Wampum
Wampum Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Goal
You travel as a trader during the colonial era and trade goods with the Indians. In some villages you swap goods for other goods. In other villages you receive Wampum for your goods — the name the Indians give their decorative shell necklaces. Trade cleverly in the right village at the right time and collect the most Wampum!
Components
- 90 Goods cards (18 cards each of 5 types of goods)
- 1 Canoe
- 5 Traders (1 per player colour)
- 5 Chests (1 per player colour)
- 5 Villages (with starting values 2/3/3/3/4)
Setup
Each player takes 1 Trader and the matching-colour Chest and places both in front of them.
Determine a start player by any method you like; this player receives the Canoe.
Depending on the number of players, place Villages with the following starting values in the centre of the table:
- 2–3 players: 2/3/4
- 4 players: 2/3/3/4
- 5 players: 2/3/3/3/4
Any unused Villages are not needed.
Depending on the number of players, remove some Goods from the game:
- 2 players: 5 different Goods, i.e. 1 of each type of goods
- 3 players: none
- 4 players: 2 different Goods, chosen at random
- 5 players: none
Return the removed Goods to the tin. Shuffle all remaining Goods face down. Deal each player 5 Goods, which they take into their hand. Place, face up, next to each Village as many Goods as its starting value shows. Set all remaining Goods aside as a face-down draw pile.
Gameplay
The game is played over several rounds. Each round consists of 5 phases, carried out in order:
- Phase 1: Place bids
- Phase 2: Determine the start player
- Phase 3: Deal new Goods
- Phase 4: Observe the hand limit
- Phase 5: Carry out trades
Phase 1: Place Bids
Each Village trades with only 1 Trader. If several Traders want to trade with a Village, the Indians naturally trade with the one who brings the most Goods.
Starting with the start player, players take turns clockwise. On your turn, choose any number of Goods (at least 1!) from your hand and place them face down next to one of the Villages. Fan your cards slightly so that every player can easily see how many cards there are. Place your Trader card on top of them. These Goods represent your bid to be allowed to trade in that Village.
Each Village can offer goods from at most 1 Trader at a time. If you want to place your Goods in a Village where a fellow player's bid already lies, you have 2 options: either choose a different Village next to which no bid lies yet, or drive out your fellow player. To drive them out, you must place a higher number of Goods than your fellow player bid there.
A driven-out player immediately moves their bid (without changing it!) to another Village. They may in turn drive out another player, provided that player bid fewer cards, or move to a Village next to which no bid is yet placed.
This phase ends once every player has had a turn and a Trader lies next to every Village.
Example: Green bids 5 Goods to be allowed to trade in the third Village, and thereby drives out Purple, who had bid only 2 Goods there. Purple must immediately bid in another Village. Purple cannot bid in the fourth Village, because Red has already bid 2 cards there and Purple's bid is not higher. Purple now has the choice of moving to the first or the second Village. Purple decides on the first Village and drives out Blue there. Blue must now place its bid in the second Village, because Blue, with a bid of only 1 Good, cannot drive out any fellow player anywhere.
Phase 2: Determine the Start Player
Whoever transports the most Goods receives a Canoe to support them.
The player with the highest bid now receives the Canoe and becomes the new start player. If several players made the highest bid, the one among them who sits closest clockwise to the previous start player receives the Canoe, counting from the previous start player themselves.
Example: Green made the highest bid. Green therefore receives the Canoe.
Phase 3: Deal New Goods
All Traders earn a basic income during their travels in the form of Goods.
Each player takes 2 Goods from the draw pile into their hand.
Special rule for a 2-player game: in addition, place 2 Goods into the Village next to which no bid lies.
If the draw pile is empty after this, you are in the penultimate round of the game; see End of the Game.
Phase 4: Observe the Hand Limit
Because of the many obstacles on the arduous journeys, the number of Goods that the Traders can store varies.
Determine the hand limit. It equals the highest bid of this round + 3 Goods cards.
Each player who has more cards in hand during this phase must discard and remove from the game as many Goods as needed until they reach the limit. Discarded cards remain face down and may not be looked at afterwards.
Note: the limit applies only during this phase! During all other phases you may hold any number of Goods in your hand.
Example: The highest bid of this round by Green is 5 Goods. The hand limit is therefore 5 + 3 = 8 cards. Blue currently has 10 Goods in hand. Blue returns 2 of their hand cards face down to the tin, removing them from the game.
Phase 5: Carry Out Trades
Whether the Indians give a Trader other goods or Wampum depends on the goods offered by that Trader.
Resolve the trades one after another in all Villages. How your Trader's trade proceeds depends on which Goods you bring to the Village.
1. Trade for Goods
If your bid contains at least 1 Good whose type of goods is already present in the Village at this time, the Indians trade for goods. Take all the Goods lying in the Village into your hand. Then place all Goods from your bid into the Village and return your Trader to yourself.
Example: Red has brought 1 Hide and 1 Tobacco to the fourth Village. Because 1 Tobacco is already present in the Village, the Indians trade for goods. Red takes the 4 Goods from the Village into their hand and then places the Hide and the Tobacco from their bid into the Village.
2. Trade for Wampum
If your bid contains exclusively Goods whose type of goods is not present in the Village at this time, the Indians trade for Wampum. First place 1 Good of each type of goods from your bid into the Village. Then place all remaining cards from your bid, face down, under your Chest card. Each of these cards is worth 1 Wampum.
Example: Green has brought 3 Corn and 2 Weapons to the third Village. Because neither Corn nor Weapons are already present in the Village, the Indians trade for Wampum. Green places 1 Corn and 1 Weapon from their bid into the Village. Green turns the remaining 3 cards from their bid to the Wampum side and places them under their Chest. Green has therefore collected 3 Wampum.
End of the Game
As soon as the draw pile is empty, you are in the penultimate round. Finish the current round. After that comes one final round, in which you skip Phase 3 "Deal New Goods". After the final round, each player may place 1 card of each type of goods that they hold in hand under their Chest as Wampum. The player who then has the most cards with Wampum under their Chest wins the game. In case of a tie, there are several winners.
Example: After the final round, Green still has 2 Corn, 2 Hides and 1 Tobacco in hand. Green takes 1 Corn, 1 Hide and 1 Tobacco and places them as Wampum in their Chest.