Blind Business

About this board game

Blind Business is a card game for 2–5 players that takes about 30 minutes, challenging you to assemble the best team to bring down Ricky, a giant donkey-shaped piñata.

Each player begins with four cards. After looking at them, you shuffle the cards and place them so that every other player can see them—but you cannot. From then on, every request, refusal, and possible trade becomes a test of memory, deduction, and judgment.

On your turn, ask an opponent for a card. If they refuse, the card stays in their area for scoring at the end of the game. If they hand it over, they may try to claim a card from your hand. You can accept the trade, with both players swapping and scoring cards, or refuse and have each player score their own card. In every case, players refill their hands to four cards.

• 50-card deck: Numbered cards from 1 to 11 in four colors, plus six jokers.
• Visible-to-opponents hands: Your cards are displayed to others while remaining hidden from you.
• Color columns: Arrange cards by color, representing the playground, boardwalk, central station, and downtown.
• Multiple paths to victory: Score through majorities and card combinations, or win instantly with five consecutive cards of one color.

As the contest unfolds, competitors must decide when to demand a useful card, when to accept a risky exchange, and when to refuse. Gather the right teammates, outmaneuver the other teams, and pop Ricky before anyone else to claim the candy, the Big Trophy, and lasting prestige.

With its unusual hidden-information system and direct player interaction, Blind Business turns every card request into a potentially important decision.