Haven Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Game Components
• Setup
  • The Board and Tokens
  • Starting Resources and Player Bonuses
  • Board Reference
• Basics
• On Your Turn
  • 1) Perform Up to Two of the Following Actions
  • 2) Draw Two Cards
  • 3) Resolve Lore Tokens
• Resolving Combat
• Resolving Lore
• On Your Turn (continued)
  • 4) Make an Offering
  • 5) End Your Turn
• End of Game
• Advanced Variants
  • Hidden Artifacts
  • Revealed Artifacts
  • Haven Master
  • End-Game Confrontation
• Lore Card Explanations
  • Lore Power Cards
• Haven Boundaries
• Credits

Objective

In HAVEN, you and your opponent battle for control of a mystical forest. The Haven Guardian, spirit of the forest, sleeps deeply and can no longer protect its kingdom. One of you controls the City in an effort to master the vulnerable forest using Stone Lore and machines. The other plays as the Forest and its creatures who defend their home with the aid of Leaf Lore and forest spirits.

To obtain the power needed to oppose your enemy, you must send Seekers to compete for the Lore controlled by Elementals, ancient beings who bestow the Lore on those who seek it.

Seekers also engage in combat for control of Shrines on the board, scoring you bonus points if you occupy a majority of Shrines surrounding forest Havens. When one type of Lore is depleted or one Elemental has left the board, the Haven Guardian awakens and the player with the higher score masters the forest — or defends it from harm — and wins the game!

Game Components

• 1 Game Board
• 30 Seeker Cards
• 20 Lore Power Cards
• 24 Offering Cards
• 6 Hidden Artifact Cards
• 4 Victory Point Cards
• 3 Elemental Standees
• 18 Lore Tokens
• 12 Shrine Tokens
• 20 Haven Tokens (10 Cogs, 10 Leaves)
• Not Pictured: 2 Player Aids (Double-Sided), 6 Plastic Stands for Elementals (3 extra)

Setup

Players sit across from one another at the table. Decide which player plays Forest and which plays City this game (the losing player from the prior game gets first pick). See the setup examples below to help you set up the game.

The Board and Tokens

1. Set up the game board between the players as shown. (The side with green card spaces is Forest; the side with gray card spaces is City).
2. Assemble the 3 Elemental standees and set them on any 3 Shrines (spaces on the board marked by stones) which have paths leading directly to an outside edge of the board.
3. Arrange the 4 Victory Point Cards next to the top of the board, face up.
4. Sort Lore Tokens by type and shuffle them to create 3 face-down stacks. Flip the top token of each stack face up.
5. Give 6 Shrine Tokens to each player. (These are double-sided; each player will use their side.)
6. Give 10 Haven Tokens to each player: leaf for Forest and cog for City.

Both players claim all the cards in their player color and set them up as follows:

1. Remove 1 of each Offering Card (Leaf, Water, Stone) and set these 3 cards aside for now.
2. Optional: Secretly remove up to 3 Lore Power Cards from your supply and return them to the box.
3. Shuffle remaining Seekers, Offerings, and Lore Powers separately to make 3 decks. Always shuffle cards thoroughly to keep card types from grouping!
4. Place these 3 decks face down on your side of the board in the matching spaces provided.

Starting Resources and Player Bonuses

1. Each player takes a Player Aid (note the Scoring Summary on the reverse side).
2. Each player begins with 4 cards as a starting hand. This starting hand consists of 1 Seeker Card (drawn from the deck) and 1 of each type of Offering Card (the Leaf, Water, and Stone Offerings earlier set aside). Keep all cards in hand secret!
3. The Forest player claims a bonus of one Lore Power Card, drawn from the top of their Lore Power deck.
4. The City player always begins the game.

Board Reference

• On the game board there are 10 Havens (forest groves) and 12 Shrines (spaces with stones).
• Four Victory Point Cards award points at the end of the game.
• Leaf, Water, and Stone Elementals wander the board's Shrines during the game.
• Lore Tokens represent the amount of Lore found within the matching Elemental's Shrine.
• The FOREST player will play Seekers and Offerings on their side of the Lore Tokens; the FOREST player makes three discard piles next to the board.
• The CITY player will play Seekers and Offerings on their side of the Lore Tokens; the CITY player makes three discard piles next to the board.
• Seekers, Offerings, and Lore Power Cards go in face-down piles on the three corresponding card spaces.

Basics

• Offering Cards summon Elementals, which award Lore Tokens to players.
• Lore Power Cards create powerful effects that vary depending on their Lore type.
• Players vie for Lore Tokens and Shrines by playing Seeker Cards.
• Players place Haven Tokens to claim Havens on the board when they occupy the majority of Shrines around a Haven.
• Players place Shrine Tokens on Shrine spaces when they win combat.
• Each player's starting hand consists of 1 Seeker Card and 1 of each type of Offering Card.
• Note: The City player always starts first, but only takes one action on their first turn.
• Note: The Forest player starts with a bonus of one Lore Power Card.

On Your Turn

Follow these steps in order on your turn:

1. Perform up to two actions
2. Draw two cards
3. Resolve Lore Tokens
4. Make an Offering
5. End your turn

See below for a detailed account of all these steps.

1) Perform Up to Two of the Following Actions

Use Seekers to compete for Shrines (with weapon symbols) and to gather Lore (with number values).

• When performing an action, you may only add or remove Seekers on your own side of Lore Tokens.
• Discarded cards go face down in discard piles on the table. These piles may be placed below the draw piles. Players may not inspect their discard piles unless directed.
• You must take at least one action each turn, but you may choose to take only one action.

The available actions are:

• Add a Seeker
• Remove a Seeker
• Play a Lore Power (max. 1 Lore Power per turn)

ACTION: Add a Seeker

Play a Seeker from the deck or from your hand:

Drawing a Seeker Card from the deck:

• First you must choose and declare the Lore Token type to which you will be adding this Seeker.
• IMPORTANT: You may not look at the Seeker card before you place it!
• Always place Seeker Cards drawn from the Seeker Deck face up on your side of the Lore Token.

Playing a Seeker Card from your hand:

• Choose a Seeker Card from your hand and place it on your side of any Lore Token in play.
• Always play Seeker Cards played from your hand face down on your side of the Lore Token.

ACTION: Remove a Seeker

Discard one of your Seekers in play.

ACTION: Play a Lore Power Card from your hand and discard it (max 1 per turn)

• Read the Lore Power Card's action out loud and perform it. Then discard it (unless instructed in the card text to leave the card in play until resolved.)
• NOTE: You may only perform a Lore Power action once per turn.

IMPORTANT: Do not play any Offerings during this step of the turn. Place offerings only during step 4, "Make an Offering."

2) Draw Two Cards

Draw two cards from your supply — any combination of Seekers, Offerings, and Lore Powers.

Special Rules for Offering Cards

• If your hand contains no Offering Cards, you must draw at least one Offering Card.
• If the Offering Card you draw shows an Elemental on it, do not add it to your hand! Instead, immediately place it on your side of the matching Lore Token, face up. (It counts as a regular Offering Card in all circumstances and adds one to the total number of Offerings in play at that Lore Token.) Then draw a replacement Offering into your hand (repeat as necessary).

Other Considerations

• You may examine the value of the first card drawn to help you decide which type of card to draw next.
• If the Seeker or Offering Deck is ever depleted, simply reshuffle it to create a new one.
• Lore Powers are not reshuffled! Once used, they are out of the game for good.

3) Resolve Lore Tokens

CHECK FOR 3 OFFERINGS: Count the number of Offerings (including Elementals) at each individual Lore Token by adding both players' sides together. If a single Lore Token has 3 or more total Offerings in play, then resolve it as indicated below. If multiple Tokens need to be resolved, start with the left-most Lore Token from the active player's perspective and continue from left to right.

If no Lore Token is resolved this turn, skip to Step 4, "Make an Offering."

A) REVEAL ALL CARDS: Both players reveal any face-down Seekers next to the Lore Token being resolved — flip them face up. If either player's individual total Lore Value exceeds the active Lore Token's value, discard all cards belonging to that player from next to this Lore Token. When Seekers attempt to gather too much Lore, the Elemental drives them away for their presumption!

B) RESOLVE THIS LORE TOKEN: Resolve Combat and Lore at this Lore Token as instructed below (see "Resolving Combat" and "Resolving Lore").

Special Case: If neither player has any Seekers in play at this Lore Token, then move the current Lore Token to the bottom of the stack — neither player wins Combat and neither player wins Lore. Discard all offerings at this token and continue to step 4, "Make an Offering."

Resolving Combat

A) ADD UP WEAPONS: Add up each player's total number of Weapons (arrows/swords) on their Seeker cards at this Lore Token. The player with the most Weapons wins combat.

B) RESOLVE TIES:

• If players tie for combat, then the player with more cards on their side of the Lore Token (count all Seekers, Offerings, and Elementals) wins the tie.
• If players still tie for combat, victory goes to City. This is true even if neither player has weapons showing.

C) WINNER CLAIMS THE SHRINE:

If combat is resolved in your favor, locate the Elemental standee that matches the active Lore Token (Leaf, Water, or Stone). Place a token on this Shrine in your color (flip the token so your color is face up). Each Shrine that you control scores 1 point.

D) LOSER MOVES THE ELEMENTAL:

• The player who did not win combat now chooses a new, unoccupied Shrine (one with no token and no Elemental Standee) anywhere on the board to place this Elemental Standee. The Elemental may not stay where it is!
• If there is no unoccupied Shrine available to place the Elemental Standee, remove it from the board — this will signal the end of the game after the turn concludes.

In the example illustration, City occupies 3 out of 4 shrines surrounding a Haven, and now places a Haven token here.

CLAIM A HAVEN

• If you now occupy the majority of Shrine spaces surrounding a Haven, place a token in your color on the Haven. Important: when determining the majority, count all Shrine spaces around a Haven, occupied or not. Example: if 3 Shrine spaces surround a Haven, you need to occupy 2 or more Shrines surrounding this Haven to claim it. If 4 Shrine spaces surround a Haven, you need to control 3 or more Shrines surrounding it to do so. You may claim more than one Haven per turn.
• Whenever you mark a Haven (not a Shrine!) your opponent may immediately draw one Lore Power Card. Your opponent may decline to draw this card if they choose.

Resolving Lore

A) ADD UP SEEKERS: Add up each player's total Lore Value (numbers) on Seeker Cards at this Lore Token. The player with the greater Lore Value claims this Lore Token.

B) RESOLVE TIES:

• If players tie for Lore, then the player with more cards on their side of the Lore Token (count all Seekers, Offerings, and Elementals) wins the tie.
• If players still tie for Lore Value, victory goes to Forest. This is true even if both players have zero Lore Value.

Note: You may overshoot the Lore Value of a Lore Token without penalty as long as it hasn't been resolved yet. It is only when the Lore Token is resolved that overshooting results in your losing all cards played there.

In the accompanying example, City wins combat because they have 2 weapons, one more than Forest. Forest wins Lore because they have 5 total Lore, one more than City.

Award the Lore Token and then remove cards in play:

• If you won the Lore token, claim it and set it in your player area, face up. Lore Tokens score 1 point each. Their total value in each category will be added up at the end of the game and score Victory Point bonuses!
• Discard all Seekers and Offerings in play at the resolved Lore Token (both City and Forest). (Discards should all go in their own separate piles by type, face down.)
• Do not remove any cards next to other Lore Tokens!
• Reveal the next Lore Token in the stack.

Continue left-to-right until all Lore Tokens are resolved as necessary.

Special Rule: If a player loses both Combat and Lore at a Lore Token, that player may choose one Seeker to leave in play, face up at this Lore Token. They discard all other cards in play at this Lore Token.

On Your Turn (continued)

4) Make an Offering

• Place one Offering Card from your hand on your side of any Lore Token. This Offering helps to attract an Elemental to this Shrine!
• The Offering type must match the Lore Token type. If an Offering Card shows two Lore symbols, it may go next to either Lore type (but not both).
• Offering Cards are placed closer to the player on the table than Seekers are.
• You must place an Offering even if you do not wish to!

5) End Your Turn

A) DISCARD DOWN TO 7 CARDS: At the end of your turn, discard down to 7 cards. Only the active player needs to check hand size during this step. Either player may hold more than 7 cards at any other time.

B) CHECK FOR END OF GAME: If one or more Elemental Standees have been removed from the board or if all Lore Tokens of one type have been claimed by players, the game is over. See "End of Game."

C) END YOUR TURN: If there is no end-of-game trigger, the opposing player now takes their turn, and play continues until the end of the game. Return to "On Your Turn."

End of Game

1. Call on the Elementals. Add up each player's total Lore Token value for each type of Lore (Leaf, Water, and Stone). Each Elemental Victory Point Card is awarded to the player with the higher total amount in that Lore type (not necessarily the most tokens!). If players tie, neither one claims that Victory Point card.
2. The Haven Guardian awakens! Award the Haven Guardian Card to the player who controls more Havens (not Shrines!). If players tie, neither claims it.
3. Count Points from Lore Tokens and Shrines. Each Lore Token is worth 1 point. Each Shrine is also worth 1 point.

Count Points From the Following:

• Lore Tokens: 1 VP
• Shrines: 1 VP
• Victory Point Cards: as marked

The player with the higher score either masters the Forest (City) or defends it (Forest), winning the game.

If players tie, award victory to the player with the higher Lore value, combining all Lore Tokens.

If players still tie, they share the victory. The Forest and the City learn to co-exist peaceably.

Advanced Variants

Play with one or many of these variants:

Hidden Artifacts

When setting up the game, shuffle the Hidden Artifacts cards and place one face down under each of the numbers on the board, 0-4. (One Hidden Artifact will be left out each game.) These give bonuses at the end of the game, are worth 1 point each, and remain secret until end game scoring.

During the game, at the beginning of the "Resolve Lore Tokens" phase, if either player has 3 matching Seekers in play at 3 separate Lore Tokens, they may reveal all 3 and claim the Hidden Artifact Card under the same number value. Example: Forest has 3 Seekers in play — each with a Lore Value of 3 — at the Leaf Lore Token, the Water Lore Token, and the Stone Lore Token. Forest reveals these Seekers and claims the Hidden Artifact under the number 3 on the board. Your Seekers stay in place where they are, face-up.

At End of Game scoring, apply Hidden Artifact bonuses as indicated. A player with the Wild Lore Card may apply it to any 1 type of Lore. Each Hidden Artifact Card is also worth 1 VP. Note: the card that awards +2 VP scores an additional 1 VP simply because it is a Hidden Artifact card.

Revealed Artifacts

When setting up the game, Hidden Artifact Cards go face-up instead of face-down. When sliding them partway under the board, ensure that their text remains visible.

Haven Master

When scoring, instead of awarding the Haven Guardian to the player with more Havens on the board, award it to the player with a greater number of connecting Havens on the board. Controlled Havens connect if they touch edge-to-edge (not just through a Shrine) and are not interrupted by unmarked or opposing Havens. If a player has more than one set of connecting Havens (separated by a gap or by one's opponent), count only their largest set. If players tie, neither player claims the Haven Guardian.

End-Game Confrontation

When an Elemental Standee needs to be moved but all Shrines on the board are occupied with tokens or other Elementals, do not remove it from the board. Instead, the End-Game Confrontation begins. When this happens, players vie for control over at least one Shrine Token which has already been placed on the board.

• If the Elemental is moved from a Shrine which had no token at the beginning of this turn, then move the Elemental to any other Shrine with a token already on it. This Shrine is now contested and might change ownership in upcoming turns!
• When an Elemental is moved from a Shrine which already held a Shrine Token at the beginning of this turn, then remove the Elemental from the board. This will end the game at the end of the turn.

When a contested Shrine is resolved, leave it as-is if it did not change ownership. If control changed to the opposing player, flip the Shrine Token over to show that. Also change Haven control if a new player now controls a majority of Shrines surrounding any Havens on the board.

Lore Card Explanations

Lore Power Cards

The Forest player specializes in Leaf Lore and has 3 unique Leaf Lore Powers. The City player specializes in Stone Lore and has 3 unique Stone Lore Powers.

LEAF LORE: Growth

• Growth Song*: Draw two cards OR perform two actions. One of these actions may be to play a Lore Power Card.
• Path of Vines: Draw three Seekers and place one face down at any Lore Token. Put the others at the bottom of the draw deck.
• Rejuvenating Fruit*: Declare and draw one Seeker face up for each Lore Token. You must call out each Lore Token's name before drawing a card for it.
• Summoning Orchid*: Count this card as one Offering of any type. Keep this card in play until resolved.
• Tree Walking: Declare a Lore Token and draw two Seekers for it. These Seekers are placed face up as usual.

WATER LORE: Flow

• Elixir of Life: Double the Lore Value of one of your Seekers in play and count it as two cards. Keep this card in play until resolved.
• Misty Gateway: Move one of your Seekers or exchange two of them. Seekers must already be in play. If a Lore Power modifier is in play next to this Seeker, move it along with the Seeker Card.
• Rain Storm: Add 1 to any Lore Token value and then take another action. Keep this card in play until resolved.

STONE LORE: Force

• Dazzling Blades*: Add one weapon to each of your Seekers at one Lore Token.
• Dust Storm*: Gather all of your Seekers in play and redistribute them face down. Any Lore Power modifiers to Seeker cards are discarded by playing this card.
• Earthquake: Reveal all of your opponent's face-down Seekers in play. Then perform another action. Flip opponent's cards face up.
• Rock Slide*: Place this card on your opponent's side of any Lore Token and perform another action. No Seekers may be played at the Rock Slide until an action is spent to remove that card.
• Smelling Salts: Inspect your discarded Seekers and put one into play face down.

* = This card is unique to the Forest (Leaf Lore) or City (Stone Lore) player.

Haven Boundaries

There are 10 Havens on the board.

Credits

GAME DESIGNER: Alf Seegert

ILLUSTRATOR: Ryan Laukat

DEVELOPMENT: Ryan Laukat, Malorie Laukat, Natasha Seegert

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thank you to Natasha Seegert, Zach Johnson, Jacob Cassens, and Shane Smith, with special thanks to Ryan Laukat, Malorie Laukat, and Brenna Asplund at Red Raven Games.

www.redravengames.com