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'''THE DECK'''
[[Category:Card games]]
== Overview ==
* Win by carefully investing in the most profitable expeditions (each color is a possible expedition).
* The moment you play a card of any color, that expedition costs -20; keep playing same-colored cards (but they must be played in ascending order) to overcome the expedition cost and score points.
* Optionally stake your starting expeditions with wager ("handshake") cards before their number cards, which double their result at the end of the round (whether positive or negative)!


There are 5 suits (yellow, blue, white, green, and red; each corresponding to one of the colored expedition maps on the center board).
== The Deck ==


Each suit consists of 12 cards: 9 cards numbered 2-10, plus 3 investment cards marked with a handshake symbol.
* There are 5 suits: yellow, blue, white, green, and red.
* Each suit has 12 cards: numbered cards from 2 to 10, plus three "wager" cards marked with a handshake symbol.
* The entire deck is shuffled and used in each round.


'''PLAY'''
== The Board ==


Each player maintains a hand of 8 cards. There is a shared draw deck. You will sort your cards by suit, by tucking them under your side of the center board. Your opponent will do the same on his side of the center board. Each expedition map on the center board represents a discard spot for the corresponding color. Both players use the discard piles jointly.
* On the board is a separate discard pile for each suit.
* Cards you play go to your side of the board, below that color's discard pile. A group of one or more played cards in a suit is called an "expedition".
* To the side of the board is a shared draw pile.


On your turn, you must:
== Play ==


1. Add one card from your hand to a suit, by placing it '''below''' the corresponding color on the center board  '''OR''' discard one card to the appropriate discard pile '''on''' the center board.  
* You hold 8 cards in your hand.
* Each turn has two steps: first, either play or discard a card. Then take a card, either from the draw pile or from the top of any discard pile.
* For each expedition of a separate color (suit): If you have a wager/handshake card, it can be played first, but is not required. Numbered cards are played in increasing order, but do not have to be in perfect sequence (consecutive). Once you've played a numbered card, you may no longer play any lower-numbered card or wager card. Cards must match the expedition color.
* When the draw pile is empty, the round ends instantly.


2. Draw the top card from the shared draw pile '''OR''' from a discard pile on the center board.
== Scoring ==


Both actions are mandatory.
Each of the (up to five) expeditions in front of you is scored separately and the results totaled. (Skip scoring a suit where you played no cards.) For each one:


Cards must be added in ascending sequence. Number gaps are permitted (for example 3-5-6-9 is allowed). Investment (handshake) cards are played before the corresponding suit cards, ie. in the same position where one would play a card numbered 0. Investment cards can no longer be added to a suit after the player has added any numbered card(s) to the suit.
# Add up the values of all numbered cards played.
# Subtract 20. (You might get a negative number.)
# If there were N wager cards played, now multiply that result by (N+1).
# If the expedition has 8 or more total cards, add 20 points.


Players need not embark on all 5 expeditions (colors); only those that are embarked on by a player count toward that player's score.
The basic idea is: if you start an expedition then you need to reach 20 just to break even. Wager cards magnify your winnings OR losses relative to that target.


The round ends immediately when the last card is picked up from the draw pile. The game continues until the players have completed three rounds (or the number of rounds selected during game setup).
Since BGA displays a running total as you play, this alternative (equivalent) scoring explanation might seem more fitting:


'''SCORING'''
* When you begin an expedition (play your first card of a suit), lose 20 points.
* When you play a wager card, lose 20 points.
* When you play a numbered card, gain that many points, plus that many points again for each wager card present (total: number x (wager cards + 1)).
* If that was the 8th card of the expedition, gain another 20 points.


Your score for each round is the sum of the points you scored for each of the five expeditions, counted as follows:
== Rounds ==


1. Take the sum of all your numbered cards in the expedition
A game may last either one or three rounds. If three, the round scores are all added. In rounds two and three, the player with the higher score plays first.
 
2. Subtract 20 if you played any cards to it (including investment cards)
 
3. Multiply the result from step 2. by (number of investment cards + 1). Note that the negative values is also multiplied!
 
4. Add 20 if the expedition contains 8 or more cards

Latest revision as of 13:43, 7 February 2026

Overview

  • Win by carefully investing in the most profitable expeditions (each color is a possible expedition).
  • The moment you play a card of any color, that expedition costs -20; keep playing same-colored cards (but they must be played in ascending order) to overcome the expedition cost and score points.
  • Optionally stake your starting expeditions with wager ("handshake") cards before their number cards, which double their result at the end of the round (whether positive or negative)!

The Deck

  • There are 5 suits: yellow, blue, white, green, and red.
  • Each suit has 12 cards: numbered cards from 2 to 10, plus three "wager" cards marked with a handshake symbol.
  • The entire deck is shuffled and used in each round.

The Board

  • On the board is a separate discard pile for each suit.
  • Cards you play go to your side of the board, below that color's discard pile. A group of one or more played cards in a suit is called an "expedition".
  • To the side of the board is a shared draw pile.

Play

  • You hold 8 cards in your hand.
  • Each turn has two steps: first, either play or discard a card. Then take a card, either from the draw pile or from the top of any discard pile.
  • For each expedition of a separate color (suit): If you have a wager/handshake card, it can be played first, but is not required. Numbered cards are played in increasing order, but do not have to be in perfect sequence (consecutive). Once you've played a numbered card, you may no longer play any lower-numbered card or wager card. Cards must match the expedition color.
  • When the draw pile is empty, the round ends instantly.

Scoring

Each of the (up to five) expeditions in front of you is scored separately and the results totaled. (Skip scoring a suit where you played no cards.) For each one:

  1. Add up the values of all numbered cards played.
  2. Subtract 20. (You might get a negative number.)
  3. If there were N wager cards played, now multiply that result by (N+1).
  4. If the expedition has 8 or more total cards, add 20 points.

The basic idea is: if you start an expedition then you need to reach 20 just to break even. Wager cards magnify your winnings OR losses relative to that target.

Since BGA displays a running total as you play, this alternative (equivalent) scoring explanation might seem more fitting:

  • When you begin an expedition (play your first card of a suit), lose 20 points.
  • When you play a wager card, lose 20 points.
  • When you play a numbered card, gain that many points, plus that many points again for each wager card present (total: number x (wager cards + 1)).
  • If that was the 8th card of the expedition, gain another 20 points.

Rounds

A game may last either one or three rounds. If three, the round scores are all added. In rounds two and three, the player with the higher score plays first.

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