Announcing Aurum!

We're extremely excited to announce Aurum! This trick-taking game follows a strict must-not follow system. Players take on the role of alchemists who have just successfully transmuted common metals into gold! Now all that's left is to perfect the formula, repeating the experiments to find the perfect combination of metals that produce the purest gold.

Aurum is designed by Shreesh Bhat (they/their), who is well known in the trick-taking community!

"I am incredibly grateful for the folks at Pandasaurus Games for trusting & publishing my debut game. Wanting to explore a different path than a regular trick taker, I came up with a must-not follow design with bidding from dealt cards.

There are twists to this game that I am curious how it will land for trick taking fans and hopeful that beginners to the genre will also appreciate." -Shreesh

Alex Cutler, our Head of Development, was the one who scouted and did dev work on Aurum. "When Shreesh first showed me Aurum I knew it was something special. The twists on the classic trick-taking structure straddled the line perfectly where it was immediately approachable for new players while also offer something very fresh for fans of the genre."

How many players does it play?

This is a game for either 3 or 4 players. In a 4 player game two teams of 2 will go head to head whereas in a 3 player game it is 1 v 1 v 1.

 

How does it play?

At the start of a round everyone will first bid the number of tricks they believe they will win by playing a card from their hand in front of them. On your turn you must play a card that does not match any of the suits already played. At the end of a trick, the player with the highest numerical card value wins and the player with the lowest gains a Gold card of that value to add to their Collection. Gold cards can be used either as a trump, or they are worth points if left in your Collection at the end of the round. The round ends once a player cannot legally play a card (basically if the only cards left in their hand are suits that have already been played). They do not have to use a Gold card.

Additionally, Gold cards may be spent to swap the bid with a card from their hand. This can be used if you want to increase or decrease your bid based on how the round is going, if you'd like to swap suits to either prolong or end the round, or other strategic reasons!

At the end of a round if players matched their initial bid, they gain points equal to double that value. If they exceed their bid, they gain points only equal to the value. And if they don't hit their bid at all, they get no points. Add up points from Gold cards in their collection and the player (or team) with the most earns a gold nugget. The first to win 2 nuggets wins the game!

Here is the full rulebook if you'd like to get into the gnitty gritty!

 

Do you think I will like this game?

If you like any of the following games:

• Cat in the Box
• Yokai Septat
• Scout
• Tichu

It's worth giving Aurum a try!

 

Can I try it online?

Yes! We have two different builds on Tabletop Simulator for you to try:

1. The first is a Simple Version with infinite bags of the different decks to make set-up a little easier.
2. The second is a Lightly Scripted Version for super easy set-up.

In both, the best way to reset all cards between rounds is to re-load the game. You'll lose who won a nugget, but that's easy to put back manually.

 

Where can I preorder? When will it ship?

Preorders are now open on our website! The official retail release date is August 16, but it will ship on July 28. We will have copies available at Gen Con as well.

Note: Any other games ordered with preorders will not ship until the entire order is ready. Therefore, any other in-stock games ordered with Aurum won't ship until July 28.