The Battle of Red Cliffs Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Game Turn
• Sets
  • Examples
  • Angel Cards
  • Joker Cards
  • Event Cards
• End of the Round
  • Scoring Table
• End of the Game

Components

122 cards (as printed; see the note below):

• 15 cards of value 0 (4 red, 4 blue, 4 green and 3 white)
• 63 cards of value 1-9 (18 red, 18 blue, 18 green and 9 white)
• 24 angel cards in 4 kinds (7 red, 7 blue, 7 green and 3 white)
• 9 Joker cards (black)
• 2 event cards
• 9 player aids

Note: the sheet prints a total of 122 cards, but the listed counts add up to 113 (15 + 63 + 24 + 9 + 2). The breakdown is transcribed as printed.

Setup

Choose the game variant: 2-7 players, individual play; 4, 6 or 8 players, team play (teams of 2 players); 6 or 9 players, team play (teams of 3 players).

Give each player 1 player aid.

Shuffle all the cards of the deck, turn over 2 cards and place them face up as the bases of the 2 piles for laying out cards. If a Joker or a 0 is turned over, place it in the discard pile and draw other cards from the deck instead.

Determine the first player.

Game Turn

The game is played in rounds. At the start of the first round, each player takes 6 cards from the deck. In the second and later rounds, players take 6 cards from the deck each, but may lay out 1 or 2 cards (not a 0 and not a Joker) and take other cards from the deck instead of them.

If a player draws an event card, they take another card instead, and shuffle the event card back into the deck.

If the deck runs out, it is formed again from the discard pile and the laying-out piles, and then the 2 top cards are laid out from it (but not a 0 or a Joker).

Players may not show other players the cards in their hand, even if they are on the same team.

Players take turns clockwise, starting with the first player.

If more than 3 players are playing, then before a turn begins, players have the option (starting with the first player) to take one of the two top face-up cards and, adding 2 cards from their hand, create a set of 3 cards. The player then keeps 1 of the cards of the set they created as their prize card, and places the other 2 cards on the laying-out piles. This player does not draw new cards.

During their turn, a player carries out the following actions:

1. Take 1 card from the deck.
2. Perform 2 actions. The actions are: laying out a set of 3 cards, discarding 1 card, passing.
3. Refill the hand to 6 cards.

If a player took an event card from the deck, they take another card instead, and then carry out what is written on the event card. After this, the event card is placed in the discard pile.

If at the end of a turn a player has collected five or more prize cards, the round comes to an end, and only the players seated before the first player take turns (so that all players take the same number of turns in the round). Otherwise, the turn passes to the next player.

Sets

A set consists of 3 cards in numerical sequence, or 3 identical cards. Players may form sets from 3 cards in their hand, or from 2 cards in their hand plus the top card of one of the two laying-out piles (but not from the discard pile). The colour of the cards plays no role.

Examples

• 3 cards in numerical sequence (illustrated: 7, 8, 9).
• 3 identical cards (illustrated: one angel card of one kind, and two identical angel cards of another kind; the illustration is printed as shown on the sheet).

The Joker may replace one of the cards in a set (illustrated on the sheet with the Joker card and two angel cards).

Once a set is played, the player chooses one of the played cards and keeps it as their prize card. The player places this card on the table in front of them. These cards score points for players at the end of the game and are visible to all players. The remaining 2 cards of the set are placed face up on 2 piles. These piles may be looked through. Joker cards and 0-value cards are always placed in the discard pile (also face up). If an angel set is played, the player may carry out the action of the card they keep as their prize card.

Angel Cards

The 4 kinds of angel card have the following actions, which are carried out when an angel set is played and the card is kept as the prize card:

• Green angel: Exchange your prize card with another player's prize card of one colour or value.
• Purple angel: Draw a card from another player's hand and place it in the discard pile.
• Light-blue angel: Before laying out cards, return one card to your hand, but not a Joker.
• Red angel: Draw a random card from the hand of the player on your left.

Joker Cards

The Joker is a black card. It may replace one card in a set (see Examples above).

Event Cards

There are 2 event cards. The event card illustrated on the sheet reads: "Shuffle one of the piles (for the discard pile or for laying out) into the deck."

Note: the sheet lists 2 event cards but illustrates only one, and does not describe the second.

End of the Round

When the round ends, the players count the points they have scored, which are awarded for collecting:

• 2 or more cards with the same number (including 0 and angels),
• 3 or more cards of one colour,
• 4 or more cards of different colours,
• 4 or more cards in numerical sequence.

When counting points, Jokers do not replace other cards.

Scoring Table

The scoring table is printed on the player aid (transcribed from its illustration; PO = points):

Identical cards:

• 2 cards: 2 points
• 3 cards: 5 points
• 4 cards: 10 points
• 5 cards: 16 points
• 6 cards: 25 points

Cards of one colour (red, blue and green share one column; white and black are separate):

Cards	Red, blue, green	White	Black
3 cards	2	3	5
4 cards	4	6	10
5 cards	7	10	16
6 cards	12	16	25

Cards of different colours:

• 4 cards: 3 points
• 5 cards: 6 points

Cards in numerical sequence (any colour):

• 4 cards: 4 points
• 5 cards: 7 points
• 6 cards: 12 points

At the end of the round, all prize cards are placed in the corresponding piles, and players draw new cards from the deck. The first player is the player with the fewest points.

End of the Game

The game continues until a player or a team reaches the following number of points:

• 2-3 players: 30 points
• 4-9 players: 20 points
• teams of 2 players: 30 points
• teams of 3 players: 50 points

Note: the sheet prints "50 очкеов" (a typo for "очков", points). It is transcribed here as 50 points.