Diamonds

About this board game

Diamonds is a trick-taking card game for 2–6 players that plays in about 30 minutes. Instead of collecting cards bearing a diamond suit, players gather actual Diamond Crystals included with the game.

The game uses a 60-card deck, with cards numbered 1–15 in four standard suits. Each round begins with players holding ten cards. One player leads, and everyone must follow suit if possible; the highest card in the led suit wins the trick, and its winner leads the next one.

What sets Diamonds apart is its Suit Action system. If you cannot follow the led suit, you immediately receive an action based on the suit you play. The winner of every trick also receives a Suit Action, creating opportunities to collect crystals throughout the round.

• Move Diamond Crystals from the Supply to your Showroom, where each can score 1 point.
• Place crystals in your Vault, where each scores 2 points.
• Protect valuable crystals in the Vault while the Showroom remains vulnerable to theft by other players.

After ten tricks, the player who has taken the most cards in each suit receives another Suit Action. Anyone who has taken no tricks receives two Diamond Suit Actions, then a new round begins.

Diamonds combines familiar trick-taking rules with a changing economy of crystals and exposed scoring. At the end of the game, the player with the most points from Diamond Crystals wins.