Tabletop Tuesday - Incan Gold

Welcome to another edition of Tabletop Tuesday - Your weekly exploration into games of dice, cards, luck, and more of the Tabletop world.

This week's game...the game of pushing your luck for that glittering stuff that is Incan Gold.

Players: 3-8
Time: 15-20 minutes
Genre: Casual Card Game



Incan Gold puts players into the roles of daring explorers in search of treasure and riches.  But of course, the best explorer will be the one who makes it out of the trapped-filled ruins with the largest haul of sparkling goods.  Each turn, players must decide to venture deeper into the temple, or high-tail it out of there.  This decision is made simultaneously with voting cards, making each turn a surprise as to what players will choose.  Explorers who stay will share any treasure cards drawn from the deck, with any remainders being left behind them.  Should any player run away, they get to pick up the abandoned treasure on the way out (or share it with other cowards who also be happening to run then).  Those who run away though can't earn any more treasure then for that round, meaning the remaining explorers will earn more between each other.  Beware though, for there are five variety of traps within the deck.  Should two of the same trap be drawn, any remaining explorers will lose all their treasure gained for that round.  It's simple, but captivating game of risk versus reward.

From left to right: Examples of ancient relic card, voting card, treasure card, and trap card.

The game carries on for five rounds, in which each round, should the temple befall a trap, that trap is removed lowering its risk for the subsequent rounds.  Each round, an ancient relic card is also added to the deck.  As these cards can't be shared, they are always left behind, tempting the players to run away and grab the riches.  However, they can only be grabbed if only one person is running away, adding a nice degree of mind games to be had deciding when to be the only person running.  The first three relics obtained are worth 5 treasure a piece, while the last two relics are worth 10 treasures.  As each player's treasure is hidden under delightful pop-up tents between rounds, there can be much suspense and second-guessing as players try to determine if more treasure is needed to win.  I recommend this game for those who enjoy probability and fiddling with tokens.

If you have any questions about Incan Gold, let me know in the comments.  Otherwise, look forward to future installments of Tabletop Tuesday.  Until then, happy gaming!