Arctic Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components and Setup
• Game Overview
• How to Play
  • A. Add Animal cards to your pile and take a Power card.
  • B. Move Animal tokens.
  • C. Draw cards.
• End of the Game
  • Final Scoring
  • Example of Final Scoring
• Animal Powers
  • Walrus
  • Puffin
  • Polar Bear
  • Orca
  • Moose
  • Fox

Components and Setup

• 6 Landscape cards
• 6 Animal tokens
• 120 Animal cards with 4 different backs
• 1 Player aid token (front: Reserve, back: Scoring)
• 1 score pad
• 6 double-sided Power cards
• 6 double-sided Animal Totem tiles
• 1 Paw print token

1. Take the 6 Landscape cards and place them in the center of the table, forming a complete landscape with values in ascending order. Place the 6 Animal tokens on the Landscape card with value 3.

2. Separate the cards into decks according to the number of tally marks on their backs, underneath the paw print. Randomly take a number of decks equal to the number of players. Shuffle them together, forming a single pile. Return any remaining decks to the box. This is the common Animal draw pile. Place it animal side down in the center of the table.

3. Depending on the number of players, randomly remove a number of cards from the common Animal draw pile as follows:

   • In a 2-player game, remove 5 cards.
   • In a 3-player game, remove 10 cards.
   • In a 4-player game, remove 15 cards.

   Important: these cards will still be used at the end of the game. Put them aside and place the Player aid token on top, Reserve side up. This is the Reserve.

4. Each animal has two possible powers. Place the 6 Power cards next to the Landscape. For each card, randomly determine which side will be face up. These will show the available powers for this game.

5. Randomly and secretly deal an Animal Totem tile to each player. Return any remaining tiles to the box without looking at them.

6. Randomly determine a first player, and give them the Paw print token. This token will never change hands: it just serves as a reminder of who started the game.

7. Each player randomly draws 3 Animal cards from the draw pile. These are your starting hands.

8. Prepare the River by turning over the top 6 cards from the draw pile.

You are now ready to start the game.

Game Overview

Throughout the game, you will move across the landscape and spot animals. Your observations and the knowledge you gather from them are represented by a pile of Animal cards you will create in front of you. The visible card on top of your personal pile is called the "visible" Animal card.

Your visible Animal card will change each turn. Choosing this card is crucial, because it determines how your turn will play out; most notably how many cards you'll draw during your current turn, and how many you'll place during your next turn.

An Animal card contains 4 pieces of information:

• Main animal
• Companion animal
• DRAW VALUE — the number of cards you must take at the end of your turn
• PLACEMENT VALUE — the number of cards you must place on your personal pile during your next turn

Example: (1) the white fox on top of your personal pile has a placement value of 5. (2a) However, you only have 3 cards in your hand. (2b) You place these cards on your personal pile, in the order of your choice. (3) You take the 2 missing cards from the common draw pile and add them to your Penalty zone.

How to Play

The game is played in turns, starting with the player who has the Paw print token and then continuing clockwise. A turn consists of 3 steps, which must be carried out in the following order:

• A. Add Animal cards to your pile and take a Power card.
• B. Move Animal tokens.
• C. Draw cards.

A. Add Animal cards to your pile and take a Power card.

Choose a number of cards from your Hand equal to the placement value on your visible Animal card, and place them on top of your personal pile in the order of your choice.

Note: during your first turn you don't have a visible Animal card, so your placement value is considered to be 1.

If you have fewer cards in your hand than the placement value on your visible Animal card, first place all the cards you do have onto your personal pile. Then, for each card you couldn't place, draw one card from the common draw pile and place it in your Penalty zone.

Now, take the Power card that corresponds to the main animal on your visible Animal card. This Power card could be in the center of the table or in front of another player. It stays with you until someone takes it from you.

If the animal has powers that trigger during steps B or C, you may use them immediately (see Animal Powers). If it has powers that trigger during step A, you will only be able to use them on your next turn.

If you have other, previously collected Power cards, you may activate their powers during the appropriate step as well.

B. Move Animal tokens.

On the Landscape, move the Animal tokens that correspond to the main animal and the companion animal on your visible Animal card. There are 3 possible situations:

• Neither of the 2 tokens are at the edge of the Landscape (cards with values 0 and 15), so choose one and move it 1 card to the right. Then move the other in the opposite direction, 1 card to the left. (2 possibilities: straight OR wavy arrows)
• If 1 of the 2 tokens is on one of the edges of the Landscape, move it toward the center of the Landscape. Then move the other in the opposite direction.
• If both tokens are on an edge of the Landscape (the same or the opposite one), move them both toward the center of the Landscape.

C. Draw cards.

Take a number of cards from the River equal to the draw value on your visible Animal card.

Then, refill the river by turning over Animal cards from the common draw pile, until the River contains 6 Animal cards again.

Important! You are only allowed to have a maximum of 7 cards in your hand at the end of your turn (after step C). If you have more than 7, discard excess cards of your choice from your hand, by placing them in your Penalty zone.

Note: you may look at the cards in your personal pile at all times.

End of the Game

When the common draw pile is empty and the River can no longer be refilled, create a final draw pile using the cards in the Reserve that were put aside underneath the Reserve token during setup. Finish the current round as normal until you reach the player with the Paw print token. That player does not carry out their turn.

Then, each player carries out one final turn, which consists of playing through steps A and B but doesn't include drawing cards (i.e., ignore step C).

After this, the game is over and it's time for final scoring.

Final Scoring

Take your personal pile of Animal cards. Spread the cards out in front of you, without changing their order.

1. For each animal, calculate the longest sequence of consecutive cards in your personal pile. Don't count the cards that aren't part of the longest sequence, or any isolated cards.

   Depending on the number of cards in each longest sequence, score points for these animals according to the table below:

   Number of cards in the sequence	2	3	4	5	6 or more
   Number of points scored	1	3	6	10	15

2. Depending on the number of sequences you determined in the previous step (which corresponds to the number of different animals), score points according to the same table.

   Example: If you determined 4 sequences, you score 6 additional points.

   Important: a sequence consists of at least 2 identical, consecutive Animal cards.

3. Then, reveal your Animal Totem tile and score points according to the Landscape card its corresponding token is on (0, 1, 3, 6, 10, or 15).

4. Deduct 1 point from your score for each card in your Penalty zone.

After final scoring, the player with the highest score is the winner. In case of a tie, the player closest to the first player in turn order wins.

Example of Final Scoring

Your personal pile consists of the following cards, in order: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H.

• B scores 3 points.
• D scores 15 points.
• F scores 10 points.
• H scores 6 points.

1. Cards A and E are not taken into account, because a sequence must consist of at least 2 identical, consecutive animals. Sequences C and G are not taken into account, because your personal pile contains a longer sequence of these animals.
2. Your personal pile also contains 4 sequences of different animal types, which scores an additional 6 points.
3. The Fox token is on the Landscape card with value 10 at the end of the game. Because the fox is your animal totem, you score 10 points.
4. Finally, there are 4 cards in your Penalty zone, which means you lose 4 points.

Your final score is 3 + 15 + 10 + 6 + 6 + 10 - 4 = 46 points.

Animal Powers

Each Power card shows an icon indicating the step in which the power applies. All powers are optional.

Walrus

• Move the token corresponding to the main animal 1 extra card in the direction of your choice.
• Move the token corresponding to the companion animal 1 extra card in the direction of your choice.

Puffin

• Before placing your cards, swap a card from your Hand with a card from the River.
• Before placing your cards, take your visible Animal card back into your hand. Careful, because you now have a new placement value this turn. If you don't have a visible Animal card, your placement value is considered to be 1.

Polar Bear

• Choose a card from your Penalty zone and place it in another player's Penalty zone.
• When drawing cards, you may choose cards from your Penalty zone as well as from the River.

Orca

• Immediately refill the River after each card you take.
• When drawing cards, you may take 1 or more face-down cards from the top of the common draw pile.

Moose

• Increase or decrease your draw value by 1.
• Increase or decrease your placement value by 1.

Fox

• When placing cards, you may place the final card underneath your personal pile.
• When placing cards, you may place the final card face down underneath your visible Animal card. During final scoring, it counts as an animal type of your choice.