How to Play Mala & Cuia

Game Objective

In Mala e Cuia, you're about to travel, but your suitcase only has space for 4 items. The goal is to pack your luggage smartly so your friends know what you're taking. During the game, players will try to guess which items their friends would take for various situations. The more correct guesses, the better your score.

The game can be played in two ways:

• Cooperative: Players work together to discover their allies' correct items and achieve the highest total score.
• Competitive: Each player tries to predict the most chosen items to get the highest individual score.

Preparation (Setup)

Cooperative Mode

1. Give one Suitcase Tile and one Erasable Marker to each player.
2. Shuffle all Situation Cards and deal one face down to each player. The remaining Situation Cards can be returned to the game box.
3. Shuffle all Item Cards and place 10 of them in the center of the table with random faces turned up. The remaining Item Cards can be returned to the game box.

Competitive Mode

1. Give one Suitcase Tile and one Erasable Marker to each player.
2. Shuffle all Situation Cards and reveal one in the center of the table. The remaining Situation Cards are left in a pile next to the play area.
3. Shuffle all Item Cards and place 12 of them in the center of the table, with random faces turned up. Leave the remaining Item Cards in a pile next to the play area.

Game Flow

Cooperative Mode

A cooperative game of Mala e Cuia is divided into two phases:

1. Pack the Suitcase
2. Guess

After all players have been the protagonist in the Guess phase, the game ends.

Competitive Mode

A competitive game of Mala e Cuia is played over 4 rounds, each divided into three phases:

1. New Destination
2. Pack the Suitcase
3. Compare Luggage

After the end of the 4th round, the game ends.

Actions and How to Play

Cooperative Mode

Phase: Pack the Suitcase

This phase is played simultaneously by all players.

• Each player secretly looks at their Situation Card.
• Each Situation Card presents a General Situation (A) and a Bonus Situation (B).
• Each player must choose exactly 4 of the 10 available items on the table that they would take for the situation they received.
• Write down the chosen items on your Suitcase Tile, without letting other players see.
• One of the 4 items must be written in the BONUS field, indicating that it was chosen for the Bonus Situation described on the card. The other 3 items are for the General Situation.
• When finished, each player places their Suitcase Tile face down in front of them. When all players have finished, the game proceeds to the Guess phase.

Phase: Guess

• A player is randomly chosen to be the first protagonist.
• The protagonist must now read their situations (General and Bonus) aloud.
• The other players need to guess together which items the protagonist chose for the situation.
• Players can move the Item Cards on the table and discuss freely, but the protagonist cannot say anything or gesture to give hints.
• Players make their guess by pointing to the 4 items they believe were chosen by the protagonist from the remaining cards.
• Players must explicitly indicate which of these items they believe the protagonist chose for the Bonus Situation (B), separating it from the other three, which would be intended for the General Situation (A).
• The protagonist then opens their Suitcase Tile and reveals their choices.
• For each item that players guessed correctly, the team earns 1 point. For an item to be considered correct, it must have been indicated by the other players in the specific situation (General or Bonus) originally chosen by the protagonist.
• If the team guessed all 4 items correctly, the team earns 1 extra point, totaling 5 points.
• The protagonist records the points the team received in the appropriate field (C) on their Suitcase Tile.

Competitive Mode

Phase: New Destination

• Skip this phase in the first round.
• Discard the Situation Card from the previous round and reveal a new random card from the pile in the center of the table.
• Swap the 12 Item Cards from the previous round for another 12 from the pile (or you can simply flip the Item Cards to their other side, if you haven't used their backs yet in this game).

Phase: Pack the Suitcase

This phase is played simultaneously by all players.

• Each player secretly chooses which of the items displayed on the table they would take for the situation shown in the center of the table.
• Each Situation Card presents a General Situation (A) and a Bonus Situation (B).
• Each player must choose exactly 4 of the 12 available items.
• Each player writes down the chosen items on their Suitcase Tile, without showing them to other players.
• One of the 4 items must be written in the BONUS field, indicating that it was chosen for the Bonus Situation described on the card. The other 3 items are for the General Situation.
• In this phase, you are not allowed to talk to other players about the chosen items, nor gesture or give any direct or indirect hints.
• When finished, each player places their Suitcase Tile face down in front of them and waits until all players have also finished.
• When all players have finished, the game proceeds to the Compare Luggage phase.

Phase: Compare Luggage

Simultaneously, everyone opens and reveals their Suitcase Tiles.

• Players compare the items they wrote down and receive points for making the same choices as other players.
• You receive 2 points for each of the 3 items you chose for the General Situation if at least one opponent also chose the same item for the General Situation.
• Additionally, if at least one other player chose the same item as you for the Bonus Situation, gain a number of points equal to the number of players who chose this same bonus item (including you).
• Each player records the points they received in the appropriate field (C) on their Suitcase Tile. If there are already points recorded from the previous round, erase them and record the summed values.
• After everyone has recorded their points, the round ends.
• If this was the 4th round, proceed to the End of Game. Otherwise, return to the New Destination phase to start a new round.

End of Game and Scoring

Cooperative Mode

After all players have been the protagonist in the Guess phase, players sum the points they achieved and compare them with the table to check the team's performance.

Scoring Table:

• 0-4 points: Maybe it's time to rethink what to pack...
• 5-8 points: You have good ideas, but still need to organize your choices better.
• 9-11 points: Great job! The team is almost ready for any situation.
• 12-14 points: Impressive! You know exactly what and when to take.
• 15 points: Perfect! You are true masters in the art of packing suitcases.

The table above is for an unspecified number of players in the context. Consult the manual for details on the scoring table for different numbers of players.

Competitive Mode

After the end of the 4th round, the game ends. The player with the most points is the winner!

In case of a tie, the tied players share the victory.

Tips for Winning

Cooperative Mode

• Don't forget to justify to the other players why you chose each item; this makes the game much more fun!

Competitive Mode

• We suggest that players score one at a time, thus avoiding mistakes.