Carrossel Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Tips for Your First Game
• Game Components
• Setup
• How to Play
• Phase 1 - Play
• Phase 2 - Score
• Phase 3 - Rotate
• Phase 4 - Score
• END of the game
• Rules for 2 Players
• Rules for 3 Players
• OBJECTIVE cards
• Client Card abilities

Tips for Your First Game

• You will build the Carousel by placing Animal tiles on the board. You will earn VP for Clients that "sit" on your tiles.
• The Clients in front of your Ticket Booth are not yours...yet. You will only decide where they go if there are multiple options for placement.
• Be careful not to run out of Animal tiles of a certain type. Try to make sure that you don't waste your Slot cards, as these may become more valuable in future turns.
• Plan your strategy around the fact that certain Client cards may become more valuable depending on the objectives you are trying to complete.
• It is almost impossible to make sequences with only your own Animal tiles. You'll need to use other players' tiles; just make sure to get as many points as you can.
• Pay attention to what cards your opponents have to play and to the cards that they have already played. A player may anticipate a move that you want to make, or vice versa.
• Maximize the abilities of the Client cards you've won. Used at the right time, they can provide great advantages. They will also provide VP at the end of the game.

Game Components

• 1 Base board
• 1 Round board
• 1 Totem
• 1 Totem Roof (double-sided; front and back)
• 1 Shaft, for the boards
• 1 Phase marker
• 4 Ticket Booths (used as player screens)
• 56 Animal tiles (14 of each color: red, green, blue and yellow). Each color has 3 tiles each of the tiger, fish, swan and horse animals, and 2 Dragon tiles (the Dragon tiles have a colored back).
• 48 Slot cards (12 of each color)
• 37 Client cards
• 14 Objective cards
• 37 Client standees
• 37 Plastic bases for the Client standees

The first time you play the game, assemble the Totem as shown in the rulebook, and assemble the Client standees in their plastic bases.

These small symbols appear on some of the tiles. They have no gameplay function, but exist to help those who have difficulties in distinguishing certain colors.

Setup

Note: this setup is for the 4-player game. Rules changes for 2- and 3-player games can be found in the sections "Rules for 2 Players" and "Rules for 3 Players" below.

1. Assemble the board as shown, using the shaft to hold the pieces together. Make sure that the Round board shows the proper player count. The Round board is divided into 4 sectors; place it on the table so that each player is seated in front of a distinct sector.
2. Place the Totem and the Roof in the center of the board. The Roof should be placed with its arrows pointing in a clockwise direction. These arrows indicate the direction in which the board will rotate.
3. Place the Phase marker on the Phase 1 space of the Base board.
4. Give each player 1 Ticket Booth, 14 Animal tiles, and 12 Slot cards of a single color. The Ticket Booth serves as a screen to prevent opponents from seeing your Animal tiles.
5. Find the Dragon Client card and set it aside for a moment. Shuffle the rest of the Client cards into a single, face-down deck, then insert the Dragon card into the approximate middle of that deck. Place the deck on the board.
6. Place 3 face-up Client cards in front of each Ticket Booth, along with their matching standees.
7. Place the remaining Client standees within reach of all players.
8. Shuffle the Objective cards and place 4 of them, face-up, onto the board. Return the remaining Objective cards to the box; they will not be used in this game.

The game is ready to begin!

How to Play

Carrossel is played over the course of several rounds. Each round is divided into 4 phases:

• Phase 1 - Play
• Phase 2 - Score
• Phase 3 - Rotate
• Phase 4 - Score

At the end of each phase, advance the Phase marker.

Important: The Round board is divided into 4 sectors. When you choose a Slot card to score or place an Animal tile, do it ONLY for the sector that is in front of you!

Phase 1 - Play

1. Players simultaneously select one of their available Slot cards and one Animal tile, placing them face-down on the spaces of their respective sectors, as shown.
2. Players reveal their cards simultaneously, placing their chosen Animal tiles in their respective sectors. You must place an Animal tile in a Slot that matches the number on your chosen Slot card.
3. After playing a Slot card, discard it face-up next to your Ticket Booth where all players can see it. Cards in your discard pile CANNOT be played.

The number on your chosen Slot card MUST match the number of an unoccupied Slot in your sector. If you cannot match a card to an available Slot, the game ends immediately - see the "END of the game" section of this rulebook, on page 9.

Important: In the first Round only, your Slot card must match one of these numbers: 4, 5, 9, or 10.

It may be possible to play a Slot card at the same time you use the ability of one of your Client cards. See the section on Client card abilities, on page 12.

Phase 2 - Score

• In this phase, players will check to see if the sector in front of them has a sequence of Animal tiles that match the Client cards in front of their Ticket Booths.
• A sequence is a series of 3 Animal tiles without any Client standees on them, placed adjacent to each other in a vertical or horizontal line (never diagonally or in an "L" shape).
• Client cards in front of a Ticket Booth do NOT have to match the exact order of the matching Animal tiles on the board (see illustration).
• For a sequence to be valid in your sector, at least ONE of the Animal tiles in that sequence must be in your sector.
• If there are no valid sequences in any sector, continue to the next Phase.
• Each Client card has a VP value, indicated on the card.

When a valid sequence is found:

1. If there is a valid sequence in your sector, you must place Client standees on the Animal tiles in that sequence. You CANNOT ignore a valid sequence.
2. Give the Client cards to the owners of the matching, now-occupied Animal tiles. These cards are placed behind players' Ticket Booths, out of sight of other players.
3. Place new Client cards, along with their matching standees, in front of players' Ticket Booths until there are 3 Client cards in front of each Ticket Booth. If this is not possible, the game ends immediately - see the END of the game section of this rulebook, on page 9.

Examples:

• The red player has a valid sequence in his sector (A). Therefore, the blue player receives the tiger Client card, worth 1 VP (B). The red player receives the fish and horse Client cards, for a total of 3 VP (2+1) (C).
• The red player has a valid sequence in his sector, even though two of the Animal tiles in the sequence are in another sector.
• The red player has a valid sequence in his sector, because it matches the Client cards in front of his Ticket Booth: 2 horses and 1 swan. After placing the matching standees on the Animal tiles, the Swan Client card goes to the red player. The Horse Client cards go to the blue or yellow player, as red chooses, because this is currently the red player's sector.

Who decides: In a valid sequence where multiple players are eligible to score the same cards, the decision of who receives the Client cards is ALWAYS made by the player sitting in front of the sector in question.

Choosing a sequence: When several Animal tiles are placed in a way that provides multiple ways to create one or more valid sequences, it is the player in front of the sector where the Client cards are located who decides which sequence will be scored. It is important to emphasize that, whatever the combination, the Animal tiles must still be adjacent to each other. The example in the rulebook shows the red player having two choices of which sequence to score in his sector: red chooses to score EITHER sequence A or sequence B, but not both.

Two standees on one tile: It is possible for an Animal tile to receive 2 Client standees at once, because it belongs to 2 valid sequences in 2 different sectors. In this case, place two standees on the Animal tile in question. The owner of this tile receives the two cards to which he is entitled.

• Note: this can only happen as scoring occurs. An Animal tile that already has a standee on it cannot be part of a valid sequence.

The rulebook illustrates this with five steps:

1. The red player has a sequence in his sector, but his fish is also part of a sequence in the yellow player's sector. Thus, this fish will receive 2 standees.
2. Since the yellow player has 2 Fish Client cards, there are up to 3 possible Client cards that can score for that Animal tile.
3. Yellow decides which Client cards are delivered to the sequence in her sector. She chooses: blue receives the 1 VP tiger Client card; yellow receives the 2 VP fish Client card; red receives the 1 VP fish Client card.
4. Red has no choice: blue receives the 1 VP tiger Client card; red receives the 1 VP fish Client card; red receives the 2 VP horse Client card.
5. Thus, red receives 2 fish Client cards for the SAME Animal tile.

Dragon Animal tile: This tile acts like a Joker. It can take the role of any of the other four Animal tiles. In a sequence, this tile replaces one (and only ONE) of the tiles needed for a valid sequence. Note that it is possible for a sequence to contain multiple Dragons.

Dragon Client standee: This standee can ONLY be placed on a Dragon Animal tile.

Dragon Client card ability: See page 12.

Phase 3 - Rotate

Rotate the Round board in the direction indicated by the Roof of the Totem, giving each player a new sector in which to play.

Phase 4 - Score

Complete another scoring Phase, following the steps indicated in Phase 2. Then, start a new Round from Phase 1.

END of the game

The game ends immediately when:

• You cannot make a legal move (either because you no longer have any Animal tiles or because you cannot use any of your Slot cards).

OR

• There are not enough Client cards for all players to have 3 at their Ticket Booths.

As soon as the game is over, each player scores the Client cards they have won throughout the game (even if those cards' abilities were used). Players add to their scores any VP earned from completing any of the 4 Objective cards. The player with the most VP is the winner of the game and the new owner of the Carousel!

• In the event of a tie, the player with the most Client cards is the winner.
• If there is still a tie, the player with the most Client standees on their tiles on the board is the winner.
• If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory and become co-owners of the Carousel!

Rules for 2 Players

Use the rules for 4 players, with the following exceptions:

Setup

• Before shuffling the Client cards, remove any cards with the two-figure symbol shown in the rulebook's illustration.
• Place the game board so that each player has 2 sectors in front of them. The symbol shown in the illustration should be in front of each player.
• In addition to the 3 Client cards placed in front of each player's Ticket Booth, draw another 3 Client cards per player. Place these face-up, with their matching standees, in a queue near each Ticket Booth. These will be the next Clients to supply each Ticket Booth. As necessary, replace these cards from the deck.

Play

• Players play simultaneously in 2 sectors. Players will choose 2 Animal tiles (1 for each of their 2 sectors), but only ONE Slot card. This card will determine the Slot that each tile will occupy.

Score

• In this phase, players will check to see if there are any valid sequences of Animal tiles in the two sectors in front of them.

Rotate

• Turn the Round board 180°.

Client card abilities

• Ignore the ability of the Dragon Client card.

Rules for 3 Players

Use the rules for 4 players, with the following exceptions:

Setup

• Place the Round board with the 3-player side face-up, so that each player has a single sector in front of them.
• Set aside the Animal tiles of the unselected player color. From these tiles, return the Dragon Animal tiles to the box; they will not be used in this game. Place the remaining 12 tiles at random, face-up, in each of the un-numbered slots on the Round board.

(The printed rulebook reads "they will not used in this game"; "will not be used" is corrected here.)

Play

• Animal tiles of the non-player color can be used to make valid sequences. When Client cards are won by the non-player color, return those cards to the game box.
• The first move made in a 3-player game does NOT have to be played in the 4, 5, 9, or 10 slots.

OBJECTIVE cards

These cards provide the possibility of earning additional VP at the end of the game. If you have met any of these objectives, add their points to your final score.

• Earn 4 VP for each set of 4 Client cards you have that match those shown on this Objective card.
• Earn 3 VP for each set of 3 identical Client cards you have that match those shown on this Objective card.
• Earn 1 VP for each set of 2 Client cards you have that match those shown on this Objective card.
• Earn 3 VP for each set of 3 Animal tiles that are adjacent on a row or column on the board. It does not matter what sector they are in. The tiles of a set can even occupy different sectors.
• Earn 3 VP for each set of 3 Animal tiles that are in a diagonal line on the board. It does not matter what sector they are in. The tiles of a set can even occupy different sectors.
• Earn 3 VP for each set of 3 Animal tiles that are adjacent in an "L" shape on the board. It does not matter what sector they are in. The parts of a set can even occupy different sectors.

IMPORTANT: The same Client card or Animal tile can only be used to score ONCE per Objective card. Each objective can be scored multiple times, but always with different cards or tiles. Client cards whose abilities were used also count towards scoring.

Client Card abilities

• Each Client card has an ability that allows you to take a special action.
• If you have won Client cards during the game, you can use their abilities.
• In Phase 1 of a Round (see page 6), you can use ONE (and only one) face-down card together with your Slot card and Animal tile. Reveal everything simultaneously.
• After using an ability, discard its card face-up next to your discarded Slot cards. As long as it is in the discard pile, this card cannot be used again.
• Using a card's ability will not cause you to lose the VP that the card provides at the end of the game.

Client cards provide the following abilities:

Jump (Tiger)

You can play a Slot card with the number of a Slot that is already occupied. Place your Animal tile in a free Slot in your sector with the closest-valued smaller number.

(e.g., you used this ability with your "9" Slot card. In your sector, Slots 8 and 9 are occupied, and Slots 2, 5, 6, and 7 are free. You MUST place your Animal tile in Slot 7.)

Recover discarded cards (Swan)

Return all your discarded cards (Client cards + Slot cards) to your hand, excluding the Swan Client card and the Slot card you have just played. In the following rounds you can use these recovered cards normally.

Single ticket (Horse)

If you use this ability and the Animal tile you chose matches a Client card at your Ticket Booth, you do not have to wait for a valid sequence. Immediately place the Client standee on your Animal tile and take the matching Client card. Then, place a new Client card at your Ticket Booth so that there are 3 Client cards again.

Note that if this is not possible because there are no more Client cards to take, the game ends immediately.

Remove Clients (Fish)

BEFORE placing your Animal tiles, remove all Client standees on your own Animal tiles from the Round board. This means that your Animal tiles already on the board are now available to receive new Clients.

Reverse rotation (Dragon)

As soon as this Client card appears at a Ticket Booth, the Carousel will begin to turn in the opposite direction. Flip the Roof of the Totem over, to show the direction in which the Round board will now rotate.