Berrymandering
Berrymandering Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 36 Cake pieces:
- 6 Random tiles (front: a question mark; back: plain blue)
- Each team has the following:
- 6 single berries
- 4 double berries
- 3 triple berries
- 2 quadruple berries
- 6 Mystery tiles:
- Each team has the following:
- 2 single berries (front; back: question mark)
- 1 double berry (front; back: question mark)
- Each team has the following:
- 9 Candles
- 2 Team Cards: Strawberry and Blueberry
Setup
- The player who ate cake most recently gets to choose their team: blueberry or strawberry. The other player gets to Cut cake first.
- Place your team card in front of you.
- Shuffle the circular Mystery tiles and place them face down near the candles.
- Shuffle all the square cake pieces and place them face up in a 6x6 grid with a small amount of space between each piece.
Example: Setup (the example shows the Mystery tiles stacked near the candles, nine candles beside them, and a 6x6 grid of cake pieces with the Strawberry and Blueberry team cards on either side).
Play
The game is played over nine rounds. During each round players will Cut the cake into groups of four pieces, Choose a group to eat and award a candle, Reset the board to its initial position, and Switch roles. Once all the cake is eaten, the game ends!
Cut
The first player must cut all the cake into groups of four pieces (picture right). Do this by shifting pieces slightly left, right, up, and down. You must keep cutting until all the cake tiles are in groups of four. No orphans are allowed (example below).
You cannot pick up pieces or slide pieces outside the cake perimeter (bottom example page 5).
Lastly, during the game you will be eating pieces of cake and flipping them over (see Choose on page 6). You cannot cut pieces of cake that have been flipped over because these pieces have already been eaten!
Example: There are two orphan groups that the first player must fix. This group and others must be re-cut.
Example: There are seven valid shapes:
Example: Player has moved tiles too far. Keep cake pieces inside the perimeter! Do not pick up and exchange pieces. (Marked "Incorrect" in the rules.)
Choose
The second player will Choose a group to eat. For every Random tile in this group, reveal a Mystery tile and place it on top. Now count the berries in this group including the Mystery tile. The player with the most berries in the group gets one candle. In the case of a tie, no candles are awarded.
Set aside any revealed Mystery tiles. They cannot be used again and remain face up for the rest of the game.
Flip the cake tiles in the chosen group over. They cannot be cut or chosen again (they have been eaten).
Example: The cake has been cut into groups by the 1st player. The 2nd player chooses to eat the green highlighted group which contains a Random tile. Reveal a Mystery tile. Two more blueberries have been uncovered! Team blueberry wins by two points (6 vs. 4). Give a single candle to team blueberry.
Reset
Slide the remaining cake pieces back into their original locations. Make sure all eaten pieces are face down.
Example: The remaining cake pieces have been placed back in their original locations. The group that was eaten has been flipped over and placed in its original location.
Switch
The round is over and players switch roles. The player who Chooses which group to eat last round will now Cut the remaining cake into groups. The player that Cut last round gets to Choose a group to eat.
Repeat pages 4-7 until all the cake is eaten.
Example: During the second round, a player has Cut the remaining pieces of cake into groups shown below. The other player Chooses to eat the green highlighted group.
During the next round you may Choose to eat the isolated group.
When a group is isolated from the rest of the remaining cake pieces that group remains in play until it is eaten.
End of the Game
When there are no more cake pieces to eat, the game ends. The new ruler of Cakeland is the player with the most candles!
Play a State Variant
Do you want to Berrymander a specific state? Thanks to our supporters we have created the following state maps that you can download from our website: California, North Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Washington, and we might add more later!
Three Player Variant
Overview: As a third player, you win if team Strawberry and Blueberry have a tied score at the end of the game.
Setup: Setup for two players as usual. Give the third player all the Mystery tiles. They place them face up in front of them.
Play: Team Strawberry and Blueberry play as normal. When a Random tile is scored, the third player chooses which Mystery tile to play. After scoring, set the used Mystery tile aside. This tile cannot be used again.
Strategy Variant
Overview: For players that want to strategize even more and remove all randomness from the game.
Setup: Place the Mystery tiles face up on the Random tiles during setup.
Solo Player Variant
Overview: You can rule Cakeland if you earn more than four candles. The more candles you earn, the longer you will rule!
Setup: Choose your team and then shuffle the 36 cake tiles and place them face up in a 6x6 grid.
Play: The game is played over three rounds. During a round, you must Cut all the pieces of cake. You must then Choose three groups to eat, collect a candle for each group with more of your berry. Then Reset the remaining cake pieces into their original positions. Begin the next round. Continue to Cut, Choose three groups, and Reset, until the entire cake is scored. Use the score sheet on the next page to see how long you will be allowed to rule!
Solo Player Scoring
- 1 to 4 candles: You won't be crowned ruler of Cakeland today.
- 5 candles: You are allowed to sit on the throne for a day.
- 6 candles: Not Bad! You are allowed to rule for a week. A parade of cakes is held in your honor.
- 7 candles: You proved yourself worthy to rule for a year. Under your guidance the lives of people in Cakeland will be sweet.
- 8 candles: Your Berrymandering skills are legendary. Cakeland is yours to rule forever. The national flag is redrawn to show your favorite type of cake!
- 9 candles: You cheated! It's not possible to get 9 candles!