Samoa
Samoa Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 50 feather cards
- 12 special cards
- 10 mask cards
- Rulebook
Game Overview
Each player has a favorite mask, but you don't know whose is whose. You want to decorate yours with as many colored feathers as possible. You do this by placing cards on a mask of your choice. You have to guess which mask each player has; if you succeed, you get bonus points. But the main thing is to make sure the other players don't find out which mask you have. If the others find out which mask you have, you won't be able to score points. When all the cards run out, the round ends and you try to guess who owns each mask. At the end, after 3 rounds, the player with the most points wins.
Setup
At least one of the players needs to have the Devir Companion app installed on their device to keep score. Separate the mask cards. Shuffle the rest of the cards and place them in a face-down deck.
Place 5 different mask cards side by side, and shuffle the 5 remaining mask cards. Then each player receives one mask card face down. Set aside the remaining mask card(s), face down. Each player may look at their own card in secret, but may not look at the other players' cards.
Starting position with 4 players: 5 face-up mask cards are laid out side by side, with the face-down draw deck of feather/special cards next to them. Each of the 4 players holds their own face-down mask card in front of them.
How to Play
The game proceeds clockwise. The youngest player starts. On their turn, the player draws the top card of the deck, shows it, and places it above or below one of the masks.
Example: a player may place a card above or below a mask.
As soon as a mask has 5 cards (counting above and below combined), it's time to score. The side with more cards is scored: those cards are placed below that mask. Next, all the cards that are on the same side of the other masks are placed below their corresponding masks. Finally, all the cards on the other side are removed from the game.
Note: until the end of the round, no one knows which mask will score points, or how many.
Example: a card is placed on Hanuk, bringing the total on that mask to 5 cards (3 above and 2 below). All the cards from above are placed below their corresponding masks (1 on Mahalo, 3 on Hanuk, and 1 on Lonosa).
All the cards from below are discarded.
The game continues this way until the last card of the deck is placed. If this last card does not bring one side of a mask to 5 cards, then no scoring happens.
Special Cards
The elements of water, fire, and air influence the party being celebrated. Special cards have one or more functions in the game.
Wave (water): The surf brings more feathers to the shore. If you draw this card, you may draw immediately a new card, show it, and place it. Then, draw, show, and place a second card.
Example: you have drawn a wave card. You may draw 2 cards. If another wave card comes up, you must first draw and show the card still owed from the first wave card. Then draw, one at a time, the 2 cards corresponding to the second wave card.
Bonfire (fire): When the bonfires are lit, the flames seize the feathers. If you draw this card, you may choose one of the following two options:
A. Choose a card from the table and remove it from the game, along with this card. B. Place this card as a black feather card (with a value between -2 and -5, as shown in the card's corners).
Wind (air): The wind makes the feathers fly. If you draw this card, you may choose one of the following two options:
A. Choose a card from the table and move it to the other side of the mask. B. Place this card as a colored feather card (with a value between 2 and 5, as shown in the card's corners).
End of Round
Bonus points: as soon as the last card is placed, all players write down on paper or in the Devir Companion app which mask they believe each player has. When everyone is ready, all players' face-down mask cards are revealed. Then, each player checks which player(s) they guessed correctly. One of the players is responsible for entering a check mark in the Devir Companion app behind each correctly-guessed player (✓). Each check mark is worth 5 points.
Penalty: if all of the other players have guessed a player's mask, then that player loses the round (even if they themselves correctly guessed the masks of one or more players). That player receives no points that round, and is therefore assigned a cross in the round's total score.
The value of all the cards guessed correctly by each player is added up. The total appears behind the feather icon in the Devir Companion app. The points from the check marks and from the masks are added together, and the result appears in that round's total score. Then, all the cards (including the removed ones) are reshuffled and two more rounds are played. Players will likely start with a different mask each time. The player with the fewest points is the one who starts the next round. In case of a tie, the player closest clockwise to the player who started the previous round goes first.
End of Game
The game ends when the third round is completed. All the points from the three rounds are added up. The player with the most points is the winner.
In case of a tie, whoever has more bonus points is determined. If the tie remains, whoever has more feather points under their mask in the last round is checked.
Optional Rules for Children
Not everyone likes losing the ability to score just because the others guessed their mask. When playing with young children, the following rule can be applied: when all the other players guess your mask, you don't get any points, but you may count the cards below your mask.