Cabaret Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the game
• Components
• Setup
• Game rules
• Game End
• Trick Takers Accelerated Start Rules

Object of the game

Become the most successful Talent Agent by collecting the highest total value of cards over the course of the game.

Components

• A deck of 72 Performer cards: Ranks number 1 to 12 in 6 Genres:
  • Yellow - Singers
  • Purple - Actors
  • Brown - Musicians
  • Green - Magicians
  • Blue - Dancers
  • Red - Jugglers
• 18 Mime cards
• 6 Agent cards (one in each Genre)
• 1 Rule sheet/booklet

You will also need a pen and paper for keeping score (not included).

Setup

Each player selects an Agent card (each color has one, and they say Cabaret across the front top), representing a different Genre. Collect all the Performer cards of the Genres that match the players' Agent cards, and gather them into a Performers deck. Also give each player 3 Mime cards. The Agent and Mime cards are placed on the table in front of each player, so the other players can see them.

Take any unused Agent card(s), and all Performers of the matching Genre(s) and put them back in the box. They will not be used this game. Therefore, you will have the same number of Genres as there are players.

Starting player is the last person to have seen a live performance at a theater or club.

Game rules

(Those players experienced with Trick Taking games, may want to skip to the Trick Takers Accelerated Start Rules)

Shuffle the Performers deck thoroughly, then deal 12 cards face down to each player. This will use all the cards of the deck. Players pick up the cards dealt to them so they can see the face of each card, and the backs are facing the other players.

Play begins with the starting player, who begins the next show by playing one of their Performer cards face up in the middle of the table. The next player, to the left of the starting player, plays a Performer card face up into the center of the table that must be a different Genre than the one the first player played! The player to the left of the second player plays a Performer card face up into the center of the table that is a different Genre than both the two previous players, and so on clockwise around the table, until the final player is left with only one choice of Genre to play.

If at any time a player cannot play a Performer card from their hand, due to all Genres they hold in their hand have already been played into the show, that player must play a Mime card from his collection into the center of the table instead of a Performer card from their hand. Note that this will leave that player with one more card in hand than the other players. If a player needs to play a mime, but has none left, then immediately score all the mimes on the table and then redistribute them so that each player has three once again.

Once all players have added a card to the show, the winner of the show is determined. The player that played the highest ranking card into the show wins all the cards in the show (Performer cards can be ranked from 1 to 12 with 12 being the highest rank, Mime cards are all ranked 0). If two or more players played cards of the same rank (for example, two players played 12s of different Genres) the show would be won by the player that played the next highest ranked card. If that rank is also tied, then the winner is whoever played the next highest card after that. If all players' cards are eliminated due to ties, no one wins the cards in the show; they are moved aside so a new show can begin. In this case the person who played the last card into this tied show plays the first card into the next show.

The winner of the show removes any Mime cards won and places them with their other Mime cards. The remaining cards are placed face down in a scoring pile in front of the player. That player then plays the first Performer card into the next show.

Play continues this way until 12 shows have been played. At least one player should have run out of Performer cards at this point, unless all players have had to play a Mime card during this round, which would be a very unusual situation.

Players remove from their scoring piles all cards that do not match the Genre of their Agent card, leaving in the scoring pile only those cards that do match. Player scores 1 point for every gold star on those remaining cards, and loses one point for each black star on those cards. Only count stars from the Performer cards at this point, not the Mime cards. Mime cards are scored only at the end of the game.

Game End

Players play 3 rounds (or alternatively, play a number of rounds equal to the number of players). For each player, total the scores from all rounds, then add the points from the stars on that player's Mime cards, with each gold star worth 1 point. Player with the most points wins.

Trick Takers Accelerated Start Rules

Cabaret! is a trick taking game that follows most of the conventions of traditional trick taking games (Hearts, Spades, Euchre, etc). The differences are spelled out below. Standard trick taking terminology is used, while the game's specific terminology is in parenthesis.

• Cards (Performers) are ranked 12-1, 12 being highest rank, 1 the lowest.
• There are no trumps.
• There are no partnerships.
• Deal all cards from the deck to the players (Agents), 12 cards to each player.
• Players may lead with any suit (Genre) at any time to start a trick (Show).
• Players may NOT follow suit! Meaning, once a suit has been played into a trick, no other player may play that same suit. They must play a suit that has not yet been added to the trick. If a player cannot play a card from their hand, because their hand contains only suits that have already been played, they must play one of their Mime cards into the trick instead.
• The player that played the highest ranking card, of any suit, wins the trick. If more than one player played the same highest rank card, for example two players played 12s of different suits, they cancel out, and the person who played the next highest card wins the trick, etc. If no player wins the trick due to one or more ties, then the trick is set aside and the player that played the last card into the trick leads the next trick.
• Any won Mimes are added into your collection of Mime cards. They are scored at the end of the game only, and are not shuffled into the deck nor returned to their original owner at the end of a round.
• Scoring is based on the number of stars collected in a players won tricks. Gold stars are 1 point each, black stars are minus 1 point each. Only cards that match the suit of a player's Agent card score each round, whether that is positive points or negative. Cards will have 1 to 5 gold stars, or 1 or 2 black stars.
• Variant scoring: Instead of only scoring one Genre, before the game starts the group of players may to decide to play with this variant. Score every Genre for everyone, but a player's specific Genre scores double points (both positive and negative).
• After three rounds (or alternately, play until each player has been first player once) players total their scores over all rounds, and add the stars from their collection of Mime cards. Each Mime card has 2 gold stars. Highest score wins.