Potato Man
Potato Man Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
52 potato cards in 4 colors:
- 14 red potato cards (5 to 18, with 16, 17 & 18 being Lord Fry)
- 13 blue potato cards (4 to 16)
- 12 green potato cards (3 to 14)
- 13 yellow potato cards (1 to 13, with 1, 2 & 3 being Potato Man)
15 sack cards (3 cards per color and 3 neutral cards)
5 cards with Instructions
Setup
Shuffle the potato cards thoroughly and deal them out according to the number of players:
2 players: Each player gets 12 potato cards for their hand and 8 extra cards to form a draw pile face-down in front of them.
3-4 players: Each player gets 12 potato cards each for their hand.
5 players: Each player gets 10 potato cards each for their hand.
The remaining potato cards are put aside unseen.
Lay out the 15 sack cards face up, sorted by color so that the number of cards can be clearly seen. In addition, you need a pencil and paper to note down the results.
Alternative setup for a 3-player game
In a 3-player game, players can choose to remove the green cards. Also remove the score cards referring to the green color. The rest of the game proceeds in the same way. We recommend that you use this preparation.
Game Play
The player who ate potatoes more recently starts by playing any potato card from their hand, face up on the table.
The other players follow in clockwise order until each of them has played one card. These cards form a trick. The following rule applies to playing the cards:
Each color may occur only once within a trick! That means that each player must play a different color in a trick. If that isn't possible because the player only has colors previously played in this trick, the round ends immediately.
Taking a Trick
The player who has played the highest number in the trick wins it. If two players lay out the same highest number in a trick, the card that was played later wins.
However, a trick that contains Lord Fry (16, 17, or 18 red cards) and Potato Man (1, 2, or 3 yellow cards) is always won by Potato Man. This applies regardless of what other cards are part of the trick.
Rule variations in games for 2 or 5 players
2 players: In the 2-player game, a trick consists of four potato cards. Players take turns by playing a card each time. They still can't play two cards of the same color in the same trick. Every time a player plays a card, they get a new one by picking a card from the unspent deck.
5 players: Since there are only four colors in the deck, in games for 5 players, one of the colors must be repeated once. However, players may not play two cards with Potato Man in the same trick.
Example 1: 5-player game
Player 1 opens by playing the yellow 8. Player 2 plays blue 8. Player 3 plays red 17 with Lord Fry. Player 4 plays yellow 2 with Potato Man. Player 5 ends with green 4.
Player 4 wins and earns a yellow sack card.
Example 2: 2-player game
Player 1 starts with yellow 5. Player 2 plays red 16. Player 1 plays blue 16. Player 2 ends with green 6.
Player 1 wins since they played a blue 16 after player 2 played their red 16. Player 1 wins a blue sack card.
Sack Cards
The player who takes the trick receives one sack card in the color they won the trick with.
In case there is no sack card left in the appropriate color, the winner of the trick may take one of the golden sack cards worth 5.
If there are not even any golden sack cards left, the player goes away empty-handed.
The player who won the current trick should start the new round by playing one of their cards.
Example 3: a 4-player game
Player 1 opens the trick with a red 13. Player 2 plays yellow 13. Player 3 plays green 14. Since Player 4 only has cards with colors that were already played, they can't play, and the round ends immediately.
End of a Round
If a player can no longer play a suitable potato card, they must show their hand cards, and the round ends immediately. No sack card is given for this incomplete trick. All cards of this trick are put in the discard pile.
Players count the potato sacks they have collected and note down the totals. Then they shuffle all potato cards and redistribute them as described in Setup.
End of the Game
Players play the same number of rounds as there are players. After each has been the starting player once, the game ends. The player who was able to collect the most potato sacks overall is the winner.
Credits
Game Design: Günter Burkhardt and Wolfgang Lehmann Artwork: Guilherme Cavalcante Graphic Design: Vinicius Teixeira, Tati Hapanchuk