
- BGG rank
- BGG #45
- BGG rating
- 8.0
The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
- 2–5 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 2.1/5
- 2021

2010
Rules assistance for Bourré
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Bourré is a board game released in 2010 for 2–8 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. Its main mechanics are Trick-taking.
Bourre (pronounced "boo-ray") is a trick-taking card game similar to Spades. It is widely played in Louisiana, particularly within the Cajun culture and on the off-shore oil platforms near the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Bourre uses a standard 52-card deck. Players ante up and are dealt a five card hand. They may then "fold" or continue, swapping out up to all five cards (in some variants they will re-ante to play a hand). The rules are fairly straightforward: (from Wikipedia entry): 1. You must play to win. This goes beyond simply "playing a higher card"; if you know that no one else has any trumps, and it is your turn to lead, you must play trumps if you have them. 2. You must play on-suit if possible, even if your highest on-suit card will not beat the highest card in play. Even if a trump has been played on a non-trump lead, if you have a card of the suit led, you must play on that suit. 3. You must play a trump if you have no on-suit cards. You still must play to win; if the only trump played is a 3, you hold the 2 and the Ace of trumps but no cards of the lead suit, you must play the Ace of trumps. 4. If you have neither any cards of the lead suit nor any trumps, you may play any card. This is an off card, and is effectively lower than the 2 of the lead suit. At the end of the round, the person with the most tricks, takes the pot. If there is a tie, the pot stays in for the next round. If one of the players who played a hand did not take any tricks at all, he is said to have "bourreed" and must match the pot as his ante for the next round. Needless to say, the pot can get quite large, especially with larger groups playing.
Bourré supports 2–8 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 Bourré 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 Bourré for ages 13 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.
Bourré 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.
Bourré belongs to these categories: Card Game. Its main mechanics are 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 catalogue lists Bourré 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.