Space Beans
Space Beans Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Each player is a galactic Beantrader searching for SpaceBeans, extra-terrestrial life forms shaped like beans. Collections of SpaceBeans earn a trader valuable trophies. The trader with the most valuable SpaceBeans trophies wins and is hailed "Ruler of the Beaniverse."
Game Contents
- 105 cards, divided into seven types of SpaceBeans: Klingbohnen, Darth Beans, Beanliens, Centauribohnen, Bohrion, Moonbohnen, and Bluebeans. Within each type there is 1 card each of values "1" through "3", and 2 cards each of values "4" through "9".
- 1 rules sheet
Designer: Uwe Rosenberg. Players: 2–6. Age: 10+. Playing time: about 45 minutes.
Preparation
Shuffle all the cards. Each player is dealt a hand of 3 cards face-down, except the dealer, who receives none. The rest of the cards are placed face-down in the middle of the table to form the draw pile. Leave room next to the draw pile for a discard pile. The player to the left of the dealer starts the game.
Gameplay
Turns pass clockwise. In the first round, the active player takes three actions on his turn, in order:
- Draw two cards (optional)
- Start one collection
- Pass all cards remaining in your hand
After every player has taken a turn, the first round ends. In the second and following rounds, the active player takes four actions on his turn, in order:
- Draw two cards (optional)
- Close out your collections (optional)
- Add to an existing collection, or start a new collection
- Pass all cards remaining in your hand
The first two actions are optional; the last two must be carried out.
The First Round
1. Draw two cards (optional). The player may draw exactly two cards from the draw pile and add them to his hand. It is not allowed to draw just one card. The player may decline this action.
2. Start one collection. The player must begin a collection of one or more SpaceBeans of the same type (cards of the same color). A collection is a row of any length made up of matching SpaceBeans. The player places the cards face-up in a row in front of himself.
Example 1: Leia has five cards in hand: two yellow Klingbohnen with values "8" and "9", one violet Centauribohne with value "3", and two red Darth Beans with values "3" and "6". Leia lays out the two Darth Beans in front of herself.
3. Pass all cards remaining in your hand. The player hands all cards still in his hand, face-down, to the player on his right, who takes them into his hand. It is then the turn of the player to the left.
Note: In a two-player game, hand cards are passed face-up instead. Space Beans works well as a two-player game.
The Second and Following Rounds
1. Draw two cards (optional). Carried out exactly as in the first round, with one exception: if the player has no cards in hand at the start of his turn, he must draw two cards. When the last card is drawn from the draw pile, the discard pile is shuffled to form a new draw pile.
2. Close out your collections (optional). The player may close out his collections of SpaceBeans. A player may have two collections in front of him at once: an open collection and a secret collection (see action 3, below). Only the player who laid down the secret collection knows its contents; he may look at it at any time.
A player may only close out his open collection. If a secret collection lies beside it, that secret collection must immediately be turned face-up, becoming the new open collection; it may then be closed out at once, or left as an open collection in front of the player.
How is a collection closed out? A collection has a value at the moment it is closed out. That value depends on whether the collection contains a card whose printed value equals the number of SpaceBeans in the collection. The player may keep the card with that matching value as a trophy, placing it face-up on a separate trophy pile in front of himself. The remaining cards of the closed-out collection go to the discard pile.
Example 2a: Londo has two collections in front of him. His open collection of violet Centauribohnen, with three cards, is worth three trophy points, because the collection contains the card with value "3". Londo closes out the Centauribohnen collection. He places the card with value "3" as a trophy, separate from his collections, face-up on a separate pile. The Centauribohnen cards with values "6" and "7" go to the open discard pile.
Example 2b: Londo's secret collection is now immediately turned face-up. It is a grey Bohrion collection of five cards. It is worth five trophy points, because the collection contains the card with value "5". Londo closes out this collection too. Although the Bohrion collection contains two cards with value "5", Londo keeps only one "5" as a trophy, adding it to the pile that already holds the "3" trophy card. The other four Bohrion cards go to the open discard pile.
Note: A collection consisting of a single card with value "1" is worth one trophy point. When such a collection is closed out, that card goes to the trophy pile.
Note: If more than one card in the collection matches its card count (for example, two "5"s in a collection of 1, 9, 7, 5, 5), only one of the matching cards may be kept as a trophy; the other matching card is discarded with the rest of the collection.
A collection need not be closed out if the number of cards it contains does not equal any of the values it contains. The open collection must be closed out if the player has no card in hand that matches either of his collections. If the player has no secret collection, the open collection need not be closed out. If the open collection must be closed out and has no value at the time, all cards in it go to the discard pile and no trophy is kept.
Example 3: Jean-Luc's open collection of four Klingbohnen has no value yet, because it contains no card with value "4". Since Jean-Luc must close out this collection, he places all the cards of this Klingbohnen collection on the open discard pile.
Note: Collections of SpaceBeans may only be closed out before this action, not after. A player who has closed out both of his collections must start a new open collection with the following action.
3. Add to an existing collection, or start a new collection. In this action, the player has the following options:
- The player must either: (A) add one or more SpaceBeans of the same type from his hand to one (and only one) of his existing collections, or (B) start one new collection with one or more cards of the same type.
- SpaceBeans added to the open collection are placed face-up; SpaceBeans added to the secret collection are placed face-down.
- If the player has one (open) collection, the second collection must be his secret collection, placed in a column face-down to the left of the first collection. Cards should be arranged so other players can see how many cards are in the secret collection. A player may never have more than two collections at once.
- It is permitted to collect the same type of SpaceBean in both collections at once.
4. Pass all cards remaining in your hand. Carried out exactly as in the first round. If a player has no cards to pass, this action is skipped. It is then the turn of the player to the left.
End of Game
The game ends at the end of the turn of the player whose trophy collection is worth at least 30 points. This player receives a bonus (Bohnus) of 3 points added to his total.
All players then discard their hands to the discard pile. All secret collections are turned face-up. The collections of all players are now closed out and converted into trophy points as usual. Every player then totals his trophy points. The player with the most points wins the game.
Example: Allister has ended the game. His trophies are worth 31 points. He receives the 3-point Bohnus for ending the game. He now closes out his two remaining collections. His six Klingbohnen have values "1", "4", "4", "5", "7", and "9"; his two Darth Beans have values "2" and "8". In total he scores 31 + 3 + 0 + 2 = 36 points.
Note: Any player may look at the contents of another player's trophy pile at any time.