Boon

How to Play
  1. 1
    Game Setup
  2. 2
    The Boon
  3. 3
    Playing a Trick
  4. 4
    Winning a Trick
  5. 5
    Winning a Round
  6. 6
    Winning the Game
The Objective
Be the player with the most Victory Cards by the time another player is eliminated. Each game is played in a successive series of rounds, after which Victory Cards are exchanged.
The Cards

There are 32 gameplay cards that come in 4 suits, as denoted by their color:

In total, there are:

Each card has its rank in the corner and its given point value marked in the center. Points range from 0 - 11. Note that there's not a direct correlation between rank and points - the highest ranked cards in the game are not worth the most points.

There are also 20 Victory Cards in the deck:

Game Setup
At the start of the game, separate the Victory Cards from the gameplay cards. Provide each player with 5 Victory Cards.
Dealing The Cards

At the start of a round, deal out all the remaining gameplay cards face down as follows:

For 3-Player Games:

First remove the “Green 1” and “Red 1” cards from the deck. Then shuffle the deck and deal 9 cards to each player and put another 3 cards in a separate pile called the Boon.

For 4-Player Games:

Shuffle the deck and deal 7 cards to each player and put another 4 cards in a separate pile called the Boon.

For 5-Player Games:

Shuffle the deck and deal 6 cards to each player and put another 2 cards in a separate pile called the Boon.

Note: After each round, the dealer role shifts to the next clockwise player.
What is the Boon?
The Boon is a pile of cards a player may use to gain an advantage and improve his hand. When a player takes the Boon, he becomes a solo player against every- one else. For the rest of the round, all other players are united on a defensive team against the solo player who took the Boon.
Strategy Tip
If more than half of your hand is made of trump cards, consider taking the Boon!
Taking the Boon

After the cards are dealt, the player to the left of the dealer has the choice to take the Boon and use its cards. Note that you don't get to see the cards in the Boon until after you've decided to take it.

If the player takes the Boon, he then chooses 3 cards (for 3-player mode) or 4 cards (for 4-player mode) to put face down into his points pile. These points count toward his score at the end of the round.

Now all of the other players are on a defensive team against the solo player who took the Boon.

If a player chooses not to take the Boon, the opportunity passes to the next clockwise player who now has the same opportunity. This keeps repeating for all players until either someone takes the Boon or all players pass on it.

If nobody takes the Boon, the game goes into Leaster Mode.

Playing a Trick

The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick in a round by playing any card from his hand. The suit of the card played is called the leading suit for the remainder of the trick.

Proceeding clockwise, each player plays a card face up in the middle of the table. Each player must follow suit, which means:

No Table Talk!
Players can discuss events that have already occurred in the game, but absolutely cannot talk about or hint at which cards they currently may (or may not) have in their hand.
Winning a Trick

The trick ends after each player has played one card. The winner of the trick is:

(1) The person who played the highest ranked trump card if any trump cards are present.

- or -

(2) The person who played the highest ranked card of the leading suit if no trump cards are present.

The winner of the trick collects the cards played into a personal face down pile and proceeds to play the first card of the next trick. Tricks repeat until all players are out of cards, completing a round.

Winning a Round

The round is over when all of the cards have been played. The two opposing sides – the solo player and the defensive team – are competing to win the most points out of the round’s 120 total possible points.

At the end of the round, each player adds up the point values on the cards he won – his personal face down pile. The solo player also adds the points from the cards he removed from his hand at the start of the round.

The defensive team adds their points together, then payouts are determined by the solo player’s score:

Winning the Game

Rounds repeat until one player has lost all of his Victory Cards after payouts. You win the game if you are the player who has the most Victory Cards at this time!

Leaster Mode

If all players decline to take the Boon, the round goes into Leaster Mode. Set the Boon cards aside entirely.

Each player is on a team of his own. The goal is now to earn the least amount of points possible, while still winning at least one trick.

A player who does not win any tricks is disqualified from winning the round. At the end of the round, each player gives one Victory Card to the winner.

5 Player Mode

5 player mode is a bit more difficult to learn unless you're comfortable with 3 or 4 player games, but it can also be the most rewarding to play!

The rules for 5 player mode are mostly the same, but there are a few key differences:

  • There are 2 cards in the Boon.
  • Each player is dealt 6 cards for their hand.
  • The person who takes the Boon now has a partner, the player with the 7 gold trump card:

This means that the player with this card is secretly on the same offensive team as the person who takes the Boon. This should remain a secret until the 7 gold trump card is played naturally in gameplay. With regard to how teams are determined, the partner has no say in the matter - he is automatically on the offensive team along with the player who takes the Boon.

Being the Partner

The partner should play a card that is worth a lot of points when he thinks the player who took the Boon is going to win that trick.

If the person who takes the Boon already has the 7 gold trump card in his hand or if he picks up the 7 gold trump card in the Boon, then he is on a team of his own against the other 4 players.

Watch Out

If you're on the defensive team, stay alert! Sometimes the partner will pretend to be on the defensive team and win points from tricks. You can never be sure who to trust until the partner card is revealed.

At the end of the round, the offensive team's players (the player who takes the Boon and the partner) add all of the points together for the cards on the tricks that they won. Just like 3 and 4 player modes, the offensive team needs at least 61 points to win. The same payout brackets still apply, but are slightly adjusted to accomodate the partner:

  • If the offensive team scores 0 - 29 points:
    • The player who took the Boon pays 2 of the defensive players 2 Victory Cards each.
    • The partner pays the remaining the defensive player 2 victory cards.
  • If the offensive team scores 30 - 60 points:
    • The player who took the Boon pays 2 of the defensive players 1 victory card each.
    • The partner pays the remaining the defensive player 1 victory card.
  • If the offensive team scores 61 - 90 points:
    • The player who took the Boon collects 1 Victory Card per player from 2 of the defensive players.
    • The partner collects 1 Victory Card from the remaining defensive player.
  • If the offensive team scores 91 - 120 points:
    • The player who took the Boon collects 2 Victory Cards per player from 2 of the defensive players.
    • The partner collects 2 Victory Cards from the remaining defensive player.

Just like in 3 and 4 player modes, if nobody takes the Boon then the game goes into Leaster Mode.