Score 5
Score 5 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
51 auction cards, consisting of:
- 25 starting cards, separated into 5 sets (A, B, C, D, and E)
- 10 one-star (★) cards
- 15 two-star (★★) cards
- 1 three-star (★★★) card
Card anatomy
- Card family
- Card value
- Tiebreaker value
- Card type (A, B, C, D, E, ★, ★★ or ★★★)
Goal of the Game
Score as many points as possible using the highest value card you hold in each of the 5 families.
Setup
- Each player takes a set of 5 starting cards: A, B, C, D or E. Each player starts the game with a hand containing one card from each family (green, red, yellow, purple and blue), and a range of 5 card values (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25). If you are playing with fewer than 5 players, return the unused starting cards to the box; you won't need them for this game.
- Using the remaining 26 auction cards, create a pile of 12 face-down cards in the centre of the table:
- Put the ★★★ card down first, forming the bottom of the pile.
- Shuffle the 15 ★★ cards. Draw 7 at random and put them on top of the ★★★ card.
- Shuffle the 10 ★ cards. Draw 4 at random and put them on top of the 7 ★★ cards.
- Return all the unused cards to the box; you won't need them for this game.
Example setup for a 4-player game: each player's starting set (A, B, C, D) in front of them, with the pile of 12 cards in the centre (4 ★ cards on top, 7 ★★ cards, then the ★★★ card at the bottom).
Note: the card type information (A, B, C, D or E and ★, ★★ or ★★★) is only relevant for setup and serves no other function in the game.
You're now ready to play!
How to Play
A game of SCORE 5 is played over 12 consecutive rounds. In each round, players try to win the card currently up for auction.
Rounds
For each auction, go through the following 4 steps in order:
1- Reveal
Reveal the first auction card from the pile by placing it face up in the center of the table: this card is now up for auction for all players.
2- Bid
Secretly choose a number of cards from your hand to try and win the card currently up for auction. You can use any number of cards, from one or more families. Play your chosen cards face down on the table in front of you, making sure all the other players can clearly see how many cards you're using to bid. At this stage of the auction, you can also choose to wait it out and not play any cards from your hand at all.
Example: the card up for auction is a green card with a value of 80. Laura plays 1 card face down on the table in front of her. Francis plays 2, Natalie plays 2, and Charlene plays 1.
Once all players have played their card(s) and checked how many cards their opponents have played, each player can add or remove cards from their own bid as many times as they want. Players who chose not to play any cards earlier can also add and remove cards at this stage. Once everyone has finalised their bid, move on to step 3- Resolve the auction.
Example: Laura really wants to win the card up for auction. She decides to add 1 card to increase her total bid to 2 cards. Francis and Natalie choose to keep their bids at 2 cards. Charlene ultimately decides that she no longer wants to take part in this auction, and takes the card she played back into her hand.
3- Resolve the auction
All players who took part in the auction simultaneously reveal the cards they played in front of them. The player with the highest bid wins the card up for auction and adds it to their hand.
Note: all the cards that the winning player used to bid in this auction stay on the table in front of them.
- If several players are tied for the highest bid, the player with the highest tiebreaker value on their revealed cards wins the card up for auction.
Example: Francis played 2 cards with a total value of 40 and Natalie played 2 cards with a total value of 25. Charlene didn't play any cards. Laura played 2 cards with a total value of 50, and wins the card up for auction (the green card with a value of 80). She gains the card and adds it to her hand.
4- Distribute the winner's cards
The players who did not win the card distribute the cards in front of the player who won the auction. The player with the highest non-winning bid takes the card of their choice from the cards in front of the auction winner and adds it to their hand. The player with the second highest non-winning bid then takes the card of their choice from the remaining cards, and so on, until all the auction winner's cards have been distributed.
- If several players made a bid of the same value, the player with the highest tiebreaker value on their revealed cards chooses a card first.
Important: players who did not bid any cards in this auction also get to take part in distributing the winner's cards, but will take their turn after all the players who did take part in the auction. If several players did not take part in the auction, these players show the card in their hand with the highest tiebreaker value to decide which of them goes first.
Note: in some cases, players will not gain any cards during this distribution step.
Example: Francis bid a total of 40, so he gets to pick first. He takes Laura's card with a value of 30. Natalie is next with a bid of 25, and picks Laura's card with a value of 20. There are no cards left in front of Laura, so Charlene doesn't get to pick up anything.
Note: if the number of cards to be distributed is greater than the number of players, players continue taking turns in the same order until all the cards have been distributed.
Example: Laura has 5 cards on the table in front of her. Laura's cards are distributed between the other players in the following order: Francis (40) takes a card. Natalie (25) takes a card. Charlene (0) takes a card. Then Francis (40) takes another card. Now Natalie (25) takes Laura's last card.
Players who still have cards in front of them now take these cards back into their hands, after which the auction ends. Begin a new round.
Final auction
The final card put up for auction is the ★★★ card with a value of 75. This wild card can represent any colour: the player who wins it gets to choose which family they will count it as when calculating their final score at the end of the game.
End of the Game
The game ends after 12 rounds, when there are no more auction cards in the pile. All players now reveal the card with the highest value from each of the families in their hand. All their other cards with lower values are discarded.
REMINDER: the ★★★ card with a value of 75 counts as a wild colour. The player who has this card chooses which family it will count as. This could even be a family you have no other cards of.
The player with the most points in total wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the highest tiebreaker value on their revealed cards is declared the winner.
Scoring Example
Laura reveals her cards: green 5 + purple 15 + yellow 25 + red 40 + blue 85 = 170 points.
Francis reveals his cards: he decides to use the ★★★ 75 he won as green. He therefore scores green 75 + purple 45 + yellow 55 + red 25 + blue 70 = 270 points.
Natalie reveals her cards: green 125 + purple 60 + yellow 105 + red 20 + blue 135 = 445 points.
Charlene reveals her cards: green 80 + purple 145 + red 115 + blue 120 = 460 points. Even though she has no yellow card, Charlene wins the game with a final score of 460 points.