Galea

2 Players

10-20 Minutes

This wonderful deck of cards allows you to play 3 different head to head games, and even includes many variants for both Common and Noble Galea!

The goal of Galea was to make a deck of cards and a group of games that felt as if they could be ancient. Rules seemingly unknowable until known, a feel of ancient tradition and play, ideally to the levels of chess or poker. Each game of Galea has variants to help with this feeling of it being evolved and changed as it moved place to place, continent to continent, and hopefully it succeeded.

Hello! Since Galea has three main games that come with it, I've decided to bundle them into this one rulebook, starting with the simple Common Galea and ending with the more complex Royal Galea

How to play Common Galea!
Video: https://youtu.be/B9b5aAhU3aQ?si=JT8gCR3x3frj-g_K

 

Starting Draft:

1. Shuffle the deck of cards
2. Both players draw 10 random cards from the deck
3. Players start to take turns

In a Turn:
The active player will choose a card in their hand, and either:

• Place it face down on their side
• Place it face up in the center

If both players hands are empty, flip all cards face up, then Score

Score:

1. Count the amount of center cards in each color
2. The color with the highest amount of cards without tying is the highest color
3. The color(s) with the least amount of cards is the lowest color, unless there was a tie for highest color, in which case the tied colors are the lowest colors
4. For every card you have on your side of the highest color, you gain 1 point
5. For every card you have on your side of the lowest color, you lose 1 point
6. Whoever has the most points is the victor, in a tie, the player with the least cards on their side is the victor

Variants:
Aces: Ones of the highest color gain you 3 points, and ones of the lowest color lose you 3 points

Twins: Twos when played on your side must be placed face up

Trinity: Threes when played to the center make the active player take another turn if possible

Quartet: Fours when played to the center make the active player move one of their face down cards to the center

Fives: Fives when played to the center make the active player to move a card from the center onto their side

Suits: If there is a whole suit in the center at the end of the game, for every card you have on your side of the matching color, you gain 1 point

 

How to play Noble Galea!
Video: https://youtu.be/B9b5aAhU3aQ?si=JT8gCR3x3frj-g_K

 

Starting Draft:

1. Shuffle the deck of cards
2. Both players draw 15 random cards from the deck
3. Players will take turns

In a Turn:
If the active player has no cards, then their turn is skipped
The active player will choose 1 to do:

• Play a new location, by setting one of their cards horizontally and face up between both players
• Play any amount of cards onto their side of any location they have not yet played to

If both players have no cards in their hands, then Score

Score:
At each location check if either player has met more of the conditions, the player that does wins the location
Whoever wins the most locations is the victor, in a tie, the player with the least amount of cards on their side across all the locations is the victor

Conditions:

1. People’s Favor: More cards on their side than the other player’s side
2. Sustainable: A total value less than or equal to the location’s value
3. Overpower: A total value greater than or equal to the other player’s total value

Variants:
These are additional conditions to meet at the locations, they can replace the main 3 or be added to them

1. Diversity: Have more unique suits than the other player
2. Conformity: Have more suits matching the location than the other player
3. Golden: Have more yellow cards than the other player
4. Ablaze: Have more spear cards than the other player has shield cards
5. Kin: Have cards of all matching value
6. Giant: Have a total value of 10 or greater
7. Duality: Have exactly 2 cards
8. Phoenix: Have only red cards
9. Heavenly: Have a total value of 7

 

How to play Royal Galea!
Video: https://youtu.be/B9b5aAhU3aQ?si=JT8gCR3x3frj-g_K 

 

Starting Draft:

1. Shuffle the deck of cards
2. Both players draw 5 cards from the deck, and picks 1 to keep
3. Both players exchange the remaining 4 cards with each other, and pick 1 to keep from them
4. The unchosen 6 cards are set aside face down in their own separate stack
5. Continue to Draft until there are no more cards left in the deck, once done move to War

War:

1. A player picks one of the set aside stacks made when drafting, then they lay out the cards horizontally and face up between both players, these are the locations
2. Starting with the player who picked the stack, players will alternate taking turns doing Placement
3. Continue to War until there are no more face down stacks left, once done move to Score

Placement:

1. The active player will choose a card from their hand
2. They will place the chosen card onto their side at a location with either a matching suit or a higher value than the chosen card
3. If the card cannot be placed at a location, it is put face down underneath any location
4. If there are no cards in the active players hand, players stop taking turns and do Gather

Gather:
For each location do the following:

1. Players count the total value of their cards at that location
2. Whoever has the higher value takes the location and any cards underneath it
3. In a tie, the location, the cards underneath it, and cards at it are removed from the game
4. If it wasn't a tie, both players pick up their cards that were at that location

Move to the next War phase if there are still War Packets available, otherwise move to Score

Score:
Whoever has the most cards is the victor, in a tie the victor has the lowest total value of cards