Jewellers

Jewellers
Jan Divecky
Our jewelry has always been taken care of by masters from Florence, Italy, the famous Piccolo-Espresso family.. Property "Description" (as page type) with input value "Our jewelry has always been taken care of by masters from Florence, Italy, the famous Piccolo-Espresso</br>family.." contains invalid characters or is incomplete and therefore can cause unexpected results during a query or annotation process.
:Players	Players:	2 - 8
:Time	Length:	unknown
:Complexity	Complexity:	Medium
Trios per color:		1
Number of colors:		5 or 6
Pyramid trios:
Monochr. stashes:
Five-color sets:		1
- - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - -
poker cards
Setup time:		1 minute
Playing time:
Strategy depth:		Low
Random chance:		Property "Random Chance" (as page type) with input value "{{{random_chance}}}" contains invalid characters or is incomplete and therefore can cause unexpected results during a query or annotation process.unknown
Game mechanics:
Theme:		Jewells
BGG Link:
Status: Complete (v1.0), Year released: 2020
For more details, visit the author's page

What is the game about?

Our jewelry has always been taken care of by masters from Florence, Italy, the famous Piccolo-Espresso family. The products from their workshop were renowned for their high artistic value, excellent craftsmanship and timeless beauty. A few years ago, however, the family decided to change focus to another type of jewel, which they began to grow, roast, brew and sell as top quality coffee ... So our taste buds are taken care of, but still, the young prince needs a crown. We have a beautiful gold tiara in our jewelry box, but who will make it a properly decorated gem? Maybe just you! The game is designed for 3-8 players. The recommended age is 6+.

Game components

To play Jewellers you will need one game plan, one or two decks of cards, an opaque bag or a hat, and a set of gems (rubies, sapphires, emeralds, black pearls, and gold lilies). Families from more modest conditions can replace gems with a set of Looney pyramids.

Object of the game

Your goal is to get the most valuable set of gems (pyramids).

Game set up

Each player receives cards of the same suit, ideally poker cards (values 2 to 10), because their value is easy to add. Put gems / pyramids in the bag (or hat). Place the game plan on the table between the players.

Game plan

There are six columns on the game plan. The left column determines the value of the gem (expressed in victory points 3-7). The other five columns are reserved for five types of gemstones in their respective sizes. Red rubies, green emeralds, black pearls, blue sapphires, and golden lilies are always available in three sizes - small, medium, and large. Naturally, the bigger the more valuable. In addition, the game plan indicates that gaining some combinations of gems brings bonus points to the jeweller. Specifically, the gain of a small and a medium emerald brings one extra point, the gain of a small and a medium sapphire brings two extra points, the gain of a medium and a large ruby brings three extra points, the gain of all three golden lilies yields five extra points, and the gain of a small ruby together with a small emerald and a small black pearl brings six extra points.

The course of the game / How to play

The game starts with the player decorated with the largest number of visible jewels, or the youngest of the players. The starting player selects one gem from the bag and places it in the appropriate place on the game plan. When choosing, he can use his touch (choose the size of the gem), but not his sight (he must not look into the bag and choose the color of the gem). Example: If a player pulls out a medium black pearl, he places it in the fourth column and the fourth line. Whoever auctions off this black pearl will get five victory points for it at the end of the game. Subsequently, the starting player chooses from his own cards the value for which he wants to buy the offered jewel. He can use one or more cards for this. The higher the card, the higher the purchasing power.

Players take turns clockwise in the bidding. Each player has ONLY two options during his turn:

• place another card to reach a higher value than the currently leading auctioneer
• or announce a pass

The player who announces the first pass is the starting player in the next round. The gem auction lasts until the last player is left, because all others can no longer throw in a higher card or have declared a pass. The successful bidder takes the auctioned gem and discards all the cards he used for the auction on the discard pile. Unsuccessful bidders take their used cards back in their hands. The player who announced the first pass in the finished auction selects another gem from the bag and starts a new round of the auction according to the same rules.

Example

There is a medium black pearl in the auction. Adam raises to nine. Bob beats him with a ten. Cyn passes. David beats Bob with 2+9=11). Adam puts in a seven (9+7=16). Bob passes. (Cyn is no longer in the game.) David bids with a six (11 + 6 = 17). Adam passes, David gets the medium black pearl, he discards the cards he used (2, 6, 9). Other players take their used cards back in their hands and can use them again at the next auction. Cyn starts the next round.

TACTICAL NOTES

Winning cards are lost, there are more gems than your cards.

SPECIFICATION

Once a card is placed, it cannot be withdrawn during the auction.

Silver bonus

The Piccolo-Espressos did not use silver on our jewelry. But you can, if you want. In that case, the starting player places a tower of large, medium, and small white/silver pyramids on the junction of any four squares, marking those four squares. The player who auctions the first gem from the marked fields during the game will get a small white/silver pyramid (one extra point) with the auctioned gem. Then he places the remaining two white/silver pyramids on any junction of four fields - they can also be left in their original place. There, a medium white/silver pyramid will wait as a bonus of two extra points for another successful bidder. He then places a large white/silver pyramid on any junction of four fields. The large white/silver pyramid represents three extra points. If one player gets all three white/silver pyramids, he will get yet another four extra points - i.e. 1 point for a small pyramid + 2 points for a medium pyramid + 3 points for a large pyramid plus extra 4 points = 10 points.

Winning the game

The game ends after auctioning the last gem. Players gradually count their victory points. The cards left in the hand count each as one victory point, regardless of their value. Then, one by one, the players place their auctioned gems on the game plan and count the victory points according to the table. Finally, they add the bonuses. The player with the highest number of victory points wins. In case of a draw, (if the points are equal), the player with more points without bonuses wins. Another criterion is the number of gems. Then, a number of cards in hand. Lastly, the age of the players. The rule is always "the more, the better".

Thanks

We would like to thank the members of the Court Jass Society for their useful advices on bidding in the auction.

Translation

ManKa Klimova

Game-plan and English Rules

Available for free at author's page