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Vaalbara
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No Swap No Pay
2019
Rules assistance for No Swap No Pay
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 3–5 players
- 20–30 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.0/5
Rules assistant for No Swap No Pay
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
No Swap No Pay is a board game released in 2019 for 3–5 players, 20–30 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Olivier Cipière and its main mechanics are Set Collection, Betting and Bluffing, and Open Drafting.
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About the game
You are a band of pirates returning to the port of New Providence after a season of plundering. It is now time to share the treasure. There are 4 kinds of coins in the treasure. Some of them are valuable to make you a rich while some of them make you have nothing at the end. During the game, you are collecting coins in your bag-o-loot but on your turn, you have to offer up your bag to another player! If they decline then you get to snag a coin from their bag... Every round, players will (1)draft 2 coins (2)challenge another pirate and (3)donate. (1)Draft Without peeking, the captain draws 2 coins per player from the treasure bag, then places them in the center of the table. Each player chooses 2 coins. Then, they place these coins in their loot bag. (2)Challenge Starting with the captain and going clockwise, each player must challenge another player to swap their bags. The challenged player has two choices: a. Refuse, and let the challenger take 1 coin from their loot bag at random, or b. Accept, and swap bags with the challenger (3)Donate Each player selects 1 coin from their loot bag and places it back in the treasure bag secretly in player order. The captain then passes the first player token to the player on their left, with this player becoming the captain for the next round. The winner will be the pirate owning the most valuable loot at the end of the game. Scoring • Gold coins: Each gold coin is worth 3 points. • Silver coins: Each silver coin is worth 1 point — except that a group of five Silver coins is worth 15 points. • Black coins: If a pirate's loot bag contains 1 or 2 cursed black coins, the entire bag is worth 0 points, no matter what else is in it. However, if the loot bag contains at least 3 cursed coins, then the group of black coins are worth 10 points. • Blue coins: At the end of the game, the owners of Blue coins can decide whether they use them as Gold, Silver or Black coins.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Popcorn Games
- Mandoo Games
Questions and answers
No Swap No Pay 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 No Swap No Pay is 20–30 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 No Swap No Pay 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.
No Swap No Pay has a complexity rating of 1.0 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.
No Swap No Pay belongs to these categories: Party Game and Pirates. Its main mechanics are Set Collection, Betting and Bluffing, and Open Drafting. 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 No Swap No Pay are: Olivier Cipière. 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 No Swap No Pay 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.