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- BGG #3,403
- BGG rating
- 6.8
Tao Long: The Way of the Dragon
- 2 players
- 10–30 min
- Complexity 2.7/5
- 2017
- BGG rank
- BGG #26,327
- BGG rating
- 5.6
Cups
1969
Rules assistance for Cups
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 20 min
- 8+
- Complexity 2.0/5
Rules assistant for Cups
For 2 players
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Cups is a board game released in 1969 for 2 players, 20 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Wald Amberstone and Arthur Amberstone and its main mechanics are Mancala.
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About the game
Cups is a modern member of the mancala games family and was developed by Arthur and Wald Amberstone of the New York Game Associates and published by Sid Sackson in A Gamut of Games. Each player is given four cups, one pot and 40 beans. Players take turns placing one to four beans sequentially in their cups, beginning with the cup on the left and moving towards their pot on the right. Only if the last bean will land in the pot, a player may pick up all beans from a cup instead, and sow these. Whenever the last bean is placed in an empty cup, beans in the opponent's adjacent opposite cup are captured (to the pot). The player with most beans in the pot at the end of the game wins.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Random House, Inc.
- Hugendubel Verlag
- Hutchinson
- Dover Publications
- dtv (Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag)
- RBA Libros S.A.
Questions and answers
Cups 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 Cups is 20 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 Cups 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.
Cups has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-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.
Cups belongs to these categories: Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Mancala. 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 Cups are: Wald Amberstone and Arthur Amberstone. 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 Cups 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.