OBJECTIVE OF CLAIM REINFORCEMENT MAPS: Capture the majority of at least three factions to win the game
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 – 4 players
CONTENTS: 58 cards
TYPE OF GAME: Trick Taking Card Game
AUDIENCE: Ages 10+
INTRODUCTION OF CLAIM REINFORCEMENTS: MAPS
Claim is a trick taking card game for two players. The base gameplay is inspired by German Whist, but the use of factions and special powers really make Claim something special.
The Maps expansion includes three new factions: Phoenix, Unicorns, and Basilisks. There are also Location cards included in this pack. Activated Locations have an effect on gameplay.
CONTENTS
The Maps expansion includes 18 Location cards. There are two types of Locations: Settings & Buildings. Settings will affect the cards themselves and the trick-play. Only one Setting will be activated per game. Building cards will affect the end of the game. Again, only one Building will be activated during the game.
There are 10 Phoenix faction cards and 10 Fire Phoenix cards. The Fire Phoenix cards are shuffled and kept in a separate pile during the game, and their special power can be used during Phase 2.
There are also 10 Unicorn and 10 Basilisk faction cards.
FACTION POWERS
Each faction has a special ability that is activated at some point during the game.
PHOENIX
Shuffle the Phoenix faction into the deck for the game. Separately, shuffle the Phoenix Fire cards and place them face down off to the side. During Phase 2, If a player loses a Phoenix, they may draw a Phoenix Fire card from the stack and add it to their hand. This faction power will potentially cause one player to have more cards than the other. If this occurs, Phase 2 ends once a player is out of cards. Any remaining cards in hand are discarded and not scored.
UNICORNS
During Phase 2, captured Unicorns increase the value of the other factions in a player’s hand. Other Unicorn cards in the player’s hand are not changed. For example, if a player has captured two Unicorn cards, all other faction cards in their hand get 2 added to their rank. So a Gnome 3 would actually be a 5 during Phase 2.
BASILISKS
Only during Phase 2, Basilisks that are played second to the trick have the potential to help the player capture their opponent’s lead card. If the Basilisk is played second to the trick, AND it is the same value as the lead card (the value after any modifications), the player immediately takes the lead card and adds it to their Score Pile. That player ALSO wins the trick and adds their Basilisk to their Score Pile.
If the trick is led with a Basilisk, and the second card played matches the rank, nothing happens. A Basilisk’s power is only activated when it is played second to the trick.
LOCATIONS
There are two types of Locations: Buildings & Settings. Both should be shuffled separately and placed face down as their own piles. Before the beginning of the game, turn over the top card of each pile. Each card is activated and in place for the game. If players want, they can play with only a Building or a Setting.
BUILDINGS
The Dungeon makes the last trick of each phase extremely important. At the end of Phase 1, capturing the final trick coins as winning a faction. This extra faction is added on to the player’s faction total at the end of Phase 2.
It is the same for Phase 2. Whoever wins the final trick also wins an extra faction that is added to their total.
The Lighthouse allows the first player who wins three cards of a faction during Phase 2 automatically wins that faction. Cyclops, however, still scored the same.
The Pyramid forces players to discard all cards ranked 3 or lower from their Score Pile at the end of the game. Once the cards are discarded, scoring may begin.
The Monastery wants balance at the end of the game. Once Phase 2 is finished, each player counts up all of the cards they won. If a player has more than twice as many cards than their opponent, they automatically lose the game.
If The Bridge is revealed, the player who collected the most complete sets of all five factions wins the game. A set is a group of cards containing one card from each faction. If there is a tie, score the game like normal.
With The Fortress, if a player has won more than five cards from a faction, they must discard four of those cards. Discard the lowest four cards.
The Tower changes how factions are scored at the end of the game. Each player adds up their cards’ total value for each faction. Whoever has the higher value wins that faction. If there is a tie, the player with the most cards from that faction wins.
The Ruins forces all players to discard odd numbered cards that they’ve won at the end of the game. Scoring is normal after that.
When The Castle is activated, whoever collects the most faction cards at the end of the game is the winner.
SETTINGS
Activating The Underworld changes all 0 ranked cards into 10’s.
When The Farminglands are activated, 2’s are considered the highest valued rank for each faction.
The Shore makes it so that the player who loses the trick takes the middle card, and the trick-winner takes the top card of the draw pile.
If The Windy Peaks are activated at the beginning of the game, players will pass cards before Phase 2 begins. Each player will choose three cards to pass to their opponent. This must be done before Phase 2 begins.
Similar to The Windy Peaks, Endless Sands forces players to exchange cards at the beginning of Phase 1. Each player chooses 5 cards and swaps them before Phase 1 begins.
The Islands card changes how the draw occurs during Phase 1. Two cards are turned face up rather than one. The trick-winner gets to choose which card they want. The trick-loser must draw the top card of the draw pile. A card is then turned up to replace the one that was chosen by the trick-winner. At the end of the game, players will choose from the final two cards. Those two cards will both be face up.
Plateau limits how many tricks a player can lead in a row during the entire game. If a player wins three tricks in a row, the opposite player leads instead.
If Swamp is revealed, both players must discard two cards from their hand at the beginning of Phase 2.
When Ice Fields is revealed, the trick-loser adds +1 to the rank of their next card played.
- TRIPLE SNAKES - February 15, 2021