Montego Bay Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Equipment
• Object of the Game
• Game Preparation
• Course of the Game
  • Individual Phases
    • 1. Hire Lazy Jack
    • 2. Choosing Move Card
    • 3. Moving Dockers
    • 4. Collecting Barrels and Loading Ships
      • 4.1 Order of Dockers
      • 4.2 Emptying Warehouses
      • 4.3 Valuation of Full Ships
    • 5. Setting Sail of Foremost Ship
    • 6. Changing Playing Order of Dockers
• End of the Game and Valuation

Game Equipment

• 1 double-sided game board – one side for four players, one for two to three players.
• 16 ships – 1 pilot boat and 15 freight ships. One side of the freighter is used for 4 players, the other for 2 and 3 players. Note that the side of the ship with the red numbers must be visible when playing with four players, otherwise the side with the yellow numbers is used.
• 8 warehouses – cards each showing a warehouse with 2 storerooms. The storerooms contain barrels (some broken) and coins.
• 4 large and 4 small wooden figures as dockers – Each player receives one large and one small figure. The difference in size allows for better differentiation.
• 64 wooden barrels – 16 in each colour.
• 4 counters in players' colours – to mark points on the corresponding board margin.
• 1 wooden figure "Tally Man" – He is placed on his space on the board at the start of the game.
• 1 wooden figure "Lazy Jack" – He is to be used by the players as an additional figure on their turn.
• 15 silver coins of wood – used to hire "Lazy Jack".
• 40 move cards – for each figure one set of cards with values of 1 to 5. The cards are used to move the figures.
• 8 playing order counters – each figure is accorded a specific counter.
• 1 rail – plastic, to be affixed to the board from beneath.
• 1 sheet with stickers and
• 1 set of instructions

Apply appropriate colour stickers to both sides of playing figures (Tally Man, Lazy Jack, Silver Coins) before first game. Different stickers are placed on front and reverse of playing figures.

Object of the Game

Each player has two labourers to help him load the barrels from the warehouses into the ships in the harbour.

Whoever succeeds in loading more barrels than the others into the ships will receive the most points.

Game Preparation

The board is placed in the middle of the table. A side is chosen in accordance with the number of players (4 or 2-3). The roof of the harbour pub indicates the number of players.

Each player is given playing figures in the colour of his choice, corresponding move cards and 16 matching wooden barrels. All large playing figures are placed in one harbour pub, the small figures in the other pub.

With 2 players each player receives one figure in addition (each plays with 3 figures!). Note that each should be given a figure with a different colour and size.

Example: Doris plays with yellow and Ernie with blue. Doris selects a small red docker as her third figure, so Ernie must play with the large orange one.

The remaining figures and the corresponding playing order counters are removed from the game.

The cards with the warehouses are shuffled and laid face up on the corresponding spaces on the board (the warehouse roofs). It is irrelevant which store room is left or right. This warehouse (the extra one) is only used in a game with 4 players.

The counters of all players are placed in front of square "1" on the points margin.

All 8 playing order counters are shuffled and then placed face up on spaces 1 to 8 on the rail. In a game with 2 to 3 players only 6 playing order counters are used.

The Tally Man is placed on the board on the box next to the harbour pub.

The pilot boat is placed next to pier "1". The freight ships are mixed. The top 3 ships are placed on piers "2" to "4". The remaining 12 freighters are placed in two piles of equal number. One is placed close to the board, the other is used when the first pile is finished.

Lazy Jack and the 15 silver coins are laid ready next to the board.

The Tally Man originates from the time of the great sailing ships. He is a type of foreman whose task is to count and correctly record the packages being loaded onto the ships. It is his responsibility to ensure that each docker receives the pay due to him. The Tally Man must therefore always be someone whom everyone trusts.

Course of the Game

The game is played in several rounds. Each round consists of 6 phases conducted in the order as given.

1. Hire Lazy Jack
2. Choose move card
3. Move dockers
4. Collect barrels and load ships
   • 4.1 Order of playing figures when loading
   • 4.2 Empty warehouses
   • 4.3 Valuation of full ships
5. Setting sail of foremost ship
6. Change playing order of dockers

Individual Phases

1. Hire Lazy Jack

A player can hire Lazy Jack as an additional docker for one round for 3 silver coins. (Chapter 4 explains how to obtain these coins.)

Should several players want to hire Lazy Jack, the player with the least points has first refusal. When more than one player has a corresponding number of points the player whose playing order counter is further forward can hire Lazy Jack.

The player puts 3 silver coins back into the bank and places the Lazy Jack figure on the same space with one of his dockers.

For three coins you can hire Lazy Jack for 1 round and have the advantage of an extra playing figure.

2. Choosing Move Card

Each player has a set of move cards for each of his dockers with values of 1 to 5. This value indicates the number of spaces the corresponding figure can move around the warehouses in the direction of the arrow.

In each round a player has at his disposal all 5 cards per figure!

The players choose a card from the corresponding set for each of their dockers and place them face down in front of them.

Should one player have hired Lazy Jack he must also choose a card for him. This card is taken from the set which belongs to the figure next to which Lazy Jack has been placed.

Note: The player who has Lazy Jack in this round therefore plays 3 cards, two for his figures and one for Lazy Jack (in a game with four or three players). In a game with two players he would play four cards.

The orange player places Lazy Jack next to his small figure and therefore plays two cards from his "small docker" pile.

3. Moving Dockers

The dockers are always moved clockwise around the board spaces along the warehouses. Each space is connected to one store room only.

At the beginning of the game the dockers are still in the harbour pubs, from which they move in the direction of the arrow in the first move. Thereafter they do not return to the harbour pubs.

Each figure is moved in turn – according to the order of playing order counters on the edge of the board. If Lazy Jack has been hired he is moved first, thereafter the other dockers.

• The move card of the docker whose turn it is to move is turned over and the figure moved 1 to 5 spaces according to the card.

Note: All spaces count, including those occupied!

Example: The orange player plays a "3" for his small docker and moves this figure 3 spaces forward.

• Should a docker land on a space already occupied by another figure, that figure is moved to the opposite side of the warehouse, the docker takes the figure's former place.

Note: All figures can be displaced regardless of whether it is one's own figure or another player's.

• If the space opposite is already occupied the figure cannot be moved. Instead the docker must move back to the next free space in the direction opposite to the arrow.

Note: A figure is always moved from the space it currently occupies. As this position can easily be changed by other players, it should be kept in mind as far as possible when choosing a move card.

Example: The orange player moves two spaces in front. He cannot push the green figure aside as the other space is already occupied (by the blue figure). The orange figure must therefore be moved back to the next free space.

4. Collecting Barrels and Loading Ships

Now the tallies of all dockers (and if applicable Lazy Jack) are calculated one after another.

4.1 Order of Dockers

Beginning with the space next to the Tally Man (between Tally Man and pier "1") all dockers in turn face in the opposite direction of the arrow towards their storeroom and clear it out. Spaces without labourers are not considered.

Example: It is first the turn of the small yellow docker to load his barrels on board. Then it's Lazy Jack's turn, the large orange docker, the small green docker, etc. until all the dockers have loaded their barrels on board.

4.2 Emptying Warehouses

Each warehouse has two storerooms. The storeroom directly next to the space on which the docker is stood is always emptied.

Note: The Tally Man figure is always placed with the docker whose turn it is. This way it is clear which docker's tally is being calculated.

• Collecting barrels and loading. The player with the affected docker takes the same number of barrels from his pile as are shown in the storeroom. He distributes these barrels directly across ships of his choice in dock. All barrels must be loaded. The ships contain storage with different numbers of spaces for the barrels. Each storage space may hold 1 barrel only. Once all spaces are full the ship is valued immediately and sets sail (see 4.3 Valuation of full ships). Any barrels remaining are loaded onto other ships.

Note: The pilot boat is not loaded.

• Broken barrels. If there are 1 or 2 broken barrels in a storeroom the player must remove the same number of barrels from the ships and place them back in his pile. If he has not loaded enough onto the ships he should remove as many as possible, the rest is not considered.

Attention: No barrels must be removed from a ship for Lazy Jack.

Example: The blue player must take back 2 barrels from the ships and receives 1 silver coin.

• Silver Coins. If the storeroom contains a coin the player takes a silver coin from the bank.

Example: The blue player loads 1 barrel on a ship and receives 1 silver coin.

4.3 Valuation of Full Ships

Once all storage spaces on a ship have been filled it sets sail and is valued.

Points are given according to the ship size and number of players.

The player with the most barrels on board receives the highest number of points indicated, the player with the second highest amount of barrels receives the second highest points, if there are four players the player with the third highest amount of barrels receives the lowest number of points.

When more than one player has the same number of barrels on board the point values of the corresponding spaces are added together and divided by the number of players on the ship; Decimals are rounded up.

The player who filled the last storage space receives one extra point.

Note: In a game with two players each player has barrels of two colours. These are counted together.

Example: The blue player loads the last barrel on a ship. The ship immediately sets sail and is valued. The number of barrels from each player is counted. The blue player loaded 5 barrels aboard, yellow and green 2 barrels each and orange one barrel. Blue receives 5 points and 1 point = 6 points (5 for the most barrels on board, 1 point extra as he filled the last space on board.) Yellow and green share 5 points (3 + 2) and each receives 3 points rounded up, orange gets nothing.

The players' counters are moved along the margin in accordance with the number of points gained.

The valued ship is removed from the game. The barrels are placed back in each player's pile.

All ships lying behind the pier which has become free move one pier forward. The next ship from the deck is placed at pier 4. The game continues.

If the first deck of ships is finished the second deck is used. Once the second deck is finished the ships continue to move up but no new ships are placed on the board.

Note: If the figure whose turn it is has not loaded all its barrels it must sail with the ship.

5. Setting Sail of Foremost Ship

Once the tallies of all dockers have been calculated and every full ship valued, the ship at pier 1 leaves the harbour.

This ship is valued as with the others (see 4.3 Valuing of full ships), except that no extra point is given for filling the last storage space as the ship is not full.

All ships behind the free pier move one pier up (from 2 to 1, etc.). The next ship from the deck is placed at pier 4.

Note: In the first round the pilot boat is anchored at pier 1. It leaves the harbour and like all other ships is removed from the game. The pilot boat is not valued as it is not loaded.

Note: In this phase no full ship may set sail, as it would have set sail directly in the preceding phase (4.3).

6. Changing Playing Order of Dockers

All playing order counters are moved one position along the rail. The last counter is placed on the first space which has become free.

If in this round the second deck of ships has been started then instead all the counters are shuffled face down and laid face up on the spaces 1 to 8 (or 1 to 6 with two and three players).

If Lazy Jack was used he is now removed from the board ready for the next player.

End of the Game and Valuation

The game is over at the end of phase 4 when only 3 or less ships are left in port. All of the others are valued.

All dockers finish their move. Then all remaining ships are valued.

If some dockers cannot finish loading their barrels these are placed in one harbour pub and valued according to the following scheme.

According to the number of players the following points are awarded in the pub:

• With 4 players 3-2-1 points,
• with 3 players 2-1 points
• with 2 players 1 point

3 points for the player with the most barrels in the pub, 2 points for the player with the second highest amount of barrels and 1 point for the player with the third highest number of barrels. A corresponding number of points are awarded with 3 and 2 players.

Should more than one player have the same number of barrels in the pub the point values of the corresponding spaces are added together and divided by the number of players in the pub; Decimals are rounded up.

The players' counters are moved up the points margin by the corresponding number of points.

The player with the most points is the winner. If there is a points draw the winner is the player with the most coins.

If more than one of these players has the same number of coins they all win.