Foragers
Foragers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 16 Land Tiles (4 Center Tiles, 4 Fire Pit Tiles, 4 Edge Tiles, 4 Corner Tiles)
- 20 Share Tokens
- 12 Tool Tokens
- 1 Common Action Card
- 4 Tableaus
- 40 Action Cards
- 40 VP Tokens
- 1 Hunt Leader Card
- 4 Player Pawns
- 16 Action Cubes
- 12 Spoilage Cards
- 4 Energy Markers
- 135 Food Squares
Terminology
A number of terms are important to know.
Tile Spaces
- Food space: where foragers pick up fruit, fish and aurochs.
- Fire pit: where foragers share food with the tribe.
- Resting space: where foragers can regain lost energy.
Strength and Energy
Each player tracks his own strength and energy level at the top of the tableau. A player's strength ranges from 0 to 6 and is determined by his energy level. As a player increases his energy, he sometimes attains a new strength level.
Food Tracks and Eating
Players collect food from the board and place it on their tableau's food tracks, starting in the first space (in green). At the end of a round, food ages and moves across the tracks. If the food moves out of the final zone (i.e., out of the red area), it spoils and is returned to the supply.
Players may sometimes "eat" their food to increase their energy. The food is converted to energy at a different ratio, depending upon where it is on the track. In the green area, each food eaten adds 3 energy; in the yellow area, it adds 2 energy; in the red, it adds 1 energy. See Eat.
Setup
Follow the steps on the Setup card to set up the game.
Playing the Game
The game is played in a series of rounds. Each round has 4 phases:
- I: Planning
- II: Acting
- III: Spoiling
- IV: Assessing
Phase I: Planning
In this phase, players simultaneously plan actions to be performed in Phase II.
- They draw the top 3 action cards from their decks.
- They choose 1 and place it face-down to the right side of their tableau.
- They return the other 2 cards to the top of their decks in either order.
- When all are ready, they proceed to Phase II.
Note: In the final round of a 3 player game, players will only have 2 cards to draw.
Phase II: Acting
- All players simultaneously reveal the card chosen in Phase I.
- Starting with the hunt leader and moving clockwise, each player takes a turn choosing an action by placing 1 of his own action cubes on an empty square on his own action card or on the common action card.
- After placing the cube, the player performs the chosen action.
- Players take turns until each player has placed 4 action cubes and thereby performed 4 actions.
Actions
Walk
If a player chooses the walk action, he...
- may move his pawn up to the number of spaces shown on the card.
- must follow the trails.
- may not end his movement on, but may pass through, a food space occupied by another player. However, he must have an equal or higher strength level than the other player to pass through.
- may pass through or end his movement on a fire pit or resting space occupied by another player, regardless of their respective strengths.
Example: Green puts an action cube on "walk 5", so she may walk up to 5 spaces. She would like to pass through the space with Red's pawn, but she cannot because her current strength is 3, but Red's is 4. She moves only 2 spaces and stops in a space adjacent to Red.
Special Case: Brawling
- If a player passes through a food space occupied by another player and if the walking player's strength is higher, the walking player wins a brawl and takes from the other player a number of victory points (VPs) equal to the difference in strength (to a maximum of 3 VPs).
- One may not take VPs from a player in a resting space or fire pit.
- A player may take VPs from more than 1 person on a turn.
- If a player cannot pay the whole amount, he pays whatever he can.
- If a player has no VPs, he loses nothing.
- Brawling itself does not require the placement of an action cube. It is part of the walk action.
Example: Red's strength is 4. She moves her pawn 3 spaces, the first of which is occupied by Green (see example above). Since Green's strength is only 3, Red wins the brawl and takes 1 VP from Green.
Forage
- A player may pick up food, up to the number shown on the card, from the food space currently occupied by his pawn.
- The player places the picked up food on the first space of his tableau's corresponding food track.
Example: Green is on a food space with 3 fish. She may pick up to 5 items but only 3 are there, so she picks up the 3 fish and moves them to her tableau.
Share
- A player must be in a fire pit space to share.
- Sharing tokens represent the kind and amount of food desired by the tribe.
- To share (i.e., to take a sharing token), a player must return to the supply the number and type of food indicated on the token.
- There are 2 "wild" tokens, each of which can be acquired by turning in 3 foods, exactly 1 of each type. They are marked with a "3" and an image of each food. At game end, each may be counted as any 1 food type.
- When sharing, the "age" of the food does not matter (see Phase IV).
- Players track the different fire pits visited by placing sharing tokens on their tableau in the rock area matching the colored rocks around the fire pit. At game end, players may score a "tribe bonus" for visiting different pits.
- A player may share food in the same fire pit multiple times during the game. If so, sharing tokens are stacked on the same tableau spot; other players may look at tokens that are not visible, if they wish.
Example: Blue is in the fire pit with white rocks. She "shares" 4 fish and earns the 4 fish token. She places it inside the white rocks on her tableau, signifying that she shared food here. At game end, this token will earn 4 VPs and possibly some bonus points.
Pick Up Tool
- If a player is in a food space with a tool, he may pick it up and place it in the specified area on his tableau.
- A player may possess a maximum of 2 tools of the same type.
- Tools provide special powers, as described below.
Arrowhead: The possession of an arrowhead adds 1 to a player's strength level. The energy marker is not physically moved, but the value is increased. If a player's track marker is at 4, for example, the player's strength with an arrowhead is 5. Two arrowheads increase the strength by 2. A player's strength may be considered to be above 6 because of arrowheads.
Fish Hook: A fish hook allows a player to take 1 extra fish from the supply whenever the player takes fish from a food space. With 2 hooks, a player takes 2 extra fish.
Boomerang: With a boomerang, a player may take an extra auroch from the supply whenever the player takes at least 1 auroch from a food space. With 2 boomerangs, a player takes 2 extra aurochs.
Stick: With a stick, a player may take an extra fruit from the supply whenever the player takes at least 1 fruit from a food space. With 2 sticks, a player takes 2 extra fruit.
Note: By use of a tool, a player may pick up more food than his card allows.
Eat
- To increase one's energy, a player may eat any food on his tableau up to the number specified on the action card.
- Eaten foods are returned to the supply.
- For each food eaten, how much the energy marker is moved depends on the food's "freshness." Above the tableau's food tracks are icons showing how much energy a player receives per food eaten. (See Terminology)
Example: Blue may eat up to 3 foods. She eats 2 fish. 1 fish is converted to 3 energy because the fish is in the first space; the other is worth 2 energy because it is in the third space. She returns the 2 fish to the supply and moves her marker 5 spaces on the energy track.
Rest
- A player rests to increase energy.
- To rest, a player moves the energy marker along the tableau's energy track the number of spaces designated on the action card.
Common Action Card
Instead of placing an action cube on one's action card, a player may put it on the common action card, unless the same type of action is available on his own card. For example, if Yellow has an open box for picking up a tool, he may not use the common action card to do so. Only 1 cube may be placed in a box per round. The actions on the common action card have all been described, except for "discover."
Discover
- To discover, the player's pawn must be in a space with a path leading off the board and the space must allow for the placement of a new tile, as determined by the number of players (see maps in Points of Emphasis):
- For 4 players, the game board must finish in a 4 x 4 grid in which the corner tiles are placed in the 4 corners and the edge tiles placed in between a fire pit tile and a corner tile.
- For 3 players, the board must finish in a cross pattern without the corner tiles. Edge tiles are not used.
- For 2 players, the board must finish in a 3 x 3 grid with the corner tiles in the corners. Corner tiles are not used.
- By discovering, a player places a new land tile and expands the board.
- To discover, the player places an action cube on an open box beneath the discover icon. He draws and places the appropriate type of land tile.
- There is only 1 proper orientation for new land tiles, as dictated by the board.
- After placing a new tile, take the specified number and type of food from the supply and fill the tile's food spaces.
- A new tool is drawn, turned face-up, and placed in the food space marked with a tool icon.
- A player receives 1 VP from the supply for the discover action.
Example: Green is in a space that is adjacent to a discoverable area and she chooses the discover action. She places her action cube and then draws a land tile from the appropriate pile. Players then fill up the tile with food from the supply; Green takes 1 VP from the supply.
Special Action: Run
- Immediately before and/or after performing a card action, one may "run."
- Running does not require the placement of an action cube and does not count toward the 4 actions a player takes per round.
- Running follows the same rules as walking, except that a player must spend 2 energy for every 1 space he runs.
- Players spend energy by moving their energy markers down their track.
- A player may run as many times as he wishes during a turn, provided he has enough energy to do so.
- As with walking, a player may not end his run in a food space occupied by another player, but may end in an occupied fire pit or resting space.
- To run through another player in a food space, the running player must have the same or equal amount of energy after spending the energy to enter the space.
- To determine if a running player wins a brawl, the strength levels are compared while they occupy the same space. If the running player does not have enough energy to enter and leave an occupied space, he may not enter.
- Running is the only action that requires the expenditure of energy.
Ending Phase II
After all players have completed their actions in Phase II, Phase III begins.
Phase III: Spoiling
In this phase, the top spoilage card is revealed. All players must "age" their food by moving each food along the tracks the number shown on the card. If a food item is in a final space on the track and moves further, it spoils and is returned to the supply. The used spoilage card is removed from the game.
Example: The top spoilage card is turned and it shows a 3 for all foods. All food items are moved 3 spaces along the track.
Phase IV: Assessing
At the start of this phase, any players currently in a resting space gain 4 energy and move their energy markers accordingly.
Players check to see if the game has reached the end. If the final spoilage card was flipped in Phase II, the game is over. Note: Players will still have at least 1 unused action card at game end. If the game is over, players enter final scoring (see below).
If the game is not over, players all players take back their action cubes and discard their own used action card. The hunt leader card is passed clockwise and a new round begins.
Players do not gain 4 energy in resting spaces simply by visiting them during the round. A player's pawn must be in the resting space during Phase IV to gain it.
Final Scoring
Prior to scoring, all players freely eat the food on their tableaus and increase their energy at a rate of 1 energy for each food. A player may increase his energy to the furthest space. Food still remaining is kept for tie-breaking purposes.
Players score VPs for the following things and add them to the VPs currently possessed.
- Strength: Score 1 VP for each strength level.
- Sharing Tokens: Score VPs equal to the total number on sharing tokens.
- Tribe Bonus: Score a one-time VP bonus based on the number of different fire pits visited and shared within. For 2 different, score 2 VPs; for 3 different, score 4 VPs; for 4 different, score 7 VPs (see tableau chart).
- Specialization Bonus: Score a one-time bonus VPs for collecting 3 or 4 tokens of the same type (see tableau chart). A "wild" token counts as any 1 type.
- Tool Bonus: Score bonus VPs for the number of tools (see tableau chart). Arrowheads do not raise strength for scoring purposes.
Example: 5 VPs possessed; Strength = 4 VPs; Sharing Tokens = 16 VPs; Tribe Bonus = 7 VPs (for 4 different fire pits); Specialization Bonus = 2 VPs (for 3 Fish tokens); Tool Bonus = 11 VPs. Total Score = 45 VPs.
Tie-breakers: Of those tied, the player with the most tools wins the tie. If still tied, the player whose strength level is higher wins the tie. If still tied, the player with the most remaining food on the tableau wins the tie.
Variant Rules for 2 Players
Follow the same rules above, but with the exceptions noted below.
Setup
Follow the rules for the normal setup, with these changes:
a) Place 5 sharing tokens on each fire pit tile. b) Both players place their pawns in the only resting space on the board.
In this game, 2 "dummy" foragers are used, requiring 3 additional setup steps.
- Place 1 of the unused pawns in any fire pit and place the other in the fire pit on the opposite side of the board.
- Take the 2 decks of action cards corresponding to the dummy players, shuffle them separately, and form 2 draw piles.
- Return the remaining components of these colors to the box.
Playing the Game
The dummy players impact the game primarily during Phase I. In this phase, the dummy players may interfere with the real players by blocking them from moving, taking VPs from them, and stopping them from picking up sharing tokens.
Phase I: Acting
While the real players are taking their turns, the dummy players impact the game in the following way:
- Each dummy pawn has a strength value of 4. So, if a real player wishes to pass through one, the moving player must have a strength value of 4 or higher.
- A real player, however, cannot take VPs from a dummy player.
After both players have taken their 4 actions each round, the dummy pawns move:
- For each dummy pawn, turn over the top card from the corresponding action card deck.
- Move the pawn the number indicated on the move square of the card. If the card has two boxes for movement, use the first box.
- When moving, a dummy pawn...
- always moves toward the next fire pit in a clockwise manner. Since a dummy pawn starts in a fire pit, its first goal is to reach the next one.
- always takes the shortest path to the next fire pit. If two routes are equidistant, the pawn takes the path closer to the edge of the board.
- always stops in any fire pit it reaches.
- If the shortest path to the next fire pit leads a dummy pawn to pass through a real player, its strength (which is always 4) must be equal to or greater than the real player's strength. If not, the pawn stops in the space adjacent to the real player. If the strength is enough, the pawn passes through and possibly takes VPs (according to normal rules).
- If a dummy pawn's movement ends exactly on a food space occupied by another player, it stops 1 space early.
If a dummy player reaches a fire pit, it attempts to take a sharing token:
- The dummy will take the highest valued token, up to the number on the move action. If two or more tokens have this value, the current hunt leader decides which token the dummy takes. If all sharing tokens have a value higher than the move number, no token is taken.
- A sharing token taken by a dummy player is removed from the game.
The dummy players take no other actions and their scores are not calculated.
Running
Running costs 3 energy per space, not 2.
Points of Emphasis
- No brawling may occur in a resting space or fire pit.
- Multiple players may occupy a fire pit space and a resting space.
- A player may run immediately before and/or after placing an action cube. A player may therefore run multiple times on a turn.
- A tool allows a player to pick up more food than his action card permits. For example, a player may pick up 4 fish if he possesses a fish hook and if his action card has 3 for the forage action.
- A player may not score either bonus (specialization or tribe) more than 1 time.
- The "wild" token counts as any 1 type of food for the specialization bonus.
- New tiles must be placed to complete the board, as determined by the number of players. The darkened tiles in the printed maps (2, 3 and 4 players) show the "discoverable" areas.
Game Summary
Phase I: Planning
- Draw 3 cards, choose 1, return 2
Phase II: Acting
- Start with hunt leader and move clockwise
- Each player takes 1 turn placing 1 action cube to perform 1 action
- Players may "run" before and/or after an action; each space = 2 energy (or 3 energy in 2 player game)
Phase III: Spoiling
- Flip spoilage card and age food accordingly
- Return spoiled food to supply and remove used spoilage card
Phase IV: Assessing
- Check for game end condition: all spoilage cards used
- If game is not over, players in resting spaces gain 4 energy, the hunt leader card is passed, and a new round is started
Action Summary
- Walk: Move up to number of spaces on card; may not stop in food space occupied by another; may stop in fire pit or resting space occupied by another; may pass through another, if strength is equal or higher; win a brawl with higher strength. No brawling in fire pit or resting spaces. Running is the same as walking, except you must pay 2 energy (or 3 energy for 2 players) per space.
- Forage: Take food from space currently occupied. With appropriate tool, take additional food from supply; place food on first space on tableau.
- Pick Up Tool: Pick up tool from the space currently occupied; may not possess more than 2 tools of the same type.
- Eat: Eat any food on the tableau, up to the number on card; convert food to energy based on food's freshness.
- Rest: Move energy track marker the number shown on card.
- Share: Share food in a fire pit in exchange for corresponding sharing token; place token in matching stone circle on tableau.
- Discover: If adjacent to a "discoverable" area, draw and place a new land tile; earn 1 VP from supply; fill tile with food and place a tool from supply.