Gold Digger
Gold Digger Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
66 Cards 1 Notepad 15 Colored Chips 6 Small Symbol Cards Instructions
The rules text also gives this breakdown of the contents:
30 Figure Cards (6 Groups of 5 Figures each) 36 Gold Cards (Gold Coins and Counterfeit Coins) 1 Notepad 15 Colored Chips (3 each in 5 Colors) 6 Small Symbol Cards (Gold Colored) 1 Instruction Booklet
Object of the Game
The players meet where things are happening. Stronghold, where the prospectors search, counterfeiters make money and anyone with money is popular. By skillful play of the Gold Cards and successful participation in the different groups' yield, each player brings to gold into his own possession. Who has the most gold coins at the end of the game is the winner of Gold Digger.
Setup
One player puts the 6 smaller Symbol Cards in a row in the center of the table (see the illustration on the next page). Each player takes 3 chips of one color. When playing with fewer than 5 players, the remaining chips are not used. All Figure Cards and Gold Cards are shuffled together and the deck is placed in easy reach of all players. One player is chosen to go first and the big gold rush can begin.
Play
Play proceeds clockwise from player to player. Each player in turn turns over a card and plays it on the table until all 66 cards have been played. A card is never held in the hand; all cards are immediately played to the table. During play the cards are arranged as shown in the illustration. The inset shows the arrangement at the end of a round.
(Illustration labels: Figure Cards, Small Symbol Cards, Gold Cards. Inset caption: Arrangement at the end of a round. Figure caption: Example of card placement in the middle of a round, after 14 cards have been turned over.)
The Cards
Each player in turn turns over the top card from the deck. This card can be either a Figure or Gold.
The Figure Cards
There are 30 Figure Cards, 5 each of the six symbols. Figures with the same symbol form a group (adventurers, prospectors, ladies, hosts, bandits and counterfeiters).
Example: Trüffelnase and his companions have the boot symbol, marking them as adventurers. All Figure Cards are played on the left beside the corresponding small Symbol Card.
The Gold Cards
18 of the 36 Gold Cards show gold coins (in different numbers) and the remaining 18 cards show counterfeit coins. A Gold Card from the deck is assigned to a group of Figures and is played to the right of the appropriate small Symbol Card. Please note: exactly 6 Gold Cards are assigned to each group during the course of each round; no more, no less. In addition, a Gold Card must be assigned to a group that already has at least one played Figure Card, if possible.
Example: After 14 cards only adventurer, host, and lady Figure Cards are in play (see the picture on the opposite page). 6 Gold Cards are already assigned to the adventurers. In this case a new Gold Card can only be assigned to the ladies or the hosts.
If no Figure Cards are in play, or if all groups with Figure Cards already have 6 Gold Cards assigned, new Gold Cards can be played on any of the remaining groups.
Example (not pictured): The adventurers and the ladies are assigned 6 Gold Cards. No other Figures are laid out. A new Gold Card is drawn. The player decides to assign it to the bandits. The next player also draws a Gold Card and assigns it to the counterfeiters.
The Gold Cards represent the yield of each group of figures. A Counterfeit Card simply pays nothing; it takes up a slot for the Gold Cards. Gold Cards pay as much as indicated on the card.
Participation in the Yield
Every time a player places a Figure Card, he must decide immediately where to participate in the yield of the group. If he wants to participate, he places one of his chips on the small Symbol Card of that group. Then play continues to the next player. If he does not want to participate, the next player begins his turn immediately.
Note that only the player who places a Figure Card can place a chip. And this is only directly after playing the card, not after the next card is turned over.
Once placed, a chip may not be taken back or moved to another group.
A player may put his second or third chip on the same group, if he draws another Figure Card of that group again later.
Of course, several players may participate in each group, but only if each has drawn a Figure of that group.
Each player has only 3 chips in each round to participate in the yields.
Scoring
Once all 66 cards are placed, the round ends and is scored.
Beginning with the topmost group, each group is scored separately in the following manner: Add all of the gold coins for the Gold Cards of a group together. Then divide this total by the number of chips placed on that group's small Symbol Card. If the number is not exactly divisible, any extra is lost. Each player who participated in that group receives one share for each chip he played on the group.
Example: The adventurers' group captured 13 gold coins (Gold Cards with 6, 4 and 3 gold coins; the 3 Counterfeit Coins do not pay). On the adventurer small Symbol Card one player set two of his chips (* *) and another player set one of his chips (0). Thus 3 chips altogether were placed on the small Symbol Card. The 13 gold coins are then divided by 3. Each share is rounded off to 4 gold coins. A Gold Coin is left over and is not payed out. The player with the 2 chips scores eight gold coins and the other player four gold coins. All other players go out empty during the scoring of the adventurers.
In this way all 6 groups are scored and the shares to the players recorded. Then the next round begins. The cards are again shuffled (the small Symbol Cards remain on the table) and each player again gets the 3 chips of his color.
Winning
After all 66 cards are played to the end four times, the game is over. The player who scored the most gold coins is the winner of Gold Digger.
Strategy Tips
Remember that each round you have only 3 chips for participating in the yields. The timing of your chip placement is thus important. If you set it on a group too early, your opponents will play any counterfeit coins they draw to that group. If you wait too long, you might not be able to place all three of your chips, since you can only set a chip if you draw a Figure.
Often it is a good idea to set a chip on a group which does not have too much gold on its Gold Cards, since this gives less incentive to your opponents to participate in that group's yield since the total must be divided. And if you can take the few coins alone, that is often better than participating in a bigger yield that must be split among more players.
May you find good luck in this game, and don't give up after a round: only after the fourth round is victory certain.