Belladone Bluff
Belladone Bluff Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Notice: User Information
Dosage: daily. Suitable for pregnant women. Do not take while operating a vehicle. Side effects: risk of addiction. Please consult your doctor.
Belladonna: a herbaceous plant of the Solanaceae family. Highly toxic, it can cause death. Its active substance, atropine, is still used in modern medicine.
Magistral preparation: a medicine prepared by a pharmacist following a specific prescription intended for a specific patient.
Components
80 cards divided into 5 differently coloured sets containing 16 cards, each with a value ranging from -6 to +6, as well as 4 "special action" cards with a value of 0.
2 "special action reminder" cards.
1 scorebook.
Formulation
Shuffle the 80 cards and deal 5 cards to each player.
Place the remaining cards face down in a neat deck that is easily accessible to all the players. Next to the deck, allow enough space to line up 3 rows of 7 cards on the playing surface. Draw the first 3 cards from the deck and arrange them face up in a column of 3 cards next to the deck.
These 3 cards are the starting point for the magistral preparations (Preparation I, Preparation II, Preparation III).
Important: during the game, if a "special action" card is drawn at the start of the magistral preparation (i.e. the first card in the magistral preparation column), it is discarded and replaced with the next card in the deck.
Administration
The player who took a medicinal ingredient last starts the game. The round then continues in a clockwise direction.
Players must hold their hand in such a way that only they can see the ingredients and/or special actions on their cards. The back of their cards must be visible, so that the colours of these cards can be seen by all the players.
When it is the player's turn, he/she may add as many cards as desired from his/her hand to 1 of the 3 magistral preparations (i.e. one row of cards), while respecting the following rules:
- All the cards played must be of the same colour.
- The cards must be placed alternately face up and face down.
- The "special action cards" are only active when they are placed face up.
- To complete your magistral preparation and win all the cards, the player must add the 7th card to the magistral preparation. This 7th card must always be the same colour as the 6th card of the magistral preparation in question.
After a player's turn, i.e. when he/she has added one or more cards to a magistral preparation, the player then draws (from the deck) the same number of cards he/she just played in order to have a full hand of 5 cards for the next round.
When a player wins a magistral preparation, he/she turns over all the cards and adds up their values. The score (a positive or negative number or even 0) is noted under the player's name in the scorebook.
In this example, the special action of the second card is inactive because it was placed face down in the magistral preparation.
The player who added the 7th card to this magistral preparation wins and earns 7 points in total.
The collected row of cards is then discarded. The player takes the first card from the deck and turns it over to start a new magistral preparation (3 preparations must always be in progress on the playing surface). The player then completes his/her hand and then it is the next player's turn.
Important: if a player is unable to play at least 1 of his/her cards in one of the 3 magistral preparations (or in the one imposed by a "special action" card), he/she must skip a turn. However, the player can discard as many cards from his/her hand as desired and replace them with cards from the deck.
N.B.: cards discarded during the game remain so, i.e. they are never returned to the deck.
Dispensing
The game ends when — after the deck is depleted — the first of the 3 magistral preparations in progress is completed and won (if, in this phase, a player finds him/herself unable to play a card, the game ends immediately). The players then add up their scores from winning the magistral preparations. The player with the most points wins the game.
Generic Variations
Game for four players: in a four-player game, the players form two teams of two players. Players from both teams sit in alternate positions (e.g. A-B-A-B). Each player has his/her own hand and can not see the hand of his/her teammate (the players can look at each other, but not discuss their game strategy). The game is played as a normal game, except that the two players on the same team share their scores. The team with the most points wins the game.
Easy mode: for beginners or to simplify the game in general, no player may have a score below 0. At the beginning of the game, each player starts with 5 points.
"Special Action" Cards
Reminder: "special action" cards have a value of zero and only become activated when they are placed face up in a magistral preparation.
- Reverse arrows icon — Reverses the score of the magistral preparation when a player wins it. All negative points become positive, and vice versa. For example, if a magistral preparation had a score of -9, it would now be worth 9!
- Target icon — Once this card is placed face up in a magistral preparation, all players are required to complete it until it is won. Therefore, no cards can be played in either of the two other magistral preparations.
- Jar icon — Once the magistral preparation has been completed, the player who placed the 7th card and won it must give it to another player of his/her choice.
- Eye icon — The player who places this card face up can discreetly look at the front of all the cards placed face down in the magistral preparation in which he/she placed the card. If the player wishes, he/she can swap one of these cards with a card from his/her hand (which the player then places face down in the magistral preparation while he/she retrieves the other from his/her hand).
If several different "special action" cards are placed face up in the same magistral preparation, their effect is cumulative.
If several similar "special action" cards are placed face up in the same magistral preparation, then:
- Reverse arrows icon — their effect is cumulative. An even number of this card face-up in the same magistral preparation will not change the final score, while an odd number will reverse the score.
- Target icon — their effect remains the same. All the players must only complete the concerned magistral preparation.
- Jar icon — their effect remains the same. The player who completes the magistral preparation must give it to another player.
- Eye icon — their effect is cumulative. Each player who places this card face up in the same magistral preparation benefits from its effect (even several times for one player).