Caper: Europe

2022

In Caper: Europe, you're a criminal mastermind deploying thieves and gear to outmaneuver opponents, control locations, and score the most points in this thrilling two-player drafting game.

35
minutes

2 - 2
player(s)

10+

Medium

About the game

Caper: Europe is a delightful and immersive board game that transports you to the charming old world of Europe. As a board game enthusiast, prepare to navigate through the quaint streets of Paris, the bustling markets of Rome, and the grand plazas of Madrid, all from the comfort of your home. This game is an invitation to a thrilling adventure of strategy, wit, and cunning.

In Caper: Europe, you don the hat of a mastermind criminal, strategizing and deploying your team of thieves and agents across various locations in Europe to pull off the most daring heists. The game cleverly blends elements of card drafting, set collection, and area control mechanics, offering a unique gaming experience.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Caper: Europe is a strategic card game that involves elements of drafting and set collection. The game is rich in components, each having a specific purpose and interaction. Here are the components of the game:

1. Location Cards:

Description: Six location cards represent different cities in Europe. They have unique artwork and a specific set of points associated with them.
Role: Players select these cards to determine the city where they will carry out their caper. The points on the card contribute to their overall score.

2. Caper Cards:

Description: These are the main cards that players draft throughout the game. They represent different types of thieves and the tools they can use.
Role: Players use these cards to attempt to control locations and earn points. The thieves provide abilities while the tools enhance these abilities or provide additional benefits.

3. Character Cards:

Description: These cards represent the different characters or thieves that players can recruit.
Role: Players play these cards to the locations to attempt to control them. Each thief has a unique ability that can be used during the game.

4. Gear Cards:

Description: These cards represent the different types of equipment or tools that thieves can use.
Role: Players assign these cards to their thieves to enhance their abilities or provide additional benefits.

5. Coin Tokens:

Description: These are small, round tokens that represent the currency in the game.
Role: Players use these tokens to pay for the cost of playing cards. They are also used as a tiebreaker in determining control of a location.

6. Score Tokens:

Description: These are small, square tokens that track the score of the players.
Role: Players gain these tokens when they score points. The player with the most score tokens at the end of the game wins.

7. Control Markers:

Description: These are larger, round tokens that represent control of a location.
Role: The player with the most thieves at a location gains control of that location and takes the control marker. These markers contribute to the player’s score at the end of the game.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

‘Caper: Europe’ is a strategy game for two players, where one player takes on the role of the Mastermind, and the other plays as the Inspector. The game involves planning heists, placing thieves, and acquiring gear to outwit your opponent. Here’s how you set it up:

Place the Game Board in the Center: The game board, which represents a map of Europe, should be placed between the two players. It consists of six city cards, each representing a different European city.
Determine Player Roles: Players decide who will be the Mastermind and who will be the Inspector. The Mastermind aims to score the most points through successful heists, while the Inspector tries to thwart the Mastermind’s plans and score points of their own.
Prepare the Caper Cards: Separate the Caper cards into three different decks: Thieves, Gear, and Capers. Shuffle each deck separately and place them near the game board.
Prepare the Initial Resources: Each player receives a starting hand of four Thieves and four Gear cards. They also receive three Capers cards, which are kept face-down and revealed only when played.
Set Up the Score Track: Each player places a scoring marker on the start space of the score track on the game board. This will be used to keep track of each player’s points throughout the game.
Random Elements: The game features several random elements. The city cards are shuffled and placed randomly on the game board, resulting in a different layout for each game. Also, the Thieves, Gear, and Capers decks are shuffled, so the order in which these cards are drawn will vary in each game.

Once the setup is complete, the game can commence with the Mastermind and Inspector trying to outwit each other in a strategic battle of wits. The game ends when all city locations have been filled with a Thief and three pieces of Gear, and all Capers have been played. The player with the most points on the score track at the end of the game is declared the winner.

Game flow Round and round we go

‘Caper: Europe’ is a strategic, card-drafting and set collection game where players act as master thieves, planning heists across Europe. The game consists of six rounds divided into three phases – the Drafting Phase, the Thieving Phase, and the Scoring Phase.

Let’s break down what happens during each phase:

1. Drafting Phase

Each player receives six cards, divided into two Gear cards and four Caper cards.
Players select one card from their hand and then pass the remaining cards to the opponent. This is known as ‘card drafting’.
This process continues until all cards have been drafted and the players’ hands are empty.

2. Thieving Phase

Players take turns placing their drafted cards onto the game’s location slots. Each location has a limit of three cards.
Players can place either a Gear card to equip their thieves or a Caper card to perform a heist.
When placing a Caper card, players must also place a matching coloured thief meeple on the location.
Each card has unique abilities that can affect game play in various ways, such as stealing coins, blocking opponents, or enhancing your own abilities.

3. Scoring Phase

Once all six rounds are completed, and all locations are filled, the game moves to the scoring phase.
Players tally points from their successful Capers, the abilities of their Gear cards, bonus points from location control, and any remaining coins.
The player with the highest score is declared the master thief and wins the game.

Note: The game requires strategic thinking, as players need to carefully choose their cards during the drafting phase, and decide the best locations to place their thieves during the thieving phase, to maximize their score in the scoring phase.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In ‘Caper: Europe’, a card drafting and set collection game, a player’s turn is composed of several phases and possible actions. These actions influence the game in various ways, thus requiring strategic choices.

1. Drafting Phase:

During this phase, players pick a card from their hand and pass the remaining cards to the next player. The choice of card can have a significant impact on the game, making this a crucial strategic decision.

Thief Card: If a player chooses a Thief Card, they place it in one of the three locations on their side of the board. This can influence the game as different Thieves have different abilities and strengths.
Item Card: If a player picks an Item Card, they equip it to a Thief. The choice of card and which Thief to equip it to can substantially affect the gameplay as it can either enhance a Thief’s abilities or provide additional points.
Caper Card: A Caper Card is played face-down and is revealed at the end of the round. It can alter the game significantly as it can introduce unexpected twists.

2. Scoring Phase:

Players tally the scores for their Thieves and the equipped Items. The scoring can be influenced by the variety of Items a Thief has, the number of Thieves in a location, and the abilities of the Thieves.

Thieves: Each Thief has a base score. This score can be increased by equipping them with Items.
Items: Items contribute to scoring by adding points, enhancing a Thief’s abilities, or triggering special effects.
Locations: The player with the most Thieves in a location gains extra points. Therefore, strategically placing Thieves can significantly impact the scores.

3. End Phase:

Players draw new cards to replenish their hands. The game continues until there are no cards left in the deck. At this point, the player with the highest score wins. Therefore, strategic decisions in each round can have a long-term effect on the game’s outcome.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

The game of ‘Caper: Europe’ ends after the completion of the 6th round. Each round corresponds to a day, and the game is designed to be played over a total of six days, meaning six rounds. At the end of the 6th day, the players must proceed to final scoring.

Victory Conditions:

When the 6th round is over, players calculate their final scores by counting their points from various sources. The player with the highest total is declared the winner.

Capers: Players earn points from the Capers they have successfully completed during the game. The total points from Capers are added to their final score.
Locations: Each location has a designated point value. If a player has majority control of a location, they earn the points associated with that location.
Mastermind: If a player’s Mastermind is at a location where they have majority control, they earn extra points.
Thieves: Some thieves have victory point values. These points are added to the player’s final score.
Gear Cards: Certain gear cards also contribute to the final score. The points from these cards are added to the player’s total.

After calculating these points, the player with the highest total score emerges as the winner. In case of a tie, the player with the most leftover coins wins. If there’s still a tie, the player who went first wins.

Actions Before Final Scoring:

Before proceeding to the final scoring, players must take the following actions:

Complete any unfinished Capers. Each Caper needs a certain combination of thieves and gears. If a player has the required combination, they can complete the Caper and earn points.
Calculate majority control for each location. The player with the highest combined strength of thieves and gears at a location gains control. Masterminds count towards this total.
Make sure all points from gear cards are accounted for. Some gears give points based on specific conditions. Ensure these conditions are met and the points are added.

Once these actions are completed, players can proceed to the final scoring.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

Caper: Europe is a strategic card game that involves players competing to score the most points through various methods. The full scoring system in the game can be broken down as follows:

Scoring during the game:

Thieves and Gear: These cards can provide immediate points when played. The points scored are indicated on the cards themselves.
Location Control: At the end of each round, the player who has the most strength in a location (from their thieves and gear) scores the points indicated on the location card.

Scoring at the end of the game:

Set Collection: Players score points depending on the sets of stolen items they have collected throughout the game. The more items in a set, the more points they score.
Masterpieces: These are special item cards that score a lot of points. The points are indicated on the Masterpiece cards themselves.
Location Bonuses: Some locations have special rules that give bonus points at the end of the game.
Caper Cards: These are special cards that can give a player bonus points depending on certain conditions, such as having the most of a certain type of card.

Tie-breaking rules:

If two or more players have the same total score at the end of the game, the tie is broken in the following order:

Most Masterpieces: The player with the most Masterpiece cards wins.
Most Locations Controlled: If there is still a tie, the player who controlled the most locations during the game wins.
Most Thieves: If there is still a tie, the player who played the most Thieves during the game wins.
Most Gear: If there is still a tie, the player who played the most Gear during the game wins.

If there is still a tie after all these tiebreakers, then the game is a draw.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Caper: Europe is a two-player card drafting and set collection game with a unique twist. Although the standard rules provide a straightforward gameplay experience, there are a few exceptions and rule clarifications that players should be aware of.

1. Mastermind Cards and Scoring:

If a player has more than one Mastermind card, they may only use one of them to score points. The other Mastermind cards are considered as ‘normal’ thieves.
Mastermind cards do not count towards the total number of thieves in a location. They are treated separately for scoring purposes.

2. Gear Cards:

Players cannot play Gear cards on Mastermind cards unless the Gear card specifically states otherwise.
Some Gear cards have a ‘switch’ symbol. This allows players to switch one of their thieves with an opponent’s thief at the same location. The switched thief must not have any gear attached to it.

3. Location Cards:

At the end of the game, only the player with the most thieves in a location scores the points indicated on the location card. In case of a tie, both players score points.
Locations that have a ‘lock’ symbol require a specific Gear card to unlock. If a player does not have the required Gear card, they cannot score points from that location.

4. Caper Cards:

Caper cards are bonus cards that can be acquired during the drafting phase. Only the player who has the most Caper cards at a location scores the bonus points, but in case of a tie, both players score the bonus points.
Caper cards do not count towards the total number of thieves in a location. They are treated separately for scoring purposes.

5. Endgame Scoring:

At the end of the game, the player with the most points from locations (including any unlocked locations), Mastermind cards, thieves, Gear cards, and Caper cards is declared the winner.
In case of a tie, the player with the most Mastermind cards wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most thieves wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most Gear cards wins.