High Tide (2016) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Object & Overview of the Game
• Setup
• How to Play
  • A player's turn in detail
    • I. There are no dice pairs on the dice track.
    • II. There are dice pairs on the dice track and at least one unoccupied dice space.
    • III. All spaces of the dice track are occupied.
  • The next player's turn
  • End of a game round
  • Preparing the next game round
• End of the Game
  • Scoring
• Expansions
  • Coins
  • Shark Alert
  • Surfer
  • Baywatch
    • The Baywatch tiles in detail

Components

• 1 Game board (double-sided: one side for 3 & 4 players, the other for 5 & 6 players)
• 12 Wave tiles - 6 large, 6 small
• 1 Deckchair rental tile
• 1 Turtle tile
• 6 Victory point markers - 1 of each player color
• 6 Sunshades - 1 of each player color (composed of two parts)
• 6 Towels - 1 of each player color
• 36 Deckchairs - 6 of each player color
• 18 Dice - 3 each white, yellow, orange, blue, black, and purple
• 1 Cloth bag
• 1 Rules booklet

Object & Overview of the Game

The players try to place their deckchairs as near to the water as possible, without being caught by a wave.

At the end of each game round, waves move in on two of the beaches. The game ends when at least one deckchair is caught by a wave or after 6 game rounds. On each beach, victory points are awarded to the players with their deckchairs closest to the water. After all beaches have been evaluated, the player with the most victory points is the winner of High Tide.

Setup

1. The game board is double-sided. One side is for 3 to 4 players, the other side for 5 to 6 players. Unfold the game board in the center of the playing area, appropriate side up.
2. Place the deckchair rental tile on its designated space of the dice track.
3. Put all dice into the cloth bag. 3 & 4 players: In a game with 3 or 4 players, remove one die of each color and return it to the game box.
4. Sort the wave tiles by size, and keep them next to the game board.
5. Each player chooses a player color, and takes the 6 deckchairs, 1 towel, 1 sunshade and 1 victory point marker of this color.
   • All players place the sunshade in front of them to indicate their player color.
   • All players place their victory point markers on the start space of the victory point track.
   • All players place one of their deckchairs on each of the 6 beach bars.

Shuffle the towels of all players face down, then pile them face up on the towel depot. The player whose towel is on top of the pile will be the start player of the first game round. Return any unused deckchairs, sunshades and towels to the game box.

3 & 5 players: In a game with 3 or 5 players, place the turtle tile on the bottom space of the dice track. This space is blocked and not used in this game.

The 6 beaches, from left to right: black, purple, blue, orange, yellow, white.

How to Play

High Tide is played over a series of game rounds. The player order of each game round is determined by the towel pile. The player whose towel is on top of the pile will be the start player for this game round. The player whose towel is at the bottom of the pile will be the last player.

The game ends after 6 game rounds or after the round during which at least one deckchair is surrounded by water.

A player's turn in detail

Depending on the situation on the dice track, the player faces the following options:

I. There are no dice pairs on the dice track.

Note: This option always applies to the start player.

The player draws two dice from the bag, and rolls these dice. Then, the player must decide whether they accept the result or decline it.

Accept the result

If the player accepts their result, they move their deckchairs now. Deckchairs must be moved on beaches that match the color of the dice. The number of pips on each die is the number of spaces the player must move their deckchair towards the water. If both dice are the same color, simply add them together and move accordingly.

Deckchairs are placed on the leftmost free position of the target space. If there are any deckchairs on the target space, place the new one next to it at the right side.

Example: Player Red has rolled a white "5", and a black "2". She moves her deckchair on the white beach by 5 spaces, and her deckchair on the black beach by 2 spaces. Finally, she places the dice in the dice pool, and puts her towel on the first free space of the dice track.

Then, the player puts their towel on the first free space of the dice track, and places the dice in the dice pool.

This ends the player's turn. The player whose towel is on top of the towel pile now is the next player to take their turn.

Decline the result

If the player declines the result, they place the dice pair on the topmost unoccupied space of the dice track. The die showing the higher result must be placed on the left side. If the result of both dice is identical, apply the order of the beach bars, from left to right: black, purple, etc. If both the result and the color of the dice are identical, there is no order in which to place them, of course.

Then, the player draws 2 new dice from the bag, rolls them and must decide again.

Example: Player Brown has rolled a yellow "2", and a blue "1". He declines this result, and places the dice on the topmost empty space of the dice track. He must place the yellow die on the left side, the blue one on the right side. He draws two new dice from the bag and must decide again.

Important: The player must accept the result, if the only unoccupied space on the dice track is the space just before the deckchair rental or the space at the end of the track.

II. There are dice pairs on the dice track and at least one unoccupied dice space.

The active player decides if they want to use one of the existing dice pairs from the dice track. If the active player decides to do so, they take the chosen dice pair from the dice track and proceed as described above under "Accept the result".

In case they take the dice from the top or second space of the dice track, they can choose to reroll dice before moving their deckchairs:

• Top space: The player is allowed to re-roll one or both dice.
• Second space: The player is allowed to re-roll one of these dice.

If the player does not want to use any of the existing dice pairs, they proceed as described under I.

Please note: If a player declines the result of a roll or does not take any of the existing dice pairs, they cannot change their decision later and must accept the result of their new roll.

III. All spaces of the dice track are occupied.

In this case, the active player must decide to take one of the existing dice pairs from the dice track. For both dice pairs taken from the top space or second space from top, the same bonuses apply as stated above under II.

Then, the player moves their deckchairs on the beaches of the same color(s) as their chosen dice towards the water the number of spaces as shown by each corresponding die.

Example: Player Red decides to use the dice from the second space from top and may re-roll one die. He decides to re-roll the white "1".

The next player's turn

Before the player performs their turn, they move the deckchair rental one space down the track (further away from the water). If the deckchair rental is on the last space of the track already, it is removed and kept next to the game board. It will not be used anymore until the end of this game round.

End of a game round

After all players have completed their turn, there is exactly one dice pair on the dice track, besides the towels, or there may be one unoccupied space.

If there is one dice pair on the dice track, these dice determine the beaches where wave tiles will be added. A large tile (3 spaces) will be added to the beach of the same color as the left die. A small tile (2 spaces) will be added to the beach of the same color as the right die. Each tile is placed connecting to the water or to any existing tile.

In case there is still one unoccupied space on the dice track, the last player who had performed their turn draws two dice from the bag. They roll these dice and place them on the empty space according to the usual rules. Subsequently, the players proceed as described above, and place the wave tiles.

Example: At the end of the game round, the last dice pair is a white "5", and a black "3". A large wave tile will be added to the white beach and a small one to the black beach.

Preparing the next game round

• Put all dice back into the bag.
• Starting from the top space of the dice track, all towels have to be piled up again on the towel depot, one after another. Thus, the new player order for the next game round is created. Note: The towel that was at the end of the dice track will become the top towel now.
• The deckchair rental is put back on its designated space.

End of the Game

The game ends ...

A) ... as soon as at least one deckchair is standing in the water. It does not matter if this happened by moving a deckchair into the water or by placing a wave tile at the end of a game round.

Or

B) ... after the 6th game round.

Example: The wave tiles are added. The small wave is placed on the black beach, and the large wave on the purple beach. This results in the red deckchair being in the water now. The game ends now, and the victory points are awarded.

Scoring

Now, victory points are awarded. Any deckchairs in the water are removed; they do not score points.

Points are awarded for each single beach, one after the other:

• The player whose deckchair is nearest to the water gains 4 victory points.
• The player whose deckchair is second next to the water gains 2 victory points.
• For 5 & 6 players only: The third next player gains 1 victory point.
• All deckchairs still at the beach bar are worth 1 victory point.

If several deckchairs share the same place, the one furthest to the right wins the tie.

Use the victory point markers to mark the points on the victory points track.

After all 6 beaches have been evaluated, the player with the most victory points is the winner of the game! In case of a tie for the most points the tied players share the victory.

Example: Victory points for the black beach: Both the brown and the beige deckchairs are on space 8, and nearest to the water. Beige wins the tie, because his chair is on the right, and thus gains 4 victory points. The brown chair is in second position, thus Brown gains 2 victory points. The red chair is in third position, thus Red gains 1 victory point. All other players do not score any victory points.

Example: Victory points for the purple beach: The red deckchair is removed from the water (and from the game) and Red does not score any victory points. The deckchair of player Beige is nearest to the water, scoring 4 victory points. Green is next, scoring 2 victory points, and Brown is third, he gains 1 victory point. The blue and pink deckchairs are still at the beach bar, scoring 1 victory point each.

Expansions

Once players are familiar with the base game, they should consider adding some of the following expansions to increase the challenge and variety in their games. All expansions can be combined in any way the players wish.

Coins

Additional components & changes during setup

• 48 Coins (8 of each beach color)

During setup, mix all coins and place them face down on the first 8 beach spaces of the corresponding color, one on each space. Then, turn the coins face up.

Changes of game play, and end of the game

Each time a player places their deckchair on a beach space still containing a coin, they may take it. Once taken, the player keeps this coin until the end of the game and is not allowed to take another coin of this color.

Note: If both dice share the same color the player can first use one die and pick up a coin, before he moves his deckchair according to the second die.

At the end of the game, the players total the value of their coins, and score victory points as follows. The player having collected ...

• the highest total: 4 victory points.
• the second highest total: 2 victory points.
• the third highest total: 1 victory point (5 & 6 players only).

A tie is resolved in favor of the player who owns the more valuable black coin. If the tie is not resolved by the black coins, the tied players compare their purple coins, if that does not help, they compare their blue coins etc.

Example for the blue beach: Player Pink has chosen a blue "4", and an orange "2". She moves her deckchairs, and can collect the coins worth "3" and "7". Now, her total is 10 already.

Shark Alert

Additional components & changes during setup

• 7 Shark tiles
• 6 Alert tiles

During setup, separately mix the shark tiles and the alert tiles and stack them next to the game board.

Changes of game play

Reveal the alert tile from the top of the stack at the start of each game round. This tile indicates the number of spaces that the deckchair nearest the water must be moved backwards.

At the end of the game round, before any wave tiles are added to the beaches, reveal the shark tile from the top of that stack. This tile indicates the number of spaces that the deckchair next to the water must be moved backwards. If more than one deckchair is at the same distance to the water, only the leftmost deckchair has to be moved backwards. A deckchair cannot be moved further backwards than at the beach bar.

Subsequently, that shark tile is removed from the game.

Reveal a new Alert Tile at the start of the next game round. After revealing the new Alert Tile, the previous one is mixed back into the stack.

Example: On the purple beach, the deckchair next to the water (pink) is moved backwards by 3 spaces, before the wave tiles are added.

Surfer

Additional components & changes during setup

• 6 Surfer tiles (1 of each beach color)

During setup, mix the surfer tiles face down and deal one to each player. The players keep their tile face up in front of them, each tile showing a beach with a surfer instead of a sunbather.

Changes of game play, and end of the game

A player's surfer is successful, if they manage to have their deckchair in the water at the end of the game!

The following changes apply when scoring the beaches:

• A successful surfer counts as being in first position, and scores 6 victory points. Victory points for the second position (and possibly third position) are awarded as usual.
• If the surfer's deckchair (same color) is still on the beach, it is removed from the game board and does not score any victory points.
• However, if a surfer's deckchair is still at the beach bar the player scores 2 victory points instead of only 1.

Tip: You may try with keeping the surfers face down.

Example of a game with 3 players: Player Pink's surfer is on the black beach. Blue's surfer is on the blue beach, Green's surfer on the yellow beach.

Example: Green's surfer is on the yellow beach. He has successfully managed to move his deckchair in the water. This deckchair is not removed. In fact, it is in first position on that beach, and Green scores 6 victory points. Blue is on this beach as well and scores 2 victory points for the second position, as usual. Pink's surfer on the black beach has not managed to reach the water, her deckchair is still on the sandy beach. The pink deckchair is removed, and does not score any victory points. Then, scoring is done as usual, awarding the usual victory points.

Baywatch

Additional components & changes during setup

• 9 Baywatch tiles

During setup, mix the Baywatch tiles face down, and stack them next to the game board. Then, reveal the top tile from the stack.

Changes of game play, and end of the game

The start player of the game round places the dice pair of their accepted roll in front of them instead of into the dice pool. These dice are called "open dice".

If another player accepts their roll during this game round, with a total that is equal to or less than the total of the current open dice, these two dice become the new open dice. That player keeps the dice in front of them, and the former open dice must be put into the dice pool.

Any rolls with a higher total than the current one are put into the dice pool, as usual.

The player who has the open dice in front of them at the end of the game round gains the face up Baywatch tile. They may use this tile as of the next game round.

Subsequently, the next Baywatch tile from the top of the stack is revealed.

At the end of the final game round, the qualified player scores 1 victory point instead of receiving the Baywatch tile, and marks it on the victory points track.

Example: Green accepts his result with the total "5". This is less than Pink's total, who had the open dice in front of her. Therefore, Pink must place her dice into the dice pool, as usual. The open dice are in front of Green now. At the end of the game round, the open dice are still in front of Green, his total still being the lowest of all. He takes the face up Baywatch tile and keeps it in front of him.

The Baywatch tiles in detail

The tiles can be used as players wish, and several may be used during the same turn. The effect of each tile is unique; after using it the tile is put back into the game box.

To be used in the player's own turn:

• The player may move the deckchair rental 1 space down. In this case, the next player does not move the deckchair rental.
• The player may move both their deckchairs by 1 space more or less than the result of the corresponding die. However, a deckchair may not be moved more than 6 spaces or less than 1 space.
• After their last roll, the player may place the dice on the dice track and choose one of the dice pairs from the dice track instead.
• The player may re-roll 1 die of their chosen dice pair.
• The player may freely change the color of 1 of their chosen dice. The result of that die remains unchanged.
• The player may use the result of 1 of their dice to move that deckchair away from the water instead of towards the water.

To be used before another player's turn:

• Just before another player's turn, the player may place their own towel on top of the pile, and performs their turn immediately.

To be used at the start of a game round, before the first roll:

• The player may move one of their deckchairs 1 or 2 spaces towards the water.

To be used before the player's own turn:

• The player may use the result of 1 of their dice to move one of their deckchairs towards the water accordingly. Note: Afterwards he or she performs his or her turn as usual.