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Trick and Trade
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Band of Tricks
2020
Rules assistance for Band of Tricks
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 3–5 players
- 30 min
- 10+
- Complexity 1.7/5
Rules assistant for Band of Tricks
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Band of Tricks is a board game released in 2020 for 3–5 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by 中村 泰之 (Yasuyuki Nakamura) and its main mechanics are Rock-Paper-Scissors and Trick-taking.
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About the game
Band of Tricks is a "must follow" trick-taking game for 3 to 5 players. The game consists of four suits, with asymmetric ranks. (For instance, one suit consists of ranks 1 to 13, and another 10 to 16.) Three of the suits have a rock-paper-scissors relationship, where rock cards will beat all scissor cards, paper cards will beat all rock cards, and scissor cards will beat all paper cards. However, the RPS relationship only applies if a trick consists of two or less suits. Once a third suit is played to a trick, the highest ranked card wins the trick. The fourth suit, which has the highest ranks, can only win in tricks with three or more suits. The players bid at the start of a hand how many tricks they will win in which they play rock, paper, or scissors, with tricks won in the fourth suit being wild. For each suit, if a player hits their bid, they earn one point per trick. However, if a player does not hit their bid exactly, they lose 1 point for each trick they were off. Zero trick bids are also possible. The player with the most points after a certain number of rounds wins.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- メリーアンドリューワークス(merry-andrew-works)
Questions and answers
Band of Tricks supports 3–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Band of Tricks 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 Band of Tricks for ages 10 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.
Band of Tricks has a complexity rating of 1.7 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.
Band of Tricks belongs to these categories: Card Game. Its main mechanics are Rock-Paper-Scissors and Trick-taking. 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 Band of Tricks are: 中村 泰之 (Yasuyuki Nakamura). 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 Band of Tricks 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.