Mala Suerte
Mala Suerte Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
Eliminate the other participants by getting Clover cards into their piles or leaving them without cards.
Components
- 6 help cards
- 42 Mala Suerte cards
- 1 horseshoe token
The box also carries a QR code linking to a video of the rules; it is not part of the rules text.
Setup
- Deal one help card to each person.
- Shuffle the Mala Suerte cards and deal six cards to each person. Leave the rest face down in the centre as a deck.
- (Optional) Anyone may return between 1 and 6 cards to the deck, once. Then shuffle and deal until everyone has 6 cards again.
- Place the horseshoe token pointing clockwise.
- The person with the most cards of the same colour starts. In case of a tie, the person who has had the most bad luck recently starts.
Setup diagram labels: Hand (Mano), Common discard (Descarte común), Deck (Mazo), Pile (Pila), Clockwise (Sentido horario).
How to Play
Play proceeds in turns, in the direction indicated by the horseshoe token. You may talk (and lie) about your cards or your opponents' cards, but you may not reveal them.
As the game goes on, each person plays the cards from their hand to form their own individual pile, arranged so that the names of all the cards can be seen.
On each turn you may carry out the following actions, always in the order given and without repeating any of them.
1. Draw (Optional)
You may draw the first card of the deck and put it in your hand.
There is no limit to the number of cards in your hand. The backs of all cards must be visible to the other players at all times. Once the deck runs out, it is not created again.
2. Clean (Optional)
If the last three cards played to your pile are one of each colour, you may discard them face up to the common discard and draw the first card of the deck.
Diagram label: Example of Clean (Ejemplo de Limpiar), showing "+1" for the card drawn.
3. Play a Card (Mandatory)
You must play a card from your hand on top of your pile and activate its effects in order, whenever possible. A card discarded to a pile does not activate its effect, except if it is a Clover.
Elimination
If at the end of any turn one of these two situations occurs, you are out of the game:
A. There is a Clover in your pile. B. You have no cards left in your hand.
When you are eliminated, you stop playing for the rest of the game. In addition, you must return the Clover cards in your hand to the deck, shuffle the deck, and discard your hand.
End of the Game
The game ends when all participants but one have been eliminated. That last person is the unfortunate winner.
If at the end of a turn the last two people playing are both eliminated at the same time, ¡Mala Suerte! They share the victory.
The Cards
Mala Suerte has seven types of card, six copies of each (two of each colour).
- Clover: You lose if it is in your pile. Its effect always activates, whether it is played or discarded.
- Crows: Steal a card from the next person. That person then steals a card from you, of a different colour than the one you stole from them. Cards are stolen from the hand. If you only have cards of the colour that was stolen, they cannot steal from you.
- Black Cat: Draw the first card of the deck. The next person discards a card from your hand to their pile. The effects of discarded cards are not activated, except for a Clover.
- Evil Eye: Choose a colour. The next person must play a card of that colour on their turn, if they have one. Before playing a card of that colour, the next person may Draw and Clean. If they have no cards of that colour, they may play any card. You may choose a colour you do not have in your hand.
- Horseshoe: Draw the first card of the deck. Return a card to the top of the deck. Reverse the direction of the horseshoe token. You may return the same card you drew. Even when the deck is empty, you must return one card from your hand. When two people remain, changes of direction have no effect.
- Spilled Salt: Discard a card from the hand of the next person to their pile. The effects of discarded cards are not activated, except for a Clover.
- Broken Mirror: If beneath this mirror there is a card with the same name as the top card of another person's pile, give them one of your cards and steal one of theirs. The effect activates only at the moment the card is played. You choose which card you give and which card you steal from the other person. If the condition is met for more than one participant, you choose with whom to carry out the effect. You may play the card even if the condition is not met, but its effect will not apply.
Diagram label: Example of Broken Mirror activation (Ejemplo de activación de Espejo roto), with the labels "Pila de quien juega" (the pile of the person playing, showing the Broken Mirror) and "Pila de otra persona" (the pile of another person).