Old Town Road
Old Town Road Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
The game is comprised of 24 character cards, 4 establishment cards, and the Old Town reference card. Every card has a number, suit, and scoring bonuses, but the two types have different event interactions.
Character Card
- A. Number
- B. Suit
- C. Affiliation (Outlaw/Lawman)
- D. Range
- E. Target List
- F. Scoring Bonuses
- G. Effects that trigger when the card is drawn.
Active Area: involved in Shootouts, Robberies, and Getaways (see Events below).
Establishment Card
- A. Number
- B. Suit
- C. Establishment
- D. Scoring Bonuses
Active Area: involved in Robberies and Getaways (see Events below).
Setup
To begin the game, rotate every card to its starting upright orientation with the Sun up top. The left section on each card is the active area.
Set the Old Town card aside for a moment. Shuffle the deck face down, making sure that all cards stay in their starting orientation. Then, place the Old Town card on the bottom of the deck.
Draw 6 cards from the top of the deck. Flip them face up and fan them so you can see the active area of each card. Every card drawn is considered to be on "the road".
Journey to Old Town
On each turn, you must participate in one of the following events along the road and then travel further down it. Note: You can look at any card that you've placed on the bottom of the deck at any time.
a. Shootout: Shoot a character that's both within the range and has an attribute on the target list of one of the other characters (shooter) by placing it face up in its current orientation on the bottom of the deck.
If the shooter is an Outlaw that's not already WANTED, rotate its card upside down to post a WANTED Sign. If the shooter is a Lawman that hasn't already collected a reward, rotate its card upside down to receive a Moneybag.
b. Robbery: Rob an establishment with a Safe while the closest character on each side of it is an Outlaw (robber) and their sum is equal to or higher than its number by placing it face up on the bottom of the deck. If the sum of the two robbers exactly equals its number, also rotate its card upside down to take Moneybags (from the unlocked safe). Note: Aces count only as 1s. If two eligible establishments are next to each other, choose which establishment to rob (first).
If either robber is an Outlaw that's not already WANTED, rotate its card upside down to post a WANTED Sign.
c. Getaway: Get away from a card by placing it face down on the bottom of the deck.
After participating in an event, travel further down the road by drawing a card from the top of the deck and adding it face up to the left side of the road. Some cards have a symbol at the bottom-center of the card that triggers an effect when it's drawn:
- A card with a Crossroads Signpost allows you to add it to the left or right side of the road.
- A card with a Train allows you to either add it to the left side of the road as normal (get off at this stop) or immediately return it face down in the middle of the deck to draw another card (get off at a later stop).
Reaching Old Town
Your journey ends once the Old Town card is revealed. You may continue participating in events on the road just outside of town until either you choose to stop or there's no more events to participate in. Then, place all remaining cards in the road face down on the bottom of the deck.
Scoring
Once all events have stopped and you've entered Old Town, recall all the events you participated in throughout your journey to get your final score. Note: Do not change the order or orientation of any of the cards. Only symbols in the active area of a card are counted.
Check the order of the cards to determine which ones made 3-card poker hands worth points.
- Poker hands can only be made from three adjacent cards, meaning that if you have three 4s from your journey, the only way for them to make a 3 of a Kind is if all three 4s are next to each other.
- Each card can only count toward one poker hand, meaning that if two other ♣s were to the left of 2♣ and a 3 and 4 were to the right of the 2♣, you can only use that 2♣ once to make either the Straight or the Flush.
- Aces count only as 1s. Straights can't "wrap around" (i.e. 7, A, 2 is not a valid Straight).
- Face down cards score no points and are skipped over when determining adjacency for poker hands.
3-Card Poker Hands
| Hand | Description | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Pair | Two of same number + any card | 1 point |
| Flush | Three of same suit | 2 points |
| Straight | Three numbers in sequence (in any order) | 3 points |
| 3 of a Kind | Three of same number | 4 points |
| Straight Flush | Three numbers of same suit in sequence (in any order) | 5 points |
Bonuses
- Each poker hand containing a card with a Poker Chip is worth double points. Note: Additional cards with a Poker Chip in the same poker hand have no effect.
- If you made all five kinds of poker hands, score 10 bonus points!
- Each Moneybag scores 2 bonus points.
- Each WANTED Sign scores 1 bonus point.