Castle Flutterstone
Castle Flutterstone Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Content
- 30 cloth bats
- 28 ghost cards (14 helpful ghosts, 14 pesky ghosts)
- 1 Bat catapult
- 1 pesky ghost figure (two-part)
- 4 figures
- 10 steps
- 1 magic bat trophy to mount
- 1 castle
- 1 game board (castle courtyard)
Before playing for the first time
Remove all the parts from the castle and the castle courtyard. Then carefully push the ghost cards and the magic trophy from the punched board.
Insert the nine steps into the planned areas in the castle and one next to the magic bat trophy.
Important: The steps are not removed after the game. You can simply fold up the castle including the inserted steps and store in the box. This makes it easier to set it up for the next game.
Then assemble the figure of the pesky ghost.
Preparing to play (basic game)
Position the game board in the box such that the slots correspond to those in the box.
Then unfold the castle and insert it in the right slot of the game board.
Now you affix the goal field with the magic bat trophy.
Then the pesky ghosts, i.e. the ghost cards with the red side, are separated and put to one side with the pesky ghost figure (you will only need these two for the game variant). The rest of the ghost cards are shuffled well and positioned next to the game as a face-down draw pile. Now each player chooses a figure and places it on the start field with the same colour.
Position the bats such that they are ready for use.
The youngest player is given a bat and the catapult, since they are allowed to start. The game then continues in a clockwise direction.
Objective of the game
Using the catapult, fire the bats towards the castle. You move your own figure forwards depending on where the bats land. The player amongst you to make the best landing and to be the first to lift the trophy, wins the game.
How to play
When it is your turn, take a bat from the collection of bats, and place it on the catapult. Then arrange it in a good position, take aim and fire the bat towards the castle.
How the bats fly
Each player gets a couple of trial runs of how to fire the bats from the catapult before the first game. To do this, position a bat in the middle of the crosspiece of the catapult and ensure that there is enough distance between the catapult and the castle (approx. 5-10 cm). Then bang your hand on the catapult and the bat flies off.
Here's a couple of tips:
- Bang your hand somewhat further back on the catapult.
- The bat should be positioned in the middle, on the crosspiece.
- The catapult shouldn't be placed too close or too far from the castle. Otherwise, the bat might fly too far – or not far enough.
Scoring
The bat flies through the air towards the castle. But… where will it land?!
- Castle courtyard (1 step): If the bat lands in the castle courtyard, you can move your figure forward one field.
- Castle (2 steps): If the bat lands on a step or on the castle itself, move your figure forward up to two fields.
- Window (3 steps): Your bat has flown through a window – brilliant! Now you can move forward up to 3 fields.
- Moat: If your bat has disappeared into a moat, a ghost immediately comes to the rescue. Take a ghost card from the pile. Your figure doesn't move (see the explanation about the ghost cards below).
- No hit: Has your bat flown past or over the castle? What a pity – then it can't help you and your figure stays put this round.
Moving your figure forward
When moving your figure, only the free fields count. If fields are occupied by another figure during your go, you jump over it. You don't count the fields you have jumped over.
Attention, bridge! Bridge fields also count as a field. However, you are not allowed to stop on the rotten bridge fields. If your score isn't high enough to cross the bridge, you have to stop on the field before the bridge. The extra point is lost. If a different figure is already on the field in front of the bridge, you stop on the field before the figure, etc.
Ghost cards
If your bat disappears in the moat, you may take a ghost card from the pile and place it face-up in front of you:
Helpful ghost
You can only use a helpful ghost in the following round. If you like, you can play several ghost cards at the same time and then put them on the discard pile.
Important: you may never have more than three helpful ghosts in front of you at any one time.
- Second go: You have a second go, and can make two bats fly, one after another. You move your figure forward each go.
- Moving forward: You can move forward a field immediately.
- Ghost jump: You can move forward as far as the next figure and position your figure on the field behind it. If the field behind it happens to be a bridge field, you put your figure before the bridge.
End of the game
The first player to reach the last step wins the game and, hence, gets to lift the magic bat trophy.
You don't have to have "flown" the precise number to reach the last step. Excess points do not count. Once the winner has been ascertained, you can play on to see who takes second or third place.
Version of the game
Once you are experienced professionals in the field of bat flying, the pesky ghosts can be introduced into the game: Simply shuffle the pesky ghosts amongst the helper ghosts, so that you have a common pile of face-down ghost cards.
If you pick up a pesky ghost during the game, naturally you want to get rid of it as soon as possible, and you immediately give it to a player of your choice, who then puts the pesky ghost face-up in front of them. Once it is this player's turn, the pesky ghost can really mess things up with the following moves:
- Eyes closed: You have to keep your eyes closed while you make your bat fly.
- Change hands: Do you always use your right hand to fire your bats? Then use your left hand, or vice versa.
- Pesky ghost: When it is your turn, the player you gave the ghost card to is allowed to put the ghost in the window as an obstacle. At the end of your go, the pesky ghost is put back down next to the castle. If your bat gets stuck on the pesky ghost, you can move forward up to 2 fields.
The following also applies:
- A pesky ghost applies in both goes of a double go.
- Several pesky ghosts can also be displayed in front of a player. The player in question must perform all pesky ghost moves in their next go.
- It is never possible to have two of the same pesky ghosts in front of a Player.