Costa Ruana

About this board game

Costa Ruana is a bluffing and influence-driven board game for 2–6 players, played over five rounds and lasting about 60 minutes. Each player takes the role of a tribal chief, sending natives to nearby islands in pursuit of pirate treasure.

Your goal is to score the most points through the treasures in your hut and the natives in your reserve at the end of the fifth round. Treasures are central to every round: you collect one from each island where your tribe has a majority, or a minority when other tribes are tied there.

• Play cards face up and face down in front of any player, including yourself.
• Use cards to move treasures, place natives on islands, bring them home, or move them between islands.
• Place a native on a played card to copy its effect, even if an opponent played it face down.
• Manage the Shaman’s changing card-color decisions while reading your rivals’ plans.

Every round, each player plays one card face up in front of any player, followed by a second card face down in front of anyone. Cards have one of four background colors, but only two colors will resolve in a round. The Shaman reveals one of two condition cards to determine which colors take effect and which players are affected.

Becoming the Shaman gives you control over these decisions, while the other players must try to outguess the table or influence the Shaman by fair means or foul. A native can even be placed on an opponent’s hidden card, making bold guesses potentially rewarding.

With treasures shifting, natives moving between islands and reserves, and rivals concealing their intentions, Costa Ruana is a tense contest of scheming, double-guessing, and bluffing. Keep track of the treasures in other players’ huts and manage your natives carefully: a few points may decide the winner.