Animals Gathering Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Card Composition
• Setup
• How to Play
  • A. Selecting an Animal Index Card
  • B. Rolling the Magic Dice
  • Example (Rolling the Magic Dice)
• Game End
• Scoring and Win Condition
• Mage Cards and Abilities
• Animal Powers
  • Permanent
  • Scoring
  • Activation
• Game Variant: Spell Cards and Abilities
• FAQ: Clarifications

Components

• Mage Cards x5
• Animal Index Cards x35
• Spell Cards x10
• Magic Stones x205
• Magic Dice x6

Card Composition

Animal Index Card: Points (top left); Animal Name (top right); Animal Type (icon beside the name); Animal Likeness (the emblem below the Animal Type); Type of Power (icon at the bottom left); Animal Power (bottom of the card).

Mage Card: Mage No. (top left); Mage Ability (the icon and text beside the Mage No.); Distribution of Die Faces (the die-face icons, showing which faces each colored die carries); Distribution of Animal Types (the Land, Aquatic and Aerial counts at the bottom of the card).

Spell Card: Spell Name (top); Spell Ability (bottom).

Setup

1. Shuffle the Mage Cards and deal 1 faceup in front of each player. Return any unused Mage Cards to the box.
2. Shuffle the Animal Index Cards and deal 3 to each player. Each player then selects 1 of the 3 as their starting card.
3. Form an Animal Index Card deck by shuffling all remaining Animal Index Cards (including those not selected in step 2) and place it facedown. Then flip over 5 cards to form the communal supply area within reach of all players.
4. Place the Magic Stones and Magic Dice within reach of all players.
5. Each player reveals their starting Animal Index Card and places it faceup to the right of their Mage Card in their "summoning area."

The player whose Mage Card has the lowest mage no. is the starting player.

How to Play

As the active player (i.e., it is your turn), choose 1 of 2 actions: selecting an Animal Index Card or rolling the Magic Dice. After the action has been resolved, your turn ends and the player to your left becomes the active player.

A. Selecting an Animal Index Card

1. Select 1 Animal Index Card of the 5 from the communal supply area and place it into your summoning area. A new card is then immediately flipped over from the deck to replenish the supply.

Placing an Animal Index Card into the summoning area does not mean the animal has been "revived." Its associated animal power cannot be used just yet!

B. Rolling the Magic Dice

The number of Magic Dice you may roll is the "number of uncompleted Animal Index Cards in your summoning area" subtracted from the "6 dice." There are three colors of Magic Dice with each color having a different distribution of faces. Roll any combination of the above number of dice in the colors of your choice.

1. Based on the result of the dice roll, take all corresponding Magic Stones that can be placed to fill in the outlines of your Animal Index Cards in your summoning area and immediately place them. Each die offers only 1 stone. If there are multiple unfilled spaces on any number of your cards, you may decide where to place the stones.

If any corresponding Magic Stone cannot be placed on any of your Animal Index Cards, you cannot take them (i.e., stones cannot be stored for later use).

Magic Stones placed during an earlier turn cannot be moved or swapped.

The mage ability of the active player may be used at this time (exception: mage no. 3 may be used on each player's active turn).

2. As the active player, first check if any outlines of your Animal Index Cards have been completely filled in on this turn. If one (or more) has, the animal has been "revived" and moves to the left of your Mage Card in the "companion area," granting you access to its animal power.

• Hourglass icon, Permanent: The power is continuously in effect.
• Scoring icon, Scoring: The power provides an opportunity for extra points at end-of-game scoring.
• Activation icon, Activation: The power is triggered once every time you revive a new animal and move it into your companion area (incl. when the animal with the activation power itself is revived).

If multiple Animal Index Cards are completed at the same time, the player chooses in which order the animals are revived.

If multiple powers are triggered at the same time, the player chooses in which order they are resolved.

3. For any Magic Stones that cannot be placed by the active player, all other players may take the corresponding stone(s) and likewise immediately place them to fill in the outlines of their Animal Index Cards in their summoning area (again, stones may not be stored for later use).

4. All other players then check if any animals can be revived. If more than one other player can revive an animal, start from the player to the left of the active player and move clockwise. When reviving, they may immediately trigger any animal powers.

Example (Rolling the Magic Dice)

In Milo's companion area, the Fox has been revived, and two uncompleted Animal Index Cards are in his summoning area. Milo can thus roll [6 Magic Dice] - [2 uncompleted Animal Index Cards] = 4 dice. After considering which Magic Stones he needs, Milo decides to roll two green, one orange, and one blue.

Milo's roll: Of the 4 from his roll, Milo is only able to take and place 3 corresponding Magic Stones. He completes the outline of the Starfish Index Card and revives it, thus moving it into his companion area. Milo has now been granted the Starfish's permanent power.

1. Taken and placed (three dice). Unused (one blue die).
2. Move the completed Starfish Index Card into the companion area.

Triggered activation power: Because of the revival of a new animal, Milo decides to trigger the activation power of the Fox, steals one of Sandra's already placed stones from one of her uncompleted Animal Index Cards, and then immediately places it.

Unused stone: All other players can now take and place the remaining unused stone of the fourth die. Howard does not have an unfilled place on his Animal Index Cards to place it and thus cannot take it. But Sandra and Coco do take and place the stone. Coco revives and moves the Butterfly into her companion area, whose scoring power may affect her end-of-game scoring.

4. Move the completed Butterfly Index Card into the companion area.

Milo's turn ends. The player on his left, Howard, is now the active player.

Game End

When the companion area of any player contains 5 (or more) completed Animal Index Cards, all players finish the current active player's turn. The game then immediately ends and moves to scoring.

If a player has revived the Elephant, its permanent power ends the game if the companion area of that player contains 4 (or more) completed Animal Index Cards.

Scoring and Win Condition

Add up all the points from the revived animals in each player's companion area. Note that any animal scoring powers may affect that player's end-of-game scoring. The player with the highest score wins.

In the event of a tie, whoever has completed the fewest number of Animal Index Cards wins the game. If the tie is still not broken, the victory is shared.

Mage Cards and Abilities

Each Mage Card has a mage ability, shown by its mage number:

1. May take an extra Magic Stone of your choice if you have rolled 4 (or more) different stones.
2. After you have taken the corresponding Magic Stones from your roll, may discard 1 Magic Die, effectively blocking all other players from taking that unused stone.
3. May exchange 2 orange-leaf Magic Stones (shown by the stone icon on the card) from your or any other player's roll for 1 stone of your choice. To use on another player's roll, both Magic Stones must be unused by the active player.
4. May roll two extra Magic Dice (maximum total of 6).
5. After you have rolled, may reroll any or all Magic Dice of your choice one time.

Transcription note: the mage 3 stone cost is printed as an icon; it is rendered here as the orange-leaf stone, read from the card icon.

Animal Powers

Each revived animal's power is shown by one of three power types (Permanent, Scoring, Activation).

Permanent

• May exchange purple-arc Magic Stones from your or any other player's roll for any stones of your choice. To use on another player's roll, any purple-arc Magic Stones must be unused by the active player.
• Cannot be targeted by the attacks of any other player's animal powers.
• The game ends when your companion area contains 4 (or more) completed Animal Index Cards.

Scoring

• Receive 2 points for each completed blue-green drop Animal Index Card in your companion area.
• Receive 1 point for each completed Animal Index Card showing the green stone icon in your companion area.
• Receive 6 points for each completed set of three Animal Index Cards, one of each of the three types shown on the card.

Activation

• Attack: Steal 1 Magic Stone from any uncompleted Animal Index Card of one player. May only steal a Magic Stone that you can immediately place on your Animal Index Cards.
• Attack: All other players must immediately remove 1 Magic Stone of their choice from any uncompleted Animal Index Card and return that stone to the supply.
• May take and place 1 purple-arc, orange-leaf, yellow or red-triangle Magic Stone from the supply.
• May select 1 Animal Index Card from the communal supply area and place it into your summoning area.

Game Variant: Spell Cards and Abilities

When dealing 3 Animal Index Cards during setup, shuffle the Spell Cards and deal 2 to each player. Each player then selects 1 of the 2. Return any unused cards to the box (incl. those not selected).

Spell abilities do not need to be revealed until used. Each ability may only be used once during the game and can be used at any time (incl. another player's turn or even at end-of-game scoring; see "Blessed by Glory" and "Copy and Paste").

• All In (x6): Roll all 6 Magic Dice on this roll.
• Rock 'n' Roll: After this roll, reroll any or all Magic Dice of your choice up to one time.
• I Choose U: Immediately take and place 1 Magic Stone of your choice from the supply.
• Bubble-Burster (Others): All other (not incl. you) non-active players cannot take any Magic Stones unused by the active player.
• Reshuffle Ritual: May first choose to reshuffle the Animal Index Card communal supply area and then select 1 Animal Index Card, placing it in your summoning area. Reshuffle: Flip over the next 5 Animal Index Cards to form a new supply and then shuffle the previous cards back into the deck.
• Back in the Saddle: Select 1 Animal Index Card from the communal supply area and place it in your summoning area. You may then rearrange any Magic Stones on any uncompleted Animal Index Cards.
• Copy and Paste: Use any Spell Card of another player that has already been used.
• Animal Resonance: Trigger all animal activation powers of revived animals in your companion area once.
• Holy Awakening: Trigger 1 animal permanent power of an uncompleted Animal Index Card in your summoning area. Place this Spell Card on top of that Animal Index Card to serve as a reminder.
• Blessed by Glory (x1, +50%): At end-of-game scoring, the points received from 1 animal scoring power of a revived animal are increased by 50% (rounding down).

FAQ: Clarifications

Q1: After determining how many Magic Dice I may roll, can I roll less than the maximum number possible?

A1: No. You must roll the maximum number of Magic Dice possible. You can, however, choose which combination to roll if that number is less than 6.

Q2: If I can, must I use my mage ability, animal power, or spell ability?

A2: No. You may choose to use (or not to use) these abilities and powers. For example, you meet the conditions to trigger an activation power, but you decide it would be better not to select an Animal Index Card. You thus choose not to use the ability/power.

Q3: If the triggering of one of my animal activation powers causes me to revive an animal and place it in my companion area, do I get to trigger that same power again?

A3: Yes! Every time a completed Animal Index Card moves to your companion area, all animal activation powers are immediately triggered, whether it is the first, second, third, etc. time.

Q4: My Spell ability has two steps. Can I use just a portion of the text, namely just one of the steps?

A4: Yes! For "Reshuffle Ritual," for example, you may select 1 Animal Index Card without reshuffling the Animal Index Card communal supply area.

Q5: The rules state that Spell abilities can be used at any time, including another player's turn. What would that look like?

A5: Yes, Spell Cards and their abilities can be played at any time! Examples are as follows: a Spell Card could be used after another player rolls to force that player to reroll any number of Magic Dice of your choosing; a Spell Card could be played just as another player is selecting an Animal Index Card to effectively steal that card from them; a Spell Card could be used to trigger your Fox's animal activation power just as another player is completing their Animal Index Card to effectively block them from reviving that animal; a Spell Card could be held onto and played during end-of-game scoring to boost your score at the last moment; etc.

Transcription note: the FAQ examples name specific spell and animal icons only as pictograms; they are described here by type rather than by icon.