No Prob-Lama
No Prob-Lama Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 142 number cards:
- Values 3 to 10: 14 cards of each value (112 cards in total)
- Values -1 and -2: 10 cards of each value (20 cards in total)
- Value -5: 5 cards
- Jokers: 5 cards
- 14 special cards:
- Drama-Lama = +3: 6 cards
- Karma-Lama = -3: 8 cards
- 15 wooden win-Lamas ("Gewinn-Lamas")
Note: The printed component list gives the number of cards per value; the total of 142 number cards matches these per-value counts.
Game Idea
Each player has nine cards lying face down in front of them. During play, players exchange their cards by taking cards from the draw pile or the discard pile. In this way the cards are gradually turned face up.
The goal of the game is to score as few points as possible. This is achieved by:
- collecting as many cards as possible with low or negative values, and additionally
- forming three-of-a-kind in rows or columns, which earns minus points.
There are cards with values from -5 to 10, and Jokers, which can replace any number card with a value from 3 to 10.
In addition, there are two special cards, "Drama-Lama" and "Karma-Lama". With them, a player can give their fellow players extra points or make them lose points. As soon as one player has turned all 9 of their cards face up, the round ends and each player adds up the values of their cards. The player with the lowest score wins the round. The first player to win 3 rounds is the winner.
Setup
- The cards are shuffled well. Each player receives 9 cards and lays them face down in a 3x3 pattern in front of them, without looking at the cards.
- The remaining cards are placed face down in the middle as the draw pile. The top card of the draw pile is turned face up beside it and forms the discard pile.
- Each player may now look at 2 arbitrary cards of their own layout and then places them face down again.
- The other seven cards may not be looked at.
Course of Play
The player to the left of the dealer begins. Play then continues clockwise. On their turn, the player has the following two options:
- take a card from the face-down draw pile (Action A)
- take a card from the face-up discard pile (Action B).
Action A: Take a Card from the Draw Pile
The player takes the top card of the face-down draw pile and looks at it. If it is a number card (positive values in black, negative values in green) or a Joker, the player chooses one of the following two options:
- They exchange one of their 9 cards for the drawn card. To do this, they place the drawn card face up in the position of one of their 9 layout cards. They may choose any card, face up or face down. If they want to replace a face-down card, they may not look at it before replacing it. The exchanged card is then placed face up on the discard pile.
- The player may also decide not to use the drawn card for an exchange. In this case they simply place the drawn card face up on the discard pile again, and the next player is up.
If, however, the drawn card is one of the two special cards, "Drama-Lama" or "Karma-Lama", the player may not use this card for an exchange. Instead, they must give the card to a fellow player and may not perform any further action on their turn, i.e. they may not exchange cards. See "Special Cards" for details.
Action B: Take a Card from the Discard Pile
The player takes the top card of the face-up discard pile. If it is a normal number card or a Joker, they must in any case exchange it with one of their 9 cards.
To do this, they place the drawn card in the position of one of their 9 layout cards, face up. The exchanged card is then placed face up on the discard pile, and the next player is up.
If the top card of the face-up discard pile is a special card, the player may also take this card. However, in this case too they may not use it for an exchange with one of their own cards. Instead, they must give it to a fellow player and may not perform any further action on their turn. See "Special Cards" for details.
Example: Anton takes the top card from the discard pile (value -2) and exchanges it for one of his 9 cards (in this example the first card from the left in the top row, with the value 9). He places the exchanged card face up on the discard pile, and the next player is up.
Special Cards: Drama-Lama and Karma-Lama
In addition to the normal number cards, there are two special cards: "Drama-Lama" and "Karma-Lama".
If a player draws a special card from the face-down draw pile, or takes a special card as the top card of the face-up discard pile, the player may not use this card to exchange one of their own cards.
Instead, the player must give the card to a fellow player of their choice. After that, they may not perform any further action on their turn. The game immediately continues with the next player.
The fellow player who received the special card places it to the side, next to their 9 cards. The value of the special card (Drama-Lama: +3; Karma-Lama: -3) is added to or subtracted from the total of their 9 cards at the end of the round. During a round, a player may receive any number of special cards.
Example: Lisa has two Drama-Lama cards and must add 6 points to the total of her 9 cards at the end of the round. At the same time, she also has a Karma-Lama card, so she may subtract 3 points again.
Collecting Three-of-a-Kind
A special way to minimise the total of one's card values is to form rows or columns of equal cards. If a player manages to collect a row or column of 3 equal cards, they receive minus points equal to the value of the three-of-a-kind. The minus points apply only to the whole row or column, not to each individual card (see the example on the next page).
Several rows or columns can also be formed. Diagonal rows do not count. A row and a column may overlap. In that case, both the row and the column with the same card value are formed (see the example on the next page under "Using Jokers").
Example: Paula has collected 3 sixes in one row. The row is scored as -6 points in the final count.
Rows or columns can only be formed from cards with positive values (number values in black). Rows or columns formed from cards with negative values do not change their point value. For example, a column with three "-1" cards is scored unchanged, as a total of -3 points.
Using Jokers
Jokers can replace any number card with a value from 3 to 10, and are therefore particularly helpful for forming rows or columns of equal cards. Even if they are not used to form a row or column, they can be placed in any position of the 3x3 layout and count as the value 0 in the final score.
Example: Fred has used a Joker to form a column of three 7s, and at the same time a row of three 7s. In the final count he receives a total of -14 points.
End of a Round: Scoring
The round ends as soon as one player has turned over their last card. All other players may then still take one final turn. If a player draws a special card during their final turn, they must give it to another player, but may not exchange any cards themselves.
When all players have taken their last turn, scoring begins. All players turn over their remaining face-down cards, and each player adds up the number values of their 9 cards.
For rows and columns that could be formed from identical cards, the corresponding minus points are scored. This also applies if the row or column only comes about by turning over previously face-down cards.
Whoever has received special cards during the round adds the values of the special cards to their result, or subtracts negative card values.
If a special card is among a player's face-down cards that have not yet been turned over, it is scored with its point value (+3 or -3).
The player with the lowest score wins the round and receives one Lama. In the event of a tie, all players with the lowest score receive a Lama.
If this happens in the decider round (see "Game End"), the number of won rounds or Lamas needed for overall victory is increased by one.
The next round is then played. The player who began the previous round becomes the dealer. The player to their left starts the new round.
Game End
The game ends as soon as a player has won 3 rounds, and thereby 3 Lamas. Exception: with 5 or 6 fellow players, the winner is the player who first wins 2 rounds, i.e. 2 Lamas.
Alternative game end: Whoever prefers to be very precise notes the scores of all players in each round on a piece of paper. The player with the fewest total points after four rounds is the winner. The wooden Lamas are not needed in this variant.