Cargo Noir Game Rules

I’m excited to tell you all about Cargo Noir, a thrilling game where you become a powerful trader in the exciting world of smuggling. Get ready to navigate the underbelly of the 1950s black market!

In Cargo Noir, you and the other players will take on the role of a savvy smuggler, vying for control of the most lucrative ports across the globe. The goal is to amass the biggest and most valuable collection of illegal goods, all while outsmarting your opponents and building your criminal empire.

To start the game, each player is given a certain amount of starting capital, represented by stacks of cash. You’ll use this money to bid for control of ports, purchase cargo, and hire influential contacts. The more money you invest, the greater your chances of success. But be careful! Spending too much too soon could leave you bankrupt and out of the game.

On each turn, you have the option to perform two actions: bid for control of a port or acquire cargo. Bidding for control of a port is a high-stakes game of strategy and negotiation. The player with the highest bid gets to place their influence marker on the port, gaining control of its special ability and the opportunity to purchase cargo from that location.

Acquiring cargo is where the real excitement begins. Each port offers a variety of illegal goods, ranging from weapons to contraband art. By strategically purchasing cargo and building up your collection, you can increase your wealth and gain a competitive edge over your rivals. But be careful not to attract too much attention from the authorities – they may crack down on your operations and seize your ill-gotten gains!

As the game progresses, players will expand their criminal empires and face off against each other in intense bidding wars. Every decision counts, as the fate of your smuggling empire hangs in the balance. Will you take calculated risks or play it safe? The choice is yours.

Cargo Noir is an engaging and immersive game that combines strategy, negotiation, and a touch of deception. The 1950s black market setting and the stylish design make it a visually captivating experience. So gather your fellow smugglers, sharpen your negotiation skills, and get ready to build your criminal empire in Cargo Noir!

When you open the box of the game “Port Royal,” you’ll find everything you need to embark on a thrilling pirate adventure. Here’s what you can expect to find inside:

– Macao and 8 Ports

– 131 Cargo tokens and 1 bag

– 24 “Smuggler’s Edge” Cards

– 30 “Victory Spoils” Cards

– 5 Family sheets

– 25 Cargo ships

– 60 Gold coins

– 1 Game Turn marker

– 1 First player marker

– Rulebook

Now that we have everything ready, it’s time to set up the game and get started!

Let me tell you about Place Macao and the nearby Ports 1. They play a central role in your game, right in the middle of the table. But here’s the thing: depending on how many people are playing, some of the Ports may not be open for business.

Here’s a cool trick to figure it out: check the number in the lower left corner of a Port. See if it matches the number of players in your game. If it does, great! The Port is ready to go.

But what if it doesn’t match? No problem! Just flip the Port over to its other side, and presto! The number will magically change to match your player count. It’s like a secret double-sided feature!

Alright, here’s what you need to do:

First, grab as many Wild tokens as you have players and put them in the Cargo Noir bag. Don’t forget to mix them up with the other Cargo tokens. Oh, and keep those extra Wild tokens aside for now; we won’t be using them this time.

Next, it’s time to fill up all the Cargo slots in Macao and Ports. Just reach into the bag and draw out enough tokens to do the job. Easy, right?

Now, let’s get each player prepared. Give each person a Family sheet of their choice, 3 Cargo Ships in the same color, and 7 Gold coins. The players can keep their coins safe in their Family Safe. Any extra coins can go into a common Pile of Money that everyone can easily reach.

Time to organize the Smuggler’s Edge cards. There are 3 different types: Cargo Ship, Warehouses, and Syndicate. Make sure to separate them into their own decks and place them where everyone can get to them. Oh, and don’t forget to put 2 of each player’s Cargo Ships next to the Cargo Ship deck.

Let’s get ready to play! The first thing we need to do is sort out all of the Victory Spoils cards and put them in separate decks. Make sure they’re within easy reach of all the players.

The player who has most recently visited a port in real life will start the game. They take the 1st player marker and their job is to move the Game Turn marker one spot forward on the Game Turn track at the beginning of each of their turns.

At the start of the game, the Game Turn marker is placed on the empty (unnumbered) spot on the Game Turn track.

The Goal of the Game

The player who has the most points on their Victory cards at the end of the game is the winner.

You can earn Victory cards by doing different things during the game. Send your Cargo ships to the most profitable destinations, smuggle Cargo tokens out of Ports and into your Warehouses successfully, and unload your cargo at the right time to earn the most valuable Victory cards.

Note: Just so you know, when I say “Cargo,” I’m referring to Cargo tokens. And when I say “Ships,” I mean Cargo ships.

How to Play the Game

I start the game as the 1st player. I move the Turn marker forward one spot on the Game Turn track, and then it’s my turn to make my move. After me, it’s the next player’s turn, and we keep going clockwise.

Once every player has had a turn, a new turn begins. I move the Turn marker forward again, and it’s time for my next turn. The other players take their turns after me.

When the Turn marker reaches the last spot on the Game Turn track, we all get one final turn, and that’s when the game ends. The player with the most Victory points wins the game. It’s as simple as that!

What Happens During a Turn?

Each player’s turn is made up of 3 phases that we complete one after the other, in a specific order, before the next player takes their turn. Here are the 3 phases:

I. What Ships Do

Before we set sail on our adventure, let’s first understand what our ships do. You see, ships play a vital role in this game, and they have three main actions:

1. Resolve Ships’ actions
2. Trade Cargo for Victory cards & discard excess Cargo if need be
3. Send Ships out to new destinations

Now, if this is your first time diving into the world of this game or if it’s your inaugural turn, you can skip Phase 1 and Phase 2. Instead, head straight to Phase 3 – Sending Ships Out on p. 7, where the real excitement begins.

But remember, once you’ve completed Phase 3 of the 1st turn and you’re ready to embark on the 2nd turn of the game, make sure to come back here.



When it’s my turn for the second time and all subsequent turns, I begin by resolving the actions of the Ships that I sent out in Phase 3 of the previous turn.

I can resolve the actions in any order I choose, and each action takes effect right away. So, if I gain coins from one action, I can use them immediately for another action, and so on.

Remember: After resolving the action of a ship, I need to place it in front of me next to my player’s sheet. This way, the ship will be ready for redeployment later on during Phase 3 of this turn.

The Casino

When I moor a ship in front of the Casino in Macao, I earn 2 coins. These coins are taken from the common Pile of Money and placed in my Family Safe.

Note on the Black Market and Ports

Hey there! Let me explain how you can earn Cargo tokens in the game. You’ll need to place these tokens in the Warehouse slots on your Family sheet or Warehouses card.

If you earn more Cargo than your Warehouses can hold at the moment, don’t worry. You can still keep the excess Cargo for now. Just remember that you’ll need to trade or discard it during Phase 2 of the game turn, which is called Trading Cargo for Victory.

The Black Market

The Black Market in Macao has Ship docks. Each Ship docked there allows you to do one of the following:

• Swap one Cargo you have with one from the Black Market.
• Draw a Cargo at random from the Cargo bag and add it to your existing Cargo.

The Ports

You can place your Ships on top of stacks of coins in the Ports. For each Ship you have in a Port, you can do one of the following:

If I have the most coins in a port, I can buy all the cargo there. The coins I use for this purchase go into a shared pile of money. Once I’ve bought the cargo, the port’s warehouses immediately get restocked with new cargo tokens from the bag. If the bag is empty, we take all the discarded cargo tokens from previous turns and put them back into the bag. OR if another player outbids me by having a larger stack of coins, I have two options: I can add more coins to my stack to surpass theirs, allowing me to keep my ship in the port for another turn, or I can remove my ship from the port.

• Imagine abandoning your ship and giving up your cargo to a rival, just to snatch your coins back. It may seem like a rash move, but sometimes it’s the right play. Of course, by doing this, you’ll lose any chance of obtaining that cargo for yourself, unless your opponents keep the competition going for one more round. Keep in mind that during Phase 3 of this turn, you won’t be able to send ships back to this port, but don’t worry, you’ll have the opportunity to do so in future turns.

II. Trading Cargo for Victory

If you haven’t already, make sure you read and play through Phase 3 – Sending Ships Out, as that’s where the real game begins. Once you’ve completed Phase 1 of the 2nd turn, come back here to continue.

Did you know that there are 54 Victory cards in this game? Each card has two numbers printed on it. On the top left, there’s the Cost number, which shows you the contraband value required to get that card. You can get contraband value by trading Cargo from your Warehouse. On the top right, there’s the number of Victory points that card will give you at the end of the game.



Certain Victory cards give us players an awesome advantage called the “Smuggler’s Edge”. This means that we not only earn Victory Points but also get a leg up in the game.

Swapping Cargo for Victory Cards

If I want to get a Victory card, I have to pay for it by exchanging the right combination(s) of Cargo from my warehouses. It’s like a trade!

On the bottom of my Family sheet, there are two rows of numbers. These numbers tell me how much contraband value I’ll get for different combinations of Cargo.

The top row shows how much contraband value I’ll earn by trading Cargo tokens that are all different types. The bottom row tells me the value if all the Cargo tokens are the same type.



When you combine more Cargo, the contraband value of that combination increases (up to a limit of 9 Cargo tokens per combination). Combinations that consist entirely of the same type of Cargo are worth more, but they are also harder to obtain.

Wild tokens can represent any type of Cargo, and they can be traded in any combination, even if the combination is made up entirely of Wilds.

You can trade in any combination(s) of Cargo you want in order to acquire as many Victory cards as you can afford in a single turn.

When it’s time to trade contraband, you can do it all at once. Simply discard the Cargo into a common pile next to the bag and immediately take the corresponding Victory cards.

Whenever I get my hands on any Smuggler’s Edge cards, I make sure to show them off to everyone at the table. It adds a little excitement and intrigue to the game, don’t you think? All the other Victory cards I collect, I keep neatly stacked up next to me. By the way, feel free to take a peek at them whenever you want during the game. It’s always good to keep an eye on the competition, right?

A Few Things to Keep in Mind About Trading Contraband

When you trade Cargo, you won’t get any change back. So, it’s in your best interest to try and turn in a combination of Cargo that adds up to the total cost of the Victory cards you want to get this turn.

If you have any extra Cargo left over, you must either trade it in for Victory cards or get rid of it at the end of this phase.

Sometimes, when you successfully take a Port’s Cargo, you might end up with more Cargo than you have room for in your Warehouse. When this happens, you have two options. You can either use the extra Cargo to trade for contraband, which will free up space in your Warehouse, or you can discard the excess Cargo in a separate pile next to the Cargo bag at the end of this phase.

Smuggler’s Edge Cards

Hey there! Let me tell you about the cool Smuggler’s Edge cards in the game. We’ve got the Cargo Ship, Warehouses, and Syndicate cards, all of which fall under this category. Now, these cards may cost more than the Victory points they offer, but trust me, they give you an edge that’s totally worth it.

With the Smuggler’s Edge cards, there are 8 copies of each type available. But here’s the catch – you can only grab a maximum of 2 copies of each card during a game. So, if you wait too long, you may miss out on getting the ones you really want. Imagine playing with 5 people and realizing the cards you had your eyes on are all gone!

But here’s the good part – as soon as you acquire a Smuggler’s Edge card, it takes effect immediately. No waiting around!

Let’s dive into the benefits these cards bring:

The Cargo Ship (x8)

It’s all about having a bigger and better flotilla!

Warehouses (x8)

Hey there! This awesome card gives you 2 extra slots in your Warehouses. That means you can keep 2 more Cargo tokens from one turn to the next. It’s super useful because any extra Cargo you have to get rid of at the end of this phase. So, just place this card to the left or right of your player’s sheet to make your Warehouses bigger.

Building new Warehouses – It’s better than throwing cargo overboard

Syndicate (x8)

When you need some extra dough, turn to the Syndicate!

Victory Spoils Cards

Common Cards (4×6)

Hey there! Let’s talk about an exciting game called “Victory Cards.” In this game, there are four types of cards that you can collect: the Villa, Yacht, Dive Bar, and Night Club. Guess what? Each of these cards is worth the same number of Victory points as it costs to get them. Cool, right?

Now, here’s the deal. There are six copies of each card available, so you have the chance to collect multiple copies of your favorites. But of course, you can only take as many cards as you can afford. So make sure you keep an eye on your resources and plan your moves wisely!

Victory Cards is all about using strategy and making smart decisions. The Villa, Yacht, Dive Bar, and Night Club cards offer different advantages, so you’ll need to think carefully about which ones to go for. The best part is that you get to choose your own path to victory!

So, if you’re ready for an exciting challenge that combines strategy and fun, Victory Cards is the game for you. Explore the possibilities, collect the cards, and show off your skills as you aim for victory!



Unique Cards (6×1)

Check this out, I’ve got some extra special cards for you. There are six of them, and they’re one of a kind. What makes them so awesome? Well, first off, each one is worth more victory points than it costs. Talk about a great return on investment! But that’s not all – these unique cards also serve another purpose. They act as a tie-breaker at the end of the game. So if you and your opponent are neck and neck, these cards could be the deciding factor for who comes out on top. Pretty cool, huh?



III. Setting Sail

When I start playing the game, I get to send my ships to different destinations. This happens in the beginning, and during my first turn, I don’t have to go through Phases 1 and 2. I can choose to send three cargo ships, and later in the game, I might have more.

Once I send my ships, they will arrive at their destinations in the next turn. When they reach their destination, I start benefiting.

There are different places where I can send my ships:

The Macao Casino

If I decide to send one of my ships here, I will gain 2 coins from the Money Pile. The coins will be added to my Safe in Phase 1 of my next turn.

Having a lot of coins is always a good thing. It’s important to note that these coins only come into play in the next turn. Paying attention to my own coin count, as well as my opponents’, is crucial to getting the upper hand and grabbing cargo before anyone else!



The Mysterious World of the Macao Black Market

Ah, the infamous Black Market in Macao. Let me tell you, it’s a place that’s shrouded in secrecy and whispers. When I think about it, it’s like stepping into a hidden realm, only accessible to those brave enough to venture into the unknown.

Picture this: I have my own ship, sailing through treacherous waters. And every time I embark on a new journey, I’m faced with a choice. Do I take my chances and draw a random Cargo token from the bag, hoping it’s something valuable? Or do I dare to enter the enigmatic world of the Black Market?

The Black Market, my friend, is a place where fortune favors the bold. It’s a clandestine hub where you have the power to swap the Cargo you already possess with something more enticing. Imagine that! The ability to exchange one treasure for another of your liking.

Now, why would someone like you and me be drawn to this shadowy place? Well, there are a few reasons. Firstly, let’s say you have your heart set on a certain Cargo that’s currently up for grabs in the Black Market. You could simply swap it for one of your own, satisfying your craving for that specific item.

But that’s not all. Sometimes, my friend, we find ourselves in dire need of Cargo. Our supplies become depleted, and we start to feel the pressure. That’s when the Black Market beckons us, offering the promise of replenishment. It’s a savior in times of scarcity, a lifeline when our own stocks run low.

And let’s not forget the competition. The world of trading can be a cutthroat one, filled with rival players vying for the same treasures. When the competition becomes too fierce in surrounding Ports, the Black Market becomes our refuge. It’s like finding a safe harbor amidst a stormy sea, where we can regroup and devise our next move.

So, my curious traveler, the decision is yours to make. Will you stick to the conventional path, staying on the safe side? Or will you dare to venture into the mysterious world of the Macao Black Market, with all its risks and potential rewards? The choice is yours.



Any of the Nearby Harbors

If you want to claim a Harbor’s treasure, all you have to do is be the last ship standing on a pile of coins in that Harbor when the action is resolved in the future turn’s first phase.

To send your ship to a Harbor, simply place it on top of the stack of coins you want to spend on that Harbor’s treasure. If other players already have ships in the Harbor, you must make sure your stack of coins is at least 1 coin larger than theirs.

By stacking the coins and lining up the players’ stacks side by side, you can easily see who has the largest stack.

The bigger your stack of coins, the more likely you’ll scare off other players and keep them from sailing in dangerous waters. However, be careful not to overpay, as it might leave you with too few coins for other places or future turns!



So, when you’ve sent all your ships out, the game moves on to the next player. This continues until everyone has completed their turn. Once that happens, the next game turn starts, and the first player begins with phases 1 through 3 of their turn. The rest of the players take their turns one by one until the game eventually ends.

Wrapping things up



When the 1st player moves the Turn marker to the last spot on the Game Turn track, all players have one more turn and the game ends.

During this final turn, you can use any coins in your Safe to help pay for Victory cards. For example, if you have 9 different Cargo tokens and 4 coins in your Safe, you can purchase the Cronies card worth 49.

On all other turns, coins can only be used to acquire Cargo at a Port, not to directly earn Victory points. Also, any unused coins, whether in your Safe or at Ports, become worthless at the end of the game. They don’t count towards your Victory point total.

Hey there! So, when we’re all done playing the game, it’s time to count up our Victory points. But wait! Don’t forget about those sneaky Smuggler’s Edge cards you’ve got, along with any Warehouses next to your Family sheet.

Now, here’s the exciting part: the player who has the most points is gonna be crowned the winner! Woohoo!

But what happens if there’s a tie? Well, in that case, the player with the highest valued Victory card is gonna be the ultimate champion. So, make sure you keep an eye on those cards!