Captain's Wager
Captain's Wager Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 28 Crew Cards
- 75 Treasure Cards
- 1 Starting Captain Card
- 3 Encounter Cards
- 5 Double-Sided Player Aids
- Gold Coin Tokens
- Loan Tokens
Card Types
Crew Card
The Crew Card's Front shows its Crew Value (the number in the top left corner), its name, its Effect When Played, and its Player Number Restrictions (shown at the bottom of the card).
Treasure Cards
Treasure Cards have different uses depending on where they are found during the game. Each player has their own treasure deck, each with its own color and crew icon.
The Front of a Treasure Card shows its name, its Gold Value (the number in the top right corner), and its Effect When Played (as an item).
The Treasure Deck - This is the deck you start the game with, and represents your personal supply of gold. The top card of your Treasure Deck is added to the pool at the start of every encounter. Any cards left in this deck at the end of the game are worth 1 Gold.
Claimed Treasure Stack - Treasure cards you claim as a result of winning a share of the pool, or as an effect of a Crew or Item card, go face up in a stack next to your Treasure Deck. Cards in this stack are worth the Gold Value printed in the top right corner at the end of the game.
Your Hand - When you put a Treasure Card in your hand, it becomes an Item. Items do not provide any gold value. Instead, they can be played for the Item Effect described on the card. Treasure Cards that are used as an Item are removed from the game once used.
Examples of when cards can be played include the following:
- At the start of your turn: Play these cards before betting or taking any other action.
- At the Start of the Encounter: Play these cards at the beginning of any encounter before the starting player has declared whether they wish to Bet, Borrow or Steal.
- At the end of the Encounter: Play these cards after each player has played a crew card but before the Encounter Card has been claimed.
- Any time: Any active player can play this card at any time. If two players attempt to play an "any time" card at the same time, the Starting Captain (or player closest to the Starting Captain in clockwise order) plays their card first. Players who have Stolen cannot play item cards to affect the outcome of the current Adventure.
- At the end of the adventure: Play these cards after the 3rd Encounter Card has been claimed but before the treasure has been distributed.
Goal of the Game
Players compete to claim the most gold.
The players' treasure decks act as game timers. The game is over at the end of a round in which 1 or more players has no cards left in their Treasure Deck. When the game ends, the player who has claimed the most gold is declared the winner and receives the title of Pirate Admiral!
Game Setup
-
When playing with fewer than five players, remove cards marked with other player counts from the Crew Card deck (e.g. when playing with 3 players, remove all cards marked 4+ and 5+).
-
Each player shuffles the 15 Treasure Cards in their chosen color and places them face down in their play area forming a Treasure Deck. These represent the gold you are bringing to bet with.
-
Randomly assign the Starting Captain Marker.
Overview of Play
Each round of gameplay represents an Adventure that players send their crews on. Players compete to claim Encounter Cards and win the right to claim a share of the treasure at the end of the Adventure. Each Adventure consists of 3 Encounters. Each Adventure goes through the following steps and takes about 5 minutes.
Outline of Gameplay
- Adventure Setup a. Each player is dealt 4 Crew Cards b. Each player antes a Treasure Card to the pool
- Play Encounters
a. Encounter 1
- Each player takes their turn (see page 5 for details)
- Winner takes encounter 1 card b. Encounter 2
- Each player takes their turn
- Winner takes encounter 2 card c. Encounter 3
- Each player takes their turn
- Winner takes encounter 3 card
- End of the Adventure (Distribute treasure)
- Check for Game End
Adventure Setup
a. Place the Encounter Cards in ascending order off to the side of the play area.
b. Shuffle the Crew Cards and deal 4 to each player (setting the rest to the side).
c. Each player MUST put the top card of their Treasure Deck in the pool as an ante (this is NOT considered a Bet).
Playing Encounters
During each encounter, all active players will take a turn and then the encounter card will be claimed. Only after all 3 Encounter Cards have been claimed is Treasure awarded.
During the first Encounter of each Adventure, the player with the Starting Captain token will be the first player. The first player in each subsequent Encounter is the player who won the previous Encounter. Play always proceeds clockwise.
2a. Playing Turns
At the start of a player's turn, they must declare whether they wish to Bet, Borrow, or Steal. Betting signifies your willingness to bet your own money on the strength of your crew. Borrowing allows you to send your crew without risking your own money, but with a penalty later. Stealing allows you to take a weak crew and get something, even if you don't think you can win the pool of treasure cards on this adventure.
Bet: Place the top card of your Treasure Deck face down in the pool, then play a crew card face up in front of you and resolve its effect (if any).*
Borrow: Take an IOU token (-2) and place it next to your Claimed Treasure stack, then play a crew card face up in front of you and resolve its effect (if any).
Steal: Lay your hand of crew cards face down in front of you. You will not participate anymore in this adventure. You will however commit some minor acts of piracy elsewhere and collect a small reward for doing so. Rewards vary based on the number of players - see the glossary for more information.
*For more information regarding running out of Treasure Cards, see the FAQ.
2b. End of an Encounter
After each player has played a Crew Card (or stolen) the players' Crew values are compared. Players may take one last opportunity to play "end of encounter" items and modify crew values. Finally, the Encounter Card is claimed by the player with the highest valued crew. If there is a tie for the highest value, the Encounter card is discarded unclaimed.
After the Encounter Card has been claimed, discard all played Crew Cards and all played Item Cards unless otherwise noted on those cards. Then play the next encounter.
Do not distribute treasure at this time. Treasure is distributed at the end of the Adventure (after the 3rd encounter is claimed).
*For more information on Encounter Cards and Items, see the glossary.
3. End of the Adventure
After the 3rd Encounter Card is claimed, players distribute the treasure which has accumulated in the pool. First, check to see if one player has claimed at least 2 encounter cards. If so, that player claims all of the treasure in the pool!
If no player has claimed 2 or more Encounter cards, the treasure in the pool is shuffled and randomly distributed amongst all players who claimed 1 Encounter Card. Treasures are distributed in the order in which the encounters were claimed. (Lower numbered encounters may receive a larger share of the loot, making them more valuable!)
Finally, each player who collected Treasure Cards in this way may choose to keep 1 of those treasure cards in their hand as an item. The remaining cards collected from the pool in this way must be placed face up in the claiming player's Claimed Treasure Stack next their Treasure Deck. Claimed Treasures* are worth their Gold Value during the final scoring at the end of the game.
*See the glossary for more information.
4. Check for Game End
If all players still have at least 1 card in their Treasure Deck, the Starting Captain Token is passed clockwise and players return to "1. Adventure Setup" and play another round.
If, however, at least 1 player has no cards remaining in their Treasure Deck the game ends and final scoring takes place.
Final Scoring
Players add the Gold Value of all the cards in their Claimed Treasures Stack and any Gold Piece they collected as a result of taking the Steal action. Any cards remaining face down in a player's Treasure Deck also count for 1 Gold each. Finally, players reveal any item cards in their hand which specifically say they are worth Gold at the game end. The combined Gold Value of all these things is your final score.
The player who has the most Gold wins and receives the title of Pirate Admiral!
(In the case of a tie, players compare who claimed the most 4 value treasures. If there is still a tie, they compare 3 value treasures, then 2 value treasures, and so on until the tie is broken.)
FAQs
I ran out of treasure cards in the middle of an Adventure. What do I do?
Your options remain the same. You may Bet, Borrow, or Steal. If you choose to Bet when you have no cards to put in the pot, each other player takes 1 Gold Coin from the supply, then you play your crew card as normal. If you choose to Steal, you will receive your gold coins as normal, but will receive no Item Card as there are no cards left in your Treasure Deck.
Stealing seems bad. Why should I Steal if that means I can't win anything?
Stealing not only gives you the opportunity to choose an Item that will help you on the next Adventure but (and perhaps more importantly) it also deprives your opponents of Gold. Remember that when you Bet you are spending a Gold you already have but if another player wins it, they are gaining between 2 and 4 Gold. For every Bet you make and then do not win, you have created a 3-5 point swing between you and an opponent!
Why do I need to pay my own gold to go on an adventure?
Betting is a wager between captains that their crew will pull the most weight on an Adventure. If I Bet on my crew and send an Orphan Stowaway on an adventure, and you bet and send a Mechanical Dragon, your crew will have done the heavy lifting and will be more entitled to the loot. I will have foolishly lost my own Gold betting on a weak crewman while also having helped get more loot for you!
Does a Captain who has used the Steal ability still get the benefit of the Roguish Aristocrat's ability?
Yes. Roguish Aristocrats are just dying to be real pirates and they make sure every captain benefits from their generosity so as to remain high in all captains' esteem.
One player has already won the first two Encounters. Should we still play the third?
Yes. Even though the player who has won two encounters is going to win the pool, players still have the ability to manipulate the treasure pool with Crew cards, as well as Steal to gain gold coins and Items.
Glossary
Claimed Treasures: Claimed Treasures are Treasure Cards which have been claimed as a result of cards (e.g. Ornate Key (item) & Clever Keymaker (crew)) or as a result of being awarded treasures at the end of an Adventure for having claimed 1 or more Encounter Cards. Claimed Treasures are placed face up in your Claimed Treasure Stack (next to your Treasure Deck) and provide their printed value in Gold at the end of the game.
Encounter Cards: Encounters represent various legs of an adventure. Winning 2 Encounters shows your crew to be vastly more effective than the other captains and you collect all the loot from the Adventure. Encounter cards are markers that show who has won an encounter and help determine treasure distribution in the case of a tie.
Stealing: When a player Steals, they collect Gold and Items, and forego their share of the pool – even if that player has already claimed 1 or more Encounter Cards.
- Gold: In a 2-3 player game, any player who flees collects 2 Gold Coins from the general supply. In a 4-5 player game, the first player to Steal collects 3 Gold Coins. Subsequent players who Steal collect 2 Gold Coins.
- Items: When a player Steals, they draw a number of cards from their Treasure Deck equal to the number of active players remaining on the Adventure, choose 1 to keep as an Item, and return the other cards to the bottom of their Treasure Deck.
(Example: in a 5-player game the first player to Steal draws 4 cards from their Treasure Deck. The fleeing player keeps 1 card as an item to play later and returns the other 3 to the bottom of the Treasure Deck. The next player to Steal would draw 3 and keep 1 as there are only 3 players left active, the next would draw 2 and keep 1, and so on.)
Items: Items are powerful single-use cards that interrupt the normal flow of play. See Treasure Cards.
Treasure: Treasure refers to Treasure Cards that are claimed and placed in a player's Claimed Treasure Stack to be scored for their Gold Value at the end of the game.
Treasure Cards: Treasure Cards are the most complex of all the cards in Captains Wager as they serve many uses.
-
If a Treasure Card is in your Treasure Deck it counts as 1 Gold at the end of the Game.
-
If a Treasure Card has been Claimed it goes face up on your Claimed Treasure Stack and provides its printed Gold value at the end of the game. There are several ways to claim Treasure Cards: Ornate Key (item), Clever Keymaker (crew), and as a result of winning an Adventure and claiming some or all of the Pool.
-
If a Treasure Card goes to your hand it becomes an Item. Items do not provide their printed Gold value but instead can be played for the effect described on the card. Each item card has a unique effect and can be played at varying times. When played, an item card is placed in the Junk pile. Items can be acquired through the play of Crew Cards (like Orphan Stowaway or Roguish Aristocrat) or as a result of Stealing.