ONDA
Onda Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 60 playing cards (1-15 in 2 suits, with 2 copies of each)
- 6 bomb cards (A - F)
- 1 tide card (High / Low)
- 1 status card (Allowed / Blocked)
- 5 trick participation cards (In / Out)
Objective and Overview
In "Onda", players use cards from their hands to compose wave formations stronger than their opponents' formations, according to the current tide. The goal is to be the first to play all the cards from their hand or try to have the fewest cards possible, as players lose points based on the remaining cards in their hand. At the end of the game, whoever has the most points is the winner.
Game Setup
- Stack the bomb cards in alphabetical order leaving the A card on the top of the stack.
- Put the tide card with the High side up (15 strongest).
- Put the status card next to the tide card, with the Allowed side up.
- Deal one participation card for each player, with the In side up.
- Take a pen and paper to keep track of the scoring, all players start the game with 50 points.
- The starting player is the one who most recently swam in the sea.
Round Flow
At the start of the round, deal 15 cards for each player (12 in a 5 player game). In 2 or 3 players game, the undealt cards are not going to be used in the round.
Each player chooses two cards from their hands and puts them face down in front of them.
The game is played in clockwise order, beginning with the starting player. On their turn, each player can perform one of the actions below:
- Follow the wave
- Turn the tide and follow the wave
- Play a bomb
- Pass
Follow the Wave
Consists in playing cards from your hand on the table, The cards should be in one of the possible wave formations:
- One card (single)
- Sequence of consecutive numbers of the same suit (2 to 4 cards)
- Set of cards of the same number, regardless of the suit (2 to 4 cards)
If there are no cards on the table, the player should start a trick, playing any of the formations mentioned above.
If there are already cards on the table, the player should follow the same formation of the cards, playing a combination of cards stronger than the one previously played by another player - with a higher value if the tide is high, and with a lower value if the tide is low.
Example: It's Ursula's turn, and the last played cards were a sequence of three green cards 4-5-6. Since the tide is high, Ursula can play another sequence with higher cards (5-6-7 at least). She decides to play a sequence of blue cards 9-10-11, beating the previous sequence.
Example: It's Patrick's turn, and the last played cards were a pair of 2. Since the tide is low, he must play a pair of cards lower to follow the wave. The only possible combination to play is the pair of 1. Patrick has a pair of 1 in his hand, and decides to play it, beating the previous sequence.
The players can use one face-down card in front of them as a wild card in any combination, even as a single card. The wild replaces any existing card in the game (1 to 15, in any suit).
Example: It's Moana's turn, and the last played cards were a sequence of four green cards 1-2-3-4. Moana has the green 3, 5 and 6 cards, but misses 4. She decides to use one of the face-down cards in front of her as a wild to replace the green 4 and play the sequence of four green cards 3-4-5-6, beating the previous sequence.*
The beaten cards are discarded.
Turn the Tide and Follow the Wave
This action can only be performed if the status card has the Allowed side up.
The player must take one of the face-down cards in front of them back to their hands - this card will be considered as any other number card. Then flip the tide card to the opposite side, and flip the status to the Blocked side.
After turning the tide, the player must Follow the Wave, but without using a card in front of them as wild.
A player may never use both cards in front of him in a single turn - either as two wilds, or by using one to turn the tide and the second as a wild.
Example: It's the Kraken's turn, the last played cards were a pair of 14, and the tide is high. He can't beat the cards by following the wave, so Kraken decides to turn the tide and follow the wave. He takes one of the two face-down cards in front of him and takes the card back to his hand. He then flips the tide card to the low tide, and flips the status card to the blocked side. After that, Kraken plays a pair of 3 to beat the previous played cards, now that the tide is low.
Play a Bomb
A bomb is a specific combination of cards that is considered stronger than any other combination, and can be played over any other combination, disregarding the need to follow the wave.
The current bomb is the one indicated by the bomb card. It always has a size (number on the top), and a shape (icon on the bottom). In the first round of the game, the bomb is always the "sequence of 2 cards".
From the moment a bomb is played, it becomes the new formation to be followed with the follow the wave or turn the tide actions. No other bomb may be played in the same trick.
Example: It's Nemo's turn, and the last played cards were a triplet of 10. Nemo does not have (or does not want to play at the moment) a stronger triplet, but he has a green 4 and 5 in his hand. Since the bomb of the trick is a sequence of two cards (illustrated by the card showing the size and shape of the bomb), Nemo plays the green 4-5 sequence over the triplet of 10. From now on, the other players must follow the bomb card combination by Following the wave of Turning the Tide.
Wilds can be used to form a bomb.
Pass
A player passes when they can't or don't want to perform any other action.
When passing, the player turns the participation card to the Out side, and they will no longer play in this trick.
End of the Trick
The end of the trick occurs when all players except one have passed. This player is considered the winner of the trick. At this time, perform the following steps:
- Turn all participation cards to the In side.
- Turn the status card to the Allowed side (if it is not already).
- If a bomb was played in this trick, take the bomb card at the top of the stack and move it to the bottom, showing the new bomb for the next trick.
Order of bombs:
- Same suited sequence of size 2 (A)
- 2 cards of the same number (B)
- Same suited sequence of size 3 (C)
- 3 cards of the same number (D)
- Same suited sequence of size 4 (E)
- 4 cards of the same number (F)
The order is cyclic - if in the last trick the bomb used was 4 cards of the same number (F), the next bomb will be the same suited sequence of size 2 (A).
The winner of the previous trick plays a new combination of cards, starting the next trick.
End of the Round
The round ends when one player has no more cards in their hand (goes out). A player can go out even if they still have face-down cards in front of them.
Scoring
The player that went out scores 3 points, and the other players lose points according to the cards left in their hands and the face-down cards in front of them.
- Face-down card in front -> 3 points
- [1, 15] -> 3 points
- [2-4, 12-14] -> 2 points
- [5-11] -> 1 point
(Dots displayed on the card represent the number of points lost at the end of the round)
Next Round
Flip the status card to the Allowed side if it is not already.
If a bomb was played at the last trick, change to the next bomb.
The player with the least points will be the starting player. After dealing the cards for the next round, the starting player decides if the current bomb will be kept, or if it will be skipped to the next one. In case of a tie for the player with the least points, the starting player is the one closest clockwise to the player that went out last round.
Game End
The game ends after a predefined number of rounds. Play 3 rounds for a short game or 4 for a long one. The player with the most points wins. In the event of a tie, the player who went out the most times wins. If the tie persists, the tied players share the victory.
FAQ
Is it possible to turn the tide and play a bomb in the same turn? No, because after the turn the tide and follow the wave is the only option to turn the tide.
Is it allowed to play a sequence of 5 cards of the same suit? No, the combinations are limited to 4 cards. It's also not possible to play 5 cards of the same number (using wilds).
Is it possible to play a wild card right after turning the tide? No, because a face-down card was already used to turn the tide. You may use any card from your hand, including the one that was returned.
Is it possible to play two wilds in a combination? No, it's only allowed to use a single wild per combination played.
May I play a wild to beat a single 15 in a high tide, or a 1 in a low tide? No, a wild replaces any number from 1 to 15.
Can I look at my face-down cards to decide which one I'm going to reclaim to turn the tide and follow the wave? Yes, players may look at the values of their face-down cards whenever they want.
Can I only turn the tide if I can guarantee that I can follow the wave on that turn? Correct. A player can only turn the tide if, afterward, they play a valid meld by following the wave according to the new tide side.
Credits
Game Design: Arthur Lacerda Artwork: Arthur Lacerda Carteado Editor: Mauricio Torselli Samba Creative Director: Fel Barros
Playtesters: Alexandre Rivaben, Alex Pena, Amábili Vieira, Brunna Resende, Bruno Carvalho, Bruno Marques, Bryce Carter, Diogo Almeida, Eduardo Buffardi, Ênyo Saldanha, Fernanda Schmidt, Flávio Mazzini, Giovanna Moreira, João Lucas Pacheco, Juliana Lacerda, Lucas Maia, Luiza Antunes, Mauro Fernandez, Miguel Paolini, Pedro Aniceto, Raíssa Marques, Ricardo Magana, Shobu, Sidney Rocha, Victor Stillo
You can try Onda on Board Game Arena for free: https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=onda