Razzia
Razzia Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 6 Bar cards
- 48 Gambling cards
- 24 Police cards
- 84 Money cards (from $5,000 to $50,000)
- 1 Die
The Aim of the Game
The player who, by the end of the game, has gathered the most money is the best gambler and wins the game.
Preparation for a Four to Six Player Game
The 6 bar cards are placed next to each other on the table.
Not all the cards are required: all the police cards with a die value of 5, and one gambling card with a value of 3 and a value of 4 of each color, should be sorted out. These 18 cards are not required and should be placed back in the box.
All the remaining cards should be well shuffled. Each player is dealt 5 cards, which they form into a hand. The remaining cards are placed in a pile, face down, on the table.
The money cards are mixed and placed, face down, in three piles next to the bar cards. The die is made available.
The Game Begins
Play goes in a clockwise direction. The player who reckons he is the coolest is the number 1 croupier. He opens the first round by taking 7 money cards and placing 6 of them face up, from left to right, under the 6 bars. The 7th money card he places face up next to a bar of his choice. These money cards represent the winnings if the right card is played at the right time.
In order to get winnings from the bars it is necessary to play a card for a bar. The colors of the edges of the bar cards and the playing cards signify which cards belong to which bars.
For example: Colibri - red, Cotton Club - yellow, Havana Bar - violet.
Each player takes one of their five playing cards and lays it face down in front of them on the table. When all the players have cards on the table, they are turned over and a distribution of the winnings (or not) is made.
The Gambling Cards
A player using a gambling card for a particular bar can take the money associated with that bar if, and only if, it is the only gambling card played for that bar.
For example: Bill played a gambling card for the Colibri, Dave for the Havana Bar, Stephen for the Cotton Club, and Karen for the Jungle. Since only one card was played for each bar, the players claim the money for the bar associated with the card they played. The money for Lincoln's and the Jazz House remains where it is.
The Police Cards
The police cards can be identified by the fact that they have a picture of an American cop on them. A player using a police card hopes that at least one other player is using a gambling card for the same bar. In this case he can confiscate the money from the bar and keep it himself. The other player gets nothing. If a police card is the only card played for a particular bar, then the player using it is unlucky - the money remains where it is.
For example: At the Jungle, Dave played a police card while Bill played a gambling card. Stephen played a police card at the Cotton Club. Dave confiscates the money from the Jungle. Bill gets nothing. Since no one played a gambling card at the Cotton Club, Stephen gets nothing. The money remains where it is.
Card Values
If more than one player uses a card at the same bar at the same time, then it comes down to who has the better card. Each card has a value from 1 to 6. The higher the number, the stronger the card during haggling.
Haggling
Haggling occurs when at least two players play gambling or police cards at the same bar at the same time. Haggling then occurs between the players who played the cards.
The player with the higher die value begins the haggling. He makes a proposal for the distribution of the money at the bar. This proposal depends on which cards are found at the bar concerned. If the other party is happy with the split, then the money is distributed accordingly.
For example: Four players have played cards at the Jazz House. There is $55,000 there ($30,000, $20,000, and $5,000). The cards were played out as follows: Bill - police card of value 3, Dave - police card of value 4, Stephen - gambling card of value 5, Karen - gambling card of value 2. Since police cards were played at the Jazz House, Stephen and Karen get nothing; their cards have no influence during the haggling. Bill played the highest police card: he makes the following offer to Dave - $35,000 for him, $20,000 for Bill. Dave agrees, and the money is distributed accordingly.
Note that a player making a division of the money may only bid for amounts that can be paid out. A sum can only be bid for if it can be made up from the money cards on the table. The mutual exchange of money cards between players is not allowed.
The Dice Duel
If a player is not happy with the offer he is being made as a result of the haggling, then he can resort to a duel. In this case a high-valued card is a positive advantage. In a duel, both players throw the die once and add to it the number shown on the card that they played. The player with the higher total wins the duel and takes all the money from that particular bar. In the event of a draw, the player who called for the duel is the winner.
Another Round Begins
When all the winnings for a round have been resolved, the playing cards that have been used are placed in a discard pile next to the unused cards. The next player becomes the croupier. He opens a new round by dealing each of the players a new card so that everyone has five cards again. If there are no more playing cards in the stock, then the discard pile is reshuffled and used again.
Another 7 money cards are laid out next to the bar cards. Money not won during previous rounds stays there.
The Game End
The last round begins when the last 7 money cards, or fewer (from left to right), are put out. This is the last chance to cash in on the profits. After this the game ends.
Each player now determines how much money he has made. The player with the most money is the best gambler and therefore the winner of the game.
Particular Situations
Haggling Between 3 Players
The player who played the highest card has the right to make an offer to both the other players. If one or both players accept the offer, then the money they were offered is given to them. If one of the two does not accept the offer, then he must enter into a duel. The winner of the duel receives the rest of the proceeds from the bar.
If both decline the offer, then there are two duels. The players with the highest and lowest cards duel each other first. The winner then duels with the third player. The winner of this second duel then takes all the proceeds from the bar.
Preparation for a 3 Player Game
The bar cards and all the playing cards for Lincoln's and the Jazz House are sorted out and returned to the box.
The following money cards are removed from the game: 2 each of $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, $20,000; 1 each of $25,000, $30,000, $40,000, $50,000.
Only five money cards are distributed each round. One goes to each bar from left to right, with the 5th card being played to a bar of the player's choice.
Preparation for 7 or 8 Players
All the playing cards are used. All other rules remain the same.
Special Case
It is possible that two players play cards with the same value. If these two players end up haggling, then the player who is sitting furthest away from the croupier begins the process.
If three players haggle against each other, in which two of them have the same total value, and a distribution of the money is not agreed upon, then dueling takes place with the player sitting furthest away from the croupier going last.
Variants (Spielbox 4/92)
Razzia is also suited to two people if the number of bars is reduced to three. The playing cards associated with the bars not used are removed from the game. In general, the number of bars should be one higher than the number of players - so for 5 or more players all 6 bars are used, for 4 players 5 bars, etc.
The player whose turn it is turns over 7 money cards and may look at them. After that he places one card on each bar and places the 7th card at a bar of his choice. If there are only three bars being used, then only 4 cards are turned over.
In order to identify which money has just been allocated to which bar, the new cards are laid down vertically rather than horizontally. This rule is particularly suited for a two player game since there is plenty of scope for bluffing. With more players it does, however, tend to slow down game play.