Cobras
Cobras Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 52 Cobra cards (4 suits of 13)
- 1-4, single-cobra cards
- 5-9, double-cobra cards
- 10-13, triple-cobra cards
- 5 King Cobra cards
- 5 Basket cards
- 42 Cobra tokens
- 1 Solo Token
Rules for 3-4 Players
Setup
Shuffle the cards, then deal them out evenly to all players. In a 3-player game, discard the 1 remaining card. In a 5-player game, discard the 2 remaining cards.
Give each player a King Cobra card and a Basket card. Add your King Cobra to your hand of cards, and keep your Basket face-up in front of you.
Put the cobra tokens in a pile within reach of all players.
Grab a pen and a piece of paper to keep track of the score.
Overview
Cobras is a trick-taking game that is played over several rounds. Each round is made up of "tricks" in which each player plays one card. The first player in each trick will set the "lead suit" for the trick, determined by the suit of the card they play. Other players must follow suit if they are able; otherwise they may play any card.
The highest-numbered card of the lead suit wins the trick. The players that did not win the trick will divide up the cobras shown on the cards that were played, according to the rules below. The player that won the trick will turn in their cobra tokens for points.
After each trick, set aside any triple-cobra cards. The round ends when 10 of these are set aside. If you have any cobras in your Basket when the round ends, you will lose 1 point per cobra.
Add up your points from round to round. When a round ends with one or more players at 100 points or more, the game ends and the player with the most points wins!
Playing the Game
Randomly choose a lead player; they will play the first card of the first trick in the first round. In subsequent rounds, the player with the fewest points will lead the first trick.
Start Your Basket
Before the first trick of each round, choose a card from your hand and place it face-down on the table. All players reveal the card they chose at the same time. Add the number of cobras shown on your card (1, 2, or 3) to your Basket by taking cobra tokens from the pile.
Place any single- and double-cobra cards face-down in a discard pile; place any triple-cobra cards face-up in a line near the discard pile.
Playing a Trick
The lead player chooses a card from their hand and plays it face-up on the table. The player seated to their left does the same. Continue until each player has played a card.
The lead player may play a card of any suit, but the other players must follow suit (play a card of the lead suit) if they are able to. If you aren't able to follow suit, you may play any card from your hand.
After each player has played a card, determine the winner of the trick. The player whose card shows the highest number (1-13) and is in the lead suit, wins. The winner of the trick returns any cobras in their Basket and scores points according to the point scale shown in the rulebook and on the Basket (see Figure 2, Basket Card Reference). Note: You must turn in all of the cobras in your Basket when you win a trick. If you don't have any cobras in your Basket when you win a trick, don't score any points.
Any player who didn't win the trick will add cobras to their Basket. Add up the cobras shown on the cards that were played during the trick, then divide them as evenly as possible among the players who didn't win the trick. Take cobra tokens from the pile and add them to your Basket. If you can't divide the cobras evenly, put the remaining cobra tokens into the center of the table; they will be added to the next trick.
King Cobras
Each player receives a King Cobra card at the start of each round. You may play the King Cobra on your turn instead of a regular card. You may only play the King Cobra card at most once per round.
When you play a King Cobra, immediately declare whether you intend to share the win or share the loss for the current trick.
If you share the win, you will score the cobras in your Basket in addition to the player who won the trick outright. If you share the loss, you will receive cobras along with the player(s) who didn't win the trick.
If you shared the win by using a King Cobra, you won't be the lead player for the next trick; the player who won the trick outright will. If no player won the trick outright (if, for example, all players played their King Cobras) then the player who led the current trick will lead the next trick.
King Cobra cards aren't counted when dividing cobras among the players who didn't win the trick. However, if you shared the win, there will be fewer players to divide the cobras that were played that trick.
More than one King Cobra may be played during a trick. It is possible for there to be no winners of a trick, in which case no players turn in their Basket cobras for points; or for all players to win a trick, in which case all of the cobra tokens from cards played that trick will remain in the center for the next round.
If you lead a trick with a King Cobra, the player to your left will set the lead suit.
Cleanup
Place any single-cobras and double-cobras played this trick face-down in the discard pile. Place any triple-cobras face-up in a line near the discard pile. If you played a King Cobra, place it face-down beneath your Basket.
If there are fewer than 10 triple-cobras face-up in the line, play another trick. The player who won this trick will lead the next trick.
If there are 10 or more triple-cobras face-up in the line, the round ends.
End of Round
When the round ends, if you have any cobras remaining in your basket, subtract one point per cobra from your score.
If any player has 100 or more points, the player with the most points wins!
Otherwise, play another round. Remove any cobra tokens that are left in your Basket or in the middle of the table. Take back your King Cobra. Discard all other cards, then shuffle the discard pile.
Round of Play Example
Player A leads with a Red 5. Player B follows with a Red 12. Player C plays a King Cobra to share the win with Player B. Player B has 4 cobras in their Basket, so they turn them in for 8 points. Player C turns in their 7 cobras for 21 points.
There were 5 cobras shown on the cards this trick, plus one remaining from the previous trick, so Player A receives 6 cobras.
During Cleanup, the King Cobra goes under Player C's Basket, the Red 5 is discarded, and the Red 12 is added to the line of triple-cobra cards. There are fewer than 10 triple-cobras in the line, so play continues. Player B won the trick outright, so they will lead the next trick.
Rule Change for 5 Players
Play until one player has 75 or more points.
Rule Change for 2 Players
Deal the cards as if there were 3 players. The third pile belongs to the dummy player. Position the dummy to the left of the dealer. Shuffle the dummy's cards. For a high-surprise game, keep their pile face-down; for a high-strategy game, flip their pile face-up after starting your Basket.
When it is the dummy's turn, take the top card of their pile and play it as normal. (This will reveal the card beneath.) When the dummy follows another player's lead, their card is considered to be on suit, regardless of its actual suit. If the dummy's "considered on-suit" card has the same value as an actual on-suit card, the dummy's card is considered to be lower.
The dummy will take its portion of the cobras that are divided up each trick, but there is no need to give the dummy any tokens. The dummy can win tricks, but there is no need to track their score. The dummy doesn't seed their Basket at the start of a round.
Alternate who is the dealer, so that the dummy player changes position between rounds.
Rule Changes for 1 Player
Deal the cards as if there were 3 players. The second and third piles belong to dummy players. Keep the cards belonging to the dummy to your right face-down. After starting your Basket, flip the cards belonging to the dummy on your left face-up. Dummies behave as described in the two-player rules above. (If both dummy players play a "considered-on-suit" card of the same value, the first one revealed is considered higher than the second.)
If you wish to play on Easy mode, add 2 King Cobra cards to your hand at the start of the first round. For Medium mode, add 1 King Cobra to your hand for the first round. For Hard mode, play the first round with no King Cobras in hand.
Use the solo token to indicate which player won a trick by placing it near that player's cards. This makes it easier to remember who leads the next trick.
Play three rounds. Instead of automatically taking back your King Cobra card at the start of the second and third rounds, in the solo game you must earn additional King Cobras as follows: If you scored 50 or more points within the first round, add a King Cobra to your hand for the second round. If you scored 50 or more points within the second round, add a King Cobra to your hand for the third round.
If you don't use a King Cobra before a round ends, keep it for the next round.
If you scored a total of 150 points or more from all three rounds combined, you win!
Basket Card Reference
Points scored when turning in cobras from your Basket:
| Cobras turned in | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 5 |
| 4 | 8 |
| 5 | 11 |
| 6 | 15 |
| 7 | 21 |
| 8 | 15 |
| 9 | 8 |
| 10+ | 3 |
Credits
Designed by Chris & Suzanne Zinsli. Project Management by Eric Alvarado. Artwork by Jeff Brown. Graphic Design by Keith Pishnery. Playtesting by Anthony Amato, Ben Begeal, Sandy Bondarowicz, Megan Cummings, James Griffin, Erik Herrington, Gil Hova, Nicole Kline, Kevin Kulp, Doug Levandowski, Zintis May-Krumins, Bonnie Neubauer, Diane Sauer, Nick Sauer, Jay Treat, Jason Youzwak, LilyAnne Zinsli, the Unpub network, Metatopia and many more.
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