Rancher
Rancher Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
The game contains: 1 game board, 4 game pieces (riders), 160 small chips (cattle), and 20 large chips (farms), each set in four matching colours, 2 packs of game money, and 1 die. The game is for 2-4 players.
Object of the Game
To own as many farms as possible and to breed large herds of cattle on the pastureland that goes with them. Herds must also be sold: each rancher drives his cattle over the rugged terrain to Beefy Town, the only place where cattle are bought. The richest rancher at the end of the game wins.
Setup
Each player receives one rider and places it on the starting point (arrow) in Beefy Town.
One player manages the bank. During the game he distributes and collects the money, and buys and sells the farms and the cattle.
Purchase prices of the farms:
- Hell's Gate: 5,000 game marks
- Devil's Creek: 5,000 game marks
- Glover Leaf: 4,400 game marks
- Blue Bell Ranch: 3,800 game marks
- Green Valley: 3,000 game marks
- Red River: 2,400 game marks
- Three Oaks: 2,000 game marks
Purchase and sale price of cattle: 100 head of cattle = one small chip = 500 game marks.
Before the game begins, each player receives 15,000 game marks.
Start of the Game
The game starts in Beefy Town. Each player rolls the die once. Whoever rolls the highest number rides off in the direction of Hell's Gate. The other players roll in clockwise order and follow him.
Note: the German sheet prints this farm's name as "Heils Gate" here; it is spelled "Hell's Gate" in the purchase price list, and that spelling is used throughout this translation.
Movement
Movement is always clockwise, by the number rolled on the die.
A rider without a herd in tow may move along all paths, for example also via the shortcut past Fort Laramie.
A rider with a herd may not ride the shortcut path (marked with yellow dots).
Buying Land and Herds
When a rider reaches a dark orange space, he may buy the farm shown in the circle together with its pasture and at least 100 cattle. This is of course only possible if no other player owns that farm.
He pays the corresponding purchase sum to the banker and receives, in his colour:
- 1 large chip for the farm
- 1 small chip for every 100 cattle
The large chip is placed on the farm circle. The small chips are placed on the cattle circles.
Example: The red rider reaches one of the two dark orange spaces at Glover Leaf. He buys the farm and 300 cattle, and pays 4,400 + 3 x 500 = 5,900 game marks. He receives one large red chip and three small red chips and lays them out.
Herd Growth
If a player has circled the game board with his rider and has reached or passed a dark orange space on his farm, he receives from the banker as many cattle chips as are already on his pasture. He therefore doubles his herd after every lap, because in the meantime he has bred and fattened further cattle.
Example: The Red River ranch can fatten 800 cattle (8 chips). When acquiring the farm, a player buys 300 cattle (3 chips). After one lap his herd doubles to 600 cattle. After one more lap the herd grows by only 200, to 800 cattle. The pasture is full.
Driving the Herd and Selling
When a player lands on a dark orange space of his own farm, he may at any time take part or all of his herd to Beefy Town.
If he drives off all of the cattle, he must sell his farm. He gives the farm chip to the banker and receives the full purchase price back. The cattle chips he places in front of himself. This means he drives his herd along the herd path to Beefy Town for sale.
Once he has reached one of the dark orange spaces in Beefy Town, he sells his cattle chips to the banker.
If a player does not land on one of the four dark orange spaces in Beefy Town, he must continue moving with his herd until he reaches one of these four spaces in Beefy Town.
Cattle Theft
When a player lands on a dark orange space of another player's farm, he may steal that herd and sell it in Beefy Town. He takes the herd chips for himself.
The robbed farmer must return his farm to the bank at half the purchase price.
Any rancher who has lost a herd in this way may take it back from the cattle thief. He only has to catch up with or overtake the thief. If he succeeds, he receives his herd back, and the cattle thief must pay him a fine of 5,000 game marks.
A thief who is driving several stolen herds may only return the herd to the robbed rancher who catches up with or overtakes him. He may continue toward Beefy Town with the other herds.
If a thief is overtaken by a rider from whom he has stolen two herds at once, he must pay a fine of 10,000 game marks.
End of the Game
At the end of the game each rancher totals his wealth. He adds:
- the purchase price of his farms
- his cash
- the number of his own and stolen cattle chips x 500
The sum is his wealth. The richest rancher is the winner.
The playing time (for example 1 or 2 hours) is fixed before the game begins.