Vallamkali: Boat Races of Alappuzha Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Core Concepts of the Game
  • Board
  • Oarsmen
  • Money
  • Bidding
  • Racing
  • Rhythm
  • Betting
  • Events
  • Overview of Gameplay
• Setup of the Game
• How to Play
  • Bidding Phase
  • Racing Phase
  • Milestones
  • Betting Stage
  • Event Stage
• End Game
• How to Win
  • Scoring Example
• Event Overview
• Quick Reference

Game Components

Board (assembly required)

Racing boats of Vallamkali (6 colours)

6 standard decks of Oarsmen cards (12x Value '1' Oarsmen + 4x Value '2' Oarsmen = 16 cards per deck)

7 Professional Oarsmen cards (4x Value '2' Oarsmen + 2x Value '3' Oarsmen + 1x Value '4' Oarsmen = 7 cards)

9 Event cards

Money in 6 colours (9x ₹1,000 + 3x ₹2,000 = ₹15,000 per colour)

Core Concepts of the Game

Board

The Vallamkali board is made out of 5 different parts. The board must be arranged in ascending order as shown below.

The 'START' position on the board is present on the 1st part of the board on which all the players place their boats.

Wooden logs in the water are milestones. The first boat to cross a milestone triggers the Betting and Event stages.

At each milestone, the maximum amount that can be bet is mentioned. It also reminds you to reveal an Event card.

The race ends when at least 3 players cross the finish line, and everyone scores their money based on the race position and bets.

Fun Fact: The length of a Vallamkali boat race can vary depending on the specific race and its location. Traditionally, these races cover a distance ranging from a few hundred meters to several kilometres. The most famous Vallamkali race, the Nehru Trophy Boat Race held in Alappuzha, has a track length of about 1.4 kilometres.

Oarsmen

There are 2 types of Oarsmen in the game: Standard Oarsmen and Professional Oarsmen. During the race, the total value of all the cards played in your turn helps you move forward with the help of these Oarsmen.

1. Standard Oarsmen

Every player gets a standard deck of Oarsmen cards in a chosen colour. Each deck has cards of Value '1' character repeated four times and each Value '2' character repeated twice. There are a total of 16 cards per deck.

2. Professional Oarsmen

Professional Oarsmen allow players to move more spaces. Players can hire these Oarsmen through a bidding auction, where each player places a blind bid for them one at a time. There are a total of 7 cards.

These Characters are unique in the game and let players move more spaces.

Money

Each player is provided with an initial sum of ₹15,000 (3 x ₹2,000; 9 x ₹1,000).

During the game, players can engage in 2 strategic actions to multiply their money:

i. Bidding for Professional Oarsmen to increase the chances of winning the race.

ii. Placing Bets on the player(s) they believe will emerge victorious.

By leveraging these options effectively, players can maximize their potential earnings at the end of the game.

Bidding

At the start of the game, you can use your money to hire Professional Oarsmen to replace a Standard Oarsmen and increase your chances of winning. The hired Oarsmen will boost your boat's pace, which is measured by the number of spaces it can move in a turn.

Example: a hired Professional Oarsman card (Value '3') replaces a discarded Standard Oarsman card (Value '1').

For every Professional Oarsmen hired, you must remove 1 Standard Oarsmen from your deck in order to maintain 16 cards.

Racing

Every player will engage in a thrilling competition, striving to outpace other boats and secure a win.

The ultimate goal during the race is to cross the finish line in either the 1st, 2nd or 3rd place to earn cash rewards of ₹25,000, ₹15,000, and ₹5,000, respectively.

Emerging as 1st, 2nd or 3rd in the race grants a significant advantage in earning more money than other players, through cash rewards or winning bets.

The game ends immediately after at least 3 players have crossed the finish line. The winner of the game will be decided only after the final scoring is complete.

Rhythm

Playing a set of three different Oarsmen with equal values means they are perfectly synchronized and have unleashed the power of Rhythm, giving you a significant advantage to surge forward in the game. Rhythm adds three extra spaces, boosting the total value of the cards played in that turn.

Example of cards in Rhythm:

• Total 6 spaces (3 different characters with same values).
• Total 9 spaces (3 different characters with same values).

Example of cards not in Rhythm:

• Total 4 spaces (3 different characters but not the same values).
• Total 3 spaces (all of the same value but 2 cards with same characters).
• Total 7 spaces (3 different characters but not the same value).

Betting

The Betting Phase starts immediately after the leading player crosses a milestone. Each milestone has a limit on the bets a player can place, and these limits decrease as you progress towards the finish line. For the 1st milestone, the limit is ₹5,000, which can be split and bet on players in any way you like. As for the 2nd and 3rd milestones, the limits drop to ₹3,000 and ₹1,000, respectively.

Just a heads-up, players cannot exchange spent money for different denominations.

Milestones and bet limit: the bet limit is mentioned at each milestone.

Place a bet on players you believe will win (including yourself). If your chosen player wins the race, you earn 4 times the amount you bet. Similarly, if your chosen player comes in 2nd, you earn 3 times the amount; if they come 3rd, you earn 2 times the amount. It is a way to maximise your earnings based on the race's outcome.

• 1st (Money x4)
• 2nd (Money x3)
• 3rd (Money x2)

Bets made on players whose boats come 4th, 5th and 6th in the race are removed and have no value.

• 4th (Money x0)
• 5th (Money x0)
• 6th (Money x0)

Events

There are 9 Event cards and only 3 Event cards chosen at random at the start of the race.

Reveal and resolve the Event card at each milestone after completing the Betting stage. The Event cards allow players at the back of the race to catch up with the leaders.

Certain Event cards require immediate resolution by the player(s), while others have effects that resolve in the next turn. For additional information on each Event card, refer to the Events Overview.

Remember to discard the Event card after resolving its effects.

Overview of Gameplay

The Game has 2 Phases which play in the order mentioned below:

1. Bidding Phase: Use your Money to hire Professional Oarsmen and replace any Standard Oarsmen from the deck.
2. Racing Phase: Use your personal Oarsmen deck after bidding for Professional Oarsmen to move forward on the board.

The Racing Phase temporarily halts when the leading player crosses a milestone to initiate the 2 Stages, which are played in the order mentioned below:

i. Betting Stage: Use the remaining Money to place your Bets on who will win the race.

ii. Event Stage: Reveal and resolve the Event card at each milestone after completing the Betting stage.

Once the Event card is resolved, the Racing Phase continues from where the players left off until the next milestone or the Finish line.

Setup of the Game

1. Place the Vallamkali Board at the centre of the play area. Place the Player Boats of those colours that have been chosen on the START position.

2. Shuffle all the Event cards and randomly draw 3 cards. Do not look at them and place 1 next to each milestone. Put the remaining Event cards back in the box.

3. Give 1 Standard deck of Oarsmen cards to each player based on their chosen colour. (Must have 16 cards at all times during the game.)

4. Distribute the Money tokens of matching colour to them, totalling to ₹15,000.

5. Based on the number of players, prepare the Professional Oarsmen deck for bidding as follows:

Players	Professional Oarsmen cards
3 Players	2 cards of Value '2', 1 card of Value '3', 1 card of Value '4'
4 Players	2 cards of Value '2', 2 cards of Value '3', 1 card of Value '4'
5 Players	3 cards of Value '2', 2 cards of Value '3', 1 card of Value '4'
6 Players	All Professional Oarsmen

Shuffle all the selected Professional Oarsmen cards into a deck and keep them face down next to the board. Return any remaining Oarsmen to the box.

How to Play

Bidding Phase

Start the game by initiating the Bidding Phase by using your money to hire Professional Oarsmen and increase your chances of winning. The Oarsmen you hire will improve your boat's pace, measured by the number of spaces it can move in a turn.

To bid for Professional Oarsmen, follow the steps listed below, which will guide you through selecting and bidding on these highly skilled Oarsmen for your team.

1. Start by revealing the topmost Professional Oarsmen.

2. All players make a single bid secretly at the same time. Decide how much you want to bid and hide that money in your hand. If you choose not to bid, hold a closed hand without anything inside.

3. Everyone simultaneously opens their hands after all the players have held out closed hands (with or without a bid). The player with the highest bid wins. In case of a tie, the tied players must increase their bids until only one bidder remains. If no one bids or increases the bid after a tie, the Oarsman card is discarded and returned to the box.

Important: Bid amount cannot be lowered after a player has placed a bid.

Replace one card from your personal deck of Oarsmen after winning the bid and discard the spent money and the discarded Oarsman to the box.

Example: the hired card (Professional Oarsman, Value '3') replaces a discarded card (Standard Oarsman, Value '1') from your personal deck. After winning the bid, you must replace a Standard Oarsman card of your choice from your personal deck with the Professional Oarsmen card from the bid.

4. The bidding phase ends when all allotted Professional Oarsmen have been bid for or discarded.

Racing Phase

Following the Bidding Phase, all players shuffle their deck of 16 cards and perform the subsequent actions. If you doubt the shuffling skills of other players, you can shuffle their deck of cards on their behalf.

Place your personal Draw pile on your left and Personal Discard Area on your right. All players must simultaneously perform the actions listed below.

1. Draw 4 cards from your personal deck and look at the values.

2. Discard 1 out of those 4 cards into your personal discard pile. The total value of the 3 cards determines how far your boat moves on the Vallamkali board.

Example: total 4 spaces to move (3 different characters but not the same values).

3. Players can achieve 'Rhythm' by playing 3 cards of the same value but with different character names.

Example: total 6 spaces moved due to Rhythm (3 different characters with same values).

4. End your turn by discarding the cards you played in your turn to your personal discard pile face down and repeat the process from step 1 of the Racing Phase.

5. When the draw pile is empty, shuffle the discard pile and use it as the new draw pile.

Designer's Tip: To improve your gaming experience, you can use the slogan below when you draw 4 cards and discard 1 from it.

• In Malayalam: "Naal Edikye - Onnu Koduke"
• In English: "Draw 4 - Discard 1"
• In Hindi: "Char Uthao - Ek Hatao"

Milestones

During the race, there are 3 milestones that players cross. When crossed by the leading player, the race moves to a temporary halt and triggers the 2 stages mentioned below.

Betting Stage

Players bet on the boat they think would win the race.

The maximum amount a player can bet in each Milestone is mentioned beside the track.

You cannot bet more than ₹9,000 in the game; that's the maximum limit allowed per player. Any leftover cash will be considered during the End-Game scoring.

Event Stage

After each Betting Stage, reveal the Event card placed next to its corresponding milestone and resolve its action. These Event cards can affect any number of players in their unique ways.

The Events that could be played during the game are:

Event card	Effect	Affects
Water in Boat	-2 Moves	Only the leading player(s).
Rhythm Lost	-3 Moves	Only the leading player(s).
Lack of Concentration	Play Only Two Cards (-1 card)	Only the leading player(s).
Crowd Cheer	+2 Moves	All players, except the leading player(s).
Adrenaline Rush	+1 Move	Only the last player(s).
Adrenaline Rush	+2 Moves	Only the last player(s).
Charging Ahead	Play All Four Cards (+1 card)	Only the last player(s).
Crowd Cheer	+1 Move

Editor's note: the printed card art overlaps the last two cards in the Event grid, so only the "+1 Move" value and the "Affects all players, except the leading player(s)" text of the rearmost card are legible. Both are listed as Crowd Cheer because the printed Event Overview (see below) groups those two partially hidden +1 cards under the Crowd Cheer entry.

Immediately resolve the effect of the Event card that is revealed (if possible) and then discard it into the box. Each race will only have 3 Event cards that will be played.

If multiple players meet the criteria specified on the event card, it will be resolved for all of them simultaneously.

Once the Betting and Event stages are resolved, the Racing Phase continues from where it stopped.

End Game

Players must move as far as the sum of their 3 cards in that turn after crossing the finish line. The Player who reaches the farthest in the least number of turns wins first place.

The End Game is triggered once at least 3 players have crossed the finish line.

Any ties in position after crossing the finish line must be resolved immediately by repeating the card drawing part of the Racing Phase without moving forward until there is a clear winner for the tied positions based on who has the higher total values on the cards.

How to Win

Players must tally their Money in the following manner.

Position	Race Winnings*	Bet Winnings**	Remaining Money***	Total Money
1st	₹25k	4x	1x	Race winnings + Bet winnings + Remaining Money
2nd	₹15k	3x	1x	Race winnings + Bet winnings + Remaining Money
3rd	₹5k	2x	1x	Race winnings + Bet winnings + Remaining Money
4th - 6th	0	0	1x	Race winnings + Bet winnings + Remaining Money

* Amount won by the players who came 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. It will help if you consider every ₹1,000 as 1k for easy scoring.

** Total amount a player has bet on the winners.

*** The player is left with total unspent Money at the end of the game.

The Player with the most Money wins the game!

Note on the table: in the printed rulebook the "Remaining Money" cell spans all four position rows as a single 1x entry. It is reproduced here on each row for clarity; the value is the same.

Scoring Example

The Purple player had distributed their bets of ₹3,000 on themselves, ₹2,000 on Yellow and ₹1,000 on Pink, Blue, Green and Red. They had also hired 1 Professional Oarsman for ₹4,000 with ₹2,000 remaining in their hand.

The Green player had put all their bets of ₹9,000 on Yellow. They did not hire any Professional Oarsmen for themselves; thus they had ₹6,000 remaining in their hand.

The Yellow player had distributed their bets of ₹4,000 on themselves, ₹2,000 on Purple and ₹1,000 on Pink, Green and Red. They had also hired 2 Professional Oarsmen for a total of ₹6,000 with no money remaining in their hand.

Player names	Race winnings	Bet winnings: 1st place	Bet winnings: 2nd place	Bet winnings: 3rd place	Remaining money	Final score
Purple	₹5k	₹8k	₹3k	₹6k	₹2k	₹24k
Green	0	₹36k	0	0	₹6k	₹42k
Yellow	₹25k	₹16k	₹3k	₹6k	0	₹50k

Editor's note: the printed Yellow row lists ₹6k under 3rd place, but the example text has Yellow betting ₹2,000 on Purple (3rd place), which would give ₹4k (2 × ₹2,000). The table is reproduced exactly as printed, and its ₹50k final score is the printed total; the printed text and table do not reconcile on this one cell.

Event Overview

Crowd Cheer: All players, except the current leading player(s), move forward with a specific number of steps as indicated on the event card.

Water in Boat: In the upcoming turn, the leading player(s) must reduce their total movement by 2 spaces.

Rhythm Lost: In the upcoming turn, the leading player(s) must reduce their total movement by 3 spaces.

Adrenaline Rush: The player(s) in last place moves a specific number of steps as indicated on the event card.

Charging Ahead: In their next turn, the player(s) in last place can play all 4 cards, and they can also perform the Rhythm action if they have the required Oarsmen.

Lack of Concentration: In their next turn, the leading player(s) must discard 2 cards instead of the usual 1. It is important to note that performing the Rhythm action requires playing 3 cards.

Quick Reference

Set up the game by placing the board in the play area and distribute the Standard Oarsmen (16 cards per player) and the Money (₹15,000 per player) of their respective colours to the players. Place the player Boats on the START position in the order the players are seated.

The game has 2 Phases which play in the order mentioned below:

1. Bidding Phase

   • Bid for Professional Oarsmen who will replace any 1 Standard Oarsmen from their deck of cards to increase their odds of winning the Race.
   • Bids are made using the Money distributed at the start of the game.
   • Money, once spent, cannot be exchanged later on in the game for different denominations.

2. Racing Phase

   • Shuffle your deck of 16 cards after the Bidding Phase. (Note: You can shuffle for others if you feel something is fishy.)
   • In your turn, Draw 4 cards from your own deck, check the cards and Discard any 1 of them in your own discard pile.
   • Move spaces equal to the total of all the numbers on the 3 selected cards and discard them in your discard pile after movement.
   • Rhythm allows you to move an additional 3 spaces if you play 3 cards with the same movement value, each featuring a different character.
   • The Racing Phase temporarily halts when the leading player crosses a milestone to trigger 2 Stages which are played in the order mentioned below:
     • i. Betting Stage: Place bets on players who you think will win.
     • ii. Event Stage: Reveal the Event next to its Milestone and resolve the effects.