Berried Treasure Card Game Overview

The first time we saw Berried Treasure by Restoration Games was at Geekway to the West earlier this year. There were at least a half dozen copies in the play-to-win room. We checked the game out a couple of times and put our names into the raffle to take home a copy. Unfortunately, we didn’t win.

Recently we got our hands on a copy of Berried Treasure to bring home. Because we were already familiar with the gameplay, it was easy to get to the table. Additionally, this game is a remake of the 90’s-era Buried Treasure by the same designer. This version has updated art and a theme which should be attractive to a wider audience. It was also originally called High Spirits with Calvin and the Colonel and was the first published game by Sid Sackson.

The game itself is light, both physically and strategically. Made up of only sixty-four cards and a bag of tokens, it hardly fills a quarter of the box. The object of Berried Treasure is to score points by having the most of a particular type of pie in your possession at the end of each round.

Set up the game by separating out the scoring cards, shuffling the rest of the deck of cards, and dealing out twenty of them into four columns. The first column will have four cards, the next two with five, and the last with six. This represents a baker’s rack, and you will be selecting your pies from the end of each shelf. Shuffle the four scoring cards and place them in a stack, face-up, next to the baker’s rack.

On your turn you will take one of the four available cards at the end of each rack and place it in your personal tableau in front of you. If you choose a card with the word “Moar” on it, you are allowed to select a second card. Any actions on the second card will be ignored. If the card has “Grabby Paws” on it, you are allowed to steal that many cards of the same pie type from any one player.

A round ends when all twenty cards have been taken. Scores are awarded with tokens according to the round’s scoring card. If players are tied for an award, neither of them takes it, and the person with the next most of that pie earns the tokens. Once all the pie types have been resolved, a new score card is revealed, and twenty more pie cards dealt out for the next round. Whichever player is in last place is allowed to steal one pie from any other player’s stash. If two or more players are tied for last, skip this step.

A game of Berried Treasure ends after scoring the third round. The player with the most token points wins! If tied, the person with the most cards is the overall winner. You can expect a full game of Berried Treasure to last around fifteen minutes. Even with the full complement of five players!

While light on components and gameplay, Berried Treasure is also light on your wallet. With an MSRP of only $20, you can find it at your favorite local game store, direct from Restoration Games on their website, or via Prime on Amazon. Follow Restoration Games on Twitter or Facebook to find out what their next restored game title will be!

What old game do you wish would be reissued?