Sometimes, all a game needs is a change of format. Shifting the medium of a game, from a wargame to a card game, for instance, or a card game into a board game, can completely revitalize the experience of a game while maintaining its core character.
R&R Games has done this with Rajas of the Ganges, a game where players attempt to build up reservoirs of wealth and fame, taking it from a board game into a card game. Not only is the card game, Rajas of the Ganges: Cards and Karma, easier to travel with, and requires a lot less table space, but it also gives the game a fresh feel.
The basics are the same: you’re still trying to build up wealth and renown. Only this time, you’ll have a track of six Scoring Cards. Whenever you acquire three Fame, you’ll flip the left-most card that hasn’t been flipped yet. Whenever you acquire six Coins, you’ll flip the right-most card that hasn’t been flipped yet. The first player to flip all six of their Scoring Cards wins the game.
The Play Cards are double-sided. One side is the Action Side while the other is the Dice Side. The Dice Side comes in one of four colors and shows the pips of one face of a normal six-sided die. The Dice Side of these cards replaces the actual rolling of dice, making this game a lot easier to play in a car, train, or airplane. No fretting about the dice rolling away and getting lost!
You start the game with four of these Play Cards using the Dice Side. More cards are arranged, Action-Side-up, in a grid, the size of which is determined by how many players you have.
On your turn, you’ll take a card from the grid, but what you do with that card depends on why you picked it up. For instance, you can pick up any card to add to your pool of Dice Cards. When you do this, you’ll know the color of the die, but not how many pips are showing (so it’s a lot like rolling a real die, since you won’t know what number you’ll get) until after you claim it. You can never have more than eight Dice Cards in your hand.
If you want to use the Action Side of a card, you’ll need to pay the cost. The cost is measured in dice. Sometimes you’ll need to match the color, but can match or exceed the number on one or more cards; other times, the color won’t matter, but you’ll need a card that matches the number of pips exactly.
As you collect cards, you’ll be looking for sets of three, either three matching, or one of each of a set of three. Building Cards give you Fame while Goods Cards get you coins. Some cards can have multiple uses. Administrator Cards can either be kept to build a collection of three, or put in play for the special abilities they give you. Karma Cards can also be kept for building up sets of three, or you can spend them to adjust the scores of your dice cards up or down.
Rajas of the Ganges: Cards and Karma is a fun mind-twister of a game, offering multiple paths to victory that you’ll have to switch between as your circumstances change. Between two and four people can play, and even with four playing, a full game takes less than an hour to play. If you’re a fan of the board game, but want a version that’s easier to play while traveling, the Cards and Karma version is perfect for you. If you haven’t discovered Rajas of the Ganges yet, talk to the gaming experts at your local Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy® today about adding this fun and chaotic game to your collection today.
All Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy® locations are independently owned and operated by local folks. Not all stores will carry all games but will be willing to attempt to special order any that they do not carry. (And they’ll carry most.)
