Talaia
Reference · Talaia

Game Facts and Sitemap

All the game's data in one place, taken from the rulebook

1

Fact sheet

Item Value
Title Talaia
Subtitle Tricks, corsairs and trade · Balearic Islands, 18th century
Author and designer Jordi Salord
Genre Trick-taking card game with a price market
Setting Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera in the 18th century: Barbary corsairs, watchtowers and trade
Players 3–5
Playing time 40 minutes
Recommended age 10+
Components 85 cards
Island cards 48: four islands from 1 to 12 (the 12 is the island's sea chart)
Special cards 4 corsairs · 1 Fire · 10 Smoke · 4 price tracks · 4 products · 5 player aids · 9 rulebook cards
Commodities Olive oil (Mallorca) · cheese (Menorca) · salt (Ibiza) · dried fish (Formentera)
Prices From 0 to 6; all start at 2
Rounds 4, with one card fewer per player each round
Signature mechanic There are no trumps until someone lights the watchtower, and every trick moves the price of a commodity
Scoring Tricks, repelled corsairs, the Fire and sales at the Llotja
Status Prototype
Website languages Catalan, Spanish, English, French, German and Italian
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Sitemap

Five content pages plus this reference page, in six languages. Each link shows which question it answers.

Site pages
Home — what the game is, the four islands, the watchtower, the corsairs and the market./en/
History — what happened in the Balearics between 1700 and 1800 and where the game's ideas come from./en/history
Rules — how to play, at a glance and with the actual cards./en/rules
The author — who Jordi Salord is and where his games come from./en/author
Contact — how to request the rulebook, propose a playtest or talk about publishing./en/contact
Game facts and sitemap — this page: data, glossary, examples and frequently asked questions./en/game-facts

Language versions

External links

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Glossary: Talaia ↔ trick-taking games

The game's own terms, with the usual trick-taking equivalent where there is one, so that anyone who already plays these games can find their bearings straight away.

In Talaia Usual term Meaning
Trick — Each round of play in which everyone plays one card.
Led suit — The island of the first island card played to the trick.
Follow suit — Play a card of the same island as the led suit. Compulsory if you have one.
Be void Void / ruff Have no card of the led suit. Lets you light the watchtower or board.
Trump — The island that beats all the others. It does not exist until someone lights the watchtower.
Revoke Revoke / renege Failing to follow suit when you could. Claimed at the end of the round: −5 to the culprit or −2 to a false accuser.
Watchtower — A lookout tower. Lighting it decides the round's trump.
Fire — The card that marks trumps. Whoever lights it scores +3 or loses 2.
Smoke — A signal that makes the highest card of the island played win, ignoring trumps and corsairs.
Push (▲) — How much the price rises if the card wins without being a trump: +3, +2 or +1.
Requisition — Each trick won by a trump lowers the price of its goods by 1.
Corsair Wild / joker A card with no island and no number that can always be played, to board or to plunder.
Sack — If there are corsairs and a trump does not win, each island present drops 1 per corsair.
Letter of marque — A corsair that ends up in the warehouse: at the Llotja it drops a commodity by 2.
Warehouse — The cards in front of you, waiting to be sold at the Llotja.
Llotja — The end-of-round phase in which goods are sold.
Supply — After selling, whatever was sold drops 1 and whatever was not rises 1.
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Worked examples

Three complete calculations, with the arithmetic in plain sight, to check that the rules fit together.

Example 1 · The push of a low card

Salt is at 2. If an Eivissa trick is won by the 9 (Carregador), which has one push ▲, salt rises to 2 + 1 = 3. If it were won by the 3 (Càvec d'estany), with ▲▲▲, it would rise to 2 + 3 = 5.

Example 2 · A sack with two corsairs

Dried fish is at 3. A Formentera trick contains two corsairs and no trump wins it. Instead of the usual rise, dried fish drops 1 per corsair: 3 − 2 = 1.

Example 3 · Points for a round

Catalina has won 4 tricks, repelled 2 corsairs and lit the watchtower with as many tricks as any other player. At the Llotja she sells a cheese at 4 and a salt at 3. Points for the round: 4 + (2 × 2) + 3 + 4 + 3 = 18.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Talaia?

It is a trick-taking card game for 3–5 players, designed by Jordi Salord and set in the 18th-century Balearic Islands. It is played over four rounds: winning tricks scores points, but every trick won also pushes the price of olive oil, cheese, salt or dried fish up or down, and at the end of each round the cards stored in the warehouse are sold at the Llotja.

How many players and how long does a game take?

3 to 5 players, aged 10 and up, in about 40 minutes. With three players the Formentera cards are removed.

How is it different from a classic trick-taking game?

In three ways. Trumps are not chosen at the start: they are decided by whoever, being void, lights the watchtower, and that player stakes +3 or −2 on it. Tricks drive a market of four commodities, which is where most of the points come from. And there are four corsairs that can always be played, either to win the trick or to bring prices down.

How are trumps decided?

Every round starts with no trumps. The first player who cannot follow suit and plays a card from another island may call «Fire on the watchtower!»: that island is trumps until the end of the round. It is voluntary, and once the watchtower is lit it does not move.

How do the corsairs work?

They can always be played, announcing how they attack. «Board her!» can only be declared when leading or void, and wins the trick if there is no trump. «Plunder!» can always be declared but never wins. If there are corsairs and a trump does not win, each island present drops 1 per corsair; if a trump wins, the corsairs are repelled and score +2 for the trick's winner.

Where do the points come from?

+1 per trick, +2 per repelled corsair, +3 or −2 for having lit the watchtower, and the sale of goods at the Llotja, where each card fetches the current price of its island, from 0 to 6.

Is it historically accurate?

Partly. The watchtowers, the smoke and fire signals, the Barbary and home-grown corsairs, the letters of marque, British Menorca and each island's products are historical. A single Llotja for all four islands, a watchtower that turns an island into trumps and prices that move within a round are design decisions.

Where can I get it?

Talaia is a prototype and has not been published yet. To request the rulebook or propose a playtest, write to the author from the contact page.