Game Objective

In Doubloons, players are pirates competing to be the richest of all. The main objective is to be the first to open all of your chests in a round. The game is played in a best of 3 rounds. The player who wins a best of 3 rounds will be considered the richest pirate of all. However, if the group prefers, whoever wins the first round can be considered the winner.

Preparation (Setup)

1. First, separate the card groups. You should use 2 more card groups than the number of players.
   • For 2 players: use 4 card groups.
   • For 3 players: use 5 card groups.
   • For 4 players: use 6 card groups.
   • For 5 players: use 6 card groups (this is the only exception).
2. Shuffle all selected card groups to form a single deck.
3. Deal 10 cards to each player. These cards should be placed face down, forming two rows of five cards each, representing the player's chests (1 to 5 in the first row, 6 to 10 in the second).
4. After dealing, flip one card in the center of the table to start the open discard pile. This card must be a number. If a special card is flipped, shuffle it back into the deck and flip another card until a number appears.

Game Flow

The game progresses in turns, with each player performing one action on their turn. The starting player is the one with a peg leg, a glass eye, a parrot, or whoever is the youngest.

On their turn, a player must:

1. Draw a card: You can draw a face-down card from the main deck or the first face-up card from the discard pile.
   • The following special cards cannot be drawn from the discard pile: pirate, drunk pirate, kraken, chained parrot, and chained chest.
   • The parrot card can be drawn from the discard pile if you do not yet have a parrot in your game.
   • The key card can be drawn from the discard pile if it has not been used by another pirate.
2. Apply the card's action:
   • If you draw a number card, you must place it in the corresponding location in your play area, "opening" the chest in that location. If, when opening a chest, you reveal another number, you must continue with the same action, opening the corresponding chest, until you can no longer perform that action (i.e., until you reveal a special card or an already open chest).
   • If you draw one of the special cards, immediately apply its action.

Actions and How to Play

Actions in Doubloons are determined by the cards you draw:

• Number cards (1 to 10): Represent their respective numbers. When you draw one, you place it in the corresponding indicated spot, opening the chest in that location. If the revealed chest is a number, continue the action until you can no longer do so.
• Pirate card: The player who draws it can swap one of their closed chests for an already open chest from another pirate. After use, the card is discarded. Note: swapping an open chest for a parrot is only allowed if the robbed pirate does not have a parrot, as it is not allowed to have 2 parrots per pirate.
• Drunk pirate card: Changes the direction of play (if it was clockwise, it changes to counter-clockwise). Simply discard this card when it enters play, into the discard pile.
• Kraken card: Prevents the next pirate (player) from playing for one round. Simply discard this card when it enters play, into the discard pile.
• Parrot card: This is the game's wild card. It can be used in place of any number. Each pirate is entitled to only 1 parrot. To win the game, you need to replace the parrot with a number.
• Chained parrot card: Captures an opponent pirate's parrot, making it impossible for them to replace it with a number.
• Chained chest card: Prevents an opponent pirate from opening the chest that is still closed, making it impossible to replace it with the corresponding number.
• Key card: Unchains the chained parrot or chained chest of the pirate who drew it. It must be used only once. If drawn from the face-down deck, it can unlock 1 item (chest or parrot). If drawn from the discard pile, it can only be drawn if it has not been used by another pirate.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when a player meets the overall or round victory condition.

End of Round

The pirate who manages to open all their chests wins the round.

Scoring Between Rounds

For the next game, the player who won the round plays with one less chest. For example, if a pirate won 3 rounds, they will only have 7 chests to open in the next round.

End of Game

The player who wins a best of 03 rounds will be considered the richest pirate of all. However, if the group prefers, whoever wins the first round can be considered the richest pirate and winner.

Tips for Winning

• The parrot is a powerful wild card, but remember that to win the game, you need to replace it with a number. Plan how you will use and eventually replace your parrot.
• The pirate card allows you to swap one of your closed chests for an already open chest from another pirate. Use this strategically to advance your own game and, at the same time, delay an opponent who is close to winning.
• The key card is crucial for freeing your own chained chests or parrots. Keep an eye on the discard pile to draw it if it hasn't been used, or hope to draw it from the main deck.