Bug Council of Backyardia

About this board game

Bug Council of Backyardia is a trick-taking game for 1–5 players that plays in about 30 minutes. Across three rounds, players compete to win tricks, influence the Bug Council, and build an allegiance that can deliver valuable bonus points.

The game features five bug factions—ants, flies, bees, mosquitos, and cockroaches—in an ever-shifting struggle for power. Its distinctive mancala mechanism dynamically changes which suits are strongest, so the balance of power can move throughout each round.

In every round, players receive eleven cards but play ten tricks. The leader chooses a suit, and everyone else must follow suit when possible. The strongest card in the strongest suit wins the trick and collects it for scoring, making both card play and the council’s current strength important.

• Play three rounds of changing suit power.
• Win tricks by timing cards around the strongest suit.
• Visit the Bug Council to redistribute faction strength cubes.
• Use the final card to declare an allegiance and pursue a scoring bonus.

The player who plays the lowest on-suit card earns a visit to the Bug Council. They choose a faction tile, collect its strength cubes, and distribute those cubes clockwise around the council, altering the strength of the suits for future tricks.

After ten tricks, each player uses their remaining card to claim allegiance to the faction matching its suit. A well-timed allegiance can add a bonus to the tricks you have won. In Bug Council of Backyardia, reading the shifting council and manipulating its power may be the key to earning the most points after the third round.