Lost Cities - Rules of the Game
A thrilling Cardgame for 2 Players

1. The Preparation
Before you begin playing, you need to /join the game. Then, when both players are present you or your partner will issue the /start command . Alternatively you can use the game-manager or these buttons shown at the bottom left of the game board.
2. The Objective of the Game
It is the aim of both players to lay out expeditions to obtain (after deduction of the expenses) as much fame points as possible. There are five possible discoveries to make, represented in 5 colors/columns. The expeditions are formed through rows of cards from the same color in such a way, that the value of the next card added is higher than the previous one.

Before laying out "number values" for a particular expedition (column), you can make use of up to three "Investment Cards" per colour. Those cards double, triple or quadruple (when played in succession) the initial expenses, but as well the resulting fame points. Of course all cards in one column have to have the same color.

At the end of the game (no more cards in the stack) all started expeditions contribute to the final balance of fame points. The player with the better balance wins the leg.

A usual game of Lost Cities consists of three legs and the final winner is the one who has obtained more fame points than the other.
3. The Playing Interface

The image below shows the game board. On the very top of the screen are two boxes, each with the name of a player and the total fame points achieved in previous legs. The active player's name is marked with * Stars *
The rows below are divided in five columns: one for each color (from left to right: RED, GREEN, BLUE, GREY, YELLOW). The upper row holds your opponent's expeditions, the lower row yours. The center row, which is seperating the expeditions from both players, has five slots that represent the discard stacks for each color.
The buttons on the bottom left are self-explaining and are used either before the game starts, or after a leg is finished. To the right of them is the stack counter. When this counter reaches 0 the leg comes to an end. The 8 cards that you are holding on your hand are shown next.
The button to the right of them is labled Zurück and allows to return to the room from where you came
To remove a card from your hand, simply click and drag it. If you drop it on the center row or in the upper half of the screen, it will be discarded and finds automatically the stack of it's color. If you drop it below the center line, it will be played, and again it knows in which column it belongs. NOTE: You cannot undo your action!
To take a new card from the stack, simply click on the stack counter. To take the top card from a discard stack, just click the desired card.
4. The Sequence of Play
The expeditions are formed by five card sets consisting of 12 cards each, totaling 60 game cards. For each color the 12 Cards are divided as follows:
  • three Investment Cards ("shaking hands" symbol)
  • 9 Expedition Cards with the values of 2 trough 10 (2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
Both players start with a random selection of 8 handcards, leaving 44 cards in the stack.
The active player has to remove a card from his hand and then refill his hand. Then it's the next players turn. A player can not pass his turn. It is not (anymore) allowed to discard a card and take it back immediately.

To remove a card from his hand a player has two possibilities:
  1. To discard a card on the center row:
    Any Card may be discarded on top of a discard stack on the center line.
    Clue: Do not forget that your opponent can choose to take this card to refill his hand.
  2. To play the card in the bottom part of the screen:
    Only Cards that meet folloing conditions may be played in the bottom part of the screen:
  3. Investment Cards, can only be played if the expedition has not yet started, or only other investment cards were used on this expedition.
  4. Value Cards, can only be played if the expedition has not yet started or the preceding card has a lower value (investment cards are lower than "2".
    Clue: If you have an Investment a 6 and a 8 of the same color on your hand, and you play the 8 as your first card, you cannot play the Investment or the 6. They are now useless to you.

To refill his hand the player has up to two possibilities:
  1. To take a card from center row:
    If all stacks in the center row are empty the player has to pull from the stack.
    Clue: Taking cards from the center row even if you do not need them can prolonge the game and you may be able to place all the cards you need to score with, before the stack counter runs out.
  2. To take a card from the stack counter, left of your hand cards:
    If the counter reaches "0" the game ends immediately and the fame points will be calculated.
5. How do I score?
You play an investment
You play two more investments
Your were very successfull in getting your numbers together
Now you did it! You broke the game! From where come the extra 20 points?
Yeah, got the full series!!





Starting a new expedition costs 20 points. But as starting with an investment doubles the expenditure (and the benefits) the colum only sores right now -40 points. So one should be quite sure to get at least 20 points in card values together to break at least even. If you plan to play all three investments of this color you will start off with -80 points, but you can make up to 156 points, if you get all cards in the correct sequence. So why is your score now on -24? Well you played a 2,3,4,5 which gives you 14 points. As you have played three investments this score is now quadrupled and added to the -80 base expenses. The next card you are going to play is a 6, so you should break even, right? Well lets see... It's quite simple, each time you have at least 8 cards in your series (so 8 out of 12) you get an extra bonus of +20 points. This bonus does not get multiplied by investments, those only count toward the 8 cards. This is so rare, to get those 156 points that even the programers didn't leave enough space, to write all card values in the small right column.

To achieve this and not to loose on the other hands is very difficult. And if your openent gets the cards you need, well he is not very likely to give them to you.
6. End of Game and Calculation of Fame Points
The game ends immediately, when the last card is drawn from the stack.
At this moment the balance for each player is drawn. For this all expeditions a player has started are taken into consideration, including those with negative points.
The player who has the most points wins this leg. The scores are added to the players total points on the top of the screen, and both players can decide if they want to continue playing. If they both agree, by pressing the continue button at the bottom left corner, their score will be kept for the next leg.