Gracias
Gracias Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 108 cards (18 cards in each of 6 colours)
- 2 Opener cards
Other materials needed: a pencil and paper to record points.
Object of the Game
To score points, players must try to acquire as many cards as possible, but never the majority of the cards in each of the 6 colours. The winner is the player with the most points at the end of the game.
Course of the Game
A game is played over 3 rounds, each made up of 4 turns. At the end of each round, a scoring takes place, allowing players to mark points. Then a new round begins. The game ends after the scoring of the third round.
The youngest player starts. He is the "big opener" and receives the two Opener cards (the "little" one, with the little mouse, and the "big" one, with the big mouse). He prepares the first round and begins by shuffling the 108 cards thoroughly. He then places 2 cards from this pile, face up, one at a time in front of each player, including himself. These are the first 2 cards of each player's reserve.
He then places in the middle of the table, one beside the other, as many cards as there are players, face up. He places a new card, face up, on each of these cards, slightly offset downward. Finally, he adds a card, face down, on the two visible cards, so that there are as many trios as there are players. There must always be as many trios on the table as there are players. The remaining cards form the draw pile.
Each trio is made of two cards face up and one card face down.
The opener chooses one of the trios. He begins by looking secretly at the face-down card, then places it in front of him, face down. His opponents do not see the colour of this card (until the scoring). He then chooses which of the two visible cards he keeps and places in his reserve, face up, and which he offers to the opponent of his choice, who also places it face up in front of him. (That player is supposed to thank him with a loud and clear "Gracias!" for this precious "gift"!)
In short: When his turn comes, the player must choose a trio and distribute it as explained above. He must place the face-down card of the chosen trio in front of himself, face down. Likewise, he must keep one of the two visible cards and offer the other. He therefore has no right to keep both, nor to offer both.
Once all the trios have been chosen, a new turn begins. The player seated to the left of the big opener becomes the new "little opener" (he receives only the "little mouse" of the big opener). He takes the draw pile with the remaining cards, then lays out, as described above, as many trios as there are players (2 visible cards and 1 face down). He chooses first a trio, keeping the face-down card and one visible card, and offers the other visible card. Then it is the next player's turn to choose. The 3rd and 4th turns proceed in the same way. Each time, the player to the left of the "little opener" becomes the new "little opener".
Note: Face-down cards are always added to the owner's own face-down cards. Their owner may look at them at any time. Face-up cards are added to the player's own face-up cards or to those of the opponents. Cards of the same colour are stacked, slightly offset, so that one always knows how many there are.
Example: Here is what a player's reserve might look like after 3 turns. (Illustration not reproduced.)
A round ends after 4 turns, when each player has 4 face-down cards in front of them, and a scoring takes place.
Scoring
Each player must first add their 4 face-down cards to their own face-up reserve. If a player then has 5 or more cards of the same colour, he turns 5 of them face down. He leaves all the cards beyond 5 face up in front of him.
The big opener calls out each colour, one after the other. The player who has the most cards of that colour face up in front of him (the pile of 5 face-down cards does not count) must return them to the draw pile. In case of a tie between several players, each of them must discard their matching cards.
Once the 6 colours have been resolved in this way, each player scores 1 point per card remaining in their reserve. Each face-down pile (of 5 cards of identical colour) also scores 1 point for its owner (and not 5!).
Example: The player scores 2 + 3 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 10 points.
Players' points are recorded on a sheet. All remaining played cards are then returned to the draw pile.
The next round may begin. The new opener (the player seated to the left of the big opener) receives the two Opener cards and proceeds as the opener of the first round: he shuffles the 108 cards thoroughly, then deals 2 cards, face up, to each player. He then lays out, in the middle of the table, as many trios as there are players, following the same procedure as in the first round.
The third round also proceeds in the same way. It is started by the player to the left of the big opener of the second round.
End of the Game
The game ends after the scoring of the third round. The winner is the player who has totalled the most points. In case of a tie, the winner is the player who scored the most points in a single round. In case of a further tie, the second-best result is decisive.