Halunken und Spelunken Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Number of Players
• Aim of the Game
• The Introductory Game
  • Game Set Up
  • Order of Play
  • 1. Move Captains
  • 2. Collect Scoundrel Cards
  • The End of the Game
• The Standard Game: Black Jack Comes Into Play
  • Game Set Up
  • Hiring Black Jack
  • Stealing from Black Jack
  • Moving Black Jack and Stealing Scoundrel Cards from Other Players
  • If No-One Hires Black Jack
  • Subsequent Rounds
  • The End of the Game
• The Two-Player Variant

Game Components

• 4 captains in green, yellow, blue and red
• 1 Black Jack piece in black
• 4 sets of 8 Movement cards (labelled 1 to 7 and "rum") in each of the captains' colours
• 1 set of 12 Movement cards (numbered 1 to 12) for Black Jack
• 42 Scoundrel cards in 4 colours:
  • 9 red (numbered 4 to 11 & 15)
  • 10 purple (numbered 3 to 11 & 14)
  • 11 grey (numbered 2 to 11 & 13)
  • 12 yellow (numbered 1 to 12)
• 1 board

This shows the harbour quarter at night. There are 14 dives arranged in a circle. In front of each dive there is a space lit by a street lamp. The pieces move on these spaces. In the middle of the board is the harbour, which contains a ship at anchor: Black Jack's den.

Number of Players

The game may be played with 3 or 4 players. A tactical variant for two players can be found at the end of the rules.

Aim of the Game

Each player tries to collect a crew for their ship by collecting the greatest possible value of Scoundrel cards (the number on each card denotes its value.) It's best to try to collect lots of valuable cards in one colour, because at the end of the game, each player doubles their score in whichever colour they have the most cards of.

e.g. If a player has 3 purple cards, 2 yellow cards and 5 grey cards, all his grey cards will count double their face value.

The player with the highest number of points at the end wins the game.

The Introductory Game

Game Set Up

The Black Jack piece and the 12 Black Jack Movement cards are not needed and should be removed from the game.

Each player chooses a captain piece and is given the 8 Movement cards of the same colour (7 numbered from 1 to 7 and 1 "rum" card; a type of joker).

The 42 Scoundrel cards are shuffled and 3 are placed face down on each dive.

Each player places his captain piece on any unoccupied square in front of a dive. He takes the top Scoundrel card from that dive and places it face up on the table in front of him.

Lastly the top Scoundrel card on each dive is turned face up, so that there are now 14 Scoundrel cards ready to be collected.

Order of Play

The game lasts 8 rounds, and each round has two phases:

1. Move Captains
2. Collect Scoundrel Cards

1. Move Captains

The captains move clockwise the number of spaces shown on the Movement cards.

At the beginning of each round each player secretly chooses one of his Movement cards and puts it face down in front of him. The number on the card determines how many spaces his piece will move this round.

If someone plays their "rum" card they may choose to move any number of spaces between 1 and 7, providing no other player has chosen this number.

Everyone reveals their Movement cards simultaneously.

If one player has played his "rum" card, he looks at his opponents' cards and declares which value he chooses for it.

If two or more players have played the same card (number cards or "rum" cards), then these cards are put to one side and they don't count. The affected players don't move their pieces this turn (but this can be an advantage, as we will see later.)

The player who has played the lowest value card goes first, followed by the rest of the players in ascending order of cards played.

Note: Each player must place his used Movement cards face up in front of him. It's a good idea to arrange them in order, then everyone can see at a glance which cards you've played and which ones are still in your hand.

2. Collect Scoundrel Cards

First of all, any players who have been unable to move this turn take the top Scoundrel card from the dive outside which they are standing.

Then the other players move their captains.

Whenever a player lands on a space outside a dive which contains a scoundrel, he takes the top Scoundrel card and places it face up in front of him.

If there are still Scoundrel cards left in the pile, the next one is then turned face up.

If a player lands on a space occupied by another player, the new occupier takes the top Scoundrel card from the dive pile. If he has an equal number or fewer Scoundrel cards than the original occupier of the space, then he gets to remove one Scoundrel card of his choice from that person's line and put it in his own. Then the original occupier of the space is pushed clockwise into the next free space. (The owner of this piece cannot now take a Scoundrel card.)

After the captains have moved and the Scoundrel cards have been collected, a new round begins.

The End of the Game

The game ends after exactly eight rounds, once all the movement cards have been played.

Each player works out the total value of his Scoundrel cards. The value of the cards in the colour of which he has the most cards, is doubled. If a player has equal numbers of cards in two or more colours, then he may choose which colour cards will count double. This applies even if he has only managed to get one card.

The winner is the player with the most points!

The Standard Game: Black Jack Comes Into Play

After you've played the standard game once, Black Jack can be introduced. This shadowy figure does not belong to any single player, but you can bribe him to work for you. At the beginning of every round he is available for hire and players bid scoundrel cards for him. Whoever bids the highest controls Black Jack for the rest of the round, which usually means he is able to collect extra scoundrels. All the rules of the introductory game apply, plus the following new rules:

Game Set Up

The Black Jack piece and the twelve Movement cards that were removed for the introductory game are left in this time.

Black Jack's 12 Movement cards are shuffled and placed face down on the ship in the harbour.

The player who draws the lowest value Scoundrel card at the beginning of the game places the Black Jack piece on any unoccupied space.

The player who draws the highest value Scoundrel card at the beginning of the game starts the bidding (see "Hiring Black Jack").

If several players tie for the highest value Scoundrel card then the colour of the cards counts, yellow being worth the most, followed by grey, purple and then red. This order also applies if there is a tie for the least valuable card.

Hiring Black Jack

At the beginning of each round each player in turn can try to hire Black Jack for the rest of the round by bidding one of his Scoundrel cards. In the first round, bidding starts with the player who drew the most valuable Scoundrel card. In subsequent rounds, bidding starts with the player who controlled Black Jack in the previous round.

If no-one hires Black Jack in the first round, then bidding starts in the following round with whoever drew the most valuable Scoundrel card at the beginning of the game.

When it is your turn to bid you may pass or better the previous bid. Bidding goes around the table and each player may only bid one card.

The player with the highest bid "pays" by placing the scoundrel card he bid with face up in the harbour. He can then move Black Jack this round, once the captains have moved.

If no-one bids for Black Jack, he moves at the end of the round and can rob players (see "If No-One Hires Black Jack").

Stealing from Black Jack

If a player's piece lands on a space occupied by Black Jack, first of all he takes the top Scoundrel card as usual. Then he steals a Scoundrel card of his choice from Black Jack's pile in the harbour, even if Black Jack has fewer Scoundrel cards than he does. Finally Black Jack is moved onto the next free space.

Moving Black Jack and Stealing Scoundrel Cards from Other Players

Once everyone has moved, it is Black Jack's go. The player who has hired him for this round turns over the top card in Black Jack's Movement card pile then moves Black Jack this number of spaces clockwise. The player who controls Black Jack steals one card from each of the players whose pieces Black Jack overtakes -- unless, of course, the person whose piece is overtaken has fewer cards than the player who controls Black Jack.

If Black Jack lands on an occupied space, he moves onto the next free space.

Because Black Jack robs players in the order in which he overtakes them, he may not always be able to rob everyone he passes.

If No-One Hires Black Jack

If no-one has made a bid for Black Jack at the beginning of a round, a Movement card is turned over and Black Jack is moved. He then steals one card from every player whom he overtakes, irrespective of whether they have fewer cards than Black Jack. However, players can choose which card to discard. The stolen cards are put in the harbour.

Subsequent Rounds

After Black Jack has moved, a new round begins and players bid again to control Black Jack, starting with the player who hired him last.

The End of the Game

The game ends when the players have played their eight movement cards and Black Jack has been moved for the last time. (So four of Black Jack's twelve Movement cards will remain face down.)

Scoring is the same as in the introductory game.

Tip: If you want to draw the game out a bit, just play three times and add the scores.

The Two-Player Variant

This variant follows the rules for the standard game, but there are a few important differences in the rules governing Black Jack:

• The usual set of 12 Movement cards used by Black Jack are not needed. Instead, take an unused set of 8 players' Movement cards, shuffle them and put them in the harbour. These are now Black Jack's Movement cards.
• Bidding continues in turn until someone passes. Each player can also make the same bid more than once.
• The winner of the bidding puts the card he has bid face up in the harbour. Then, -- unlike in the rules for 3 or 4 players -- he chooses two Movement cards: one for Black Jack from the pile in the harbour and one for himself from his hand. (as if he were playing for two players). Lastly he moves both pieces (Black Jack and his captain) the corresponding number of spaces.
• It can sometimes be an advantage to choose the same value Movement card for Black Jack and your captain, in order to stay put and collect a valuable Scoundrel card.
• If Black Jack lands on a space occupied by the opponent's captain, he can rob the opponent according to the standard rules.
• However, if an opponent's captain lands on a space occupied by Black Jack, the opponent has the choice of either -- as in the standard game -- stealing one of Black Jack's Scoundrel cards, or stealing one from the player who controls Black Jack -- according to the rules of the standard game.
• If no-one hires Black Jack, Black Jack's Movement cards are shuffled. Once both players have chosen their Movement cards for this round, the top card on Black Jack's movement pile is turned over. The round continues in the usual manner. One of the players then moves Black Jack. Scoundrel cards that Black Jack collects or loses are added to or removed from his pile in the harbour.
• Black Jack's used Movement cards remain face up next to the board.
• All other rules are the same as those for the standard game.