Salty Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• Game Contents
• Game Setup
  • Seasoning Cubes
  • Seasoning Cards
  • Food Cards
  • Before the Start of Each Meal
• How to Play
• Evaluating the Round
  • Example
• Acquiring Seasoning Cubes
• Calculating Points
  • Scoring Examples: Food Card "French Fries" (4 plates; Accuracy Bonus +10 per cube; Variety Bonus 20 per color; max 160)
• End of the Meal
• End of the Game
• Note: How to Use the Seasoning Shelf Card

Game Overview

This is a game played in rounds. The winner of each round is determined by the strength of the cards played, which varies from round to round. A round takes place when each player has played one card from their hand.

When all players' hands run out of cards, that is the end of a Meal.

This is a betting-style game in which, at the start, players predict the number of cubes they will win.

It is an irregular "follow the leader" style game: if the current player has a card of the same seasoning as the one played by the previous player, they must play it.

When a Meal ends, calculate the score based on the cubes won and write it down.

The game ends when a number of Meals equal to the number of players has been played. The player with the highest score wins.

Game Contents

• A. 20 Seasoning Cubes (5 of each of the 4 types: Salt, Ketchup, Shoyu, Mayonnaise)
• B. 1 Seasoning Bag
• C. 1 Seasoning Shelf Card (printed on both sides; either side may be used)
• D. 48 Seasoning Cards (4 types x 12 cards: 1 card of each type with numbers from 0 to 5.5)
• E. 6 Food Cards (1 card of each type, with the back showing a bet of 0 cubes)
• F. 4 Summary Cards (printed on both sides)
• G. 1 Rulebook

Seasoning Cards and Food Cards: 54 cards of 63 x 88 mm. Seasoning Shelf Card: 1 card. Summary Cards: 5 cards of 91 x 128 mm.

Game Setup

Seasoning Cubes

1. Give one Summary Card to each player.

2. Put all the Seasoning Cubes in the Seasoning Bag and mix them well.

3. Randomly draw a number of Seasoning Cubes according to the number of players and place them on the Seasoning Shelf Card.

   • 4 players: 10 cubes
   • 3 players: 12 cubes

   Leave the remaining Seasoning Cubes in the Seasoning Bag. Use either side of the Seasoning Shelf Card.

Seasoning Cards

1. Shuffle the Seasoning Cards well and deal them to the players.
   • 4 players: use all 48 cards. Deal 12 cards to each player.
   • 3 players: remove the cards with value 5.5 (4 cards) and deal 14 cards to each player. (With 3 players, the two extra cards are set aside face up.)
2. Each player looks at the cards they received, without showing them to the others.

Food Cards

1. The player who last bought salt is the Last Player. Or the Last Player is chosen at random.
2. The six Food Cards are placed in the center of the table face up. The back of all the cards is the same and shows a bet value of 0.
3. Starting with the Last Player and proceeding counterclockwise, the Food Cards are selected one by one.
4. The number of plates at the bottom of a Food Card is the player's bet on the number of cubes they will obtain in that Meal. Each plate receives only 1 cube at a time.
5. When everyone has finished selecting a Food Card, each player decides which side to bet on and all reveal the side at the same time. The revealed Food Card is placed in front of each player. The Food Cards not selected are set aside.

Before the Start of Each Meal

1. Before the start of each Meal, each player selects and discards 2 Seasoning Cards from their hand. The discarded cards are placed in a discard pile, face down. The discards are not revealed and cannot be checked during the game.
2. The First Player, who will start the round, is the player to the left of the Last Player. Play proceeds clockwise from the First Player.

Look at the Food Cards (bets) and the Seasoning Cubes of this Meal and work out which Seasoning Cards to discard!

How to Play

1. The First Player chooses a card from their hand to play.
2. Proceeding clockwise, each player must play a card of the same seasoning type (same color) as the one played by the previous player, if they have one.
3. If a player does not have a card of the same seasoning, they may play any Seasoning Card.

Attention: the same type of Seasoning already played in a round may also be played again.

Evaluating the Round

1. When everyone has played a card, the round is evaluated and the winner is determined, following the criteria below:
   1. The Seasoning (color) played by the most players in the round is the Main Seasoning. If there is an equal number of cards of two or more Seasonings on the table, there is a tie and all tied Seasonings are considered Main. The next criterion applies to the cards of the Main Seasoning.
   2. The card with the value closest to the number of salt cubes placed on the Seasoning Shelf wins. If more than one card has the closest value, the card with the lowest value wins.
   3. If the winning cards have the same number, the player with the card highest in Seasoning Strength (Saltiness) wins.

Seasoning Strength (Saltiness): from strongest (WINS) to weakest (LOSES): Salt, Shoyu, Ketchup, Mayonnaise. Attention: Strength (Saltiness): Strong (Wins) was defined as having more sodium when measured in the same quantity.

Example

When there are 4 salt cubes (one card of each Seasoning is played: Salt 4.5, Shoyu 3.5, Ketchup 3.5, Mayonnaise 3.5):

1. Look at the quantity of each seasoning served on the table. Since there is one card of each Seasoning, criterion 1 results in a tie. Go on to criterion 2.
2. Look at the closest number (the smallest difference) to the number of Salt Cubes on the Shelf. If the number of Salt Cubes is 4, the closest number is 4 (difference 0). If there is no 4, then the next closest numbers, 3.5 or 4.5 (difference 0.5), win.
3. If there is more than one closest number, the lowest number wins. In this example there are seasonings with values 3.5 and 4.5. The winner is the lowest, that is, 3.5.
4. If the tie still persists, evaluate the Seasoning Strength (Saltiness). The saltiest, Shoyu (3.5), wins!

Acquiring Seasoning Cubes

1. The player who wins the round receives a Seasoning Cube of the same type as the card that won the round. They take the cube from the Seasoning Shelf and place it on a plate of their Food Card.
   • When there is no corresponding cube on the Seasoning Shelf, the player receives nothing.
   • As soon as they receive a cube, the player places it on a plate of their Food Card. If the plates are full, the cube is placed outside the Food Card. Placed cubes cannot be changed.
   • Pay attention, because the reference value of the round changes if a salt cube is acquired! (When there are 4 salt cubes, the reference number used to determine the round is 4.)
2. The player who won the round takes the Seasoning Cards used and places them face down in a pile in front of them. The player may only check the used cards that they won. Cards won by other players cannot be checked.
3. The player who wins the round is the First Player of the next round. The First Player plays a card from their hand to start the round. It is not necessary to follow the card type played by the last player of the previous round.

Calculating Points

A Meal ends when all the cards in the players' hands have been used. Check the Seasoning Cubes you acquired and calculate your score.

1. Seasoning Cubes on a plate = 10 points per cube.
2. Seasoning Cubes outside the plate = minus 10 points per cube.
3. Collected exactly the same number of cubes as plates = Accuracy Bonus. The Accuracy Bonuses vary according to the Food Card. Add the Accuracy Bonus points written on the Food Card x the number of cubes. Example: 4 plates were filled exactly: 10 points of Accuracy Bonus x 4 cubes = 40 bonus points earned.
4. Food Cards with 2 to 4 plates = 20 points of Variety Bonus for each color of Seasoning Cube placed on the plate. You can receive the Variety Bonus even without filling all the plates, but Seasoning Cubes outside the plate do not count as a color.
5. Successful bet of 0 Points: the number of players who bet 0 Cubes on the Food Card in this Meal x 100 points (1 person: 100 points; 2 people: 200 points; 3 people: 300 points; 4 people: 400 points). If the player wins a cube on a bet of 0 Cubes, they receive the number of cubes won x minus 10 points.

Careful! If you score below 0 (negative), that score carries over to the next Meal!

The maximum score you can receive with a Food Card is shown on the card (for example, "max 160" on the French Fries card).

Scoring Examples: Food Card "French Fries" (4 plates; Accuracy Bonus +10 per cube; Variety Bonus 20 per color; max 160)

First example:

1. Number of cubes on the plate: 10 points per cube x 4 cubes = 40 points.
2. Number of cubes outside the plate: -10 points per cube x 0 cubes = 0 points.
3. Accuracy Bonus (for 4 plates): 10 points x 4 plates = 40 points.
4. Variety Bonus: 20 points x 4 colors = 80 points. Total score: 1 to 4 = 160 points.

Second example:

1. Number of cubes on the plate: 10 points per cube x 4 cubes = 40 points.
2. Number of cubes outside the plate: -10 points per cube x 1 cube = -10 points.
3. Accuracy Bonus (for 4 plates): 1 cube more = no bonus.
4. Variety Bonus: 20 points x 3 colors = 60 points. Total score: 1 to 4 = 90 points.

End of the Meal

1. After writing down the score, set everything up for the next Meal.
2. The Last Player of the next round will be the player with the lowest total score. In case of a tie, the player with the lowest score in the previous Meal will be the Last Player. The Food Card is chosen counterclockwise starting from the Last Player.

End of the Game

The game ends when the number of Meals played equals the number of players at the table. The player with the highest total score wins. In case of a tie, the player with the highest score in the last Meal wins. If the tie persists, the players share the victory!

Note: How to Use the Seasoning Shelf Card

The Seasoning Shelf Card has a side A and a side B, but the rules are the same for both sides. Side A is the normal standard, and side B lists the Number Strength, approaching the number of Salt Cubes, ordered from highest to lowest. The Summary Card also contains the side B list.

• Side A: Number of Salt Cubes = Number Strength standard. Saltiness (Final Evaluation): Strength from left to right.
• Side B: Number of Salt Cubes = Number Strength standard. Quick Number Strength Guide. Saltiness (Final Evaluation): the numbers are in order of Strength. The strongest Seasoning is Salt.