Before the Wind
Before the Wind Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction
Merchant ships are entering the harbour to be loaded. Every captain has a list of the goods that must be loaded into the hold of his ship…
2.0 Components
- 120 Action cards (40 Receive Goods, 40 Store Goods in Warehouse, 40 Load Goods onto Ship/Profit)
- 60 Goods cards (15 apples, 15 cheeses, 15 spices, 15 silks)
- 60 cards representing money — guilders (24x 1, 12x 2, 12x 5, 12x 10)
- 46 Ship cards (20 small ships, 26 large ships)
- 4 warehouses
- 1 active player marker
- 1 rules booklet
2.1 Action Cards
Action cards are the most important part of the game. You will use these cards to receive goods, to load them into your warehouse, and finally to load goods onto the ships in the harbour.
The three Action card types are: Receive Goods, Store Goods in Warehouse, and Load Goods onto Ship/Profit.
2.2 Goods Cards
There are four kinds of goods that are loaded onto the ships: apples, spices, silk and cheese. Some of these goods spoil completely or partly after the ships leave the harbour.
2.3 Guilder Cards
Use guilder cards to pay for your actions. Spending your money wisely is the key to victory in this game!
2.4 Ship Cards
There are two kinds of ships in the game: small ships (with a small hold) and large ships (with a large hold). Each ship can only be loaded with one specific combination of goods.
2.5 Warehouses
You own one warehouse near the harbour. You may store no more than eight goods in your warehouse. Goods cards are placed on the warehouse.
2.6 Active Player Marker
The owner of the marker offers the actions to be played and is the first to choose an action this turn.
3.0 Setup
Each player takes a warehouse and places it in front of himself, plus 22 guilders (1x 10, 1x 5, 2x 2, 3x 1). Keep the amount of money you own secret during the game.
Separate the Ship cards into two decks (large ships and small ships). Shuffle each deck. Depending on the number of players, lay out the following number of ships face up and place them in the middle of the playing area:
| Players | Large Ships | Small Ships |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 4 | 3 |
Sort the guilders by denomination and place them face up to form the bank. You may exchange your guilders at the bank at any time.
Sort the Action cards by type (by their backs) and shuffle each deck. Place them one after another, face down. The first deck is the Receive Goods cards, the second is Store Goods in Warehouse, and the third is Load Goods onto Ship/Profit. Each Action deck has its own discard pile.
The player who was on a ship most recently receives the active player marker. Finally, sort the Goods cards by type and place them face up in the playing area.
Beginning with the active player and continuing clockwise, each player takes two Goods cards of his choice openly and adds them to his hand together with his guilder cards.
Important: guilder cards and Goods cards have identical backs. Any player may at any time during the game ask for the total number of guilder cards and Goods cards in your hand, but you are not obliged to reveal the exact count of each.
4.0 Playing the Game
During the game players receive goods and store goods in their warehouse, in order to later load those goods onto suitable ships in the harbour and score victory points for them.
A game of Before the Wind lasts several rounds. Each round in turn lasts several turns. Each turn consists of 3 phases.
4.1 Choosing Action Cards
The active player draws a number of Action cards equal to the number of players and places them face up in the playing area:
- 2 players — 2 Action cards
- 3 players — 3 Action cards
- 4 players — 4 Action cards
Important: You may take a maximum of two cards from each Action deck. You must also take cards from at least two different Action decks.
Draw the Action cards one after another. You choose which deck to draw the next Action card from only after you have laid the previous card face up.
Example (3 players): The active player draws three Action cards. He draws a Receive Goods card, then a Load Goods onto Ship/Profit card. The profit of 8 guilders on that card does not suit him, so he decides to draw one more Load Goods onto Ship/Profit card. If the first Load Goods onto Ship/Profit card had offered a higher profit, he could have drawn a Store Goods in Warehouse card next.
4.2 Auctioning Action Cards
Beginning with the active player and continuing clockwise, each player chooses one of the Action cards laid out face up. You take an Action card and place it face up in front of yourself. You may take one of the cards in the playing area or a card another player has already taken.
If you want to obtain a card another player has taken, you must offer him money. Every player who has not yet obtained an Action card may also take part in the auction, offering any number of guilders (minimum 1). Several players may make the same bid. New bids may be either higher or lower than the previous ones.
Important: You may not offer more guilders than you have! You may exchange your guilders at the bank at any time.
The owner of the card that is being auctioned must choose one of the bids and:
- He may take the guilders from the player who made that bid and then hand him the Action card (the player is not obliged to choose the highest bid), or
- He may pay the guilders to the player who made the bid and keep the Action card himself (the player is not obliged to choose the lowest bid).
Note: If a player does not take part in the auction (passes), this does not mean he is bidding "0". A bid must be at least 1 guilder.
After a bid has been chosen and paid, the player who paid for the Action card places it face down in front of himself until the end of the Action card auction phase. The guilder cards are likewise placed face down in front of the player who received payment for the bid.
Important: Every player with cards placed face down in front of him may no longer take part in the Action card auction phase.
Discard the Action cards nobody took face up onto the matching discard piles.
4.3 Playing the Action Cards
Beginning with the active player (and continuing clockwise), each player performs an action (see 4.3.1). After all Action cards have been played, discard them face up onto the matching discard piles. The turn ends here. Check whether the round has ended (see 4.4).
Pass the active player marker to the player on the left. The active player begins a new turn by choosing Action cards (see 4.1).
After the turn ends, the game may be interrupted if the ships leave the harbour (see 4.4).
If an Action card deck runs out, form a new one by shuffling the matching discard pile.
4.3.1 Action Cards
Each Action card shows one of the following actions (or a special action — see 4.3.2):
A) Receive Goods
Place into your hand Goods cards of the type and quantity shown on the Receive Goods card, taken from the matching goods stacks.
Example: You receive 2x apples and 1x spices.
B) Store Goods in Warehouse
Place the number of Goods cards shown on the card into your warehouse. The Goods cards placed into the warehouse come from your hand.
Example: You may pay 18 guilders and place 4 goods into your warehouse.
You must pay the amount shown (in guilders) to the bank for storing the goods.
Important: A warehouse may hold a maximum of 8 goods at one time! You may place fewer goods into the warehouse, but you must still pay the full cost (as shown on the card) for storing the goods. If you cannot (or do not wish to) use a Store Goods in Warehouse card you have obtained, you pay no costs at all.
If you do not have enough guilders to pay the storage cost, you may not place the goods into your warehouse.
C) Load Goods onto Ship/Profit
When you play one of these cards, you must choose: load goods onto a ship, or take the profit. You may choose only one of these actions:
-
Load Goods onto Ship: If you have in your warehouse the goods, in the quantities shown on a Ship card in the harbour, you may load those goods onto that ship. Discard the indicated goods from your warehouse, placing them onto the matching goods stacks. Take the corresponding Ship card and place it face down in front of you.
Important: When playing a single Load Goods onto Ship/Profit card, you may load goods onto several ships, provided you have the required goods in your warehouse.
Example: You want to load goods onto a ship. Discard the goods and take the Ship card (and 16 victory points).
-
Profit: If you decide to take the profit, you receive guilders in the amount shown on the card.
Example: You want to take the profit. You receive 11 guilders.
4.3.2 Special Actions
During the Action card auction phase you may also obtain special action cards (choosing and auctioning such cards follows the normal rules for all Action cards). After the auction phase ends, special action cards may be played immediately or may be kept by you to be played on later turns. If you have kept special action cards, you may play one of those cards during the Action card playing phase in addition to your normal Action card.
Exception: if you do not obtain an Action card during the Action card auction phase, you may still play a special action card from your hand.
A) Receive Goods of Your Choice
Take into your hand any goods of your choice, in the quantity shown on the card.
Example: You receive 2 goods of your choice.
B) Preservation of Goods
Play this card by placing it next to your warehouse. When the ships leave the harbour (see 4.4), you will preserve goods in the quantity shown on the card. First determine which goods spoil. Then decide which of those goods you want to preserve with the card. If the Preservation of Goods card allows you to preserve more goods than you have in your warehouse, you may also preserve goods in your hand.
Example: When the fleet leaves the harbour, you may preserve 2 goods that would otherwise have spoiled.
C) Receive Goods and Store in Warehouse
Place goods of your choice from the matching goods stacks (not from your hand) into your warehouse, in the quantity shown on the card.
Example: Take 2 Goods cards of your choice from the goods stacks and place them straight into your warehouse. This costs 14 guilders.
You must pay the amount shown (in guilders) to the bank for storing the goods.
D) Exchange Goods in Warehouse
You may exchange 1 or 2 goods from your warehouse for the same number of goods from your hand or from other players' warehouses. The other players may not prevent the exchange!
Note: You may only exchange goods 1 for 1 or 2 for 2. You may not exchange 1 good from your warehouse for 2 goods from your hand (or vice versa).
If you exchange 2 goods, you may exchange one of them for a good from your hand and the second for a good from another player's warehouse (you are not obliged to exchange both goods for goods from your hand, or both for goods from other players' warehouses).
If you exchange 2 goods, you may "move" one good twice.
Example: Oleg exchanges the cheese from his warehouse for apples from Larisa's warehouse, then he exchanges the apples he has just acquired for silk from Alexander's warehouse.
E) Sell Goods
You may sell any number of goods from your hand or from your warehouse. For each Goods card you receive 3 guilders from the bank. Discard the sold goods onto the matching goods stacks.
F) Safe
Unlike the other special action cards, you may only play this card during the Action card auction phase. You may play the Safe card before choosing an Action card, or instead of a bid in the auction for another player's Action card.
If you play the Safe card before choosing an Action card, place the chosen Action card face down in front of you. The other players may not bid for your Action card!
If you play the Safe card instead of a bid in the auction for another player's Action card, you automatically obtain that Action card, and its previous owner receives compensation of 5 guilders from the bank.
Important: If you have played the Safe card during the Action card auction phase, you may no longer play special action cards from your hand during the Action card playing phase this turn.
4.3.3 Order of Play
If you have decided to play the special action card "Receive Goods and Store in Warehouse" or "Exchange Goods in Warehouse" together with the Action card "Load Goods onto Ship/Profit", you must play the Load Goods onto Ship/Profit card first!
4.4 End of the Round
When a certain number of the ships in the harbour have been loaded with goods, the current round of the game ends. The remaining ships leave the harbour and new ships arrive.
4.4.1 The Fleet Leaves the Harbour
If at the end of a turn 2 or fewer ships remain in the harbour, the fleet leaves the harbour. Discard the remaining Ship cards onto the matching discard piles. Before the new ships arrive, some goods spoil. Each player discards all goods remaining in his hand. In addition, goods spoil in the warehouses:
- All apples
- Half of the combined total of cheeses and spices. The player himself decides which cards to discard.
Important: If you have an odd number of cheeses and spices in your warehouse, the number of spoiling goods is rounded down.
The Goods cards must be discarded onto the matching goods stacks.
Example: Garik has 3 apple cards. Garik must discard all of them. Larisa has 1 spices card and 1 cheese card in her warehouse (2 cards in total). She must discard half of them and decides to discard the spices card. Alexander has 2 spices cards and 1 cheese card in his warehouse (3 cards in total). He must discard only 1 card and decides to discard the cheese card.
4.4.2 New Ships Arrive in the Harbour
After the spoiled goods have been discarded, new ships arrive in the harbour. Depending on the number of players, lay out the following number of ships face up in the harbour:
| Players | Large Ships | Small Ships |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 4 | 3 |
5.0 Winning the Game
The game can only end at the end of a turn (this will not necessarily be the end of a round!). The game ends if one of the players has earned enough victory points:
| Players | Victory Points |
|---|---|
| 2 | 60 |
| 3 / 4 | 50 |
The player with the most victory points is considered the most shrewd merchant and wins the game!
If several players have the same number of victory points, the player with more goods in his warehouse wins. If this is still a tie, the player with more guilders in hand wins.
6.0 Strategy Tips
- Always try to keep guilders in hand for the Action card auction.
- Pay attention to which goods are required for loading onto the ships. If you collect goods that are needed for loading several ships, you will have more options — you will be able to load your goods onto another ship if another player has loaded goods onto the ship you were aiming for.
- Apples are a more valuable kind of goods than cheeses and spices. Silk is the least valuable kind of goods, but silk never spoils in the warehouse.
- During the Action card auction phase bids usually range from 4 to 8… in very rare cases a bid of more than 10 guilders makes sense…
- If you need money and you are bidding for a Load Goods onto Ship/Profit card, offer half of the amount shown on the card. For example, if another player has chosen a Load Goods onto Ship/Profit card with a profit of 10 guilders, offer 5 guilders for that card. Either way each of you earns 5 guilders… Of course, if the player wants to load goods onto a ship, he may be prepared to pay a higher price for that card.
- If you do not need the Action cards on offer, you can simply take a few guilders from another player. Offer a small bid (2 or 3 guilders) for an Action card another player has chosen… Again, if you think the player badly needs that Action card, he may be prepared to pay a higher price for it.
Example (4 players): Garik, the active player, lays out four Action cards. He then chooses the Receive Goods card. Larisa also wants to receive goods. She offers 4 guilders for that card. In turn order each of the players may also make a bid. Oleg offers 7 guilders. Sasha is not interested and passes. Garik takes the 7 guilders and hands the Receive Goods card to Oleg. They place their cards face down in front of them. Now Larisa chooses an Action card, since she received neither an Action card nor any guilder cards. She chooses a Load Goods onto Ship/Profit card (in order to load goods onto a ship later). Sasha also wants to load goods onto a ship, so he offers Larisa 5 guilders. Larisa decides to pay 5 guilders to Sasha and keep the Load Goods onto Ship/Profit card herself. The Action card auction phase ends here, because every player has either an Action card or guilder cards in front of him.
Action Summary
A) Receive Goods
Place into your hand Goods cards of the type and quantity shown on the Receive Goods card, taken from the matching goods stacks.
B) Store Goods in Warehouse
Place the number of Goods cards shown on the Store Goods in Warehouse card into your warehouse. The Goods cards placed into the warehouse come from your hand. You must pay the amount shown (in guilders) to the bank for storing the goods.
C) Load Goods onto Ship/Profit
When you play one of these cards, you must choose: load goods onto a ship, or take the profit. You may choose only one of these actions:
- Load Goods onto Ship: If you have in your warehouse the required quantity of goods shown on a Ship card in the harbour, you may load those goods onto that ship. Discard the indicated goods from your warehouse, placing them onto the matching goods stacks. Take the corresponding Ship card and place it face down in front of you.
- Profit: If you decide to take the profit, you receive guilders in the amount shown on the card.
The Fleet Leaves the Harbour
If at the end of a turn 2 or fewer ships remain in the harbour, the fleet leaves the harbour. Discard the remaining Ship cards onto the matching discard piles. Before the new ships arrive, some goods spoil!
Credits
Author: Torsten Landsvogt
Production: Michael Bruinsma, Ulrich Blennemann, Henning Kröpke
Graphics: Czarnè
Layout: Lin Lütke-Glanemann
US Edition — Rules Development: Coleman Charlton, Pete Fenlon, William Niebling, Alex Yeager
Special Thanks: Robert T. Carty, Jr., Will Niebling, Tammy Paterson, Larry Roznai
Copyright © 2007 Phalanx Games b.v. and Mayfair Games, Inc. Published under license from Phalanx Games b.v. "Before the Wind" is a trademark of Phalanx Games b.v. All rights reserved. Made in Germany.