Help Sheet

Game Variants

“Zip KIRE” mode

If you want to speed up your games a little, try this variant: start each revolt with a number of points equal to the number of players minus one. That means 2, 3, or 4 points when playing with 3, 4, or 5 players, respectively. With 2 players, start with 2 points as well.

We usually play KIRE this way, especially with 5 players, because it has several advantages. As you would expect, it makes the game considerably shorter. It also makes a very poor first round less punishing for a player, while encouraging interesting contests right from the start. In our view, it is therefore preferable to playing to a lower target score.

“Full Scoring” variant

Score all the locations to the end instead of stopping as soon as someone reaches 20 points. In other words, score them as you would in elimination mode, but without eliminating the player in last place. In the event of a tie, the player who reached that score first wins. For example, if Ana reaches 22 points at the first location and Carlos also reaches 22, but only at the third location, Ana still wins because she reached the highest score first.

“Competitive Elimination” mode

The last variant we suggest applies specifically to competitive mode. Do not use the revolt markers. Instead, the winner is the last player remaining after the player in last place has been eliminated at the end of each revolt.

Known Errors

Please use the online PDF for the English rules rather than the printed booklet. Due to a mix-up when the files were sent to the printer, an earlier version that had not received its final proofreading was printed, so it contains a few grammatical errors 🫣.

You can still read the printed rulebook and enjoy the game—the rules are easy to follow.

Rule Clarifications

☞ What happens if I bid on a location when my opponents do not have enough cubes available to match my bid?

If you bid on a location where no one has bid yet and your opponents do not have enough cubes to at least match your bid, you win it automatically. As the rules state, “you may only buy cubes during the bidding phase to match a bid that has been raised against you.” In other words, you must already have bid at least one barrel. Since no bid had yet been placed on the tile in this case, no one is “raising” your bid. (See tip 4 below.)

☞ What happens if I raise a bid and an opponent does not have enough points to match it?

If you raise a bid and your opponents do not have enough points to buy the barrels they need to match it, you win the location automatically. This is why managing your barrels is so important, especially in the early rounds. (See tip 3 below.)

☞ In competitive mode, what happens if two players have the same score when deciding who is eliminated?

The player who reached that score later is eliminated, using the same procedure as in the Full Scoring variant. Put another way, as you resolve and score the locations, if you are in last place, you must exceed the next highest score to avoid elimination. Merely tying it means you are still in last place!

☞ Why are there two discs?

If you have placed all your barrels, the disc in front of you lets the other players tell which colour is yours without having to ask. This is no problem among friends or family, but in a tournament where you play several games and change colours, it might even help you remember your own colour! :)

☞ How should I treat the outlaw (0) when comparing hands of cards?

The outlaw is useful only at the camp, where it contributes two generic strength points. At the other locations, you can treat it as having the worst possible value for that location. For example, in the town, if one hand is 1, 3, 7, and 10 and another is 1, 3, 7, and 0, the first hand wins because the outlaw is even worse than a 10 there.
Thematically, the outlaw contributes only strength: it has no influence in the town or the market, and even less in the castle.

Tips

Finally, here are a few pointers to help you in your first games…

1. Be careful about trying to win everything

One thing that makes KIRE so much fun compared with traditional card games is that you almost always have a hand that can score points at at least one location. But remember: the same is true of your opponents! A versatile hand can therefore be a double-edged sword. It may tempt you to match bids at several locations, only to lose at every one of them.

For that reason, even in games with 2 or 3 players, it is usually better to focus on one or two locations. You might use one as a decoy, while planning carefully how to play the one you really want to win.

2. Try not to “give away” the extra point

Being the first player to act lets you add one point to a location by placing your disc there. If you are first to act and are not confident that you can win the castle or camp, which are already worth 2 base points, it is better to place your disc in the town or market and try to win it using the discard. That way, you do not concentrate so many points in a single location that you cannot be reasonably sure of winning.

3. Be careful with large bids at the start of a revolt

Bids are made with barrels rather than points themselves, as in Mus, so managing your barrels matters a great deal. Remember that, even in “Zip KIRE” mode, at the start of a revolt you have very few barrels and no points to help you recover. Losing a large bid can therefore leave you far behind.

In short, it can sometimes be better to let an opponent take a few points early on, especially if they are spending a lot of barrels to do so, and save your own barrels for when you have a better chance to make them count.

4. Why turn order matters

When considering turn order, bear in mind that tied hands (which are resolved by turn order) are common only at the camp and, to a much lesser extent, at the market. At the town and castle, turn order hardly ever matters for breaking a tie.

However, acting first has another advantage, as explained in the clarifications: it lets you put considerable pressure on the others with your barrels. If you are first to act and have saved your barrels, you may be able to win points at the final location without anyone being able to match your bid. One interesting strategy is therefore to place your disc there, then wait for the others to use up their barrels at earlier locations so you can take the last one without competition.

We could tell you more because, although it is not rocket science, KIRE has plenty of details waiting to be discovered. But it is better to enjoy finding them out by playing and learning for yourself!