like the banana cards used in the first half of the game (draft), they can be used to offer bids during the auction phase, and will be included in the total value of the banana cards when calculating the points at the end of the game.

Q. What is the total value of all the banana cards? A. The total value of the bananas on the cards for the first half of the game (draft) is 368, and the total value of the bananas on the divider cards is 72, for a total of 440. Use this as a guide when dividing and acquiring cards during the draft phase.