Components

• 63 banknotes divided into 7 currencies with 9 cards in each
• 6 Chinese "coin" cards with a value of 10
• 5 Gryphon Games Note yellow "bluff" cards
• 5 Money Rules cards
• Instructions

Setup

If playing with 4 people, remove all cards of one currency and return to the box. If playing with 3 people, remove all cards of two currencies and return to the box.

Each player takes a bluff card. Put surplus bluff cards back in the box. Shuffle the banknotes and coin cards together and deal 6 to each player, face down. Combine these 6 cards with the bluff card to form the players starting a hand of 7 cards.

Place the remaining cards face down in the middle of the table as a draw pile. Draw 4 cards from the draw pile and lay them face-up in a horizontal row to the right of the draw pile. Draw 4 more cards and place them face- up in a horizontal row to the left of the draw pile.

Choose one player to keep score, that player will need paper and pencil.

Overview

Players are entering the volatile currency market. Their initial hand represents a small holding that builds through successive trades into a currency portfolio of higher value. In each round, players bid to exchange a portion of their holdings for new holdings offered on the market or by other players.

Players use the bids and trades to increase the value of their hands based on the scoring system described below

The cards to the right and left of the draw pile are new banknotes and coins offered on the market. After considering the offering, each player will choose a number of cards from his hand that will constitute his bid for the ensuing exchange. Such bids can contain as many or as few cards as desired.

A bid consists of a combination of banknotes of different currencies and coins as well as bluff cards. (Bluff cards have no value, but enable players to disguise their bid from other players). A bid may include any or all of the cards in a player's hand.

Bids are simultaneously revealed when all players indicate they are ready.

Players who included bluff cards in their bid return them to their hands at this time. All other bid cards remain face-up on the table. If a player chose to bid only his bluff card, he has thus selected not to participate in this round and will not be able to exchange cards.

Value of Currencies/Scoring

The value of a player's bid is the total of the values printed on the various banknotes and coins that comprise his bid. The player with the highest bid begins the round.

Example: If a player bids one euro worth 30, two pounds each worth 20 and one coin worth 10, the value of his bid is 80.

When constructing a bid, keep in mind the following scoring principles:

1. If, at game end, the cumulative value of one currency in a player's holdings is 200 or greater, the player gets the full value of this currency.

2. If, at game end, the cumulative value of one currency in a player's holdings is less than 200,100 points will be subtracted from the total score.

   If the resulting value is less than 0, the player scores 0 and not a negative value.

3. Coins always keep their value. Each coin counts 10 points.

4. If a player has a "triplet" meaning all three banknotes of a single currency with a value of 20 or all three banknotes of a single currency with a value of 30, that player receives a bonus of 100 points.

If two or more players bid the same amount, the tie is broken by giving first exchange privilege to the player with the banknote or coin with the lowest serial number in his bid. Serial numbers range from FRED 001 to FRED 069.

Game Play

Starting with the player with the highest bid and continuing through successively lower bids (subject to #2 below), players, in turn, may take one of the following three actions:

1. Exchange his bid cards for one of the groups displayed. The player takes all the cards from either the right or left display group and places them in his hand.

   He then replaces those cards with all the cards from his bid (the number of bid cards does not have to match the number in the display group). These cards thus become available for the next player to take in exchange for his bid.

2. Exchange his bid cards for another player's bid. The player may take all the cards from another player's bid and place them in his hand. He then places his bid cards in front of the other player. That player takes the next turn as he now has the highest bid at the table.

3. No exchange. The player takes his bid back into his hand making no exchange.

When a player completes his exchange (or takes his bid, making no exchange), the player with the next highest bid (now the highest on the table) takes his turn.

Play continues until all players who bid have taken a turn.

When all bidding players have completed their exchanges, the scorekeeper draws cards from the draw pile to replenish first the right group and then the left group to four cards. If a group already has four (or more) cards, it is not replenished.

A new round now begins.

End of the Game

The game ends when the draw pile is used up. In the final round, it is likely that there will not be enough cards in the draw pile to deal 4 new cards to both the right and left groups.

Simply deal out as many cards as are remaining (right group first) and play the final round with only those cards.

When the final round is complete, the players'scores are determined.To calculate the players'scores (refer to Values of Currencies/Scoring):

1. Sort cards according to currencies
2. Sum the values of each currency
3. Subtract 100 points from each currency with less than 200 points
4. Add 100 points for each triplet

Example: A player ends the game with: euro 20,20,20 yen 20,30,30,30, dollar 20,30,30,40,50,60, and 1 coin. Thus, his total holding is valued at 60 euro, 110 yen, 230 dollars and 10 in coins.

Since both the euro and yen are less than 200,100 points are subtracted from each, leaving 0 for the euro and 10 for the yen. He receives full value for the 230 dollars and the 10 point coin.

The player also scores a 100 point triplet bonus for both his 3 euro 20s and his 3 yen 30s. Thus, his total score is 450 points (10+230+10+1004-100=450).

Note: If a player holds all 9 banknotes of a particular currency, he receives 500 points: the actual value of 300 plus a bonus of 200 (for the triplet bonuses for the 20s and the 30s).

The player with the highest score after the final round is the winner.

Once the game is completed and all players understand the rules, many players find they want to play it three times with the highest cumulative score at the end of the third game indicating the winner.

Continue Reading