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Out of the Box Publishing  |  SKU: 100165
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Basari

$20.95 CAD
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Game details

  • Reinhard Staupe Designer
  • 3–4 PlayersBest: 4
  • 25 min Play time
  • 10 and up Age
  • ★ 6.7/ 10 BGG rating
  • #3071 BGG rank
Complexity Light · 1.8 / 5

Awards & honors

  • 1998 Meeples Choice Award Nominee
  • 1998 Spiel des Jahres Recommended
View all honors (3)
  • 1998 Meeples Choice Award Nominee
  • 1998 Spiel des Jahres Recommended
  • 2004 Mensa Select Winner
Game data from BoardGameGeek (opens in a new tab)


Several games use the simultaneous action selection mechanism, but this is perhaps one of the best.

Basari is a game of gem merchants competing in a marketplace, racing, collecting, trading, and predicting what the other merchants will do.

To start the game, players receive 12 gemstones (3 each of 4 colors). 
Each turn there will be a movement phase and an action phase:

For movement, everyone simultaneously rolls their die and moves their markers around a track.

They then choose one of three different actions to perform. The actions are:
- to take a variety of gems from a market stall, 
- to immediately score from between 4 and 7 points, or 
- to roll and move again and also collect points.

The action cards are revealed simultaneously. If only 1 player chose a particular action, they simply perform that action. If 2 players chose the same action, they barter back and forth with gemstones. One player will eventually accept the other's offer of gems, and the other will take the action. If 3 or 4 players all chose the same action card, that action is cancelled. Note that in 4-player games, there will always be a conflict in choice of 3 actions, so much more negotiating goes on.

A new turn begins with everyone rolling their die, moving, then choosing and revealing their action cards. When any merchant piece completes a lap around the board, the round ends and bonus points are awarded based on who has the majority in each gem color and who has completed a lap. After three rounds, the game is over and the highest score wins.

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More by Reinhard Staupe

Same designer — often a different theme or play style