Turn the Tide

About this board game

Turn the Tide is a 3–5-player card game played in about 30 minutes, combining secret card selection, changing hands, and tactical scoring.

At the start, players receive a hand of 12 cards from a deck numbered 1–60; the remaining cards stay out of the game. Marker cards reveal the relative strength of each player’s hand, while a separate 24-card scoring deck contains values from 1–12.

Two scoring cards are placed face up each turn. Everyone secretly chooses one card from their hand, then reveals simultaneously. The highest card played takes the lower scoring card, and the second-highest takes the other. These scoring cards are placed face up in front of their owners, while the remaining cards are discounted.

• Choose cards secretly and reveal them at the same time.
• Compete for two face-up scoring cards each turn.
• Track the changing strength of your hand with marker cards.
• Pass your entire hand clockwise after each round.

Once the played cards are visible, the player with the highest scoring total turns over one of their marker cards. In this edition’s theme, the markers represent lifesavers. At the end of the round, players score according to the lifesavers they managed to save.

Then comes the game’s distinctive twist: everyone picks up their complete hand and passes it clockwise. Each round, you must make the best of the hand previously used by your neighbor. Can you play it more effectively than they did?

Continue until every player has had each hand. The player with the highest final score wins. With its simultaneous decisions and constantly changing resources, Turn the Tide rewards careful judgment, timing, and the ability to adapt.