Calicut

Dossier

In Calicut, players take on the role of spice merchants, trading and collecting valuable spices in the busy markets - and black markets - of 16th century Calicut, at the height of the European/Indian Spice Trade. Each merchant (player) is competing to acquire the best sets of spices and export them to Lisbon, garnering the favor of King Manuel I of Portugal and Europe's ever-increasing demand for exotic spices. The catch? The King's demand for spices is constantly changing. Each card belongs to one of 5 different spices - pepper, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and cloves - and has a value (1-4). On your turn, you may trade spices from the market / black market, or export spices. To trade spices from the market, discard any value from your hand, and then collect spices: of ANY type and with that exact value, OR of a SINGLE type, and equal or lower value. Cards discarded this way are sent to the black market, which players may also choose to confiscate - collecting all spices in there for free! To export (score) spices, look at the Demand Row. The Demand Row dictates how much of each spice are needed for export - either 2, 3 or 4 cards. The two spices with the lowest demand can't be scored at all! When a spice is exported, its demand drops to the bottom, increasing demand for the other spices. Timing in Calicut is key - you must always hold the right sets, at the right time! Time your decisions carefully. Anticipate the demand, read the market, buy at the right moment, and score at the best opportunity to amass the most riches! Moreover, a 7-card hand limit will force you to optimize your actions as best as possible, managing your stock and striking the best balance between spice trading, confiscating and exporting. A round ends when a player scores their 5th set, at which point all player scores are counted. For each of the 5 spices, the player with the highest value collects its respective Demand Card for bonus points, so make sure you score higher than your opponent in as many spices as possible! The first player to win 2 rounds is the winner and the best spice merchant in Calicut! —description from the publisher

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