Cóatl: The Card Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Overview
• Goal of the Game
• Setup
• Types of Cards
  • Prophecy Cards
  • Feather Cards
  • Temple Cards
  • Head & Tail Cards
  • Level Cards
• Your Turn
  • Playing a Feather Card
  • Discarding a Card
  • Fulfilling Prophecies
  • Replenishing Your Hand and the Supply
• Heads and Tails
• Scoring
  • Scoring Example
• Game End
• Detailed Explanation of Temple Cards
• Detailed Explanation of Prophecy Cards
• Solo Mode
  • Goal of the Game
  • Solo Setup
  • CARL's Turn
    • 1- Upgrade
    • 2- Steal
    • 3- Fulfill
  • Your Turn (Solo)
  • End of Competition
  • End of Game

Components

• 50 Feather cards: Connect or overlap these feathered body segments (2 colored segments per card) to paint your Cóatl.
• 20 Head & 20 Tail cards: You each receive sets of 5 colored heads and tails. Place them on the final round.
• 40 Prophecy cards: The decrees of the gods, which you fulfill by painting the foretold patterns in order to score Prestige points.
• 6 Temple cards: The High Priest's preferences for the competition. Satisfy one or both to score Prestige points.
• 4 Level cards: Place your fulfilled Prophecies around this card to mark how many times they are satisfied and how many Prestige points they score according to their level.
• Golden round marker (4 body segments, 1 head, 1 tail): The start player uses these Golden markers to keep track of the rounds.
• 2 additional golden body segments: Return these to the box. They are used to play the solo mode and the Golden Feathers expansion (the mini-expansion included for the Cóatl board game).

Game Overview

You and your friends are competing to impress the Aztec High Priest by painting a Cóatl that best fulfills the Prophecies of the gods. You will take turns playing cards to paint your Cóatl to please the gods whose Prophecies you bring to life. During the fifth and final round, you will paint your Cóatl's head and tail before being judged by the High Priests.

Goal of the Game

Over the course of 5 rounds, each player paints 1 Cóatl to please the gods and impress the High Priest. Whoever paints the Cóatl deemed most prestigious is declared the winner.

In other words, you want to create patterns that fulfill Prophecies by combining colorful Feather cards that also satisfy the objectives of the Temple cards.

Setup

1. Each player takes a Level card and places it in front of them.
2. Shuffle the Feather cards and deal 4 cards to each player. These cards will make up their hand. Place the rest of the deck facedown within easy reach of all players.
3. Shuffle the Prophecy cards and deal 1 to each player. They must then be placed faceup directly above their Level card (level 0). Place 2 Prophecy cards (3, if 2 players) faceup in the middle of the table as a supply. Place the Prophecy deck facedown next to this supply.
4. Shuffle the Temple cards and place 1 faceup next to the Prophecy supply. Return the rest of the Temple cards to the box.
5. Choose a start player. We suggest it be the last person who used a paintbrush. Give them the golden head, tail, and 4 body segments.
6. The start player takes set #1 of the Head and Tail cards and sets them aside for the final round. The next player clockwise takes set #2, and so on. Place the unused sets in the box.

Leave an extra space under your Level card to paint your Cóatl.

Types of Cards

Prophecy Cards

Fulfilling Prophecies is the main way to score Prestige points. To do so, you must paint the Prophecies' patterns onto your Cóatl. Each colored segment can be used to fulfill multiple Prophecies.

Important: Head and Tail cards placed during the final round can also be used to fulfill Prophecies.

A Prophecy card shows a requirement reminder (rotated to make it easier for other players to view) and the left-to-right pattern of the feather colors required to fulfill the Prophecy.

Feather Cards

Use these to paint your Cóatl. Each shows 2 body segments and a feather reminder.

Temple Cards

Strive to complete the Temple card's common objectives to score Prestige points. Each shows 2 common objectives, the number of completed objectives, and the Prestige points scored at the end of the game.

Head & Tail Cards

Use these during the final round (numbered for each player).

Level Cards

Place your Prophecies around this card, according to their level (i.e., the number of times their pattern is satisfied by your Cóatl). The Level card shows the Prestige points scored at the end of the game: level 0 = 0, level 1 = 2, level 2 = 5, level 3 = 6. Flip your Prophecy card facedown (secured) at level 3.

Your Turn

Start player: you are responsible for counting the rounds. Before playing your Feather cards, you must add a body segment to the golden Cóatl.

On your turn, you must add 2 Feather cards to your Cóatl. Each time you add a card to your Cóatl, you have an opportunity to fulfill Prophecies. Once finished, draw 2 Feather cards to replenish your hand.

Playing a Feather Card

If it is your first turn, simply place your first Feather card in front of you, below your Level card, to begin your Cóatl. Otherwise, you must add the card to either side of your Cóatl. You can place your card directly to the left or to the right of your Cóatl, or you can place it to overlap your Cóatl's leftmost or rightmost body segment (i.e., half the card only).

Note: you can never play a card under a previously played card.

Each Feather card has two orientations. You may freely rotate the Feather cards in your hand.

Discarding a Card

Instead of playing a card from your hand, you can discard 1 card from your hand to reveal then play the top card of the Feather deck, adding it to your Cóatl as described above.

Fulfilling Prophecies

If the card you just played creates a pattern that satisfies any faceup Prophecy cards, you can fulfill each of those cards. There are 3 ways to fulfill a Prophecy card:

• Increase the level of your own Prophecies
• Claim new ones from the supply
• Steal 1 Prophecy card from each neighboring player (to your left and right). However, you can only steal 1 Prophecy card per opponent per round.

When you fulfill a Prophecy, count the number of times your Cóatl satisfies the Prophecy's requirement, then place it on the corresponding side of your Level card. If you place a Prophecy on level 3 (you have satisfied it 3 or more times), flip it facedown. Facedown cards are secured and can no longer be stolen by other players.

Example: When you play the blue-yellow Feather A, you fulfill the 'stacked yellow' Prophecy from the supply B and you steal the 'blue-any color-red' Prophecy C from your left neighbor. Then, when you place the green-red Feather D, you upgrade your 'match-green-match' Prophecy E and your 'green-red' Prophecy F.

Note: when overlapping a Feather card, it is possible to downgrade a faceup Prophecy by covering colors previously used to satisfy it. If you do so, you must reposition the Prophecy accordingly. Secured Prophecies cannot be downgraded.

Replenishing Your Hand and the Supply

Once you have added 2 cards to your Cóatl, your turn is over. Draw 2 cards from the Feather deck to replenish your hand. Replenish the Prophecy supply from the deck (3 cards in a 2-player game; 2 in a 3/4-player game). Then, the next player clockwise takes their turn.

Heads and Tails

Once each player has completed their 4th turn (i.e., played 8 Feather cards), the start player must add the golden Cóatl's head and tail. Everyone discards their Feather cards, takes their Head and Tail cards, and the final round begins.

On your final turn, choose one Head to add to the left of your Cóatl, then choose one Tail to add to the right of your Cóatl. If doing so satisfies any faceup Prophecies, you can fulfill and upgrade them as usual.

Scoring

At the end of your final turn, as soon as you have completed your Cóatl, count your final score:

• Score Prestige points for each of your Prophecies according to their level.
• Score 3 Prestige points if you completed one objective of the Temple card; score 7 Prestige points if you completed both of them.

This means that each of you has your own final scoring phase. Once you have your final score, you cannot lose any points, so it does not matter if other players steal your Prophecies.

Scoring Example

You have fulfilled 5 Prophecies and completed 1 Temple objective:

• A is scored at level 1 (satisfied once by segments 10-11) = 2 Prestige points
• B is scored at level 2 (satisfied twice by 5-6 & 14-15) = 5 Prestige points
• C is scored at level 2 (satisfied twice by 1-2-3 & 2-3-4) = 5 Prestige points
• D & E are scored at level 3 (two secured Prophecies) = 12 Prestige points (2x6)
• F: You completed the top Temple objective (you have at least 1 yellow, 1 green, and 1 pink Prophecy) = 3 Prestige points

Total score = 27 Prestige points

Game End

Once all players have counted their final scoring, whoever has the most Prestige points wins. If there is a tie, the player who completed the most Temple objectives wins. If there is still a tie, the player who has the most secured Prophecy cards wins. If the tie persists, players share the victory.

Detailed Explanation of Temple Cards

Each Temple card depicts 2 objectives. If you complete 1 of the objectives, you score 3 Prestige points. If you complete both of them, you score 7 Prestige points. A Level 0 Prophecy card cannot be used to complete a Temple objective.

The Temple card objectives are (each card pairs two of these):

• You have at least 1 yellow, 1 green, and 1 pink Prophecy (secured Prophecies count).
• Your Cóatl is at least 16 segments long, including its head and tail.
• You have a green Prophecy fulfilled at a lower level* than one of your yellow Prophecies (secured Prophecies count).
• Your Cóatl has 3 consecutive segments that are the same color (can include its head or tail).
• You have at least 2 Prophecies of the same color at the same level (e.g., 2 green at level 2).
• Your Cóatl has at least 6 segments of the same color (can include its head or tail).
• You have at least 1 yellow, 1 blue, and 1 pink Prophecy (secured Prophecies count).
• Your Cóatl is no more than 12 segments long, including its head and tail.
• You have a blue Prophecy fulfilled at a lower level* than one of your pink Prophecies (secured Prophecies count).
• Your Cóatl has an equal number of red and green segments, including its head and tail.
• You have at least 1 pink, 1 blue, and 1 green Prophecy (secured Prophecies count).
• Your Cóatl has an equal number of blue and yellow segments, including its head and tail.

*lower level = satisfied fewer times by your Cóatl

Detailed Explanation of Prophecy Cards

Each Prophecy depicts a pattern. If you create a Prophecy's pattern in the same left-to-right order, you fulfill that Prophecy.

Note: when two segments overlap, the top segment is used to fulfill Prophecies (including those that do not require overlapping), and the bottom segment is irrelevant.

Below are examples of Prophecy cards. You can fulfill them when:

• You create a green-red pattern.
• You create a blue-[any color]-red pattern.
• You create a [green or yellow]-blue-[green or yellow] pattern. The segments on the left and right do not need to match.
• You create a blue-[not blue]-blue pattern.
• You create a [match]-green-[match] pattern (e.g., black-green-black or even green-green-green).
• You create a [stack with yellow on top] pattern. Note: the covered segment can be any color.
• You create a green-[stack without green on top] pattern. Note: the covered segment can be any color.

Solo Mode

The Temple's engineers have been hard at work on a new automaton. Much to the High Priest's chagrin, it is not yet able to paint a Cóatl on its own. However, it is remarkably adept at replicating the aggressive disruption that one would face in the heat of a tournament.

Allow us to introduce you to C.A.R.L. (Competition Approximating Robotic Lifeform), hereby simply referred to as CARL. He has been programmed to follow the gods' instructions.

Goal of the Game

To win the game, you must defeat both CARL and CARL 2.0.

• CARL is a regular 5 round competition.
• CARL 2.0 is a grueling 6 round competition.

Solo Setup

1. The back of the Head and Tail cards are numbered. Take a 1, a 2, and a 3 and place them in a column (1 at the top, 3 at the bottom). These are called Fulfillment cards, and they represent different levels. They separate CARL's Prophecies (on the left) from yours (on the right). Leave enough space below this column for you to paint your Cóatl.
2. Take the blue, yellow, and pink God cards (found on the back of the Level cards) and place them in a row above the Fulfillment cards, as depicted on the setup diagram (the row is labeled Upgrade, Steal, Fulfill). These gods represent the order of actions CARL takes on his turn and interact with his Action deck.
3. CARL has a variety of personalities, which affect how difficult it is to play against him. Choose CARL's personality from the table below, and create his Action deck. To do so, take Prophecy cards randomly with the corresponding card backs (blue, yellow, pink).

Personality	Ambitious (Upgrades more often)	Imperious (Steals more often)	Greedy (Fulfills more often)
CARL	3 blue, 1 yellow, 1 pink	3 yellow, 1 blue, 1 pink	3 pink, 1 yellow, 1 blue
CARL 2.0	4 blue, 1 yellow, 1 pink	4 yellow, 1 blue, 1 pink	4 pink, 1 yellow, 1 blue

(Table contents are shown in the rulebook as pictures of card backs; counts transcribed from that image.)

Shuffle CARL's Action deck, and place this Action deck to the left of the play area.

4. Shuffle the Prophecy deck and place 1 faceup Prophecy card on each side of the Fulfillment card at level 1 (you and CARL each begin with a Prophecy).
5. Place 3 faceup Prophecy cards to the right of the God cards to create the Prophecy supply. Place the remaining Prophecy cards as a deck to the right of this supply.
6. Shuffle the Feather deck and place it to the left of the God cards, leaving room for a discard pile beside it. Draw 4 Feather cards as a starting hand.
7. Take the Head and Tail cards normally reserved for player 4 and place them to the right of the play area.
8. Take the Round marker head, tail, and 4 golden body segments, and place them to the right of the play area. Set 1 of the remaining body segments to the side (for the second competition), and return the last body segment to the box.

Layout: Upgrade, Steal, and Fulfill God cards in a row; CARL's Prophecy cards area to the left and your Prophecy cards area to the right of the Fulfillment cards at Levels 1, 2 and 3 (secured Prophecies at level 3); your Cóatl is painted below.

CARL's Turn

CARL is the start player. He follows a series of precise commands.

1. Reveal the top Feather card
2. Reveal the next God card
3. Perform actions

1. Reveal the top Feather card. Each Feather card depicts 2 colors for this turn. These are CARL's preferred colors. Note: he does not prefer 'both' over 'one'. CARL ignores the icons that do not have a specific color.

2. Reveal the next God card. For the first round, use the god already on top of the Action deck. For further turns, discard the topmost god to reveal the next one. CARL performs the action associated with the topmost god twice in a row this turn.

3. Perform actions. CARL must perform these 3 actions, in the following order: 1- Upgrade, 2- Steal, 3- Fulfill. When faced with a choice of Prophecies, CARL is programmed to obey the PRIORITY rules for that action.

1- Upgrade

CARL upgrades one of his Prophecy cards, moving it to the next level.

PRIORITY: CARL upgrades the highest level Prophecy that satisfies his color preference. If no Prophecy satisfies his color preference, he upgrades his highest level Prophecy. If there are several cards to choose from, CARL upgrades the one closest to the Fulfillment card.

Example: CARL upgrades his Level 1 green Prophecy to Level 2. Although both Prophecies match his color preference (red or black), CARL prioritizes Prophecies that are closer to the Fulfillment card.

2- Steal

CARL steals one of your Prophecy cards, placing it at the same level.

PRIORITY: CARL steals your highest level Prophecy card that matches his color preference. If no Prophecy satisfies his color preference, he steals your highest level Prophecy card. If there are several Prophecies to choose from, CARL steals the one closest to the Fulfillment card.

Example: Your level 2 Prophecy is the highest level Prophecy that matches CARL's color preference. CARL steals it and adds it to the left of his Prophecies, at the same level.

3- Fulfill

CARL fulfills a new Prophecy from the supply and places the card at level 1.

PRIORITY: CARL fulfills the leftmost supply Prophecy that satisfies his color preference. If no Prophecy satisfies his color preference, he simply fulfills the leftmost one.

Example: The leftmost Prophecy satisfies CARL's color preference, so he fulfills it at level 1. CARL's action card is pink, so he fulfills a second Prophecy: the rightmost Prophecy also satisfies his color preference, so he fulfills it at level 1.

Your Turn (Solo)

Each round, you play your turn as you do in a multiplayer game, with three exceptions:

• You may steal up to 2 Prophecy cards from CARL each turn.
• Whenever you upgrade, steal, or fulfill a Prophecy, you must place it to the right of all Prophecies already at the same level. If you fulfill multiple Prophecies simultaneously, you decide the order in which you place them.
• If you downgrade a Prophecy to level 0, you discard it.

End of Competition

CARL takes his final turn (performed in the same way as his other turns) before counting his Prestige points. Then, once your Head and Tail round is complete, count Prestige points as you would in a multiplayer game.

If CARL's score tied or exceeded your score, CARL wins and the game is over. If your score is greater than CARL's, you can compete against CARL 2.0. When competing against CARL 2.0, the game is played over the course of 6 rounds (you play 10 Feather cards before proceeding to the Head and Tail round), and you must use the fifth golden body segment.

To upgrade CARL, shuffle another card into his Action deck, according to the Personality you chose for him during setup (see the Personality Table). Reset the play area for your competition against CARL 2.0.

End of Game

If you score more Prestige points than CARL 2.0, you win the game. Otherwise, CARL 2.0 wins.