Harvest Hoppers
Harvest Hoppers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Shuffle the Neighborhood boards, then take the amount that corresponds to the game's player count.
| Players | Neighborhoods |
|---|---|
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 |
| 6 | 6 |
Place each neighborhood next to each other such that all of the Three-Star Restaurants are in the center of the table and all of the Farms and Two-Star Restaurants are along the outside. Note that no Farm tile should be touching two adjacent establishments of the same type. Refer to the diagram* below.
*Note: diagram is not final and is pre-artistic design/layout process.
Each player then selects one Hoptop courier and takes all of their associated vegetables, separating their vegetables into three piles of 6 tokens each.
Set out the coins and Reputation Track. Each player should place one of their vegetables on the 0 space of each column on the Reputation Track.
The player who has most recently ridden a bicycle goes first by placing their Hoptop on one of the Farm tiles. Other players follow suit in clockwise order around the table. Once everyone has placed their Hoptops, the first player takes their first turn!
Movement
Hoptops who ride their bicycles safely can traverse the neighborhoods of Greenbranch without issue. Couriers who are rushing may move faster than this, but be careful - being too hasty could cause your precious produce to bounce out of your basket!
On your turn, you may either:
- Coast: Move 1 space, or
- Rush: Move 2 or 3 spaces and discard one of your day's vegetables as it falls out of your cart
Couriers can pass through, occupy, and otherwise share spaces with other couriers.
Delivery
Once you arrive at your destination, you may deliver a vegetable to the establishment, if they're still accepting vegetables that day! You may skip delivering vegetables if you intend to just pass through, but this may cause you to lose a vegetable.
On your turn after moving, you may either:
- Deliver: Place any one of the vegetables from your basket face up onto the location that you occupy and move your marker up one space on the corresponding Reputation Track, or
- Pass: Flip one of the vegetables in your basket face down. If you already have a flipped vegetable and you Pass, you instead discard the flipped vegetable as it bounces out of your cart during your travels.
Note that not all establishments are open for delivery. Each establishment only needs one delivery each day.
You may only Deliver a vegetable if:
- No other player has Delivered to that location today
- You have not Delivered there anytime throughout the game
Star Restaurants
Some restaurants have such high standards that they only accept vegetables if other establishments in the same neighborhood have already accepted quality produce that day.
For Two-Star Restaurants:
- You may only Deliver here if at least two other establishments in this neighborhood have already been Delivered to today. These deliveries may be from any players.
For Three-Star Restaurants:
- You may only Deliver here if at least three other establishments in this neighborhood have already been Delivered to today. These deliveries may be from any players.
Ending the Day and Restocking
After delivering vegetables all day, your Hoptop needs to return to the farm to restock for the next day.
If you start a turn with no vegetables in your basket, you must Rest for the remainder of the Day. You can also choose to rest earlier by Resting instead of Moving on your turn. When you Rest, place your Hoptop on any available, unoccupied Farm tile. They must remain there until the next day begins.
If all Hoptops are resting except for one, the remaining Hoptop gets one more turn and then must Rest.
Collecting Tips
While the Hoptops rest, the grateful restaurateurs of Greenbranch award tips to the couriers that served their neighborhoods the best.
For each neighborhood, tally the total number of vegetables Delivered by each courier (including deliveries made today and on previous days), then award Tips as follows:
- The courier who Delivered the most vegetables to this neighborhood earns a 5-Coin.
- The courier who Delivered the second-most vegetables to this neighborhood earns a 3-Coin.
- If two couriers are tied for most deliveries in this neighborhood, they each earn a 3-Coin.
- For all other ties, no Tips are awarded.
Ending the Day
Flip all Delivered vegetables upside down. The Delivered vegetables from past days stay on the neighborhood boards to remind you where you can't deliver to anymore. Each establishment wants vegetables from as many different farms as possible, so they will only accept deliveries from Hoptops who have not delivered to them yet this Evenfall!
Closing Ceremony
The game ends after three days. When a Hoptop Rests on the third day, they should place their Hoptop on the leftmost column of the Reputation Track (labeled 1, 2, 3, and so on) to show which order they Rested in. In case of a tie, the first Hoptop who Rested wins ties, followed by the second, and so on.
Each player totals the Reputation they earned along the seven columns of the Reputation Track and adds the sum of all of their coins to their score. This is their final Reputation score. The Hoptop with the greatest Reputation wins the title of Star Courier, earning the admiration of the townsfolk of Greenbranch until next Evenfall!
Optional: Character Abilities
There are three additional "modes of play" that can be used to add variety to your game.
- Tadpole Mode: Use this mode if you're new to the game or would like guidance on your first few moves.
- Strategic Mode: Use this mode after you've played the base game a few times to add variety to your playthroughs.
- Chaos Mode: Use this mode if you're looking for a little less strategy and a little more silliness.
Depending on the mode of play selected, your Hoptop gains one of the abilities as described below:
Note: this preview names the three modes but does not print their ability text ("as described below" is not followed by any description in the source). The abilities are therefore not transcribed here.
Optional: Two Player Variant
Make the following changes when playing a two-player game:
Neighborhood Setup: Set up the neighborhood as usual but with only 3 boards.
Collecting Tips: The courier who Delivered the most vegetables to a neighborhood gains a Tip from that neighborhood. The amount of the Tip goes up each day. No Tips are earned by either player for tied neighborhoods.
- Day 1: Earn a 3-coin for each neighborhood
- Day 2: Earn a 5-coin for each neighborhood
- Day 3: Earn a 3-coin and a 5-coin for each neighborhood
Double Up Delivery: Starting on Day 2, couriers may Deliver a second vegetable to an establishment that they have already Delivered to on a previous day. When a courier makes this type of Double Up Delivery, they must also discard an additional vegetable from their basket. Couriers may never Deliver a third vegetable to the same establishment.
The Compost Club Bonus: Vegetables just seem to go missing sometimes. Where are they off to in such a hurry? To the Compost Club, of course.
Anytime a player loses a vegetable from their basket due to Rushing, Passing two turns in a row, or a Double Up Delivery, place that disappearing vegetable on the Compost Club card instead.
Treat the Compost Club as an additional neighborhood and score it as a neighborhood at the end of each Day. The Tips that couriers receive from the Compost Club represent the value of the quality soil that they develop over time.
Ending the Day: The player who Rests last goes first the next day.