Tales & Games: Baba Yaga
Tales & Games: Baba Yaga Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 16 Forest tiles, each having a Forest face and an Ingredient face
- 10 Baba Yaga Flight Path tiles
- 1 Baba Yaga House tile
- 20 Spell cards
- 1 Baba Yaga figurine
Setup
- Set up the forest as indicated above, such that it comprises 16 Forest tiles (1) and 9 Flight Path tiles (2).
- Place the Forest tiles Forest-side-up.
- For the moment, set aside the extra Flight Path tile, the Baba Yaga figurine, and the Baba Yaga House tile (3).
- Deal 3 Spell cards to each player, without anyone seeing their faces. Stack the three cards face-down, in front of their owner (4). Return the remaining Spell cards to the box.
- You can flip the tiles and see their Ingredient face for 20 seconds before the game begins.
Playing the Game
In Baba Yaga, everyone plays at the same time!
One player (the active player) searches for ingredients hidden in the forest, while the other players move Baba Yaga.
The oldest player is the first active player. After his turn, this role will rotate clockwise to the other players. Before the active player reveals his first Spell card, the player to his left places the Baba Yaga figurine on one of the four ends of Baba Yaga's two flight paths. Try to place Baba Yaga so that she torments the active player as much as possible during his upcoming turn.
The Active Player
- The turn starts when the active player turns over the first Spell card of his stack.
- He must then search for three ingredients of the four shown on the Spell card by turning over Forest tiles one by one. Note that each tile's Forest side gives a clue about the ingredient on the back.
- Each time the active player turns over a tile with a correct ingredient from his Spell card, he leaves it where it is and continues his search. However, if the tile shows an ingredient that is not on the Spell card, he must turn it back to its Forest side before continuing his search.
You must use only one hand to search for ingredients!
The Other Players
- As soon as the active player starts the turn by revealing his Spell card, the other players must move the Baba Yaga figurine along her current flight path:
- Starting with the player to the left of the active player,
- each player in turn, clockwise, moves Baba Yaga,
- one tile at a time.
In this way, Baba Yaga makes a round-trip flight along her flight path, from tile to tile, in a straight line, while the active player searches for his ingredients.
Example: Gabriel was the first to move Baba Yaga, then it was Peggy's turn, then Jeremy's, then Gabriel's again, then Peggy, Jeremy... and so on until Baba Yaga returned to her starting point.
End of the Turn
As soon as Baba Yaga returns to her starting point, the turn ends. Now check to see whether the three revealed ingredient tiles are among those shown on the active player's Spell card:
- If this is the case, the spell is cast, and its owner must apply its effect (see The Spells and Their Effects).
- If the active player was tricked into leaving at least one incorrect ingredient visible, or if an ingredient is missing, the spell is not cast, and the card goes face-down under the active player's pile of Spell cards.
If the active player successfully casts his last spell, it is the END OF THE GAME. Otherwise, the player to his left becomes the next active player, and the next turn can begin.
End of the Game
The player who successfully casts his third and final spell (no need to apply its effect) immediately wins the game. He manages to escape from the forest, and earns the right to sneer at Baba Yaga!
The Spells and Their Effects
When a spell is cast, the active player must apply its effect either immediately, or at the beginning of his next turn as the active player.
If an effect targets a player, the active player puts the Spell card in front of that player (an opponent or himself) to indicate that this player is the target. The effect will be applied the next time the target player is the active player.
Once a spell's effect is resolved, return the card to the box.
The spells Blinding Light! and Tiny! cannot target the same player. Their effects are therefore not cumulative.
- Finger in the Nose! (marked with a -1 icon): During your next turn as active player, reduce the number of ingredients needed to cast the spell by 1.
- Strange Fog! (marked with a pair of forest tiles and a double arrow): Immediately switch the positions of 2 Forest tiles of your choice.
- Blinding Light! (marked with a hand over one eye): Target an opponent. During his next turn as active player, he must play with one eye peeking through his hand, as shown in the illustration.
- Tiny! (marked with a figure with a fist on the table and chin resting on it): Target an opponent. During his next turn as active player, he must play with a fist on the table and his chin resting on top of it, as shown in the illustration.
- Intense Fatigue! (marked with a -1 Baba Yaga icon): Target an opponent. At the beginning of his next turn as active player, after the figurine has been placed on its starting position, remove one tile from Baba Yaga's flight path. At the end of the turn, put it back.
- Swifter than the Wind! (marked with a +1 Baba Yaga icon): At the beginning of your next turn as active player, after the figurine has been placed on its starting position, extend Baba Yaga's flight path by adding additional tile. At the end of the turn, remove it again.
- Chicken Legs! (marked with the House tile): Place the House tile on a Forest tile of your choice. Perform this action immediately, or at the beginning of your next turn as the active player.
The House Tile
When an active player turns over the Forest tile hidden under the House tile, he must first remove the House tile and place it in front of himself.
- If the ingredient on the back of that Forest tile is one of those he sought, leave the Forest tile Ingredient-side-up, and don't put the House tile back onto it.
- Otherwise, turn the Forest tile over again to be Forest-side up, and put the House tile on it again to hide it.
3 Difficulty Levels
In order to more easily familiarize new players with the game, or to spice it up a bit for the veterans, here are three levels of increasing difficulty:
- A walk in the forest (easy): To cast a spell, collect three ingredients of your choice from the four indicated by the Spell card. If the spell is not cast, the Spell card goes face-down on the top of the active player's pile of Spell cards (instead of underneath their pile).
- Run, Forrest, run! (normal): To cast a spell, collect three ingredients of your choice from the four indicated by the Spell card. Apply the spell's effect.
- Rough as bark!! (hard): To cast a spell, collect all four ingredients indicated by the Spell card. Apply the spell's effect.
In a game with players of different levels, it is advisable to assign the Run, Forrest, run! difficulty level to the beginners, and the Rough as bark!! difficulty level to the seasoned players.
Variants
Alone in the Forest…
This version allows you to play a two-player game. The roles alternate between the active player and the one who moves Baba Yaga. The Baba Yaga player must switch hands each time he moves the figurine, and must put his inactive hand on his head. The other rules apply as usual.
Home Sweet Home... (for experts, who aren't afraid of anything!)
At the end of his turn, the active player moves the House tile to a Forest tile of his choice, in order to interfere with the next player. The effect of the Chicken Legs! spell applies as usual. So, by moving the House to a different tile at the start of his turn with the Chicken Legs! spell, the active player can totally avoid the inconvenience intended by the previous player. The other rules apply as usual.