Cafe International

Introduction

In Cafe Internationale, players take turns placing patrons at various tables or at the bar. The object is to place guests at tables with a large crowd, preferably with members of the same nationality. They score points for this. Player with the largest number of points at the end of the game wins.

The game board shows numerous tables, surrounding seats and a bar. Each table has an associated nationality and has four seats each. Seats either belong to a single table or may straddle two tables. There are also seats at the bar.

Each player starts with 8 patrons as his starting hand. Patrons may be male or female, and has a nationality. There are also four patrons (two each of male and female) without nationality. They may be played as members of any nationality.

Playing

A player must do one (and only one) of the following during this turn:

1. Place one or two patrons at the tables.
2. Place one patron at the bar.
3. Taking a joker tile from the board by replacing it with the correct tile (correct nationality and gender).

Placing Patrons

Patrons may be seated at a table or at the bar. For a patron to seat at a table seat, he must belong to the nationality of at least one of the tables. Remember that there are always seats that straddle two tables, so a patron of either nationality may occupy that seat. In addition, a patron will not take a seat if it causes the number of patrons of one gender to exceed the other by more than one. Patrons may also be seated at the bar. There are no restrictions for placing patrons at the bar, except that jokers may not be placed at the bar.

Replacing tiles

After a player has executed his play, he replaces his hand to the original number, except when he has completed a same nationality table. In this case, his hand is permanently reduced by one for each such table he has completed.

Scoring

For each table a player seats a patron at, he scores points equal to the number of patrons at the table. This is doubled if the table consists of members of the same nationality. He also scores points (which can be negative) for placing patrons at the bar. The first few seats at the bar score positive, and the remainder are negative and generally worsen for the latter patrons. There are a few instances where the scores for a later seat at the bar is better than the seat before it. Timing one's move to the bar is an important consideration in one's game.

At the end of the game, players are also penalised for each tile in his hand. Jokers are penalised heavier. So it is imperative to get rid of jokers towards the end of the game. This is sometimes easier said than done, as jokers still must abide by gender restrictions, and they cannot be sent to the bar.

Comments

A simple game. Because all the tiles for every player is known, the most optimal move for each player during his turn can be determined. After one has figured out the rules for arriving at this optimal move, the game becomes rather mechanical, and winning and losing become a function of the luck of the draw. However, it is simple to teach to non-gamers, and the optimal moves are not really obvious to the casual/novice player. Furthermore, the game is unique and colourful enough to get them hooked. Add to this the lack of direct conflict within the game, it makes for the perfect introductory game.

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