Rainbow Pirates

How to Play Rainbow Pirates

Rainbow Pirates is a rummy-style card game of piracy, explosions and love for 2–5 players, ages 7 and up. Build rainbows and sets on your island, bribe away pirate attacks, and finish with the most Treasure Points to be crowned pirate king or queen. Shiver me rainbows!

The Cards

• COLOR Cards come in RED (1), ORANGE (2), YELLOW (3), GREEN (4), BLUE (5), PURPLE (6), PINK (7) and WILD. Use them to build rainbows (numerical sequences) or sets (3 or more of a kind) on your island. COLOR Cards can also block pirate attacks. A WILD can stand in for any COLOR Card on your island, in a rainbow or a set, but it cannot be used to block.
• BLACK Cards are a surly band of pirates and piratey paraphernalia that attack, steal and commit dastardly deeds. Play them as actions, or place them on your island in groups of 3 or more for Treasure Points.
• RAINBOW PIRATE Cards are magical pirate beings who live in peace on your island. They can be placed on your island alone and are the most valuable cards in the game. If you draw one, place it on your island during your next turn.

Setup

1. Shuffle the deck.
2. Deal each player 7 cards face down.
3. Place the rest of the cards face down in the middle of the table as the Draw Pile, and turn the top 2 cards face up (the Face-Up Cards). Leave room for a Discard Pile.

Each player's island is the space in front of them where they place cards for Treasure Points. Play rock-paper-scissors to decide who goes first.

Goal

Whoever has the most Treasure Points at the end of the game wins. You earn Treasure Points by placing cards on your island and by going out (if you can). You can also shrink your opponents' points by attacking them with BLACK Cards.

Your Turn

Play goes clockwise. On your turn you may take as many of these three actions as you like, in any order:

1. Place cards on your island for Treasure Points.
2. Rearrange cards on your island, or move them back into your hand.
3. Play BLACK Cards to attack opponents or give yourself an advantage.

When you're done, end your turn by drawing either the 2 Face-Up Cards or the top 2 cards of the Draw Pile. You may not take one of each. If you take the Face-Up Cards, flip the top 2 cards of the Draw Pile face up to replace them for the next player.

Placing Cards on Your Island

You can place these card groups on your island:

• COLOR Card groups: 3 or more of a kind, or 3 or more in numerical order.
• BLACK Card groups: any 3 or more BLACK Cards.
• RAINBOW PIRATE Cards: by themselves, or in a group if you have more than one.

Important: during your turn you must place on your island any RAINBOW PIRATE Cards, plus any numbered COLOR Cards that can be placed in a card group. Before ending your turn, double-check that none are left in your hand. You are not required to place WILDs, and you are not required to place numbered COLOR Cards if doing so would mean rearranging cards already on your island.

Rearranging Cards

You can rearrange cards on your island to create new groups or to merge or split existing ones. You can also move cards from your island back into your hand, but remember that playable numbered COLOR Cards and RAINBOW PIRATE Cards must stay on your island.

A WILD already on your island can later be reassigned to stand in for a different color, or returned to your hand if it's no longer being used. If rearranging leaves an incomplete group on your island, put those cards back in your hand before ending your turn.

Playing BLACK Cards

1. Reveal the BLACK Card by placing it face up on the Discard Pile. In games with 3 or more players, if the card attacks only one opponent, you must say which opponent you're attacking.
2. Allow for blocking. Your opponent(s) either block it with the matching COLOR Card from their hand, or say "Arrrgh!" if they can't (or choose not to).
3. Take the action. If no one blocks, do what the BLACK Card says. If the action leaves an opponent's card group incomplete (for example, your Cannon destroys 1 card from their 3-card group), they must immediately put the remaining cards from that group back in their hand.

Blocking Pirate Attacks

When it isn't your turn, the only thing you can do is block an opponent's BLACK Card. Every pirate can be "bribed" with his favorite thing, shown next to the heart symbol on each BLACK Card. Bribe him with what he loves and he becomes happy and stops his attack! Here's what each BLACK Card does and which COLOR Card blocks it:

• Island Thief – steal 1 card from 1 opponent's island; it's now yours. Blocked by Red 1, "Mom."
• Cannon – destroy 1 card on 1 opponent's island (it goes to the Discard Pile). Blocked by Orange 2, "Kitten."
• Elixir of Life – revive any 1 card from the Discard Pile; it's now yours. Blocked by Yellow 3, "Piña Colada."
• Captain – each opponent must give you 1 BLACK Card from their hand (if they have one). Blocked by Green 4, "Me Time."
• Blindbeard – steal 2 cards from 1 opponent's hand without looking; they're now yours. Blocked by Blue 5, "Bubble Bath."
• Ship – draw the top 2 cards of the Draw Pile (you still draw as usual at the end of your turn). Blocked by Purple 6, "Glitter Rain."
• Parrot – name 1 specific card and demand it from 1 opponent; if it's in their hand, it's yours. Blocked by Pink 7, "Cupcake."
• Spyglass – secretly look at the top 4 cards of the Draw Pile, rearrange them to your advantage, and put them back. Cannot be stopped!

• To block, place the matching COLOR Card from your hand on top of the BLACK Card in the Discard Pile.
• One matching COLOR Card blocks a BLACK Card, even if it affects several opponents. For example, if a Captain is played against 3 opponents, a single green "Me Time" card protects all 3.
• Only cards in your hand can block. COLOR Cards already on your island cannot, and WILDs can never block.

Ending the Game

The game ends when a player goes out or when the Draw Pile runs out.

Going out earns you 5 bonus Treasure Points, but it doesn't automatically mean you win. To go out, you must do both of these:

1. Play all the cards in your hand. If your last card is a BLACK Card, you still perform its action unless it's blocked.
2. Have at least 2 Full Rainbows on your island. A Full Rainbow is all 7 COLOR Cards in numerical order, including any WILDs used.

When a player goes out, the game ends immediately. That player doesn't draw, and no one else may place cards or take any other actions. If you empty your hand without 2 Full Rainbows on your island, that's not going out: end your turn by drawing as usual, and the game continues.

Running out of draw cards: if the cards to draw run out (both the Draw Pile and the 2 Face-Up Cards are gone) before anyone goes out, the game ends. Once the last card is drawn, each player may place any cards they can from their hand onto their island. BLACK Cards can still be placed in groups of 3 or more, but they can no longer be played as pirate actions.

Scoring and Winning

1. Put any cards left in your hand on the Discard Pile. They don't count for or against you.
2. Score the cards on your island: 1 Treasure Point each, except RAINBOW PIRATE Cards, which are worth 5 Treasure Points each.
3. If you went out, add a bonus 5 Treasure Points.

The player with the most Treasure Points wins and is crowned pirate king or queen!

Ties: if players tie, the one with the most RAINBOW PIRATE Cards on their island wins. Still tied? The one with the most COLOR Cards on their island wins. If it's still a tie, you're all winners!

Want the original? Download the full printable Rainbow Pirates rules (PDF), or check the Rainbow Pirates FAQ for answers to common rules questions.