Overview

Balloon Cup is a two-player card game where players compete in short balloon flights (hops) to collect colored victory cubes. By playing balloon cards next to hop tiles, players try to win cubes that allow them to claim trophy cards. The first player to earn 3 of the 5 trophy cards wins the game.

Components

• 45 Balloon Cards (13 red, 11 yellow, 9 green, 7 blue, 5 gray)
• 45 Victory Cubes (13 red, 11 yellow, 9 green, 7 blue, 5 gray)
• 5 Trophy Cards (one per color, each showing how many cubes are needed)
• 1 Cloth Bag
• 4 Balloon Hop Tiles (double-sided: mountain on one side, flatland on the other)

Setup

1. Place the 4 balloon hop tiles in a row between the two players, numbered 1 through 4.
2. Place all 45 victory cubes in the bag and mix them.
3. Randomly draw victory cubes from the bag and place them on the hop tiles: 1 cube on tile #1, 2 cubes on tile #2, 3 cubes on tile #3, and 4 cubes on tile #4.
4. Shuffle the balloon cards face down and deal 8 cards to each player. Keep hands secret.
5. Place remaining balloon cards face down as a supply. A discard pile will form beside it.
6. Place the 5 trophy cards face up near the board.
7. Players decide who starts. Players then alternate turns.

Turn Structure

On each turn, a player performs two actions in order:

1. Play a Card: Select a balloon card from your hand and place it face up next to a balloon hop tile of your choice. You may place the card on your own side or on your opponent’s side.
2. Draw a Card: Draw the top card from the supply and add it to your hand.

If the supply is exhausted during the game, shuffle the discard pile and place it face down as the new supply.

Actions

Placing Cards

• The number of victory cubes on a hop tile determines how many balloon cards must be placed on each side of that tile.
• The colors of the victory cubes on a hop tile determine the colors of balloon cards that must be placed on each side.
• Example: If tile #4 has 2 blue, 1 yellow, and 1 red cube, then each player must place 2 blue, 1 yellow, and 1 red balloon card on their side.
• Cards are placed so they overlap but do not cover previously placed cards (all cards remain visible).
• If the only card a player can legally place will help their opponent, they must still place it.
• A player may not choose to place no card on their turn.

Cannot Place Any Card

If a player cannot place any of their 8 cards:

1. Show all cards to opponent to prove no legal play exists.
2. If a legal play exists, the player must play it.
3. If not, the player may discard up to 4 cards (choose how many first) and draw the same number from the supply.
4. Check again for a legal play; show cards to prove if still no play is possible.
5. If still no legal play, the turn ends without placing a card.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Scoring a Hop Tile

When the required number of cards have been placed on both sides of a hop tile, it is scored immediately:

• Mountain tile: The player with the highest sum of balloon card values wins the cubes.
• Flatland tile: The player with the lowest sum of balloon card values wins the cubes.
• Tie: The player who placed the last card wins, regardless of which side the card was placed on or whether the tile is mountain or flatland.

After scoring:

1. The winner takes the victory cubes from the tile.
2. The winner discards all balloon cards from both sides of the tile.
3. The winner flips the tile over (mountain becomes flatland and vice versa).
4. The winner draws new victory cubes from the bag equal to the tile number and places them on the tile.
5. Check if the winner can claim any trophy cards (see below).
6. Play continues with the player who lost the tile scoring.

Trophy Cards

Color	Cubes Required
Gray	3
Blue	4
Green	5
Yellow	6
Red	7

When a player has the required number of victory cubes of a color (or more):

• Return the required number of cubes of that color to the box.
• Take the corresponding trophy card. Once taken, it cannot be lost.
• Keep any extra cubes in that color.

3-for-1 Trading

When claiming a trophy card, a player may trade 3 victory cubes of a color whose trophy they have already claimed for 1 cube of the color they are claiming. The cubes used in a trade must all be the same color. Multiple sets of 3 may be traded at once.

Claiming order after scoring:

1. The player who won the tile claims as many trophies as possible (including using trades).
2. The losing player may then claim one trophy (using trades if applicable).
3. The winning player may claim again if newly possible, then the other player, and so on.

A player is not obligated to use the 3-for-1 trade immediately; waiting may be strategically better, but waiting too long may give the opponent a chance.

Not Enough Cubes

If there are not enough victory cubes in the bag to refill a hop tile, remove that tile from the game. Play continues with fewer tiles.

Game End

The game ends immediately when a player takes their third trophy card. That player wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• High-value cards are best played on mountains (where highest sum wins).
• Low-value cards are best played on flatlands (where lowest sum wins).
• Playing cards on your opponent’s side is a valid and important tactical option to sabotage their position.
• The 3-for-1 trade cascading effect makes claiming order critical – the tile winner always gets priority.
• A player can still win cubes in a color whose trophy they have already claimed.

Player Reference

Turn Sequence

1. Play one balloon card to any hop tile (your side or opponent’s side)
2. Draw one card from supply

Scoring Quick Reference

• Mountain: highest sum wins
• Flatland: lowest sum wins
• Tie: last card played wins
• Winner flips tile, refills cubes, checks trophies

Trophy Requirements

| Gray | Blue | Green | Yellow | Red | |——|——|——-|——–|—–| | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |

Win condition: First to 3 trophy cards