Minestrone
Minestrone Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
One pack of 108 cards. The cards represent 5 different collection objects: banknotes (28 cards), watches (24 cards), stamps (20 cards), books (20 cards) and tarot cards (16 cards).
Set Up
Shuffle the pack and give 5 cards face down to each player. Place the pack and the remaining cards face down at the centre of the table.
The Collections
The collections differ from one another, and to be completed each requires a certain number (printed on the corners of every card). For example, you need 7 cards to complete a collection of banknotes, whereas you need only 5 cards to complete a collection of books.
When a collection is completed it is worth 2 points each card (e.g. a collection of watches is worth 12 points, a collection of tarot cards 8 points, etc.).
The collections can be "closed" even before being completed as long as they are made up of at least 3 cards; in this case the cards are worth only 1 point each (e.g. a collection of 4 banknotes is worth 4 points, a collection of 3 stamps is worth 3 points).
Playing
The players choose who will start the game and then take turns in clockwise direction. At their turn each player proceeds as follows:
- Places 1 to 5 of his/her cards on the table, arranging them per collection (banknotes with banknotes, watches with watches and so forth). A player can have up to 3 different collections simultaneously on the table. The game requires a lot of attention because if during a turn a player cannot play any card (e.g. on the table he/she has a collection of tarots, one of books and one of watches but holds only banknotes and stamps), he/she is obliged to discard all incomplete collections before he/she can continue!
- Completes or "closes" one or more collections (see specific paragraph).
- Draws as many cards as he/she has played.
Completing a Collection
During his/her turn a player could form a complete collection (7 banknotes or 6 watches etc.). In this case proceed as follows:
- The player collects these cards (point cards) into a pile that is used to draw from. The cards are placed vertically to show they are worth 2 points each.
- All the opponents who had started the same collection must discard all the cards in the discard pile (only the same collection cards and not those of other collections), which is placed face up near the pack at the centre of the table.
Closing a Collection
If during his/her turn a player plays a card that is the third or more of a given collection, he/she may decide to close that collection. In this case proceed as follows:
- The player collects these cards and puts them in the drawing pile. The cards are placed horizontally to show they are worth only one point each.
- The opponents who had started the same collection, but who have fewer cards than the player, must discard all the cards in the discard pile.
- The opponents who had started the same collection, but who have more or the same amount of cards as the player, must collect these cards and place them horizontally in their own drawing pile (each card is worth 1 point).
For example: Peter has 2 banknotes, Leo has 3, Louisa 6 and Helen 2. It is Peter's turn to play and he plays 2 new banknotes and calls out "collection". He then removes the 4 banknotes that have earned him 4 points and places them horizontally in front of himself on the table. Leo and Helen, whose collections contained less cards than Peter's 4, are obliged to discard all their banknotes. Louisa instead collects her 6 banknotes and places them down horizontally. This way Peter not only earned 4 points and made Leo and Helen discard their banknotes, but he also obliged Louisa to close her collection before it was complete; if Louisa had been able to play the seventh card she would have earned 14 points instead of 6. Take note that if Peter had put down only one banknote Leo too would have earned 3 points instead of being obliged to discard his cards.
Attention
- You cannot close a collection, even if already composed of 3 or more cards, unless you play at least one new card of that type during the turn.
- Each time a player completes, closes or discards a collection he/she creates enough space in front of him/herself to start a new collection during the turn: therefore, you can call out a collection and then start a new one - even of the same type - in the remaining space.
End of the Game
The game ends when there are no more cards in the pack, and leaving one of the players with no cards. The collections still in hand are all discarded and each player totals his/her points. The vertical cards are counted first (complete collections, two points per card), and then the horizontal ones (incomplete closed collections, 1 point per card).
The winner is the player who totals the highest score.
Single or Multiple Rounds
You can play the game in one round or in multiple rounds:
- Single: the player who totals the highest points is the winner.
- Multiple: the points of every round are totalled and the player who first reaches the pre-established score is the winner.