Fantastique
Fantastique Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 100 fan cards with values 1–8 (16×1, 15×2, 14×3, 13×4, 12×5, 11×6, 10×7, 9×8)
- 21 medal cards:
- 7× Bronze (values 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
- 7× Silver (values 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
- 7× Gold (values 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18)
- 3 double-sided Grande Finale fans, with sides I, II, III, IV, V, VI
- 5 double-sided Grande Finale medals, with values 20 (Gold) and 10 (Silver)
Setup
- Choose one of the 3 double-sided Grande Finale fans and decide which of its two sides to use. For your first game we recommend side I. Place the Grande Finale fan with the chosen side facing up in the middle of the table, where everyone can see it. You do not need the other Grande Finale fans for this game.
- Place 2 Grande Finale medals next to the Grande Finale fan: one with the gold side (20 points) and the other with the silver side (10 points) facing up. You only need the remaining Grande Finale medals if there is a tie at the end of the game.
- Lay out the gold and silver medals face up in the middle of the table, sorted by descending value. Arrange them overlapping so that all values can be seen easily. If you are playing with 4 or 5 people, also lay out a row of bronze medals. With 2 or 3 players you do not need the bronze medals; return them to the box.
- Shuffle all fan cards and deal 10 hand cards to each player. Place the remaining cards as a face-down stack in the middle of the table. Leave some room next to it for a discard pile.
Game Flow
The game lasts 7 rounds. Each round consists of these 4 phases:
- Reveal fan cards
- Play fans
- Distribute medals
- Take new fan cards
1. Reveal Fan Cards
At the start of each round, reveal fan cards from the face-down stack one after another. Place them face up next to the stack until you have formed 5 stacks. Cards with the same value are placed overlapping on the same stack. In this way each stack consists of one card or several cards of the same value.
Important: none of the open stacks may contain more than 3 cards. If you reveal a value for the fourth time, you exceptionally begin a new stack with it.
As soon as you have placed a card on the fifth stack, you reveal no further cards. The last stack therefore never contains more than one card.
If the face-down stack is empty, shuffle the discard pile and place it as the new face-down stack.
Example: Suki, Kiano, Emilie and Samir prepare the display. They reveal a 2 and begin the first stack with it. Then they reveal a 5 and begin the next stack. Then they draw another 2 and place it on the first stack. Then a 4, another 5, then an 8, another 5, and as the last card a 7.
2. Play Fans
Whoever last waved a fan starts.
On your turn, play any fan from your hand. A fan always consists of one card or several cards of the same value. Lay the fan cards face up and fanned out in front of you so that everyone can see the value and the number of cards.
Then the next player clockwise takes a turn. They must also play any fan from one or more identical cards from their hand. The rule is that no one may play exactly the same combination of value and number of cards that someone else has already played in this round. Take turns until every player has played their own fan.
Example: Suki starts and plays two 4s. Kiano is next. He may play any combination except exactly two 4s. He therefore decides on three 4s. Emilie plays a single 8, and Samir plays two 1s.
3. Distribute Medals
Now distribute medals. At the end of the game each medal is worth as many points as are printed on it.
Whoever played the most fan cards in this round receives the Gold medal. Whoever played the second most cards receives the Silver medal. If you are playing with 4 or 5 people, whoever played the third most cards receives the Bronze medal.
If several players played the same number of cards, the one among them who played the higher value receives the more valuable medal.
When distributing medals, start with the lowest medal of each row (Gold 6, Silver 3 and Bronze 1). In this way the medals become more valuable from round to round.
Place the medals you receive during the game in a face-up stack in front of you. Only the top medal, that is the one received most recently, must be visible to everyone at all times.
Example: Kiano played the most cards with three 4s and takes the Gold medal. Suki and Samir played the same number of cards, so they compare the value of their cards. Since Suki's 4s have a higher value than Samir's 1s, she receives the Silver medal and Samir receives the Bronze medal. Emilie goes empty-handed this round.
4. Take New Fan Cards
Now take turns choosing one of the open fan card stacks in the middle of the table and take all of its cards into your hand. There is no hand limit.
The player who played the highest value this round may choose a stack first. The player who played the second-highest value chooses next, and so on until everyone has taken a stack. If several players played the same card value, the one among them who played more cards chooses first.
Example: Emilie played the highest value with her 8 and takes the stack of three 5s from the middle into her hand. Suki and Kiano played the same value, but Kiano played more cards. He therefore may choose first and decides on the two 2s. Suki then takes the single 8. Samir goes last and takes the single 7.
Place your played fan cards and any remaining fan card stacks on the discard pile. Begin a new round by revealing new fan cards. In the new round, the player who won the Gold medal in the previous round plays first.
End of the Game
After 7 rounds the game ends. Now evaluate your hand cards in the Grande Finale. To do so, lay your hand cards face up, including the cards you received at the end of round 7.
Slide up the fan cards in your hand that match the scoring conditions on the Grande Finale fan. Then compare with each other how many cards each of you has slid up. The player with the most cards receives the Gold Grande Finale medal, and the player with the second most receives the Silver Grande Finale medal.
If there is a tie for first or second place in the Grande Finale, all players involved in the tie receive a Gold or Silver Grande Finale medal, respectively. Use the Grande Finale medals you set aside at the start of the game for this.
The second place is also awarded when several players are tied for first place.
Example: Suki, Kiano, Emilie and Samir play with Grande Finale fan I, where they count the number of all 1s, 2s and 3s. At the end of the game Suki still has a 1 and a 2 in her hand. Kiano still has three 2s, Emilie three 1s, and Samir two 2s and three 3s. Samir therefore has the most scored cards and receives the Gold Grande Finale medal. Kiano and Emilie are tied for second place and both receive a Silver Grande Finale medal. Suki goes empty-handed.
Now each player adds up all their points from medals and Grande Finale medals. Whoever has the most points in total wins!
If several of you have the same number of points, compare your medals. Whoever has the highest medal in front of them (Grande Finale medals excluded) wins.
Grande Finale Fans
Fan I: Count all 1s, 2s and 3s you still have at the end of the game.
Fan II: Count all 6s, 7s and 8s you still have at the end of the game.
Fan III: Count all fan cards in the two values of which you still have the most at the end of the game. For example, with the cards 1, 2, 3, 3, 8, 8 you score 4 cards (3, 3, 8 and 8).
Fan IV: Count all fan cards in your hand. Subtract the number of all cards of the value of which you still have the most at the end of the game. For example, with the cards 1, 4, 4, 4, 6, 7 you score 3 cards (1, 6 and 7).
Fan V: Count all fan cards with the highest and the lowest value that you still have at the end of the game. For example, with the cards 2, 3, 3, 4, 8, 8 you score 3 cards (2, 8 and 8).
Fan VI: Count all fan cards in the longest run of directly consecutive values that you still have at the end of the game. For example, with the cards 4, 4, 5, 6, 8 you score 4 cards (4, 4, 5 and 6).