Chatuchak
Chatuchak Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Terminology
- BOOTH = one of these rounded square tiles.
- COLOR = booth type (clothes, decoration, plants, food, or furniture).
- GROUP = 2 or more horizontally and/or vertically connected BOOTHS of 1 color.
Preparation
- Give each player a set of 29 BOOTHS with matching backs.
- Roll the die to determine the start player.
- A. Mix the 8 START GRID TILES (all 16 sides are different!) and draw a number of sides equal to the number of players. Then give the start player the lowest-numbered drawn tile side, their left neighbor the 2nd-lowest, the next left-neighbor the 3rd-lowest and so on. All players lay out their 29 BOOTHS as on their START GRID TILE side. Or let all players draw their own random start grid, booth after booth, see at VARIANTS.
- B. Place the 12-sided die and the TIME TRACK by the player to the right of the start player, with the TIME TENT at the 'START' space.
- C. Shuffle the 5 MIX MARKERS (each side is different) and randomly place 5 sides open in the center.
- Place all other MARKERS and all TOKENS in the center.
Turns
Each turn you move 1 BOOTH either horizontally or vertically to the empty spot in your grid.
The illustrated sequence shows the start grid, then the 1st, 2nd and 3rd turns.
So in the first turn a BOOTH will move to the left-upper spot and in each later turn a BOOTH moves to the spot where your last-moved BOOTH was.
Turns proceed in clockwise player order, so after the start player their left neighbor has a turn, then the next player to the left, etc.
Time Track
The player with the TIME TRACK (which remains with the same player throughout the game) rolls the die once after each of their own turns.
- If the number rolled is equal to or higher than the number in the next TIME TRACK space, move the TIME TENT to that space. Otherwise the TIME TENT doesn't move.
- Each(!) time that the TIME TENT doesn't move, the minimum roll required goes down by 1 on the next round. Show this by placing the die, with the new minimum required roll at its top, on the space in front of the TIME TENT. Once high enough number is rolled, the TIME TENT moves to that space and the number in the next space shows the next minimum required roll again.
Illustrated examples:
- A 2 is rolled here, while a 4 or higher was required. So the TIME TENT doesn't move.
- So after next round the minimum required number will be 1 lower, so a 3 instead of a 4. Shown by the die on the space.
- Next round an 8 is rolled, which meets the requirement of a 3 or higher. So the TIME TENT moves to the next space, and a die roll result of 5 or higher is required after the next round to move it 1 space further again.
Markers
- The GROUP MARKERS go to whoever has the largest group in that color.
- The MIX MARKERS go to whoever has the largest smallest group in a connected pair of groups with these colors. If that gives a tie, the MARKER goes to the player with the largest group in the pair. (see examples below) Don't forget that groups contain at least 2 BOOTHS.
- The PATH MARKER goes to whoever has the longest straight path of 3 or more BOOTHS in one color.
- The RECTANGLE MARKER goes to whoever has the largest rectangle of BOOTHS in 1 color, 2x2 at least.
When Do You Win Markers?
- ONLY in your own turn can you win MARKERS (from the center or from another player),
- AND ONLY if the BOOTH you moved is a part of the group/mix/path/rectangle for the MARKER,
- AND ONLY if you fulfill the MARKER's requirement better than all other players (equally-well isn't enough).
Examples (2 player game, Josh and Amy):
- A. In this 2 player game both Josh' and Amy's largest Red group contains 3 BOOTHS. Amy reached that earlier, so Amy has the Red GROUP MARKER.
- B. Amy has 2 Yellow BOOTHS connected to 5 Green, but Josh has 3 Yellow connected to 4 Green. The biggest small group in the pair is decisive so Josh has the Yellow/Green MIX MARKER.
- C. For the Red/Green MIX MARKER, both players' smallest group consists of 3 BOOTHS. Amy has that MIX MARKER because her largest group in the pair (5 Green BOOTHS) is bigger than Josh' (4).
- D. Josh has the PATH MARKER (with 4 Blue BOOTHS) and RECTANGLE MARKER (with 4 Green BOOTHS).
When Do You Win Tokens?
With each MARKER that you win, you gain 1 TOKEN which you place beside your grid.
- Take the matching TOKEN if the MARKER came from the center. (The printed sheet shows the TOKENS matching each MARKER.)
- Take a general TOKEN (purple 1-star) if the MARKER came from another player.
Notes:
- You can never lose TOKENS, while you can lose MARKERS.
- If you have a MARKER but fulfill it better at another place in your grid, you move the MARKER to the other place but don't get a new TOKEN.
- You can exchange purple 1-star TOKENS by bigger TOKENS with the same number of stars.
Break-up
If you lower your strength for your MARKER (for example if you make a group smaller), you don't lose the MARKER yet, even if another player has a better place for it!
If that MARKER doesn't fit anywhere in your grid (for example if the 2 groups for a MIX MARKER aren't adjacent anymore), place that MARKER next to your grid. Move it back to your grid again once you create a place for it again (if no other player took it in the meantime). This doesn't get you an extra TOKEN.
Pass
You can pass and skip turns for the rest of the game. If you have the TIME TRACK, you still roll the die after each of your skipped turns.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately if the TIME TENT reaches the last space of the TIME TRACK.
End Score
- VICTORY POINTS: Each star (on MARKERS in your grid, and on your TOKENS) is 1 point. MARKERS next to your grid don't bring points.
- MINUS POINTS: Check which of your colors has the highest sum of groups plus separate BOOTHS. Subtract this number from your victory points.
- TIEBREAKER: Among equal players, the player with the most stars on general (purple) TOKENS wins. If tied again, the player with the most of the 5 MIX TOKENS wins.
Example: At game end this player has 16 stars (5 on MARKERS and 11 on TOKENS). The color with the highest total of groups plus separate BOOTHS is pink with 4 (1 group and 3 separate BOOTHS). So the end score is 16 - 4 = 12.
Solo Game
Also available at chatuchak-game.com.
- Use 1 of the 16 START GRID TILE sides (or the variant on the next page) to build a grid. Skip the other PREPARATION rules.
- Completely group each color, so that only 5 groups remain (so 1 group per color), by as low a number of moves as possible.
- Use TOKENS to count your number of moves.
Number of moves: ... 17-18-19-20-21-22-23-24-25-26-27-28-29-30-31-32-33-34-35-36-37-38-39-40-41 ...
Rank: Market Master, Booth Owner, Haggler, "Looky Loo".
Variants
Speed Game
Quick game to learn the mechanic!
- Preparation: Each player copies a random START GRID TILE side, or all use the below 'NEW START GRIDS' rules.
- Say "3-2-1-START", then all players play simultaneously.
- Each player plays consecutive moves as fast as they want!
- Winner is the first who has only 5 groups (so 1 group per color) remaining (as in the SOLO GAME).
New Start Grids
Advised if players know the game!
Instead of copying the START GRID TILES, all players mix their own 29 BOOTHS and place these one by one, each at the lowest-numbered free spot (see 1 to 29 in the picture) that meets 3 rules:
- Rule A: The BOOTHS in spot 1 and 6 must be different colors.
- Rule B: 2 BOOTHS of the same color may not be connected.
- Rule C: 3 BOOTHS of the same color may not surround 1 spot.
Example: The new Blue BOOTH can't go to spot 13 (because it would connect to another Blue BOOTH) or spot 14 (because then 3 Blue BOOTHS surround 1 other spot). Spot 15 already has a BOOTH, so it gets placed in spot 16.
If a BOOTH can't be placed anywhere at all, exchange it with another BOOTH, from the lowest-possible spot number that makes both BOOTHS satisfy rules A, B and C.
Example: The new Green BOOTH doesn't fit anywhere. Exchanging with the first (Red) BOOTH isn't possible either because a Green BOOTH is adjacent to that spot. Though exchanging with the next (Blue) BOOTH makes both BOOTHS fit correctly.
In the rare case that exchanging can't make all BOOTHS meet Rule A, B and C, place only observing rule A and B.