Incan Gold

Incan Gold (also republished as Diamant) is a game of push-your-luck along with the opportunity for a little table-talk and bluffing. It is simple learn, quick to play, and usually has a few twists…

Each player is an adventurer, plundering the ancient Incan temples in search of treasure. As they explore together, cards are turned over representing their progress through the temple – often they are rewarding cards with gems on, but they can also be one of several pitfalls. When gems are revealed, these are split between all players, with any remainders remaining in the centre of the table to be claimed later.

After each Temple card is revealed, each player decides secretly whether they wish to continue searching, or get out while the going is good. The players leaving divide whatever is on the table (the remainders from earlier finds) between them, and escape with their gems and lives intact. Those staying can continue searching and gathering treasure for as long as they want, so potentially will leave the temple richer – but, of course, they also take the risk that they won’t leave at all.

The pitfalls mentioned above come in various forms from zombies to snakes to rockfalls – if any one kind of negative cards come out twice, the adventurers still in the temple are lost – the round is over, and they lose all their treasure (before rejoining the game for the next round).

Adding extra spice to the mix are the artifacts cards – these have a set value that cannot be split between players, so they are only claimed by a single player leaving. More than one player exiting the temple at the same time means the artifact stays behind, to be possibly claimed later.

Players keep their treasure hidden in a ‘tent’ in front of them. There are five rounds and the player with the most treasure at the end wins the game.