Boom: Runaway Card Game How to Play & Review

Boom: Runaway is a bluffing and bidding card game.

Title: Boom: Runaway

Year Published: 2014

Designer: Christwart Conrad

Publisher: Korea Boardgames Co.

Players: 2-5

Game Time: ~30 Mins

Set-up Time: >1 Mins

Ages: 8+

Theme: Cartoon Bomb Factory

Mechanic: Bluffing, Bidding.

How to win: Score the most points.

Game Description

Boom: Runaway is a light bidding/bluffing/deduction card game in which the players want to help peace-loving bombs flee from an armoury so that they can live out their lives in peace not blowing anyone (and themselves) to bits. If too many bombs try to leave at once, though, the armoury guards could force them back to work.

Set Up & Game Play

Shuffle bomb cards and deal 12 to each player, and remove the rest from the game. (In a 3-player game you need to remove a 3 and 5 of each colour first. In a 5 player game just deal 10 cards).

Shuffle the guard deck and give each player a paradise card

Game Play

Flip over a guard card, and give everyone a chance to take a look at it…

Players pick one card from their hand and play it face down, everyone will simultaneously flip them over when ready.

Then, each player then selects two cards from their hand and places them face down and once again, simultaneously reveals them. (In a 5 player game, you just select 1 card again.)

Then, from Left to Right on the Guard Card, check to see if they catch any bombs…

If the total of all cards of that colour is equal to or less than the Guard card, the Player(s) who played the highest total in that colour puts one card of that colour face up on their paradise card. All other cards played of that colour are played face down on their respective paradise card.

If the total is higher, the player(s) with the highest total in that colour take those cards back into their hand. Then you check the total and repeat.

Repeat this process for each colour on the guard card.

Game End

At the end of a round, if a player has 2 or fewer cards in their hand the game ends, otherwise start a new round.

Score 1 point for each bomb card (face up and face down) in your paradise plus score points equal to the value of your face-up bombs.

Most points win.

Boom: Runaway Round-Up

I really like playing this game as a quick filler. The game is nice, the art is fun and it’s easy to teach and understand.

It does play best with 3-4 as playing 2 cards in that second round is a lot more fun than everyone just playing one. This means you need to think more and strategize better as more cards are bumped back to hand. It makes the game better for me.

There are these Ruse cards…

They have no effect and come back to your hand each round and you can use them for bluffing. In a 5 player game, they are pretty much useless as hardly anyone plays them. You might as well play a bomb card and try to score points.

In a 3-4 player game, they’re great. It means on that second round of card play you can play one card and your Ruse… But play it all the time and your opponents will know they can push that bit harder to score the big points.

Boom: Runaway Rating

A very easy-to-play card game but with some difficult decisions, much better with 3-4 players than 5… Playing two cards each instead of just one makes it so much better.

I give it 7/10