12 Rivers
12 Rivers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 3D game board with 2 supports, plus a backing panel with background art (river area, sea area, village area, turn order track)
- 65 pearls (17 green, 15 blue, 13 pink, 11 purple, 9 white)
- 4 alpaca boards
- 4 starting Markaya tiles
- 5 alpaca cards
- 26 Markaya tiles
- 50 supply cards (10 each of 5 kinds: banner, lantern, supplies, fishing net, instrument)
- 25 fairy tiles (5 each of 5 kinds: fire fairy, earth fairy, wind fairy, light fairy, water fairy)
- 12 family markers (3 each in 4 player colors)
- 1 cloth bag
- 2 player aids
- 1 dam tile
Supply Card Effects (Quick Reference)
- Banner — After placing a family marker: move 1 of your other, not-yet-placed family markers to the front of the turn order track.
- Lantern — After placing a family marker: take 1 fairy of your choice from the game board.
- Instrument — After befriending a Markaya: move your family marker to the next free space further right in the village area.
- Fishing net — When collecting a pearl from a river: take 1 additional pearl located at your family marker.
- Supplies — After placing a family marker: move 1 of your other placed family markers to a free space of your choice, without paying its cost (the move does not count as placing).
Setup
Assemble the game board:
- Fold the backing panel so that 2 slots form at the bottom.
- Fold the two supports and carefully slide them into the slots of the backing panel.
- Stand the assembled board on the playing surface so that the backing panel points upward, the rivers run downward toward the playing surface, and the sea area and village area lie flat on the playing surface. Make sure everyone can comfortably reach the board.
Then:
- Place the dam tile in the long groove at the very top of the rivers on the game board.
- Fill all 65 pearls into the cloth bag and set it down next to the game board.
- Shuffle all 25 fairy tiles face down and count out 5 random fairies per player (e.g. 20 for 4 players). Place these fairies face down next to the game board as the supply. Return the remaining fairies (e.g. 5 for 4 players) to the box. Set out the 2 player aids showing the fairy overview so everyone can see them.
- Lay the 5 alpaca cards face up next to each other near the game board, where everyone can see them.
- Set the 4 starting Markaya tiles aside, then shuffle the remaining 26 Markaya tiles into a face-down Markaya deck. Place it near the village area next to the game board.
- Take as many starting Markaya as there are players, beginning with the tile numbered 1 (example: in a 3-player game, take starting Markaya 1, 2, and 3). Return any remaining starting Markaya to the box. Distribute the starting Markaya randomly to all players — this determines starting order: whoever holds the tile numbered 1 goes first, then the player with 2, and so on. Place your starting Markaya in your personal play area in front of you.
- Take the 3 family markers of one color and the alpaca board with the matching colored saddle. Place the alpaca next to your starting Markaya in your personal play area.
- The player with starting Markaya 1 places their first family marker on the first space of the turn order track (the space at the top left, toward the rivers), then the player with starting Markaya 2 places their first family marker on the second space, and so on. Once everyone has placed their first family marker, start again with the player with starting Markaya 1 and continue until everyone has placed all 3 family markers on the turn order track.
- Shuffle the 50 supply cards face down and deal 6 to each player. Place the remaining supply cards as a face-down draw pile near the game board. Reveal the top 3 cards from it and lay them next to each other, face up, next to the draw pile as the display.
Overview of Play
In 12 Rivers, you place your family markers over 5 rounds to catch magical pearls that roll down the rivers. You deliver collected pearls to befriended Markaya to earn reputation points at the end of the game.
In the preparation phase you fill new pearls into the rivers, place new fairies on the game board, and exchange the Markaya in the village. All of these things can influence what you want to collect this round.
Following the order on the turn order track, in the exploration phase you place your 3 family markers, one at a time, into spaces of your choice on the game board. Spend supply cards to position your family markers further up the rivers and get access to the coveted pearls ahead of the competition — or try it more cheaply further downriver, or down at the sea, where all the remaining pearls collect. Alternatively, you can place your family markers in the village to befriend Markaya and add them to your play area. Collect helpful fairies along the rivers, or play pairs of supply cards for their effect to influence the course of the round.
In the collection phase you remove the dam from the game board so the pearls roll down and are stopped by your family markers. Then you follow the course of the rivers. Each player collects one pearl wherever one of their family markers is located, and stores it on their alpaca. Then they remove their family marker, so the remaining pearls can keep rolling to the next family marker or to the sea. While collecting pearls, you can try to fulfill the goals shown on the alpaca cards.
Once all family markers have been removed from the rivers and the sea, you resolve the family markers in the village. For each family marker there, the corresponding player befriends a member of the Markaya. This gives you new supply cards, and each Markaya tile provides space to store pearls, plus a bonus objective you can try to fulfill.
Once all family markers have been removed from all their spaces and are back on the turn order track, you may place pearls from your alpaca onto your befriended Markaya. Pearls placed on Markaya earn you between 1 and 5 reputation points at the end of the game, depending on their color.
After you have gone through these 3 phases 5 times, you score all pearls on your befriended Markaya, all fulfilled bonus objectives, and all alpaca cards you collected during the game. The player with the most reputation points wins.
Game Sequence
A game of 12 Rivers is played over exactly 5 rounds. Each round consists of 3 phases, handled in this order:
- Preparation Phase
- Exploration Phase
- Collection Phase
After round 5, the game ends and you total your reputation points. The player with the most reputation points wins.
Preparation Phase
Carry out the following steps together:
- Refill pearls
- Place fairies
- Exchange Markaya
1. Refill pearls
Place the dam in the groove at the very top of the rivers (skip this in the first round, since it was already done during setup).
The player whose family marker is on space 1 of the turn order track then draws pearls from the bag one at a time and places them, working from left to right above the dam, 1 pearl into each active river. Exactly 3 rivers are active per player, starting from the left. In a 2-player game, that player places pearls in the 6 leftmost rivers and the 6 rivers on the right stay empty. In a 3-player game, they place pearls in the 9 leftmost rivers and the remaining 3 rivers on the right stay empty. In a 4-player game, all 12 rivers are active.
2. Place fairies
Draw as many random fairies from the supply as there are players, and place them face up, from left to right, on the tree stumps or fox statues on the left bank next to the active rivers, depending on which round you are in:
- In odd rounds (1, 3, and 5) you place the fairies on the tree stumps.
- In even rounds (2 and 4) you place the fairies on the fox statues.
If a tree stump or fox statue already holds a fairy from an earlier round, place the new fairy next to it so both are visible.
Fairies give you valuable advantages in the game (see "Fairies and Their Powers" below). Dotted lines from the tree stumps or fox statues show which stretch of river each fairy can be collected from.
Keep an eye on which fairies were placed this round — they might influence whether you want to place your family markers at these stretches of river.
3. Exchange Markaya
First slide all Markaya still next to the village area face down under the Markaya deck (skip this in the first round). Then reveal 6 Markaya from the top of the deck and lay them face up next to each other next to the village area.
Befriending Markaya offers several advantages. Only pearls placed on Markaya tiles earn you reputation points at the end of the game; befriending them also unlocks bonus objectives and refills your supply of supply cards (see "Befriend Markaya" below).
Keep an eye on which Markaya are available this round — they might influence whether you want to place your family markers in the village area this round.
Exploration Phase
The 12 rivers on the game board gradually flow together until they empty into a sea near the village. Each of these areas has several stretches with 1 to 5 spaces where you can place your family markers. With family markers placed along the rivers or at the sea, you can collect pearls rolling down the rivers. With a family marker placed in the village area, you instead befriend 1 Markaya.
Take turns placing your family markers, one at a time. Begin with the player whose family marker is on the first occupied space of the turn order track: take your family marker off the turn order track and place it in a free space in an area and stretch of your choice. Only 1 family marker can occupy a given space, but you may place multiple family markers in the same stretch if it has multiple spaces.
Discard 0 to 3 supply cards from your hand, or take 1 supply card, according to the cost shown on the game board for the stretch containing your chosen space.
Note: if you have a fire fairy, you may use it as 1 supply card when paying the cost. If you have a wind fairy, you may use it to ignore the cost entirely (see "Fairies and Their Powers" below).
After placing, you may also play one or more pairs of supply cards to use their effect (see "Supply Cards in the Exploration Phase" below).
Then it is the turn of the player whose family marker is on the second space of the turn order track, and so on. Keep taking turns in the order given by the track until all family markers have been placed and the track is empty. This ends the exploration phase, and you move on to the collection phase.
The areas in detail
River area
If you place your family marker in a space at one of the rivers, then during the collection phase you may take 1 of the pearls that is stopped from continuing to roll by your family marker (see "Collect pearls from the river" below).
On the left edge of the river area you'll find the costs (from -3 to +1) for placing your family marker at the different stretches of the rivers. The cost applies to every stretch at the same height across the board. The further upriver (= closer to the dam) you place your family marker, the higher the cost — but in exchange you get earlier access to the pearls that will roll down past that point during the collection phase.
Depending on the stretch, there are 1 to 5 spaces. It's usually best to place your family marker in the uppermost free space of your chosen stretch, so you get access to the pearls before other players who place family markers in the same stretch after you. (You may also voluntarily choose a different space.)
If there is one or more fairies on the bank directly to the left of your chosen stretch, take all of these fairies immediately and place them in your play area.
The final stretch downriver, where all the rivers have flowed together, is special: instead of having to discard supply cards, you may instead take 1 supply card if you place your family marker here.
Sea area
The sea has only 1 space. The cost to place a family marker here is 0. If you place your family marker in this space, during the collection phase you may take as many of the pearls located there as you like (see "Collect pearls from the sea" below).
Tip: mostly less valuable pearls end up in the sea. How many pearls arrive there depends on how many family markers were placed in the rivers. Sometimes no pearls reach the sea at all, so place your family marker here thoughtfully.
Village area
If you place your family marker in a space in the village, during the collection phase you may take 1 of the Markaya tiles laid out next to the village area (see "Befriend Markaya" below).
The village has 6 spaces; for 4 of them the cost is 0. For the leftmost space you must discard 2 supply cards. For the second space from the left you must discard 1 supply card. The further left your family marker is located, the earlier you get to choose during the collection phase.
You may only deliver pearls to Markaya you have taken (= befriended) in order to earn reputation points for them at the end of the game. They also grant you new supply cards and each shows a bonus objective you can fulfill for additional reputation points (see "Markaya and Bonus Objectives" below).
Supply Cards in the Exploration Phase
Discard supply cards
Depending on where you place your family markers, you may need to discard supply cards to pay the cost of placing, particularly at stretches further upriver. Place discarded cards on an open discard pile next to the face-down draw pile. If you discard supply cards to pay a cost, you may not use their effect.
Note: if you have a fire fairy, you may use it as 1 supply card when paying the cost. If you have a wind fairy, you may use it to ignore the cost entirely (see "Fairies and Their Powers" below).
Take supply cards
There is no hand limit, so you may hold any number of supply cards. Whenever you are allowed to take a supply card, you may take 1 of the 3 cards from the open display or draw the top card from the draw pile. Whenever you take one of the cards from the display, immediately reveal a new card from the draw pile to refill the display.
Should the display ever hold 3 identical supply cards, shuffle them together with all supply cards on the discard pile back into the draw pile and reveal 3 new supply cards for the display. (If the draw pile is empty, likewise shuffle all supply cards from the discard pile to form a new draw pile.)
Play supply cards
On your turn, after placing your family marker and discarding or taking supply cards, you may also play any number of pairs of supply cards (and then place them on the discard pile) to use their effect once per pair. Once you play supply cards this way, you can no longer use them to pay costs for placing family markers.
During the exploration phase you can play pairs of the following supply cards to use their effect:
-
Banner — After placing a family marker: move 1 of your other, not-yet-placed family markers to the front of the turn order track.
Tip: by playing a pair of banners, you can take several turns in a row, giving you more control over what you receive during the collection phase.
-
Lantern — After placing a family marker: take 1 fairy of your choice from the game board.
Tip: by playing a pair of lanterns, you can collect useful fairies without having to place a family marker next to them.
-
Supplies — After placing a family marker: move 1 of your other placed family markers to a free space of your choice, without paying the cost (the move does not count as placing).
Tip: by playing a pair of supplies, you can reposition one of your family markers — for example one you used to collect fairies or take a supply card, or one that would no longer get a pearl because another player has since placed a family marker further upriver in the same river. This also lets you avoid the cost of attractive stretches further upriver or in the village.
Collection Phase
Carry out the following steps in this order:
- Remove the dam
- Collect pearls from the river
- Collect pearls from the sea
- Befriend Markaya
- Deliver to Markaya
1. Remove the dam
Pull the dam out of the long groove, so the pearls roll downriver until they are stopped by family markers or reach the sea. It doesn't matter who removes the dam. (If pearls get stuck within a river, nudge them gently with a finger so they keep rolling.)
2. Collect pearls from the river
Now collect pearls one at a time: begin with the stretch holding one or more family markers that is furthest upriver, and there furthest to the left. Then proceed stretch by stretch, from left to right and from top to bottom (see example below).
If your family marker stopped one or more pearls, you may now take 1 of them and place it on your alpaca. If all 6 spaces on your alpaca are already filled, you may instead exchange 1 pearl from your alpaca with 1 of the pearls above your family marker. If you can't take a new pearl and don't want to exchange one, do nothing.
After you have taken or exchanged 1 pearl (or declined to), remove your family marker from its space. The remaining pearls in the river then keep rolling until the next family marker or the sea. Place your family marker on the rearmost free space of the turn order track (starting at the bottom right). This determines the turn order for the next exploration phase — the further upriver you placed your family marker in the river, the later you get to place a family marker in the next round.
Example: in this situation, Uta (blue) is first to take the white pearl in row 1. Then Annemarie (red) in row 2 takes one of the two possible pearls and lets the other keep rolling. After her, Raed (yellow) in row 3 takes one of the 3 possible pearls and lets the other two keep rolling. In row 4, Annemarie then Raed get to choose at spot A, followed by Ricardo (green) at spot B. In row 5, Uta and then Ricardo again both get to choose from all the pearls that arrived there. All remaining pearls keep rolling to the sea.
If multiple family markers were placed in a stretch, the player whose family marker is in the uppermost space of that stretch (= closest to the pearls) always chooses a pearl first. Only after that player has removed their family marker and placed it on the turn order track does the next player with a family marker in that stretch choose a pearl, and so on. Proceed this way with all family markers located in the river area until you have removed them all. Then continue with the sea area.
3. Collect pearls from the sea
If you placed your family marker at the sea, you may take as many of the pearls located there as you like and place them on your alpaca. If all spaces on your alpaca are already filled, you may instead exchange any number of pearls from your alpaca for the same number of pearls in the sea.
Afterward, remove your family marker and place it on the rearmost free space of the turn order track. If pearls remain in the sea because you couldn't or didn't want to take them all (or because no one placed a family marker there this round), they stay there. They can be collected in later rounds.
Example: Annemarie (red) has 3 pearls to choose from at the sea, but only 2 free spaces left on her alpaca. She takes 1 blue and 1 green pearl and leaves the other green pearl in the sea. Then she places her family marker on the turn order track.
Alpacas
All pearls you collect from the rivers or the sea are placed on your alpaca first. Your alpaca board has 6 small holes and so holds room for exactly 6 pearls, regardless of color. You may store pearls on your alpaca at the end of the round to carry them into the next round.
In step 5 of the collection phase you may deliver pearls from your alpaca to befriended Markaya (in your play area). It can, however, be worthwhile to leave pearls of certain colors on your alpaca for now in order to fulfill alpaca cards (see below). On the other hand, space for new pearls on the alpaca fills up quickly this way. So decide carefully which pearls you collect on your alpaca and how you manage the available space.
If all spaces on your alpaca are filled while you are collecting pearls, you may exchange pearls from your alpaca with the ones located at your family marker (only 1 pearl if your family marker is at a river stretch, any number of pearls if your family marker is at the sea).
Pearls on alpacas earn you no reputation points at the end of the game! It is therefore important to befriend Markaya in time that you can deliver your collected pearls to.
Alpaca cards
At the start of the game, the 5 alpaca cards lie face up near the game board. Whoever fulfills one first receives 4 additional reputation points at the end of the game. To fulfill an alpaca card, a specific number of pearls of the same color must be on your alpaca.
Whenever you take a pearl from one of the rivers (or several from the sea), check whether you fulfill one of the open alpaca cards. If so, you may take that alpaca card and place it face down in your play area. It shows a 4 on the back.
Each alpaca card can only be fulfilled once. Other players cannot take this card away from you. The required pearls remain on your alpaca — you don't have to give them up, and you may still deliver them to Markaya later.
4. Befriend Markaya
Once you have removed all family markers from the river area and the sea area, it's time to make new friends: begin with the leftmost space with a family marker in the village.
If your family marker is in the corresponding space, you may now choose 1 of the Markaya laid out next to the village area and place it in your play area. You are now friends.
Take as many supply cards as are shown in the upper left of the Markaya tile you took. As usual, you may take them from the display or draw the top card from the draw pile (see "Take supply cards" above).
Afterward, remove your family marker and place it on the rearmost free space of the turn order track.
Note: you do not reveal a new tile from the Markaya deck for this. The further right your family marker is located in the village area, the fewer Markaya remain for you to choose from.
Proceed this way from left to right with all family markers located in the village area until you have removed them all.
5. Deliver to Markaya
All players may carry out this step simultaneously.
You may (only now!) take any number of pearls from your alpaca and place them on your befriended Markaya. These pearls are now delivered.
When delivering pearls to Markaya, follow these rules:
- Each pearl must match the color required by the storage spot (= the color around the hole on the Markaya tile) that you place it on.
- You may place a pearl of any color on storage spots with a rainbow color.
Once you have delivered a pearl, it stays on the corresponding Markaya tile until the end of the game. Exception: if you use an earth fairy, you may move up to 3 delivered pearls between your befriended Markaya (see "Fairies and Their Powers" below).
Reminder: you don't have to deliver all pearls from your alpaca to Markaya, even if they have matching storage spots. But remember that pearls on your alpaca earn you no reputation points at the end of the game, and your alpaca can only hold 6 pearls at a time.
Supply Cards in the Collection Phase
During the collection phase you may also play any number of pairs of supply cards (and then place them on the discard pile) to use their effect once per pair.
During the collection phase you can play pairs of the following supply cards to use their effect:
-
Fishing net — When you collect a pearl from the river during the collection phase, you may take 1 additional pearl located at your family marker.
Tip: by playing a pair of fishing nets, you can collect pearls more efficiently, for example to obtain more valuable pearls or fulfill bonus objectives of your befriended Markaya or alpaca cards faster. It also means fewer pearls reach the sea.
-
Instrument — After you befriend (= take) 1 Markaya during the collection phase, move your family marker to the next free space further right in the village area (so you may take one further Markaya with this family marker). You cannot use this effect if there is no free space further right.
Tip: by playing a pair of instruments, you befriend Markaya faster, giving you more Markaya to deliver pearls to, and you also get more supply cards.
Markaya and Bonus Objectives
At the end of the game you receive reputation points for every pearl you delivered to your befriended Markaya.
Each Markaya tile also shows a bonus objective at the bottom, letting you earn additional reputation points at the end of the game. Extroverted Markaya, for example, give you reputation points for pearls of a shown color across all your befriended Markaya, for unused fairies, or for supply cards in your hand. Introverted Markaya instead give you reputation points, for example, when you deliver them a specific combination of pearls.
Important: pearls on your alpaca earn you no reputation points and also do not count toward bonus objectives!
Extroverted Markaya
These Markaya are interested in everything going on around them, which is why their bonus objectives relate, for example, to your fairies or supply cards, or to pearls you have delivered to all of your befriended Markaya. For their bonus objectives it doesn't matter whether all storage spots on the corresponding tile are filled. The following bonus objectives exist among extroverted Markaya:
- 3 reputation points for every Markaya tile in your play area (including this one) on which all storage spots are filled with pearls. Note: this is the bonus objective of all starting Markaya.
- 2 reputation points for every pearl of the shown color on Markaya tiles in your play area (including this one).
- 2 reputation points for every unused fairy still in your play area. Note: ties earn no points.
- 6 reputation points if you have the most pearls of the shown color on Markaya tiles in your own play area. Note: ties earn no points.
- 6 reputation points if you have the most unused fairies in your own play area. Note: ties earn no points.
- 1 reputation point for every supply card you have in hand.
- 5 reputation points if you have the most supply cards in hand. Note: ties earn no points.
Introverted Markaya
These Markaya prefer to keep to themselves, which is why their bonus objectives relate only to the pearls you deliver to them. You must fill all storage spots on introverted Markaya to earn reputation points from their bonus objective. The following bonus objectives exist among introverted Markaya:
- 8 reputation points if you have filled all storage spots on this Markaya tile.
- 6 reputation points if 4 pearls of the same color are on this Markaya tile.
- 5 reputation points if 5 pearls in 5 different colors are on this Markaya tile.
Fairies and Their Powers
You may use fairies in your play area by returning them to the box at the appropriate moment.
Fire fairy — She is fascinated by the campfire burning in your camp. This fairy counts as 1 supply card of your choice.
Use this fairy to reduce the cost of placing 1 family marker by 1, or as half of a pair to use a card's effect. You may use 2 fire fairies together to use the effect of a supply card of your choice.
Earth fairy — She makes sure your alpaca has sure footing and that pearls arrive faster.
At a time of your choice, move up to 3 pearls from your alpaca and/or your befriended Markaya to your (other) befriended Markaya. You must follow the color requirements of the storage spots while doing this.
Use this fairy to free up space on your alpaca during the exploration phase, or to rearrange pearls on your befriended Markaya.
Wind fairy — She gives your family a following wind. Suddenly it's much easier going upriver!
Ignore the cost of placing 1 family marker.
Use this fairy to place 1 family marker far upriver or on the left side of the village.
Light fairy — She plays a trick on the eyes. Turn 1 storage spot into a rainbow spot.
Use this fairy (in step 5 of the collection phase, or in combination with an earth fairy) so you can deliver 1 pearl that doesn't match the color requirements on your befriended Markaya. You still receive the normal reputation points for this pearl based on its color at the end of the game.
Tip: instead of returning this fairy to the box, you may also place it next to the pearl on the corresponding Markaya tile as a reminder. But don't forget that you have now used this fairy — it therefore no longer counts toward bonus objectives of Markaya that relate to unused fairies in your play area.
Water fairy — She changes the current so the pearls drift right into your hands.
When you collect a pearl from a river, you may take 2 pearls instead of 1. Both pearls must be located at your family marker.
Use this fairy to collect several pearls at once with 1 family marker, for example to fulfill an alpaca card. It also means fewer pearls reach the sea.
End of Game and Scoring
After 5 rounds (there are no fairies left in the supply), the game ends and you total your reputation points. Each player does the following:
- Add up the reputation points for all pearls on your befriended Markaya (reminder: pearls still on your alpaca earn no reputation points). Pearls earn reputation points based on color, from 1 to 5, as shown next to the corresponding storage spots on the Markaya tiles: green pearls are worth 1, blue 2, pink 3, purple 4, and white 5 (the rarer a pearl's color, the more it is worth — there are 17 green, 15 blue, 13 pink, 11 purple, and 9 white pearls in the game).
- Add the reputation points from your fulfilled bonus objectives, starting with your starting Markaya (3 for every Markaya tile in your play area on which all storage spots are filled with pearls). Then check the bonus objectives of your other befriended Markaya (see "Markaya and Bonus Objectives" above).
- Finally, add 4 for every alpaca card in your play area.
The player with the most reputation points wins the game — their family enjoys the best reputation in the village of Marka. In case of a tie for the most reputation points, the tied players share the victory.
Scoring example
Ricardo has the following Markaya, pearls, alpaca cards, and fairies in his play area:
Points for pearls on his Markaya:
- 2 white pearls = 10
- 1 purple pearl = 4
- 1 pink pearl = 3
- 8 blue pearls = 16
- 2 green pearls = 2
His pearls earn him a total of 35 reputation points.
Bonus objectives of his Markaya:
- Starting Markaya: on 3 of his Markaya tiles, all storage spots are filled = 9
- He has 2 white pearls on his Markaya tiles = 4
- On one Markaya tile there are 4 pearls of the same color (blue) = 6
- He has 2 unused fairies = 4
- No other player has 2 or more fairies, so = 6
His bonus objectives earn him a total of 29 reputation points.
Alpaca cards:
- He has fulfilled 1 alpaca card and receives 4 for it.
In total, Ricardo receives 35 + 29 + 4 = 68 reputation points.
Quick Reference: Game Sequence
You play 5 rounds. Afterward, total your reputation points.
Each round:
Preparation Phase
- Refill pearls (active rivers only)
- Place fairies (odd rounds: tree stumps, even rounds: fox statues)
- Exchange Markaya (slide remaining Markaya under the deck, reveal 6 new ones)
Exploration Phase
- Place your family marker, when it is furthest forward on the turn order track, in a free space of your choice on the game board.
- Discard supply cards or take supply cards according to the cost for placing in this space (reduce the cost with a fire fairy or wind fairy).
- You may play pairs of banners, lanterns, and/or supplies to use their effects once per pair.
- Repeat steps 1 to 3 until no family markers remain on the turn order track.
Collection Phase
- Remove the dam (doesn't matter who).
- Collect pearls from the river (left to right and top to bottom, always take or exchange only 1 pearl at a time — +1 for a pair of fishing nets or a water fairy — fulfill an alpaca card if applicable, family marker always onto the rearmost free space of the turn order track).
- Collect pearls from the sea (take or exchange as many pearls as desired, fulfill an alpaca card if applicable, family marker onto the rearmost free space of the turn order track).
- Befriend Markaya (left to right, always take only 1 Markaya at a time, family marker onto the rearmost free space of the turn order track, or play a pair of instruments to move it to another space further right in the village).
- Deliver to Markaya (from alpaca to befriended Markaya, following color requirements; use an earth fairy or light fairy if applicable).
End of Game
- Total the reputation points for pearls on your befriended Markaya (no points for pearls on your alpaca).
- Add the reputation points from fulfilled bonus objectives of your befriended Markaya.
- Add the reputation points from your fulfilled alpaca cards.
- Highest total wins. Shared victory in case of a tie.
Credits
- Game design: Romain Caterdjian
- Development: Allen Wang, Alice Chen, Kim Brebach
- Editing: Allen Wang, Zong-Ger
- Creative direction: Alice Chen, Amanda Lai
- Illustration: Dofinn
- Graphic design: Boyea Lai, Peter Gifford, Jessy Töpfer
- German edition translation and editing: Ronja Lauterbach
German edition published by Pegasus Spiele GmbH, Am Straßbach 3, 61169 Friedberg, Germany, under license from Good Games Publishing. © 2025 Good Games Publishing. © German edition 2026 Pegasus Spiele GmbH.