Round & Revel / Simultaneous Strategy
Token Tide
Seven little supplies. Three very different islands. One shared reveal.
Original printable party game. Rules and examples checked; estimated timing has not had a live group playtest.
What you need
- Seven small counters per player, such as dried beans, buttons, or scrap-paper squares; counters have no monetary value
- One pencil and a six-row record sheet per player
- One folded sheet of paper per player to screen an allocation
- The six tide cards and three island reference cards below, printed or copied
- Optional: a phone timer set to 45 seconds
How to play
The idea
Supply three islands at once. Beacon rewards the largest delivery, Grove rewards the smallest delivery above zero, and Mooring rewards a delivery close to a public target. Each round you have exactly seven counters to divide among them. You cannot buy more, keep leftovers for later, or take counters from somebody else. Points go on a separate record sheet. After six rounds, the highest total wins. The interesting question is how much to commit to one island without giving up too much elsewhere. All decisions are private and simultaneous.
Set the table
Give everyone seven counters and three labeled spaces behind a paper screen: Beacon, Grove, Mooring. Put the island references where everybody can read them. Each player draws a record with these columns: round, Beacon allocation, Grove allocation, Mooring allocation, round points, running total. Number the rows 1–6. Shuffle the six tide cards into a face-down stack, or use their numbered order for a first game. Choose a first reader; the reading and score-checking job moves one seat clockwise after every round. The reader also plays normally and receives no extra information.
1. Reveal the tide
Turn over the next tide card. Its only changing rule is Mooring's target: two, three, or four counters. Read that number aloud. Beacon and Grove always use the same scoring. Before anybody plans, check that every player has exactly seven counters again. Previously earned points never increase a player's supply. Leave the current tide card visible until the round has been scored.
2. Divide your seven counters
Privately distribute all seven counters among your three spaces. Zero is allowed at any island; fractions, negative numbers, and unassigned counters are not. Record the three numbers on the current row, keeping them hidden. For example, 4 / 1 / 2 is a legal allocation. People may talk about strategy, but promises do not bind anyone and nobody may touch another player's layout. Say 'ready' when finished. Reveal only when everyone is ready. A 45-second thinking period can help the pace, but allow a short extension rather than forcing an unfinished player to reveal.
3. Reveal and score Beacon
Lift all screens together. Nobody may change an allocation after the reveal. At Beacon, find the largest positive allocation. If exactly one player supplied that amount, that player earns 6 points. If two or more players tie for the largest positive allocation, each of those tied players earns 2 points. Everyone else earns zero there. An allocation of zero never scores; if the entire table left Beacon empty, nobody earns Beacon points. The tie award is per tied player, not a pool to divide.
4. Score Grove and Mooring
At Grove, ignore all zero allocations and find the smallest positive allocation. A sole player at that amount earns 4 points. If several players share that smallest positive amount, each earns 1 point. Larger deliveries earn zero; do not skip a tied smallest amount to reward a larger unique one. If Grove is completely empty, nobody scores there. At Mooring, compare each person's allocation only with the tide target, not with other players. An exact match earns 3 points. Exactly one counter below or above the target earns 1 point. Anything farther away earns zero. Everyone can score at Mooring on the same round.
5. Record, reset, and finish
Add your three island awards and enter that round's score. The reader checks each total aloud. Reclaim your own seven counters, discard the used tide card, and pass the reader job clockwise. No allocations or island occupancies carry over. After the sixth card, add all six round scores. The highest total wins, with tied leaders sharing the victory. There is no sudden-death round and no tie advantage for being reader. A maximum possible round is 13 points: 6 at Beacon, 4 at Grove, and 3 at Mooring.
A complete scoring example
Mooring's target is three. Ada allocates 4 / 1 / 2, Bo allocates 3 / 1 / 3, and Cy allocates 1 / 3 / 3. Every allocation totals seven. Ada alone has the largest Beacon delivery, so earns 6 there. Ada and Bo share Grove's smallest positive delivery, so each earns 1; Cy's three counters earn nothing at Grove. Ada is one below Mooring's target and earns 1 there, while Bo and Cy each earn 3. The round totals are Ada 8, Bo 4, and Cy 3. Everyone begins the next round with seven counters again, including Ada.
Errors and table agreements
Check that allocations total seven before saying ready. A player may fix any mistake while everybody's choices are still hidden. If a revealed allocation contains a negative, fractional or nonnumeric value, or totals anything other than seven, that player's entire round scores zero and their numbers are excluded from both Beacon and Grove comparisons. This prevents an illegal delivery from changing somebody else's award. A copying mistake on the record can be corrected to match the visible counters. If playing without counters, the written allocation is the official one. For an accidental early reveal, use the revealed player's locked allocation and let the others finish. A deliberate early reveal is not a permitted tactic.
Host notes
Run one unscored example before the first card. Explain 'smallest positive' by placing deliveries of zero, one, and three at Grove: the one scores, not the zero. Keep scores distinct from supplies, and avoid a common mistake in which a player takes earned points as additional counters. With seven or eight players, invite the reader to announce the winning quantities before calculating everybody's totals. Use island names and written numbers, so the game never depends on color recognition. Counters can be replaced entirely by three hidden numbers on paper; the same seven-counter limit and error rules apply.
Optional shorter crossing
For a 10-minute version, use cards T01, T02, T03, and T04 in that order and finish after four rounds. Decide this before the first allocation. For a quieter table, allow no strategic conversation until after each reveal; all scoring stays unchanged. Neither variant changes the seven-counter reset, and players should not add trading, loans, side agreements with point transfers, or extra supplies.
Printable play cards
Print single-sided and cut on the borders. Read the setup before sorting the cards; some games use separate card types or fewer copies for smaller groups.
Low Water
MOORING TARGET: 2. Exactly 2 counters earns 3 points. Exactly 1 or 3 earns 1 point. All other amounts earn zero. Beacon and Grove use their normal rules.
Middle Water
MOORING TARGET: 3. Exactly 3 counters earns 3 points. Exactly 2 or 4 earns 1 point. All other amounts earn zero. Beacon and Grove use their normal rules.
High Water
MOORING TARGET: 4. Exactly 4 counters earns 3 points. Exactly 3 or 5 earns 1 point. All other amounts earn zero. Beacon and Grove use their normal rules.
Shallow Channel
MOORING TARGET: 2. Exactly 2 counters earns 3 points. Exactly 1 or 3 earns 1 point. All other amounts earn zero. Beacon and Grove use their normal rules.
Full Channel
MOORING TARGET: 4. Exactly 4 counters earns 3 points. Exactly 3 or 5 earns 1 point. All other amounts earn zero. Beacon and Grove use their normal rules.
Turning Water
MOORING TARGET: 3. Exactly 3 counters earns 3 points. Exactly 2 or 4 earns 1 point. All other amounts earn zero. Beacon and Grove use their normal rules.
Beacon Reference
Largest positive allocation: sole leader earns 6; tied leaders earn 2 each. All other players earn zero. Zero never scores.
Grove Reference
Smallest positive allocation: sole leader earns 4; tied leaders earn 1 each. All other players earn zero. Ignore zeros. A tie does not pass the award to another amount.
Mooring Reference
Use this round's tide target. Exact target: 3 points. One below or one above: 1 point. Farther away: zero. Score every player's delivery independently.
Allocation Record — Copy Once Per Player
Name: __________ Columns: Round | Beacon | Grove | Mooring | Round points | Running total 1 | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ 2 | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ 3 | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ 4 | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ 5 | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ 6 | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ Each allocation must total seven. Keep current allocations hidden until the shared reveal.
Round & Revel. Edition 1 / October 2026. No purchases, accounts or specialist equipment beyond the listed materials are required.