Mille Bournes (or Mille Bornes) is a French card game. In the United States, Mille Bornes is published by Parker Brothers and is commonly available in game stores, as well as toy stores and department stores.
Some Mille Bournes decks are printed in both English and French
The premise of Mille Bournes is that you are in a road race with the other players. Each "race", or hand, is usually 700 miles long, but the winning player has the option to declare an extension in which case the race becomes 1000 miles, hence the name of the game which means "one thousand milestones". The object of the game is to reach 5000 points, which normally takes several hands.
There are several types of cards in a Mille Bournes deck.
- Distance cards represent mileage accumulated in the race. There are cards for distances of 25, 50, 75, 100 or 200 miles. At most two 200s may be played per player per hand.
- Hazard cards represent the hazards faced during the race. These card are played by you on your opponents or by your opponents on you. While under hazard conditions, you are unable to accumulate miles.
- Out of Gas
- Flat Tire
- Accident
- Speed Limit - Limits the size of distance cards that may be played to 25 or 50
- Stop
- Remedy cards are used to get back on the road after a hazard.
- Gasoline - To recover from Out of Gas
- Spare Tire - To recover from Flat Tire
- Repairs - To recover from Accident
- End of Speed Limit
- Roll - To begin rolling, or accumulating mileage, after a hazard remedy or a stop.
- Safety cards are four special cards that can be played to avoid a certain type of hazard for the remainder of the game. These cars are also worth 100 points.
- Extra Tank - You'll never be out of gas!
- Puncture-Proof tires - No more flat tires!
- Driving Ace - No more accidents.
- Right of Way - You are immune to speed limits or stops.
Table of contents |
2 4 player version 3 3 player version 4 2 player version 5 6 player version 6 Strategy |
The hand ends when a player reaches 1000 exactly; going over is not allowed. If the entire stock has been drawn, each player must still play or discard one card per turn. It is possible to win after the stock is exhausted.
Four players normally play as two teams of two. In a "coup fourré" situation, either teammate may make the coup, even if it isn't their turn.
This version is usually played to the full 1000 points with no extension rule. But, an extension rule may also be used.
Three players play cutthroat, each for themselves. A player may only play hazards on the person to their left.
Some rulebooks say that one of each hazard should be removed, since not having a partner makes it harder to hold a full set of remedies. In the 3 player version, a player will only have the opportunity to draw 1/3 of the deck, compared with 1/2 in the 4-player version.
This version is usually played to 700 points with the extension rule. But the 1000 point version is also playable.
As in the 3-player version, some hazards should be removed.
This version is usually played to 700 points with the extension rule. But the 1000 point version is also playable.Scoring
The entire game is normally played to 5000 points.4 player version
3 player version
2 player version