- 2–5 Players
- 25ish Minutes
What exactly is a rainbow, anyway?
Is it a visual phenomenon caused by the refraction, reflection, and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky?
Or is it a set of well-placed cards with the highest numbers possible on each?
There’s only one way to find out!
Rainbonus is a tableau-building card game for 2–5 players.
How to Play
Your mission is to construct the best rainbow you can over 4 rounds. Rainbows are, of course, made up of cards. Just like in real life.
The cards in your rainbow determine its worth.
Improve Your Prospects
Spend your turns drawing and discarding cards to improve your hand. You’ll add up to 2 of these cards to your rainbow.
Sun & Rain
Most discards go to the discard pile, but not Sun and Rain cards. These go face up on the table. Once both the Sun and Rain are out, players add to their rainbows.
Add to Your Rainbow
You can add up to 2 cards to your rainbow each round. “Adding a card” means adding a new color, adding or replacing a Rainbonus, or replacing a color with a new card.
Rainbonus Your Way Ahead
Rainbonuses double or triple card values, but not all Rainbonuses work with all cards.
×3 Rainbonuses only work with Level 1 cards, which have values 2 & 3.
×2 Rainbonuses work with Level 1 cards (values 2 & 3) or Level 2 cards (values 4–6).
Stay Flexible with Prisms
Prisms are worth 7 points, and work as any color. You don’t even have to decide what color they are until you fill all the other colors up!
There is 1 small trade-off, though. Prisms also cut the full-rainbow bonus you’ll score for having every color in half.
Is the trade-off worth it? It certainly can be!
Score Your Final Rainbow
Once the fourth round is done, add up all the cards in your rainbow, applying the Rainbonuses to the cards you’ve played them on.
Rainbows featuring all 6 colors score full-rainbow bonuses:
- 3 points if you used 1 or more Prisms
- 6 points if you didn’t
Highest score wins!
Can You Score a Perfect 62?
A perfect rainbow is worth 62 points. That’s a rainbow featuring 4 8’s, 2 6’s, and 2 ×2 Rainbonuses on those 6’s. It’s not likely, but it’s possible!
The back of the rulebook has a place to track your best ever rainbows, even if they aren’t a perfect 62.
Fun on the Go
This game fits into a mint tin. Build rainbows anywhere you go!
Rewards Good Planning & Great Pulls
You get fewer cards to work with as the game progresses, while the types of cards you need narrows too. This game rewards both having a good plan and rolling with the punches.
Free Stuff
Available Now at The Game Crafter
I publish my games on-demand at The Game Crafter. That means no waste, and no boxes sitting in a warehouse somewhere. Perfect for how many games I sell!
But it also means:
- Each copy costs more to produce
- It takes a little time to make your copy
- Shipping isn’t free (though it’s only a couple bucks)
Don’t fret! The quality is great and their service is solid. Still have questions? Hit me up. Otherwise…