- BGG rank
- BGG #1,038
- BGG rating
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Jambo
- 2 players
- 45 min
- Complexity 2.1/5
- 2004
- BGG rank
- BGG #1,766
- BGG rating
- 6.7
Balloon Cup
2003
Rules assistance for Balloon Cup
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 30 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.5/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Balloon Cup
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Balloon Cup is a board game released in 2003 for 2 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Stephen Glenn and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Race.
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About the game
In Balloon Cup, the players compete in several short balloon flights (hops) to collect the colored cubes associated with each hop. Four landscape cards – two plains alternating with two mountains – are laid out, and 1, 2, 3, or 4 cubes in assorted colors (gray, blue, green, yellow, red) are added to these cards. From a hand of eight balloon cards, you must try to pass each landscape by adding cards matching the colored blocks onto their side of table, although winds (and cunning) may occasionally cause them to play on their opponent's side – a move that can really ruin the opponent's plans. High-valued balloons are played on the mountains, and low-valued balloons are played on the plains. Whoever is the better balloonist takes the cubes from the card, which is then flipped over – mountains becomes plains and vice-versa – and refilled with cubes. Five trophy cards of value 3 to 7 are placed at the top of the cards. When a player has collected enough cubes of a given color, he earns the trophy card for that color. Players may even trade three otherwise useless cubes for one they can use. The first player to earn three trophy cards is the winner!
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- Tilsit
- Korea Boardgames
- KOSMOS
- 999 Games
- Rio Grande Games
- DiceTree Games
- Nasza Księgarnia
- Paper Iyagi
Questions and answers
Balloon Cup supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Balloon Cup is 30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Balloon Cup for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Balloon Cup has a complexity rating of 1.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Balloon Cup belongs to these categories: Card Game and Aviation / Flight. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Race. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Balloon Cup are: Stephen Glenn. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Balloon Cup as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.