Bango
Bango Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
The game contains 88 colored cards, numbered 1-11, in 4 different colors. Each color contains 2 of each number. There are also 11 black cards, numbered 1-11. The cards all have the same back and form a single deck.
Setup
Shuffle the deck of cards well to ensure you get the most out of your game.
For 2 players, remove 25 random cards from the deck. For 3 players, remove 15 cards. For 4 players, remove 10 cards. Return these cards to the box. For 5 players, use all the cards.
Then deal 1 card to each player, face down. They take it into their hand. If it's a black card, put it back in the deck and draw another card.
Place the deck face down in the center of the table, within reach of all players.
Decide at random who will play first.
How to Play
Take turns clockwise, starting with the first player.
On your turn:
- You must DRAW CARDS (obligatory), and then,
- You can PLAY YOUR CARDS in front of you to create sequences (optional).
Important: When you lay down your cards, any cards you have not played into a sequence are immediately placed on your personal discard pile. Black cards can never be placed in a sequence. Try to get rid of them before you play down cards. At the end of the game, you deduct 1 point for each card in your discard pile.
1. Draw Cards
On your turn, draw a card from the deck and place it face up next to the deck.
Then you choose whether to draw another card or stop drawing.
If you decide to draw another card, place it face up next to the card you just drew and check the following:
If the number on the card is different to the cards already face up in the center of the table: You can again choose whether to draw another card or stop drawing. You can continue to draw cards as long as the number on the card does not match a card already drawn.
If you choose to stop drawing, you take one or more cards of your choice into your hand from the face-up cards in the center of the table. You must take at least one card. Put any leftover cards in a common discard pile near the deck.
Example: Ella reveals a Blue 5, then a Purple 3. The numbers are different, so she draws another card: a Purple 1. She decides to stop drawing and takes the Purple 1 and Purple 3 into her hand. The Blue 5 is discarded.
If the number on the new card matches the number on another face-up card in the center of the table: You cause an explosion, and your turn ends immediately.
First, you must take the card which caused the explosion as well as all the black cards revealed (if any).
Then, all remaining cards must be split up among players: Starting with the player on your left and continuing clockwise, your opponents each take 1 single card of their choice from the center of the table.
Finally, once each opponent has taken a card, you must take any remaining cards into your hand (if any).
But don't worry! Players will have the chance to destroy cards instead of taking them into their hands (see BANGO below).
Your opponents also suffer the consequences of your actions… or can choose to profit from the opportunity instead!
Note: After an explosion, depending on the number of players and number of cards face up in the center, it may happen that not all of your opponents can take a card, or the active player has to take several cards.
Example: Hugo draws a Purple 4 and a Black 5. He decides to continue and draws a Yellow 7, a Yellow 1, and then a Blue 4. Drawing the Blue 4 causes an explosion, because a 4 has already been drawn. Hugo must take the Blue 4 as well as the Black 5 into his hand. Then in clockwise order, his opponents each take a card of their choice: Ella takes the Purple 4, David takes the Yellow 1, and Hugo takes the remaining card—the Yellow 7.
BANGO
At different stages of the game, you will be able to destroy a card in the center. You do so by playing a card with the same number from your hand: Call out "BANGO!" and place both cards in the common discard pile.
During the drawing phase, the active player may Bango more than once. However, they can only destroy the last card they revealed. If that card caused an explosion, destroying it cancels that explosion. After they Bango, they can choose to continue to draw, or stop drawing and take the cards they want into their hand.
After an explosion, each opponent may Bango a single card instead of taking it. Afterwards, the active player may Bango any remaining cards to avoid taking them into their hand.
Notes:
- Black cards follow the same rules as colored cards: You can destroy a colored card using a black card with the same number, and vice versa.
- You can use the BANGO action not only to destroy cards in the center that you don't want to take, but also to remove excess cards and black cards from your hand. Use it well!
Example: Ella reveals a Purple 1, then a Blue 1. These two cards have the same number, which causes an explosion. Ella plays a Yellow 1 from her hand to destroy the Blue 1 and cancel the explosion. Both cards are placed in the common discard pile. Ella can either stop there and take the Purple 1, or continue to draw.
Example: Ella causes an explosion when she draws a Blue 3. She takes the Blue 3 into her hand because she cannot prevent the explosion. The other players each choose to either take a card or destroy one. David destroys the Yellow 4 by playing a Red 4 from his hand. Hugo takes the Yellow 3. Ella takes the remaining card, the Purple 1. She could have destroyed it if she had played a 1 from her hand.
2. Play Your Cards
After drawing cards, you can choose to play all the cards from your hand in front of you (optional). However, if you have more than 5 cards in your hand at the end of your turn, you must play all your cards down. If you pass the hand limit of 5 during an opponent's turn, you do not need to do anything.
When you place down cards, you can:
- Start one or more new sequences by placing down at least two consecutively numbered cards (for each sequence). Place the cards into your sequence in the correct order, overlapping them.
Important: You can have a maximum of 3 sequences during the game.
AND/OR
- Continue one or more open sequences by playing one or more cards with numbers higher or lower than those already in the sequence. You can play cards at either end of your sequence.
A sequence: A chain of consecutively numbered cards, i.e. 2, 3, 4, 5…
Important: When you lay down your cards, you immediately place all cards you have not played into a sequence on your personal discard pile. Black cards can never be placed in sequences. If you have one or more black cards in your hand when you play all your cards down, you must immediately place those black cards on your personal discard pile.
You score -1 point for each card in your discard pile at the end of the game. Make sure you play cards into your sequence at the right time and rid yourself of excess cards and black cards!
Example: David ends his turn with more than 5 cards in his hand and so he must play his cards down, and then discard any he can't play. (1) He can continue his open sequence using his Purple 1 and 4. (2) He starts a new sequence with his Blue 10 and Red 11. (3) He must discard his Red 6 because he needs at least 2 cards to start a new sequence. Black cards can never be used in a sequence, so he must place his Black 4 on his personal discard pile.
(The example is illustrated with a card diagram in the printed rulebook.)
Game End
The game end is triggered when a player draws the last card in the deck. If this card does not cause an explosion, that player must stop and take at least one card from the center. If the last card causes an explosion, it is resolved in the usual way.
Next, all players can play cards into their sequences, following the usual placement rules (with a maximum of 3 sequences). Players place any remaining cards on their personal discard piles.
Scoring
Then proceed to scoring. Each player's points are counted as follows:
- 1 point per card in each sequence;
- 1 bonus point per card in the most frequent color within each sequence. If there is a tie for the most frequent color in a sequence, the player counts the next frequent color instead, and so on. If there is still a tie and there is no other color, the player does not score any bonus points for that sequence;
- 1 minus point per card in your personal discard pile.
Example: At the end of the game, David has 3 sequences. His first sequence contains 6 cards, so he scores 6 points. The most frequent color in that sequence is purple, with 4 cards, so he scores 4 bonus points. His second sequence contains 5 cards, so he scores 5 points. There is a tie between red and blue for the most frequent color in this sequence, so he checks the next most frequent color, which is yellow with 1 card. He scores 1 bonus point. His third sequence contains 4 cards, so he scores 4 points. There is a tie between red and yellow for the most frequent color. There are no other colors in this sequence, so he does not score any bonus points. David has 4 cards in his personal discard pile (1 of them is a black card), so he deducts 4 points. His total score is 16 points (20 - 4).
(Scoring example: 6 points + 4 bonus; 5 points + 1 bonus; 4 points + 0 bonus; -4 points for discard. Total 16.)