Ducks in Tow
Ducks in Tow Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 40 Food (4 colours of cubes, 10 of each)
- 32 Ducks (4 colours of ducks, 8 of each)
- 4 Player Pawns (with clear Tow attached)
- 8 Formation Cards (clear cards)
- 14 Tiles (6 Special Action Tiles, 8 Location Tiles)
- 4 Reference Cards (double sided)
- 5 Starting Cards (one marked 1st Player)
- 1 Food Bag & 1 Duck Bag
- 48 Location Cards (8 Locations, 6 of each)
Game Setup
1. Determine Start Player
Find the Starting Cards that match the number of players that will be playing. The player count indicator is on the bottom right of each card. Place the unused cards back in the box.
Shuffle and randomly deal 1 Starting Card to each player. The player who was dealt the card marked "First Player" goes first. Place the starting card face-up in front of you.
Each player chooses 1 of the 4 Player Pawn colours to use in the game.
Also give each player 1 Reference Card.
2. Tiles
Separate the Special Action Tiles from the Location Tiles. Place the Special Action Tiles according to the configurations for the number of players.
Choose a number of Location Tiles depending on the number of players. 2 players use 4 Location Tiles, 3 players use 6, and 4 players use all 8.
Place all unused Tiles back in the box.
Shuffle the Location Tiles and randomly place them in the Location (dark) Spaces according to the configurations for the number of players.
Place the Player Pawns on the starting Tiles (highlighted) according to the configurations for the number of players.
3. Location Cards
If playing with 2 or 3 players, first find the Location Cards with the symbols that match the Location Tiles you're using in this game. The other Location Cards will not be used in this game.
Place the unused Location Cards back in the box.
Shuffle the Location Cards and deal 4 to each player. Place the remaining cards into a stack near the play area — this will be referred to as the deck. Flip 4 cards face-up in a row so that all players can see them.
4. Formation Cards
Shuffle the Formation Cards and randomly select a number of cards equal to the number of players plus 2. (For example, in a 4 player game, you would only use 6 of the 8 available Cards.)
Place the unused Formation Cards back in the box.
Place the cards with the number showing so that all players can see them.
5. Food
Place all of the Food in the Food Bag.
Each player draws a number of Food at the start of the game based on turn order, going clockwise.
1st Player: 2 Food. 2nd: 3 Food. 3rd: 4 Food. 4th: 4 Food.
6. Ducks
Use the number of Ducks based on the number of players.
2 Player: 6 of each Duck colour. 3 Player: 7 of each Duck colour. 4 Player: use all Ducks.
Place the Ducks you're using for this game into the Duck Bag. Place unused Ducks back in the box.
Draw Ducks from the Duck Bag and place 1 Duck on each Tile.
You're ready to start...
Each player should have placed their Player Pawn on the designated starting Tiles.
Each player should have in front of them: 1 Starting Card, 1 Reference Card, 4 Location Cards, and Food.
Player Turns
The objective is to feed the ducks (adding them to your Tow) and lead them to their favourite Locations around the park, which allows you to complete Location Cards for points.
When adding a Duck to your Tow, simply place it on one of the 4 available slots on your Player Pawn's Tow.
Once you add a Duck to your Tow, there are only two ways to remove them, so be careful which Ducks you feed!
On your turn, you may spend up to 4 Actions (Basic or Tile) in any order/combination.
Shake the Bag: randomly draw 1 Duck from the Bag. If you have a Food that matches the Duck, you may add it to your Tow by spending the matching Food. If you don't have a Food that matches, or you do not want to add the Duck to your Tow, you must Disperse the Duck (see End of Turn, below).
Basic Actions
Move: Allows you to move your Player Pawn from your current Tile to an adjacent Tile.
Feed: Feed as many Ducks as you want on your current Tile by spending 1 Food per Duck. The Food colour must match the Duck's colour. Add the Duck(s) to your Tow. Place the spent Food back into the Food Bag.
Drop Off: Each Location Card requires 1, 2 or 3 Ducks that match the colours of the symbols on the Card. To complete a Location Card, your Player Pawn must be on a Location Tile that matches the icon on the Location Card. You may complete any number of Location Cards that match that Location Tile. Place each completed card to the left or right of your existing face-up Cards.
Remove the required Ducks from your Tow to complete the Location Card(s). Draw 1 random Duck from the Duck Bag. Keep the Ducks in front of you to Disperse at the end of your turn.
Tile Actions
As one of your actions, you may activate a Special Action Tile if your Player Pawn is on the specific Tile.
The Gift Shop: Gain up to 2 Food of YOUR CHOICE from the Food bag. If you have more than 4 Food, discard Food back into the Food Bag until you have 4.
OR
Draw up to 2 Location Cards. If you have more than 4 Cards, discard Cards until you have 4. You may draw from the available face-up cards or from the top of the deck. Do not reveal new cards.
Adopt: Remove 2 Ducks from your Tow. You may keep 1 Duck to place onto your completed Location Cards to fill in missing Duck spaces.
The duck you place on your completed Location Cards must be placed in the row that matches their colour. Keep the other Duck in front of you to Disperse at the end of your turn.
Formation Cards
You may claim a Formation Card after completing a Location Card or Adopting a Duck. This is NOT an "Action". To claim a Formation Card, you must match the same pattern in your card rows that is printed on the Formation Card. The Formation Card must be placed in its proper orientation to align the duck shapes. You may use duck symbols printed on the Location Cards and/or Ducks you have placed on your rows with the Adopt Tile Action to form the matching patterns.
Place the Formation Card on top of your completed Location Cards to cover the Duck Symbols you're choosing to use. You can overlap the Formation Cards but you can NOT use the same Duck Symbol or Duck for 2 different Formation Cards.
Formation Cards may NOT extend outside of the grey area of your Location Cards.
Each Formation Card is worth extra points (2, 3, or 4) at the end of the game.
End of Turn
Disperse the Duck(s): Choose a Tile, then from the Ducks you kept in front of you, place a random Duck on that Tile. Start with EMPTY Tiles first, then continue to place onto Tiles with the LEAST number of Ducks. You may NOT disperse Ducks onto a Tile with a Player Pawn.
You may discard any number of your unused Food back into the Food Bag. Then, draw until you have 4 Food.
If you have less than 4 Location Cards, draw until you have 4. You may draw from the available face-up cards or randomly draw from the top of the deck.
Reveal new cards from the deck until there are 4 face-up available for the next player.
Pass the Food Bag to the player to your left to show that you have finished your turn.
End of Game
The End of Game is triggered when:
- A player reaches a number of cards (including the Starting Card) in front of them, depending on the number of players: 2 Player: 8 Cards. 3 Player: 7 Cards. 4 Player: 6 Cards.
OR
- The last Formation Card is claimed.
The player who triggered the End of Game finishes their turn. Each OTHER player gets ONE more turn.
Scoring
Score 1 point for each Duck Symbol and Duck in your longest "connected row" for each of the 4 Duck colours on your completed Location Cards. A "connected row" is a horizontal line of Ducks across all of your completed Location Cards.
Add any points for Formation Card(s) you claimed during the game.
The player with the most points is the winner.
Example: Connected rows of Duck Symbols/Ducks in each colour: 13 Points. Formation Card: 2 Points. Total = 15 Points.
If there is a tie, the tied player with the longest connected row is the winner. If there is still a tie, the tied players with the next longest connected row is the winner. If there is still a tie, the tied players both win. In the end, you've gained all the ducks' affection. What more could you ask for?
Credits
Game Design: Stephanie Kwok. Game Development: Gordon Oscar. Illustrations: Andrew Bosley.
Special Thanks: Game Artisans of Canada, Vancouver Playtest Group, and all the lovely playtesters and Kickstarter backers.