Bargain Hunter
Bargain Hunter Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- 108 ITEM cards in 6 COLORS (each ITEM is numbered 1-9 and appears twice in each COLOR)
- 2 Irresistible Offers (the highest TRUMPS in the TRICK game but worthless otherwise)
Objective Of The Game
BARGAIN HUNTER is a trick-taking game where TRUMP COLOR (if any) is determined during each TRICK. Players try to collect ITEMS and get the best BARGAIN they can on those ITEMS. All other "odds and ends" collected in the process are not necessarily BARGAINS as they may simply remain JUNK over the course of the game. All BARGAINS are worth positive points while JUNK is worth negative points. Each ROUND, however, players have the opportunity to turn potential JUNK back into BARGAINS. Whoever collects the most BARGAINS with the least JUNK, wins.
The Game Round
With 3 players, there will be 6 ROUNDS; with 4 players, 4 ROUNDS. The first ROUND has only 7 TRICKS as a BARGAIN is chosen first; otherwise, there are 8 TRICKS per ROUND. At the end of each ROUND, a SPRING CLEANING will occur.
The most recent person to shop a yard sale deals first. In subsequent ROUNDS, the deal passes clockwise. The dealer shuffles and deals each player 8 cards face-down. The remaining cards are put aside; they are only used in future ROUNDS. Everyone takes their cards and sorts them. Play during a ROUND always proceeds clockwise.
The Bargain
THE BARGAIN is only performed before the first TRICK of the first ROUND. Beginning with the player to the left of the dealer, each player chooses one ITEM from his hand and places it face-up in front of him to form his BARGAIN PILE. This way, each player displays the ITEM they are trying to collect throughout the ROUND. Players can choose an ITEM that has already been chosen but it becomes more difficult for those players to find their BARGAIN.
The Hunt
The player to the left of the dealer leads by playing any one card. The players each play one card in turn to the TRICK per the following:
- The COLOR of the first card (LEAD COLOR) must be followed (however, an Irresistible Offer may be played no matter the COLOR or TRUMP).
- If a player does not have a card of the LEAD COLOR, he must play a card of another COLOR (or an Irresistible Offer). He immediately declares whether this COLOR is TRUMP or not. In each TRICK, there can be only one TRUMP COLOR. LEAD COLOR cannot be declared TRUMP. Any COLOR (except LEAD COLOR) may be declared TRUMP, even if that COLOR was already played, but not declared TRUMP, by another player.
- Each card appears twice in the deck. If a card is played that is already present in the TRICK, the player immediately declares whether this second card is higher or lower than the previously played card.
- The Irresistible Offer card is the highest TRUMP. It may be played even if the player has a card in the LEAD COLOR. The second Irresistible Offer card played is always higher than the first.
- Whoever has played the highest card in the TRICK wins. In a TRICK without TRUMP, it is the highest card in the LEAD COLOR; in a TRICK with TRUMP, it is the highest card in the TRUMP COLOR.
- The winner of the TRICK leads the next TRICK. TRUMP color does not carry over from one TRICK to the next.
Examples
Sara leads with green 2. Green must now be played (if possible) and cannot be the trump color. James and Fred each have green cards, and therefore must follow with them. James plays a green 7. Fred would like to win the trick, but cannot trump. As he also has a 7, he plays it and declares that it is higher than the first 7. Mandy has no green cards. She plays a yellow 6. Because she does not want to win the trick, she declares that yellow is not trump. Fred wins the trick.
Fred leads with yellow 4. Mandy would like to win the 4 but has no yellow cards. She plays a blue 9 and declares that blue is the trump color. Sara would also like the trick but has only low yellow cards in her hand and must follow the lead color. However, she also has an Irresistible Offer, which she now plays as the highest trump. James plays his Irresistible Offer as well. Because the second of the Irresistible Offers is higher than the first, James wins the trick.
James leads with blue 5. Fred has no blue, but would like to win the trick, so he plays a red 3 and declares that red is the trump color. Mandy would also like to win the trick but has no blue or red cards. She plays a yellow 9 but cannot declare yellow as the trump color since the trump color is already red. Sara does not want the trick, but has only red cards (trump) in her hand. She plays the red 3 and declares that it is lower than the red 3 from Fred. Fred wins the trick.
The winner of the TRICK immediately looks for matching BARGAINS. Any matches are placed face-up on the winner's BARGAIN PILE; all other cards (including any Irresistible Offers) are placed face-down on the winner's JUNK PILE. TRICKS continue in this way until the required number has been played for the ROUND.
Spring Cleaning
After the last TRICK is won, each player sorts the cards in his JUNK PILE by ITEM. Players may, however, "discover" a new BARGAIN among this JUNK! Starting with the player who won the last TRICK, each player may clear-out all of the cards of one single ITEM set from his JUNK PILE.
- First, a minimum number of cards from this ITEM set must be discarded to the TRASH PILE: with 3 players, the first 3 cards must be TRASHED; with 4 players, the first 2 cards must be TRASHED. If the minimum cards are not TRASHED, all the cards from this ITEM set are discarded, and the next step is skipped.
- Second, any remaining cards beyond those TRASHED are now added on top of the player's BARGAIN PILE. In this way, negative JUNK turns into positive BARGAIN points. In addition, this new ITEM becomes the player's BARGAIN to collect for the next ROUND. The previous BARGAIN will no longer be hunted this ROUND.
Example
In a four player game, Sara has declared the 6 as her bargain item for the first round. She won three tricks and obtained two 6s. She has the following cards in her junk pile: 1 3 3 3 3 4 4 5 7 9. She throws two 3s on the trash pile and then places the other two 3s on her bargain pile. She is no longer on the hunt for 6s but instead after 3s.
Two 4s remain in Sara's junk pile. The other players do not know this as her junk pile remains hidden. If she should collect more 4s in the next trick-taking round, she can switch to a new bargain during the next spring cleaning.
Several players may choose to TRASH the same ITEM card during SPRING CLEANING. Players may also choose to TRASH the same ITEM card that matches any of their previous BARGAIN cards. Irresistible Offers can never be TRASHED, and must be kept until the final scoring. Players may TRASH sets of any size, even if the set is not large enough to change their BARGAIN card. Players can even completely skip Spring Cleaning.
New Round - New Bargain?
If a player has chosen a new ITEM during SPRING CLEANING, any further items collected matching his former BARGAIN will now be considered JUNK. If his BARGAIN card did not change, the player simply continues hunting the same BARGAIN during the next ROUND. Only the uppermost card of the BARGAIN PILE determines which cards can be placed on this PILE during the new ROUND. However, previously collected BARGAINS always retain their value.
Example
Sara collected 6s in the first round. After the first spring cleaning, she changed to the 3 as her new bargain. If she now wins a trick with the cards 2 3 6 8, she places the 3 on the bargain pile, while the 6 goes with the 2 and 8 to her junk pile. The 6s in her bargain pile, however, remain there and still count as positive points.
Starting the Next Round
The next dealer collects all the cards from the TRASH PILE, shuffles them, and places them under the remaining cards. He then deals the cards and the next ROUND begins with another HUNT.
If there are insufficient cards to deal 8 to each player, deal only as many cards as possible such that every player receives the same number of cards.
Game End
The game ends after the required number of ROUNDS. In the final ROUND, players may SPRING CLEAN twice. Everyone may choose up to two ITEMS to clear-out and possibly add to their BARGAIN PILE. Of course, this time everyone chooses the ITEMS for which they have the most cards. The minimum (three or two) cards go on the TRASH PILE as normal, while the remaining cards of these ITEM sets go to the BARGAIN PILE. Everyone counts the ITEMS in their BARGAIN PILE and adds one point for each card. They then count the ITEMS and any Irresistible Offers in their JUNK PILE, and subtract one point for each card. Whoever has the most points, wins! In case of a tie, the player with the smallest JUNK PILE wins. If there is still a tie, the players share the win.
Tips
Decide early on which ITEMS you would like to change into BARGAINS. Otherwise, you might find yourself with many different ITEMS that cannot be completely cleared-out. Even if you do not win TRICKS in the first ROUND, you can still win the game. Concentrate on giving other players JUNK so as to hurt their scores. It is helpful to know which ITEMS other players collected previously, as they will usually have fewer of these cards in their JUNK pile.
Credits
© 2010 Valley Games. Valley Games and the Valley Games logo are trademarks of Valley Games, Inc. www.valleygames.ca
Author: Uwe Rosenberg Artist: Patrick Lamontagne Graphic Design: Kelsey Santucci Editor: Brian Mola
Translations: German: Grzegorz Kobiela · French: François Furthner, Olivier Bourgeois · Dutch: Peter Kruijt · Spanish: Darío Aguilar Pereira · Italian: Fabrizio Autino · Chinese: Joyce Lam