COUNTRY HOUSES

INTRODUCTION
Card game for 2-4 players. 
Each player is a Proud Landowner in the US in the Nineteenth Century. 

VICTORY
The first player to get 7 Victory Points is the winner. 
If more than 1 player reaches 7 VP at the same time, they share the win. 

THE DECK
Players share a common deck. 
The Deck has 7 Suites. 
Each Suite has 10 Cards. 
The 7 Suites: 
L = Land
S = Livestock
B = Buildings
C = Crops
R = Reputation
P = Profession
N = Name

ESTATE COMBO
An Estate Combo is a collection of 12 cards. 
A Combo must include the following cards:
2 Land
2 Livestock
2 Buildings
2 Crops
2 Reputation
1 Profession
1 Name

THE KEY
The player in possession of the Key goes first in a round. 
An actual Key, or any token item will suffice. 

SETUP
A random player gets the Key. 
Shuffle the Deck. 

ROUND SEQUENCE
Each Round has 4 Phases: 
1. Lots Phase
2. Purchase Phase
3. Combo Phase
4. Key Phase

LOTS PHASE
A Lot is a set of 3 cards drawn from the top of the Deck. 
Lot cards are kept face-up and visible to all players. 
Draw a number of Lots equal to the number of players. 
If the Deck runs out, first each player must discard all their cards in excess of 12. 
Next shuffle the Discard and draw from it. 

PURCHASE PHASE
The player with the Key picks 1 Lot and keeps it. 
The player to his left then picks 1 Lot and so on until all players have chosen 1 Lot. 

COMBO PHASE
Each player looks at all the cards in all of his lots. 
If there are enough of the right types of cards to make an Estate combo, he wins. 
If only one player wins, he gets 2 Victory Points. 
If more than one player wins, they each get 1 Victory Point. 
If there is at least one winner, all players discard all their cards. 

KEY PHASE
The player with the Key passes it to the player to his Left. 

COMMON DECK CARD LIST
Type:	Card Name:
L	Purchase
L	Grove
L	Parcel
L	Hundreds of Acres
L	Well-Tended Fields
L	Plantation
L	Orchard
L	Vineyard
L	Pasture
S	Cows
S	Horses
S	Pigs
S	Cattle 
S	Hogs
S	Sheep
S	Chickens
S	Dairy
S	Husbandry
S	Fish
B	Tower
B	Storehouse
B	Stock Barn
B	Homestead
B	Neat Farmhouse
B	Mill
B	Grand Mansion
B	Wharf
B	Outbuildings
B	Silo
C	Wheat
C	Sugar
C	Corn
C	Tobacco
C	Cotton
C	Vegetables
C	Fruit
C	Barley and Rye
C	Timber
C	Potatoes
P	Retired General
P	Law Practice
P	Bank President
P	Livestock Trader
P	Tanner
P	Shipping
P	Merchant
P	Farmer
P	Politician
P	Doctor
R	Prominent Citizen
R	Most Genial
R	Ready Wit
R	Pleasant & Agreeable
R	Honorable
R	High Toned
R	Trustworthy
R	Gentleman
R	Virtuous
R	Religious Man
N	Hamilton House
N	Casey Farm
N	Quincy House
N	Jackson House
N	Watson Farm
N	Roseland Cottage
N	Tower Place Farm
N	Beatty Farm
N	Lyman Estate
N	Castle Tucker


LINKS
 National Geographic