BUS



OBJECTIVE OF BUS: Pick up and drop off passengers to earn the most points

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 – 3 players

MATERIALS: 30 cards including 3 bus cards, 15 passenger cards, & 12 street cards

TYPE OF GAME: Pick Up and Deliver Card Game

AUDIENCE: Ages 10+


INTRODUCTION OF BUS

Bus is a pick up and deliver micro card game designed by Chris Handy and published by Perplext.  In this game, players are trying to pick up and drop off as many passengers as possible.  The player who manages their bus the best will be able to handle the most passengers and win the game.

MATERIALS

The deck for BUS consists of 30 cards.  There are 3 bus cards which are used as player tokens, 15 passenger cards that players are trying to collect, and there are 12 street cards that make up the game board.

Some of the street cards have bus stops, passenger destination spots, and one of the streets has a construction site.  When a player lands on a street with a bus stop, they may draw a passenger card.  A player may drop off a passenger when passing through or landing on a destination spot of the appropriate color. 

A player may end their turn on the construction site street once per game.  When this occurs, the player may switch any two streets (with no buses) on the game board.  After performing the switch, the player then flips their bus card over to show the construction site used side.

SETUP

Shuffle up the 12 street cards and create the game board.  Essentially, a 2×2 grid is formed with the cards.  Passenger drop off points and destinations will be distributed through the grid.

Shuffle the 15 passenger cards and place them face down as a stockpile.  Turn the top two cards over and place them next to the stock.

Each player must take a bus card to use as their player token for the game.  They should also claim a side of the game board as their progress area.  This is where their passengers will be kept.  The bus cards have two sides: Plain Bus and Construction Site Used.

THE PLAY

FIRST TURNS

On a player’s first turn, they must choose a bus stop and place their bus card on it.  Make sure the Construction Site Used side is face down.  That player then chooses one of the face up passenger cards or the top card from the stock.  The chosen card is placed face up on the left side of that player’s progress area.  If a face up passenger card is chosen, it is immediately replaced with the top card from the stock.

Play passes left with each player choosing their starting station and drawing a passenger card.  It is okay if more than one bus is placed on a street with a bus stop.

FOLLOWING TURNS

Once each player has placed their bus and drawn their first passengers, they may begin moving their bus around the game board.  Players have a few options on their turn: pick up passengers at a bus stop, drop off passengers at their destination, or use the construction site. 

Each passenger card has a set of passengers, a speed limit, and a point value.  Players are allowed to move their bus a number of spaces equal to or less than the lowest speed limit on the passenger cards in their progress area.

A player may only perform one of the listed actions when they land on a spot that allows them to do so.  That means a passenger destination, the construction site, or a bus stop.

DROPPING OFF PASSENGERS

When a player passes through or ends their turn on a street card with a passenger destination spot, they may drop off a passenger.  To do this, simply slide the passenger card in the progress area over to the right with the correct color now in the drop off zone.  Once both passengers on the card are dropped off, the card is collected by the player and kept in a face down pile.

In the image above, the player has completed the green and blue passenger card.  They may collect it and keep it face down in their own pile.

ENDING THE GAME

The endgame is triggered once a player has completed five passenger cards.  Each player then gets one more turn (the player who triggered the end game as well).

SCORING

Each player earns points for the completed passenger cards in their pile.  Each card has its own point value.

WINNING

The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.  If there is a tie, the player with the most passenger cards is the winner.

Mark Ball
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