Medicine Show

A card game for 2-4+ players in which players are Snake Oil Salesmen (USA circa late 1800’s) selling their wares.

Players share a common deck. There are 8 types of cards: N = Name Cards G = Gimmick Cards C = Claim Cards F = Formulation Cards I = Ingredient Cards B = Bonus Cards S = Special Cards P = Poison Cards Each player is dealt 7 cards. Players then take turns. Each turn has 4 phases:

1. Draw Phase

• Draw 1 card from the top of the deck and put it in your hand

2. Action Phase

• Discard 1 special card to activate its special effect. (Poison cards are a type of special card - discard a poison card to cause a target opponent to discard 1 random card from his Victory Pile.)
• Players may trade cards.

3. Meld Phase

• You may make a Meld. A Meld must contain:
  • Exactly 1 Name Card
  • Exactly 1 Formulation Card
  • 1 or 2 Gimmick Cards
  • 1 or 2 Ingredient Cards
  • 1 or more Claim Cards
  • Zero or 1 Bonus Cards
• Each card has a Victory Point (VP) value. Place these Meld cards into your Score Pile. The total VP in your score pile is your Score at the end of the game.

4. End Phase

• Max hand size is 7 cards. Discard excess cards.

The game ends when all players have passed. A player must pass at the end of their turn if there are no cards left in the deck. The player with the most Victory Points at the end of the game wins.