Run, Cowboy, Run!
Run, Cowboy, Run! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 game board
- 6 cowboys
- 1 deck of cards
The Deck
The 56-card deck includes 50 suited cards and 6 hazard cards.
There are 5 suits: Spades, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds ... and Gold!
Each suit includes 10 cards, ranked from 5 low through Ace high.
How to Win
Be the first player to get your cowboy over the finish line!
Setting Up the Race
- Place the board in the center of the play area. Each player selects a cowboy and places it on one of the six starting spaces.
- Shuffle the deck of 56 playing cards and deal 3 cards face down to each player.
- Place the remainder of the deck face down in a pile next to the board. This is the Draw Pile.
Starting the Race
- Players take turns discarding cards. The player to the dealer's left goes first to begin the round.
- The first player starts the Discard Pile by discarding any card of their choice face up. The player immediately draws a new card. Players must always have 3 cards in their hand.
- The next player discards a card or cards of the same rank or higher on top of the previous player's card. Suits do not matter. This player also immediately draws a new card or cards. Game play continues clockwise around the table.
Turn over for rules on scoring.
Scoring
During the game, there are three ways to score: Taking Tricks, Making Pairs & More, or Counting Your Gold. For each scored point, move your cowboy forward one space on the game board.
| Scoring action | Points |
|---|---|
| Take a trick | 1 point |
| Make or play a pair | 2 points |
| Make or play 3 of a kind | 3 points |
| Make 4 of a kind | 4 points |
| Make 5 of a kind | 5 points |
| Gold cards* | 1 point per gold suited card |
*Only counted if and when the Draw Pile is exhausted.
Taking Tricks
If a player cannot or does not discard a card, the previous player "takes the trick"—collecting all the cards in the Discard Pile, placing them to one side, and moving their cowboy forward one space on the board.
The next player (the one who did not discard) begins a new round by discarding any card from their hand.
Tip: A player can choose not to discard even if they have a playable card.
Making Pairs & More
A player can discard a card of the same rank as the card showing on the Discard Pile.
A player may even discard multiple cards of the same rank all at once.
When doing so, the player scores one point for each matching card and moves their cowboy one space per matching card.
Example 1: Player 1 discards a 6. Player 2 discards a 6 on top of it, and scores two points for the pair.
Example 2: Player 1 discards a 6. Player 2 discards two 6s on top of it, creating 3 of a kind, and scores three points.
Example 3: Player 1 discards two 6s and scores 2 points. Player 2 discards a 6 on top, creating 3 of a kind, and scores three points.
Example 4: Player 1 discards a 6. Player 2 discards two 8s and scores two points for the pair.
Counting Your Gold
If the Draw Pile is depleted, the first leg of the race is done! All players dump the remaining cards in their hands into the Discard Pile.
Now it's time to count up your gold! Players look through the cards they've collected by taking tricks and count the gold-suited cards. Players earn one point for each gold-suited card, and move their cowboys the corresponding number of spaces on the board. This is a great opportunity to win!
If no one crosses the finish line, the dealer then collects and shuffles all the cards, deals 3 new cards to each player, and the next leg of the race begins!
Special Cards
5s of any suit can be played any time, even on higher-ranked cards. They "reset" the Discard Pile back to the lowest rank in the deck.
7s of any suit can be played any time to "take the trick"—collecting the Discard Pile and moving their cowboy forward one space on the board. As with normal trick-taking, the next player starts the new round.
9s of any suit force the next player to discard 9s or lower. Unlike 5s & 7s, 9s cannot be played at any time, and must be played according to the regular rules.
Hazard cards are very valuable! They can be played any time. When a player discards a Hazard card, the player "takes the trick"—collecting the Discard Pile and moving their cowboy forward one space on the board. The player then chooses a rival player to move their cowboy back two spaces. As with normal trick-taking, the next player starts the new round.
Gold cards are played no differently than any other suit. Any gold cards collected by trick-taking will be worth points if the Draw Pile is depleted and the players have an opportunity to count their gold.
More About Winning
The first player across the finish line wins the game! If more than one cowboy crosses the finish line when counting up gold, the one who gets furthest across wins.
If still tied, the player holding the highest gold card wins.
Tip: Collect that gold Ace card, just in case!
For 2 Players
For a 2-player game, try racing to the end of the board and back again. All other rules stay the same.