Rainbow Pirates is a favorite in our house. It was originally gifted to our oldest when he was six, but it didn’t take long for our younger kids to fall in love with it too. Now it’s a go to Family Game Night pick, and yes, we’ve definitely been beaten by our kids more than once 🙂
The Cards
In Rainbow Pirates, there are two main types of cards: color cards and pirate cards.
The color cards come in seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink. Each color also has a matching pirate card.
Pirate cards let you perform special actions during the game, while color cards are used to block those actions when they match the pirate card’s color. There are also Wild cards and Rainbow Pirate cards, which can be especially helpful as the game goes on.
The Goal of the Game
The goal of the game is to earn the most points. The game ends when a player completes two full rainbows and empties their hand.
A full rainbow is made by laying numbered cards in order from red to pink, or one through seven. Being the first player to end the game does not always guarantee a win. Points are earned based on the cards you’ve played on your “island,” which is the space in front of you where you lay your cards during the game.
How to Start
To start the game, deal seven cards to each player. Place the remaining cards in a draw pile in the center and flip the top two cards face up next to it.
On your turn, you can lay down colored number cards, but when starting a new group on your island, you must play at least three cards at once. For example, you could lay down a green, blue, and purple card (numbers 4, 5, and 6) or a red, orange, yellow, and green card (numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4). You can also lay down three of the same card, such as three blue cards (three number 5s), which will earn you points later.
One important rule to remember is that if you have a Rainbow Pirate card in your hand, you must play it on your turn.
If you cannot play any number cards, you may instead play a pirate card as an action. Pirate cards allow you to do things like steal cards from another player’s island or hand, draw extra cards, or look ahead in the deck.
At the end of your turn, draw two cards. You can either draw from the face down draw pile or take the two face up cards. If you take the face up cards, flip two new cards over to replace them.
Once you have a set of three cards on your island, future turns are easier. You can add just one card at a time to an existing group. The three card rule only applies when you are starting a new group of colored cards.
You are also allowed to rearrange cards on your island. For example, if you used a Wild card but later draw the exact number card you need, you can replace the Wild card and return it to your hand or use it elsewhere on your island.
Blocking Pirate Cards
If another player uses a pirate card against you, you can block it by playing a matching color card from your hand. For example, if a red pirate card is played to steal a card from your island and you have a red number 1 card in your hand, you can play that card to block the action.
You may block as many pirate cards as you are able, as long as the blocking cards come from your hand and not from your island. Because of this, it can be helpful to hold onto a few color cards instead of playing everything right away.
Ending the Game and Scoring
The game ends when a player completes two full rainbows on their island and plays all the cards in their hand. That player immediately earns a five point bonus.
Once the game ends, all other players get one final turn to play whatever cards they can from their hand. These cards still count toward their final score.
Each card has coins in the bottom corner that indicate its point value. Most cards are worth one point, while the Rainbow Pirate card is worth five points.
After everyone has counted their points, the player with the highest total wins the game.
Want to learn more? Check out this official How to Play video.
