Chocobo Party Up! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Components
• Setup
• Turn Order
  • 1. Roll the Die
  • 2. Play 1 Friend Card or Call Your Big Chocobo
    • Play 1 Friend Card
    • Call Your Big Chocobo
  • 3. Movement
    • Moving Chocobos
    • Moving the Big Chocobo
    • Moving Companion Chocobos
    • Limit of 4 Chocobos
    • Kick
  • 4. Call
  • 5. Check Your Hand Limit
  • 6. Check the Victory Conditions
• Rules for Two Players
• Appendix: Friend Cards

Overview

Some companion chocobos have appeared near the Spring and you'd like to invite them to your nest! Lead your chocobos into the forest and shelter your companions there. If something goes wrong, you can count on your friends to avoid disaster!

In this game for 2-4 players you will need all your wit, courage and a little luck. Let the call of your chocobos attract their companions, and then move them carefully to protect them. Use your friends' powers wisely. Be the first to gather 6 companion chocobos in your territory and you win!

Components

• 1 die
• 20 companion chocobos
• 14 trail tokens
• 4 territory boards, 1 of each color (per player)
• 8 chocobos, 2 of each color (per player)
• 4 big chocobos, 1 of each color (per player)
• 30 friend cards (8 Shirma, 8 Croma, 6 Moguri, 5 Tifón and 3 Gólem)
• 4 reference cards
• 2 game boards: a double-sided board (front side for 4 players; back side for 2-3 players) and a small single-sided board (for 4 players)
• 1 rulebook

Setup

Use this setup in games of 3 and 4 players. Page 25 shows the changes for 2-player games.

1. Depending on the number of players, place the game board(s) in the center of the table. For 3 players, use only the back side of the double-sided board. For 4 players, use the front side of the double-sided board and place the small board beside it, as shown in the image.
2. Place a trail token on each space of the board(s) that contains a trail token symbol.
3. Shuffle the friend cards and place them face down in a pile near the game board.
4. Each player chooses a color and takes all the components of that color (territory board, 2 chocobos, 1 big chocobo, 1 reference card). Place the territory boards as indicated.
5. Choose a starting player at random. Starting with that player and going clockwise, each player places their two chocobos on any space of their territory board (both chocobos may be placed on the same space).

Diagram labels: trail token; double-sided board (front side); small single-sided board; Spring spaces; territory boards. Layout shown for a 4-player game and for a 3-player game.

Turn Order

The game is played in a series of turns. Starting with the starting player and going clockwise, each player takes their turn until someone achieves the victory condition. Each turn has the following 6 phases.

1. Roll the Die

In this phase the number of steps you move on your turn is decided. When you roll the die:

• If you roll the chocobo icon face → draw 1 friend card from the pile and add it to your hand.
• If you roll a face showing 2 footprints – 4 footprints (the two faces printed on the rule, joined by a dash) → draw no card.

Translation note: the die faces are icons in the original, described here in words. The printed dash between the two footprint faces is rendered as "or" in this translation (a judgment call; the original does not spell out the connector).

The number of symbols on the die will let you move your chocobos further later. If at any point in the game the pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile and place it face down to form a new pile.

2. Play 1 Friend Card or Call Your Big Chocobo

You may choose between playing 1 friend card, calling your big chocobo, or doing nothing.

Play 1 Friend Card

Play 1 card from your hand and carry out its effect. Then discard it face up. The appendix gives the complete list of friend card effects.

Call Your Big Chocobo

Discard 2 friend cards from your hand. Place one of the big chocobos from your supply on an empty space adjacent to another space that contains one or more of your chocobos.

You may not move your big chocobo during the turn in which you place it.

3. Movement

Each step lets you move one chocobo (including big chocobos) to any adjacent space, including Spring spaces and territory boards of other players. You may move as many chocobos as you like, as well as your big chocobo.

Moving Chocobos

Move your chocobos (including big chocobos) as many times as your die result indicates.

If you have 2 chocobos on the same space, you may move them together and it counts as a single movement.

All your chocobos (including big chocobos) may enter spaces occupied by other players' chocobos. However, they may not enter spaces where other players' big chocobos are, or where two chocobos of the same player already are.

Example (left): you rolled a 2. You may move your chocobo two spaces, both chocobos one space, or do nothing.

Example (right): you rolled a 2. Your two chocobos are on the same space, so you decide to move them together two spaces.

Moving the Big Chocobo

It moves in the same way as the other chocobos.

It may not move together with another chocobo.

It may move a maximum of one space per turn.

Remember that you may not move your big chocobo during the turn in which you place it.

Moving Companion Chocobos

You may not move companion chocobos on their own.

When one or more of your chocobos (big or not) leaves a space, you may have one or more companion chocobos follow it, to adjacent spaces, without any additional movement cost and regardless of who moved them previously.

Limit of 4 Chocobos

A maximum of 4 chocobos at a time is allowed on a single space. This includes chocobos, big chocobos and companion chocobos. Each big chocobo, however, counts as 2 toward this limit.

If, as a result of one of your actions, 5 or more chocobos end up grouped on the same space, you must move companion chocobos to adjacent spaces until the number of chocobos drops to 4.

If moving the companion chocobos causes another space to exceed the limit, repeat the same process until all spaces comply with the limit.

Kick

When you move 2 of your chocobos or your big chocobo onto a space that contains chocobos of one or more players, you may move as many of those chocobos as you like, in the order you like, to adjacent spaces.

This is called a kick.

If the kick takes place on a space with 5 or more chocobos, first carry it out and then check that the limit of 4 is not exceeded.

After the kick, your movement phase ends.

4. Call

In this phase you may have one of your chocobos call a companion chocobo.

Choose one of your chocobos (big or not) located on a trail token or a Spring space. There must be fewer than 4 chocobos on that space for you to make the call.

If your die result is 4 or more, you may only choose a chocobo on a Spring space.

Place 1 companion chocobo from the supply on that space and draw 1 friend card. If there was a trail token on that space, discard it.

If there are no companion chocobos left in the supply because they have all already been called, you may not carry out this action.

5. Check Your Hand Limit

If you have 4 or more friend cards in your hand, you must discard until you have 3.

6. Check the Victory Conditions

If you have 6 or more companion chocobos on your territory board, you immediately win the game.

Otherwise, the turn passes to the next player clockwise.

Rules for Two Players

Play as indicated previously, but apply the following changes during setup:

1. Use only the back side of the double-sided board.
2. No changes.
3. No changes.
4. Place 2 territory boards on any of the 3 sides of the game board. The last side remains empty.
5. Both players place 1 chocobo each on the specified space (marked with a star). Then, starting with the starting player, they place the rest of their chocobos on a space of their territory board.

Diagram: two-player layout. The two players' chocobos point to the starred space, and the territory boards are placed along the lower sides of the board.

Appendix: Friend Cards

The following effects apply to the five kinds of friend card. Each card is played as described in phase 2 of the turn order.

• Shirma: Add +1 to the die during this turn.
• Croma: Choose a companion chocobo and move it one space.
• Moguri: Choose a space with a trail symbol that has no trail token and place a trail token on it.
• Tifón: Choose another player's chocobo (that is not a big chocobo). That player must move the chosen chocobo to any space of their territory board.
• Gólem: Choose a space. Move all the chocobos on that space (except big chocobos) one at a time to adjacent spaces.