# Carnival ## General Info - **Year Published**: 1937 - **BGG Rating**: 6.0 - **BGG Rank**: — - **Players**: 1-2 - **Duration**: — - **Weight**: — - **Publishers**: Milton Bradley - **Categories**: Children's Game - **Mechanics**: Roll / Spin and Move ## Verdict If you enjoy card games that blend dice and light strategy, Carnival will delight you with its amusement‑park theme.Fun themeSimple dice mechanicColorful componentsFast gameShallow strategic depthPlayer limit (max 4)Short playtime (30‑45 min)RECOMMENDED ## Description Carnival is a card game that invites you to build and run an amusement park. Two to four players, ages twelve and up, start with a deck of attraction, ticket, and action cards. On each turn, a player rolls three dice and selects two of them to carry out actions: buying attraction cards, discarding cards from hand or park, or using tickets to alter dice results or block an opponent. The attraction cards represent giant wheels, roller coasters, carousels, hot‑air balloons, and bumper cars; accumulating four of these attractions lets a player open their park and begin drawing visitors. The goal is to be the first to attract 20 visitors, which requires a careful balance between investing in attractions and strategically deploying tickets. The game features bright, easy‑to‑handle components, and the dice mechanic adds an element of unpredictability that keeps the play lively. While the rules are straightforward, there is room for tactical decisions, such as when to use a ticket to block an opponent or when to roll dice that favor your own strategy. Carnival is perfect for those who enjoy fast‑paced card games, have a taste for amusement‑park themes, and appreciate a mix of luck and strategy. Playtime typically ranges from 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the number of players, and the learning curve is gentle, making it accessible to families and friends alike. ## How to Play Game Objective In Carnival, players compete to open their own amusement park before the other "carnies." The objective is to build 4 of the 5 available attractions on your Midway. This is done by collecting banners, lights, materials, and seats for each attraction. The game ends immediately when a player achieves victory by building 4 (of 5 possible) attractions on their Midway, regardless of whether they were completed with or without the use of Wilds. Setup For a 2-3 player game, remove cards with white tip ribbons. Give each player one Wild card. Shuffle the remaining Parts and Wild cards to form a deck. Deal 5 cards to each player. These 5 cards, plus the Wild, become the player's starting hand. Remove the same number of cards as the number of players from the top of the deck and place them face up in a single pile to start the discard pile. Give each player a set of 5 Midway cards; each card in the set represents one of the 5 attractions. These cards are placed in front of the player with the Ticket side down; this is the player's Midway. Give each player 3 Tickets. Place the dice and the tableau in the center of the playing area, within reach of all players. Game Flow The game progresses in turns, following this sequence: If there are no cards in the discard pile, take the top card from the deck and place it face up in a single pile to create a discard pile. Discard cards until you have 6 cards in hand. There are two options: Discard a Wild card from your own hand or Midway, along with any number of cards from your hand; draw from the deck the same number of cards that were discarded (including the Wild). -OR- Roll 3 dice; choose 2 and perform the assigned action(s). All dice must be assigned to the tableau before any action is taken. When rolling triples, the third die is assigned to the "bullseye," and the player must perform all three actions. Begin building an attraction and/or build upon any number of attractions on your own Midway, if desired. To start building a new attraction, the player must use a minimum of two different parts of the same attraction from their hand (one of these cards can be a Wild). The player may add to an existing incomplete attraction. An attraction is complete by collecting each of its four parts (this can include one to three Wilds). If a natural set is built, flip the entire stack to reveal the Ticket side of the base Midway card. If the player has fewer than 3 Tickets at the time of completing a natural set, 1 Ticket may be taken from the Ticket discards and placed into the player's personal supply. If there are fewer than 3 cards in hand, draw cards from the deck to fill the hand to 3 cards. Actions and How to Play During your turn, after the discard phase, you can choose between discarding cards to draw new ones or rolling the dice to perform actions. If you roll the dice, actions must be performed but can be done in any order. Players must declare the target of an action before performing it to give opponents a chance to block the action with a Ticket. There is no limit to how many dice roll actions can be taken against a player in one turn. Dice Roll Actions Deck Draw: Take one card from the top of the deck. Discard Draw: Take the top card from the discard pile. Hand Draw: Take a random card from a player's hand. Hand Trade: Take a random card from a player's hand, then choose a card from your own hand and give it to that player. Remember that the Hand Trade Dice Roll Action can help cycle useless cards from your hand. Midway Trade: Take a card from a player's Midway and place that card on your own Midway. Then give the player a card from your own Midway to place on their Midway. A player can never have a duplicate of any card (except Wilds) on their Midway. Therefore, in Midway Trade actions, a player cannot give or take a card that would result in duplicate cards on any Midway. Midway Steal: Take a card from a player's Midway, place that card on your own Midway, then choose a card from your own hand and place it on top of the discard pile. A player can never have a duplicate of any card (except Wilds) on their Midway. Therefore, in Midway Steal actions, a player cannot give or take a card that would result in duplicate cards on any Midway. Wild Cards Wild cards can be reassigned to other established and incomplete attractions on a player's Midway during their turn. Wilds can be taken from other players' Midways. A receiving player can place Wilds on any established and incomplete attraction on their Midway. Wilds can never be left alone (not attached to a Parts card) on a player's Midway. If at any time a Wild is left alone as a result of Dice Roll Actions, etc., the Wild card must be immediately reassigned to an established and incomplete attraction on that player's Midway, or else immediately discarded. Tickets On their turn, a player may discard one (and only one) Ticket to: Block another player's dice roll action immediately before that specific action is taken, even if that action does not directly involve the player discarding the Ticket. The use of a Ticket can never be blocked. Each player can never have more than 3 Tickets; this includes any Tickets gained from completing natural sets. Building Attractions The Midway is the space directly in front of each player where attractions are built. To start building a new attraction, the player must use a minimum of two different parts of the same attraction from their hand (one of these cards can be a Wild). The player may add to an existing incomplete attraction. An attraction is complete by collecting each of its four parts (this can include one to three Wilds). If a natural set is built, flip the entire stack to reveal the Ticket side of the base Midway card. A natural set consists of all 4 parts of the attraction (banners, lights, materials, seats) without the use of Wild cards. The four parts of a natural set cannot be traded, nor taken. This set is considered locked for the rest of the game. Once a card has been played to a Midway, it can never be placed back into a player's hand; it must always remain on a Midway. Players can start building an attraction with fewer than two parts from their hand if there is already a single part on that player's Midway. This can occur due to cards being stolen from existing sets or being placed on the Midway as a result of Dice Roll Actions. No player may look through the discard pile at any time. End of Game and Scoring The game ends immediately when a player achieves victory by building 4 (of 5 possible) attractions on their Midway, regardless of whether they were completed with or without the use of Wilds. Refer to the manual for details on additional scoring, if any. Tips for Winning Look for opportunities to use Tickets to get closer to completing a natural set; this can result in receiving a Ticket back and getting closer to victory. Remember that both Wild cards and the Hand Trade dice roll action can help cycle any useless cards from your hand. Players can only use one Ticket per turn. Take advantage of this to get a desired card from an opponent's Midway by using multiple Actions against them in a single turn; they can only block one of these actions. ## FAQ ### How many players can play? 2 to 4 players. ### What is the recommended minimum age? 12 years or older. ### How long does a game last? Between 30 and 45 minutes, depending on the number of players. ### What components are included? Deck of attraction, ticket, and action cards; six‑sided dice; visitor tokens; optional park board. ### How does the dice mechanic work? Each turn, a player rolls three dice and selects two to perform actions; the results determine which cards can be bought or discarded. ### How do you win? Be the first to attract 20 visitors by building four attractions and using tickets strategically. ### Is there deep strategy? The game is quick and accessible, focusing on simple tactical decisions; it lacks deep strategic depth.