Coloretto

2003

Draw cards into rows or claim a row for your collection, balancing valuable sets against costly extra colors.

30
minutes

2 - 5
player(s)

Light

Download official rules (EN) Buy on Amazon

About this board game

Coloretto is a card game for 2–5 players that plays in about 30 minutes, first released in 2003. Players draw cards into shared rows or take a completed row, building collections while trying to score with the right colors.

On each turn, choose between adding a card to a row or claiming one row for your collection. A row can hold no more than three cards, so players must eventually commit to a row. Once all rows have been claimed, a new round begins.

The central challenge is deciding which colors to collect. You score positively for three chosen colors, while every color beyond the third counts against you. Cards use a triangular scoring system: the first card in a color is worth 1 point, the second is worth 2, and each additional card increases the value further.

Jokers can match the color you need.
+2 cards provide guaranteed points as a useful backup.
Shared rows create a constant choice between drawing and taking cards.

As the deck runs low, the round ends and everyone totals their score. The player with the highest score wins, making every collection choice and unwanted color matter.

Some versions include a two-player variant in which row capacity depends on the icons on the row cards, allowing between one and three cards. Nordic versions also include additional extensions: The Extra Cards, The Limit Cards, and Coloretto for two players.

Board Game Rules for
Coloretto

Download official rules (EN)

COLORETTO

A game by Michael Schacht for 3 to 5 players aged 8 and up.

Overview

The players draw cards from a card supply in the middle of the table. During the game, the players try to specialize in a few colors, as at the end of the game, a player can score plus points for only 3 colors; the rest score minus points. The more cards a player has of a color, the more points he scores. The player with the most points wins.

63 color cards (9 cards each in 7 colors)
10 “+2” cards
1 “last round” card
3 jokers
5 row cards
5 summary cards
13 blank cards

The blank cards are not used with this game, but may be used in other games like Knights.

Preparation

Place one row card for each player in the game in the middle of the table. Place the unused row cards back in the box. They will not be used in the game.
Each player takes one summary card. Place the rest in the box.
With 3 players, remove the cards of one color from the game.
Each player takes one card of another color and places it on the table in his play area.
Remove the “last round” card from the deck and set it aside for now.
Shuffle the remaining cards face down and place them as a supply face down in the middle of the table.
Now deal 15 cards from the supply face down in a stack. Place the “last round” card on top of this stack of 15 cards. Then, place the rest of the card supply on top of this.
The players choose a starting player by lot.

Playing the Game

On a player’s turn, he must do one of the two following actions:

draw and place a card or
take a card row

Then the player’s left neighbor takes a turn.

When each player has taken a card row, the round ends and a new round begins.

A. Draw and Place a Card

The player draws the top-most card from the supply and places it face up next to any of the row cards.

Players may place at most 3 cards next to a row card.
When there are 3 cards next to a row card, a player may not place another card next to the row card.
When all row cards have 3 cards next to them, a player may not choose this action. The player must then take a card row.

B. Take a Card Row

The player takes any of the row cards and all the cards next to it and places them face up in his play area. The player then sorts the cards by color.

If a player has taken a joker, he sets it aside for now. He must decide which color to place it with at the end of the game, but not sooner.
A player may only take a row card if it has at least one card next to it.
After a player has taken a card row in a round, he takes no more turns in this round, but plays again in the next round.
When a player has taken a card row, he has a row card in his play area, so that all can see that he can take no more turns in this round.

End of a Round

When every player has taken a card row, the round ends.

Place the row cards back in the middle of the table and begin the next round with the player who took the last card row in the round just ended.

Game End

When the “last round” card is drawn, this indicates this is the last round. Place the card to the side to remind all players. Then the player draws the next card.

Scoring

At the end of the round, the players decide which color their jokers are (each may be different).

Each player counts the cards he has in each color. The table below shows the number of plus or minus points a player scores for the number of cards in each color.

A player scores no extra points for more than 6 cards in a color.

cards	points
1	1
2	3
3	6
4	10
5	15
6	21
each “+2”	+2

Each player chooses which 3 of his colors score plus points. All other colors score minus points for the player.

Each “+2” card scores 2 plus points.

Example: Andreas has 1 Joker, 1 “+2” card, 6 green cards, 4 yellow cards, 3 red cards, and 2 blue cards. As he already scores the most he can for his 6 green cards, he places his joker with his yellow cards. Andreas scores 2 (“+2”) + 21 (green) + 15 (yellow) + 6 (red) – 3 (blue) = 41 points.

Winning the Game

The player with the most points after four games is the winner!

Graphics: Michael Schacht
© 2002 ABACUSSPIELE Verlags GmbH & Co. KG, 63303 Dreieich
All Rights Reserved. Made in Germany

Overview & Components