Tulip Traders Game Rules
It’s 1635, and Holland is in the throes of Tulipmania. Tulips have transformed from rare flowers into status symbols, their prices skyrocketing to unprecedented levels. You play as a day laborer turned tulip-jobber aiming to grow your modest savings into vast wealth by trading in tulip futures. Every day fancy new tulips are bred by master gardeners and introduced to the market, causing a speculative frenzy. Each round of trading can make or break fortunes.
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Goals of the Game
Over several rounds of play, you assemble, buy, and sell sealed lots of portfolio cards, each representing ownership of a future shipment of cargo. Meanwhile, corresponding market cards are used to track the fluctuating value of the tulips that have arrived at port so far.
To win, you can assemble the most valuable portfolio of tulips, ruthlessly run your competitors into bankruptcy, or get rich by liquidating inventory before a market collapse!
During play, you’ll have to weigh the funds in your purse against your liquidity needs and the value of your portfolio. If game ends without a market collapse, only the value of your portfolio sets your final score. But if the market collapses, whoever has the most funds in their purse wins instead.
Gameplay Overview
The game is played over a maximum of five rounds. Each round, the Market board grows as a new row or column of tulips arrives. Then, in sequence, each player takes a turn assembling one sealed lot of three portfolio cards to sell to the player to sell to another player, keeping the rest of their cards. Sellers can tell the truth or lie about the value of the sealed lot, and the buyer must weigh the risks of buying or accusing.
The game can end in one of four ways:
When a player chooses to reveal a complete portfolio (see below).
When the market collapses.
When all but one player has gone bankrupt.
After round five ends.
Complete Portfolios
4/5/6 of a color or a type (bicolor count as either of their colors), 4/5 bicolor tulips, 3 pairs of color or type (6 cards). Each complete portfolio gives a bonus to final score.
Components List
4 Player Reference Cards
25 Market Cards
6 Lily Tulips - 1 Red, 1 Pink, 1 Orange, 1 Purple, 1 Yellow, 1 Bicolor (Purple/Red)
6 Single Tulips - 1 Red, 1 Pink, 1 Orange, 1 Purple, 1 Yellow, 1 Bicolor (Orange/Pink)
6 Parrot Tulips- 1 Red, 1 Pink, 1 Orange, 1 Purple, 1 Yellow, 1 Bicolor (Yellow/Red)
6 Double Tulips - 1 Red, 1 Pink, 1 Orange, 1 Purple, 1 Yellow, 1 Bicolor (Pink/Purple)
1 Bicolor Kaufmannia Tulip (Orange/Yellow)
40 Portfolio Cards
6 Lily Tulips - 1 Red, 1 Pink, 1 Orange, 1 Purple, 1 Yellow, 1 Bicolor (Purple/Red)
6 Single Tulips - 1 Red, 1 Pink, 1 Orange, 1 Purple, 1 Yellow, 1 Bicolor (Orange/Pink)
6 Parrot Tulips- 1 Red, 1 Pink, 1 Orange, 1 Purple, 1 Yellow, 1 Bicolor (Yellow/Red)
6 Double Tulips - 1 Red, 1 Pink, 1 Orange, 1 Purple, 1 Yellow, 1 Bicolor (Pink/Purple)
1 Bicolor Kaufmannia Tulip (Orange/Yellow)
1 Semper August Tulip
1 Queen of the Night Tulip
2 Weeds
1 Bouquet (wild card)
10 Empty Sacks (separate from Portfolio deck during setup)
5 Types of Tokens (not included in Alpha v1.0 components)
Guilder tokens (Value 1)
Guilder tokens (Value 5)
Guilder tokens (Value 10)
Crisis tokens
Setup
To set up the game, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Manage Currency
Currency tokens of three types are required to play (with a value of 1, 5, and 10). These represent guilders. Distribute 75 guilders [ƒ] (1ƒ × 10, 5ƒ × 9, 10ƒ × 2) to each player to form their purse. Place unused tokens (the bank) in reach of all players.
Step 2: Prepare Portfolio Deck and Market Deck
Remove all Empty Sack cards from the Portfolio deck. Remove all Reference cards from the Market deck. Then shuffle the Portfolio deck and the Market deck.
Step 3: Create Market Board
Starting in the top left and continuing to the right and then down, create 3 x 3 grid in the center of the play area by drawing cards from the Market deck and placing them in the grid. Each time you place a card, check for booms.
Booms: During setup and whenever the Market board expands, some tulips come into vogue among speculators. When a newly placed Market card matches the color or type of an adjacent card (horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally). Place currency tokens from the bank equal to the round’s ripple value on each of those Market cards. A single card placement can trigger multiple booms.
Step 4: Set Starting Portfolios
Deal one Portfolio card facedown to each player to form their starting portfolio. A player can look at cards in their portfolio any time but can’t show them to other players.
Step 5: Determine First Player
Select a first player. Place the Portfolio deck in front of that player to signify they are the first player.
Rules of Play: Rounds
After setup, the game proceeds to rounds, resolved in the order below.
Phase 1: Manage Portfolios
The first player shuffles the Portfolio deck. Then, starting with the first player and proceeding in sequence to the left, each player must declare their investment for the round. To get access to the most in-demand tulips, a tulip jobber must have the right connections and grease the right wheels. Those who invest more tend to be rewarded for their efforts.
A player chooses one of the following options for their investment each round:
When a player declares their investment for the round, they place that much currency from their purse on their reference card to show they have earmarked that amount for investment.
Then, any player with more than the round maximum portfolio cards must discard until they have that number.
Phase 2: Add New Market Line
For each round after the first, the first player adds a new row or column to the Market board. Skip this phase during round 1. They can add this new line to any side that will result in the correct market size for the round.
To add a new line, the first player draws a Market card and places it faceup in the topmost or leftmost empty slot of the line. They resolve any booms, then repeat this process until the line is full.
Phase 3: Market Manipulation
For each round after the first, there may be Crisis tokens on the Market board (see Market Disruptions, below). Starting with the first player and proceeding in sequence to the left, each player may pay the ripple cost for the round from their purse to the bank to remove a Crisis token from a Market card and place it on any other Market card that shares a color or type with the one from which they removed it.
Example: If a player pays the ripple cost to remove a crisis token from the Purple Single tulip. It may be placed on the Purple Double tulip or the Pink Single, or Purple/Red bicolor Lily tulip.
Phase 4: Invest in Tulips at Market
Starting with the first player, each player invests in one or more tulips by putting currency they put forth as their investment onto one or more cards on the Market board, in any distribution. However, players cannot invest in Market cards with Crisis tokens on them.
Phase 5: Sell Sealed Lots
One at a time, players buy and sell sealed lots of tulips. These steps are repeated until each player has been the seller once and been the buyer once.
Step 1: Seller’s Offer
Starting with the first player, each player takes a turn as seller. The first seller draws three cards from the Portfolio deck. Using those cards and any cards in their portfolio, the seller assembles a sale lot of exactly three cards (the sealed lot). The remaining cards are retained as the seller’s portfolio.
The seller places the sealed lot face down in front of another eligible player of their choice (the buyer). A player is only eligible to be a buyer if they have not already bought or sold a sealed lot this round. When there are no remaining eligible buyers, the final buyer must sell to the first player and the round ends.
Then, the seller declares the lot’s value. The lot’s declared value must be at least equal to the round’s ripple value.
Phase 5, cont’d
Step 2: Buyer’s Response
After the seller declares a sealed lot value, the eligible buyer must either buy the lot or accuse the seller of lying.
Buyer Accepts Sale: The eligible buyer purchases the lot by giving the seller the declared price from their purse and looks at the cards in the lot, without revealing the lot to other players. Then, the buyer becomes the new seller. Using the purchased cards and any cards in their portfolio, they assemble a sealed lot of exactly three card (the sealed lot). The remaining cards are retained as the seller’s portfolio. When they sell to the next eligible buyer, they must declare a higher value than the lot they purchased.
Buyer Accuses the Seller: The eligible buyer accuses the seller of overvaluing the goods and reveals the lot to all players then if:
Seller was honest: If the lot’s declared value is equal to (or greater than) the sum market value of all cards in the revealed lot, the accuser must pay a fine to the seller equal to the declared value. The sale lot is put at the bottom of the Portfolio deck. The accuser then draws three cards from the Portfolio deck and becomes the next seller. When they sell to the next eligible buyer, they must declare a higher value than ripple value for the round.
Seller was lying: The seller must pay a fine to the prospective buyer equal to the difference between the actual value of the lot and the value claimed. Then resolve a market disruption. The sale lot is put at the bottom of the Portfolio deck. The accuser then draws three cards from the Portfolio deck and becomes the next seller. When they sell to the next eligible buyer, they must declare a higher value than ripple value for the round.
If an eligible buyer does not have enough cash on hand to pay the seller, they may choose to liquidate cards from their portfolio. If they are unable to generate enough cash by liquidating, they must accuse the seller.
Phase 6: Cleanup
When there are no remaining eligible buyers, the final buyer must offer a sale to the first player and the round ends. If any player has more than the maximum round number of portfolio cards, they must return the excess cards to the Portfolio deck. Then, players check for End of Game (see End of Game & Winning). If the game doesn’t end, the first player passes the Portfolio deck to the left (designating its holder as the new first player), then the next round begins.
Market Disruption:
If a lie is revealed, and any of the card from the sealed lot are on the market board, they lose all value and are marked with a Crisis token. Any adjacent Market cards that share a color and/or type with that portfolio card lose value equal to the round’s ripple value. If any affected Market card’s value would be reduced below zero this way, place a Crisis token on it instead.
Then, if there are no tulip cards in the revealed lot, the market collapses. The round ends immediately, and then the game ends (see End of Game & Winning).
Example : Player A declares a sealed lot is worth 7. Player B accuses. Player A pays Player B 5 (the difference between the declared and actual values). Of the tulips in the sealed lot, only the Yellow Orange Kaufmanniana tulip is on the Market board. It loses all value and gains a Crisis token. All adjacent Yellow and Orange Tulips lose 1 in value. The Yellow/Orange Kaufmannia tulip cannot be invested in until the crisis marker is removed.
Liquidation
A player may liquidate cards if:
1) A prospective buyer does not have enough cash in their purse to purchase a lot they have been offered for sale and would like to buy the lot.
A player must liquidate cards if:
2) A prospective buyer makes a false accusation but does not have enough cash in purse to pay the fine to the seller.
3) A seller does not have enough cash in their purse to cover the fine from a lie they have been caught in.
To liquidate cards, a player reveals the tulip card(s) they wish to liquidate and take the value of that tulip from the bank. The tulip card goes on the bottom of the Portfolio deck, and the player is given an empty sack for each tulip liquidated. If a prospective buyer is unable to generate enough cash by liquidating to buy a lot, they must accuse the seller.
Bankruptcy
If a player is unable to generate enough cash to cover a fine that they owe, they are bankrupt and lose the game. They must liquidate their entire portfolio and give the cash to their debtor.
If the bankrupted player was a prospective buyer, the seller must draw 3 new cards and pick a new eligible buyer to sell to.
End of Game & Winning
The game can end in several ways.
Sole Survivor: If only one player is not bankrupt, that player wins the game.
Market Collapse: During Phase 6: Cleanup, if there are 4 or more crises on the Market Board or a seller is found to be selling a lot with no tulips in it, the game ends with a market collapse. In this case all the value of tulips on the board go to zero. Portfolios are now worthless, so the player with the most funds in purse wins.
A Player Reveals a Complete Portfolio: After checking for Market Collapse during Phase 6: Cleanup, a player can end the game with a complete portfolio. Starting with the first player and proceeding in order, any player may choose to reveal their complete portfolio (see below). If a player does, all players reveal their portfolios. Each player sums the market value of all tulips in their portfolio, then adds their cash in purse and any modifiers on the Reference Card. The player with the highest score wins.
End of Round 5: If it is the end of round 5, and more than one player is still in the game, the game ends in the same manner as if a player had revealed a complete portfolio.
Resolving Ties
If two or more players would be tied, the winner is the player with the highest value single tulip in their portfolio. If two or more players tie on this criteria as well, the winner is the one who is earliest in player order.