{"product_id":"stepping-stones-compendium-trick-taking-card-game-pre-order","title":"Stepping Stones: Compendium Trick Taking Card Game - Pre-Order","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePRE-ORDER. \u003c\/strong\u003eWe anticipate delivery in summer 2027. (If you include this item in your order, ALL YOUR ITEMS WILL SHIP TOGETHER in summer 2027. If you want immediate delivery of available items, please place two orders.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStepping Stones is a three-player compendium trick taking game that is designed to be \"my first compendium game\" for players familiar with trick takers, but unfamiliar with compendium trick takers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cem\u003ecompendium game \u003c\/em\u003eplays over many hands during which players compete to have the greatest success at each of multiple objectives (called \"contracts\"). Those different objectives have varied rules, so it's like four mini-games whose scores add up to the final.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach player must complete every contract before the game can end. Once a player completes a specific contract, \u003cspan class=\"text-italic\"\u003ethey cannot attempt to complete that contract again.\u003c\/span\u003e Contracts will slightly change the rules of play for all players.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo determine which contract to play in a given hand, there is a bidding phase where players go around the table picking a contract to play or passing. The bidding phase ends when a player picks a contract, making that player the \"declarer.\" If all three players pass, the starting player is forced into being the declarer and must pick a contract!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe declarer's score is the only score that matters for the hand. The other two players, referred to as \"defenders,\" try to stop the declarer from doing well at their contract.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce all players have been the declarer for a specific contract, we compare their scores. The player who scored the best in that contract gains game points while the player who scored the worst will lose game points.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter playing all contracts (over 9 or 12 hands), the player with the most game points wins!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"h:-Read-the-Rulebook-on-BGG-here-\" class=\"page-anchor\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003eRead the Rulebook on BGG \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/filepage\/330595\/stepping-stones-rough-draft-rulebook\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere.\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVisit the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgame\/454694\/stepping-stones\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBGG Page\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe game art was created lovingly (painstakingly, maddeningly) by my human hand with zero AI involvement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhotgraphs feature a pre-production sample, and the final version will have slight differences as we have made careful improvements. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSee designer Ryan Campbell teach the Stepping Stones rules:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9wXXm2eVKDY?si=xrHPnhpGFism7tv3\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWatch Ryan's guided playthrough video:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vddfZDD0VzI?si=1dbrke0ub7ti43h8\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pollia Design","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":68034749202653,"sku":null,"price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0296\/7823\/9876\/files\/2026-09-14sssrun-202.jpg?v=1789872524","url":"https:\/\/polliadesign.com\/products\/stepping-stones-compendium-trick-taking-card-game-pre-order","provider":"Pollia Design","version":"1.0","type":"link"}