Hoyuk Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Clans
• Setup
• Round Structure
• Phase 1 - Construction
• Construction Rules for Basic Game
  • Placing Houses
  • Placing Pens
  • Placing Ovens and Shrines
  • Ruined Houses
  • Families and Blocks
  • Building Second Stories
• Phase 2 - Catastrophes
  • Catastrophe Effects
• Phase 3 - Aspect Cards
  • Example of Block Inspection
• Phase 4 - End of Round
• Spending Aspect Cards
  • 1. Building Additional Elements
  • 2. Scoring Victory Points
• End of Game
  • Final Scoring
• Medium Game
• Advanced Game
  • Cattle Rules
  • Villagers Rules
  • Shaman Rules
  • Clan Abilities
• Frequently Asked Questions

Clans

All clans have special abilities that can be used during the advanced game. These special abilities are explained under Clan Abilities in the Advanced Game section.

Setup

1. Each player chooses a set of houses representing their clan and places them in front of him (25 total). Then he takes his player counter (matching the color of the wooden disc to that of his houses) and places it on the score meter, on number 0. Each player takes 25 house tiles. The grid on the playing area (A) will help you keep your houses organized.

   Place catastrophe cards facedown on the CAT area and make 3 faceup piles of 10 aspect cards per pile on the 3 aspect card bases of area H.

   On this side of the board, place pen tiles and all remaining meeples (C, D, G). The meeples corresponding to areas E and F are used in a more advanced mode.

   On the bottom left corner you will find a player aid illustrating round sequence and point scoring conditions for use during the game.

2. You will find a total of 24 catastrophe cards in the game. The game mode you choose will determine the cards you play with. For the basic game, choose 12 catastrophes: Earthquake (x2), Tornado (x2), Bad Season (x2), Sacrifice (x2), Locust Swarm (x2), and Fire (x2). Shuffle the catastrophe cards and place the deck facedown on its respective area on the game board (see image above - "CAT"). Because the catastrophes are language-independent, check pages 9 and 10 in order to relate the images to the effects of the corresponding cards used in the basic game.

   Put the construction cardboards facedown on the CON space.

3. Shrine, pen, and oven pieces are placed on their respective areas on the game board (see image above - C, D, and G). Thus, in basic mode, you would use the areas A, B, C, D, G, H, CAT, and CON.

4. Check the area of the board marked as "H". Each of these slots is called an aspect card base. To play the basic game, choose the 3 aspect card bases with the pen, shrine, and oven symbols and deal 10 aspect cards to each faceup.

   Note: aspect and catastrophe cards each have a different back.

   In basic mode you will use a total of 30 cards broken out the following way: 7 aspects with the shrine icon, 7 with the oven icon, 7 with the pen icon, 3 wild cards, 6 with the house icon.

5. Remove 5 of the construction cardboards and shuffle the remaining 10 and place them facedown on the equivalent area (CON) of the board.

Round Structure

The game is divided into rounds. Each round is itself divided into 4 phases:

1. Construction x2
2. Catastrophes (except the first round)
3. Aspect cards
4. End of round

It is always the first player (the one who has the marker tile) who starts play for each phase of a round, followed clockwise by the other players.

At the end of phase 4, the round is over. You start a new round from phase 1. The first player chooses another player, who will get the marker tile, to become the new first player for the next round. If a player uses his 25th house during a round, the game will end at the end of phase 4 of this round.

House rule: you can create shorter games by ending the game at the 20th house or at the 15th house. This is something that players decide.

Optional rule: in a 5 player game use only 20 houses because the playing area is limited. If you count the additional pens that will be built next to houses, this would lead to very little space.

Phase 1 - Construction

During this phase you will use the construction cardboards to build 6 new elements in 2 steps of 3 elements each (i.e., using 2 construction cardboards with 3 elements each).

Construction cardboard A depicts the 3 elements you can build when you draw it. Construction cardboard B, however, is comprised of 2 elements and a wild. (The third element can be either a house, an oven, a pen, or a shrine.)

The two construction steps are played the same way:

• Starting with the first player, deal one of the construction cardboards to each player in clockwise order. Each player places it faceup in front of him.
• Starting with the first player, build the 3 elements given by your construction cardboard.

At the end of the first step, all the construction cardboards are discarded (cannot be picked during the second step) and you draw the next construction cardboards from their pile for the second step, where, again, each player receives another construction cardboard and proceeds to build the 3 elements on it as before.

Reminder: you will find, in this box, 15 construction cardboards but you only use 10 in the basic game. The ones you do not use in the basic game are illustrated on page 4.

There are a few rules to guide you in the construction of the houses, pens, ovens, and shrines. These rules are explained in the Construction Rules on pages 6-8.

When all players have built their 6 elements, the construction phase is over and you move on to the next phase (Phase 2 - Catastrophes).

Note: when all 10 construction cardboards have been drawn and played, re-shuffle them and reform a new deck in order to draw again when necessary. Only create a new deck when all of them have been played!

Construction A lets you build 2 houses and a shrine.

Construction B lets you build 2 houses, and the third element is up to you (either another house, an oven, a pen, or a shrine).

Construction Rules for Basic Game

Placing Houses

Houses can be played to the board in either clusters (creating families) or alone (creating a new block).

When houses are clustered in a block, they must be placed so that their sides match.

Two houses touching each other only by a corner are not considered adjacent. This move is not allowed.

Placing Pens

Pens are placed against houses.

The open side of the pen (with the white arrow) shows the house owning it.

There can be 1 pen per side of a house.

A pen should never have all of its sides enclosed. Only 3 of the 4 sides of a pen may have constructions adjacent to it. At all times, at least one side must remain open with nothing built adjacent to it.

Placing Ovens and Shrines

Ovens and shrines are placed on top of houses.

Neither an oven nor a shrine can share the same house.

A house with a pen can also have an oven or a shrine.

Ruined Houses

A house is said to be ruined when it is abandoned by its inhabitants and its walls are torn down or dismantled - to possibly be used to build a new house. A house is typically ruined due to catastrophes (see Catastrophes). Players cannot ruin their own houses. When a house is ruined, it is simply turned over to the "ruined" side of the tile. If it is a 2 story house, then the upper story is removed from the game and the lower story is the one turned over to the "ruined" side. (For practical reasons, a ruined house is considered the same height as ground level.)

If a pen is attached to a house which becomes ruined, the pen is removed and returned back to its equivalent area on the board.

If a house is ruined and contained a shrine or oven, it is ruined as well and returned to its equivalent area on the board.

A ruined house is never simply "turned over" when you want to build a new house in the same location. The ruined tile is removed from the game and a new house placed in its stead.

Families and Blocks

A family is made of all adjacent houses of the same color. A family is divided into 2 smaller families if some of its houses become separated by ruined houses. Also, a new house of the same color as two families that it connects (when placed) merges those two families into one single family.

You cannot break larger families into smaller families (within the same block) due to the fact that, as you build new houses, they must be connected to existing houses.

You can only break larger families to smaller families (within the same block) through catastrophe effects that will force you to turn your house over to its ruined side.

Do I always have to expand my existing family, or can I start a new block/family if I want to? Either, but when expanding your family within the same block, then:

A) If you already have houses in the block, you must place the new house next to one of the existing houses. B) If you do not have any houses in the block, you must put it next to one of your opponent's houses.

(In the illustrated example B2, you cannot build your houses as illustrated. If built in the same block, they must connect to any existing houses, unless this is your first house in an opponent's block.)

A block is made of all adjacent houses, pens, and ruined houses, regardless of color.

A single house is a block on its own (a single family with one single house).

A block is not divided into 2 smaller blocks when some houses become ruined. Thus 2 families can occupy the same block without being directly adjacent to each other.

In the illustrated example, a block used to be 1 single family of 7 houses, but the 2 central houses are now ruined. Thus, the block is now made of 2 different families separated by the 2 ruined houses. These 2 families can be reunited by the construction of a new house in A or in B.

It is forbidden to link 2 blocks by placing a house or a pen in between. Individual blocks can never be merged. Two houses, only related by a pen, are considered located in the same block.

What happens if there is no more space to build? This can certainly be the case when playing with 5 players and using all 25 houses. When there is no more space to build, the game ends after the 4th phase of this round and then points are scored.

Note: if players cannot build a house, they still can build elements through use of their construction cardboards.

Building Second Stories

Houses can be stacked. The lower house in a stack is automatically considered the first floor (also may be referred to as first story) and the top house is considered the second floor (again, may also be referred to as second story). You can only build houses on top of your own houses. Also, you can only build up to two stories, nothing more.

From this point forward, the terms "stories" and "floors" may be used interchangeably.

Note: you cannot build a house on top of another player's house.

A house can be built over a ruined house even if it belonged to another player before being ruined (ruined houses are "neutral" land). You must remove the ruined house from the board and exclude it from the game. In its place you can build your new house.

You can stack a house on top of another as long as its roof is accessible (meaning it does not contain an oven or shrine). If you have built a shrine or oven on the house then you must remove it in order to build another floor. (The removed oven and/or shrine is returned back to its equivalent area on the board.)

Note: these decisions are very critical to the game. Since you earn aspect cards based upon the elements you build, you need to consider whether to follow the path of building elements or building another story. On the other hand, if you decide to build additional stories, that could be crucial during Phase 3 because they will act as "tie breakers" (see Phase 3 - Aspect Cards).

You also can only stack a house on top of one of your houses as long as it is accessible on one of its sides. (At least one of its sides is not connected with any other house or pen.)

Ruins are considered open terrain. Thus, in the illustrated example, you can build a second story because the blue house is accessible on the left side.

What happens if a player (green) builds a house by removing the ruined house after I (blue) have built a second story on my home? Is this illegal? No, the blue house is not illegal since it was built when there was one side open!

You do not need to remove a 2nd story in order to build a shrine or oven. You build the oven or shrine on top of the 2nd house (story). Therefore, you would have a house, on top of that another house (2nd story), and then, on top of that, the oven or shrine.

Phase 2 - Catastrophes

There is no catastrophe phase during the first round. It comes into play starting in round 2.

The first player draws a card from the top of the catastrophe deck, reads it out loud, and then starts to apply the effect to each block. Each catastrophe will affect one or more blocks in the village and force its occupant(s) to lose houses, an aspect card, etc. When all players have had a chance to apply the card's effect, it is placed on the bottom of the catastrophe deck (as are all future drawn catastrophe cards).

Houses affected by a catastrophe are never removed from the game. They are left in the same place and flipped over to their ruined side! There are 24 catastrophe cards in the game and 12 of them are used in this mode (basic game).

As they were 10,000 years ago, catastrophes can be pretty destructive. Do not be surprised if a large portion of a block becomes ruined after a catastrophe is applied. (Read the effects of the catastrophes below.)

Note: when you are forced to dismantle half of your houses because of a catastrophe, you always round down! Therefore, if you had 7 houses in a block and had to dismantle half of them, you would dismantle 3 of them. If you have 1 single house in a block you don't round down but have to dismantle that single house.

Catastrophe Effects

• Bad Season #1: All residents in the block(s) with the fewest built shrines must dismantle 1 of their houses. (If there are tied blocks, they are all affected.)
• Bad Season #2: All residents in the block(s) with the most built shrines must dismantle 1 of their houses. (If there are tied blocks, they are all affected.)
• Drought #1: All residents in the smallest block remove half of their cattle. (Pens and ruins are not counted. If there are tied blocks, they are all affected.)
• Drought #2: All residents in the largest block remove half of their cattle. (Pens and ruins are not counted. If there are tied blocks, they are all affected.)
• Epidemic #1: All residents in the largest block must remove half of their villagers. (Pens and ruins are not counted. If there are tied blocks, they are all affected.)
• Epidemic #2: All residents in the smallest block must remove half of their villagers. (Pens and ruins are not counted. If there are tied blocks, they are all affected.)
• Earthquake #1: All residents in the smallest block must dismantle half of their houses. (Pens and ruins are not counted. If there are tied blocks, they are all affected.)
• Earthquake #2: All residents in the largest block must dismantle half of their houses. (Pens and ruins are not counted. If there are tied blocks, they are all affected.)
• Fire #1: All residents in the block with the most built ovens must dismantle half of their houses. (If there are tied blocks, they are all affected.)
• Fire #2: All residents in the block with the fewest built ovens must dismantle half of their houses. (If there are tied blocks, they are all affected.)

The catastrophe cards are separated into 2 sections. The left side signifies size and therefore depicts whether the catastrophe affects largest or smallest blocks. The right side signifies the destruction that will occur (i.e., 1 house dismantled, half of a certain type of equipment dismantled, etc.).

Phase 3 - Aspect Cards

During this phase, each block will be inspected to determine which player(s) have the lead in each of the 3 aspects (ovens, shrines and pens in the basic game). These players are rewarded an aspect card, which will be drawn from its corresponding deck for which that player was in the lead.

The first block to be inspected is selected by the first player. The second block is selected by the player to the first player's left, and so on until all the blocks in the village have been inspected.

Each time a block is inspected, each of the 3 aspects are inspected before a new block may be inspected and each block can only be inspected once during each aspect phase.

For each block, the following 3 aspects are inspected for the basic game:

• Ovens: the player owning the most ovens in the block takes the card on top of this deck.
• Shrines: the player owning the most shrines in the block takes the card on top of this deck.
• Pens: the player owning the most pens in the block takes the card on top of this deck. When this slot is empty (red hand) players cannot place back or draw aspect cards from this slot until the end of the game.

If an aspect doesn't apply in a block (e.g., no player has built any pens), nobody is awarded the corresponding aspect card in the block.

In case of a tie for any given aspect: this is where 2nd stories become important. The tie breaker is won by the player whose aspects are on, or attached to, the most 2nd story homes. If players remain tied, then no one is awarded the aspect card. (The same applies to pens and shrines.) Example: players 1 and 2 each have 3 ovens in a block. However, player 2 has 1 of his ovens on a 2nd story home while player 1 owns 2 2nd-story homes, neither of which contain an oven. Thus, player 2 would win the oven tie.

If a player is the only occupant of a block, he will not get any aspect cards from that block. The 3 aspects are only inspected in a block when a second player settles houses in it. So when a player starts building a new block, it would be wise to follow him.

If an aspect deck becomes empty (red hand), no more cards can be placed on that area or be won from the corresponding aspect. All aspect decks have 10 cards at the beginning of the game, but this amount will change depending on your actions in the game (see Spending Aspect Cards).

Aspect cards can be played at the beginning of each of the 4 phases (see Spending Aspect Cards).

Example of Block Inspection

There are two players in this example: Blue and Red. The village is made of 3 different blocks (A, B, and C). Block A has 1 family separated by the ruined house (X), but this family is still part of block A.

When block A is inspected:

• Shrines are a tie (no shrines built in A).
• Pens are won by Red. (Both players have 1 pen, but the Red family has a pen attached to a house with a second story.)
• Ovens are won by Blue. (Red has an oven on a second story, but Blue has 2 total.) Remember, second stories are only used to break ties when players have the same amount of an aspect.

When block B is inspected:

• Shrines are won by Blue. (Red doesn't have any.)
• Pens are won by Red. (He has 2 and Blue owns only 1.)
• Ovens are won by Red. (Blue doesn't have any.)

When block C is inspected: Red is the only resident in the block. He can't get any aspect cards from this block. He must negotiate with the other players to persuade them to build houses in this block.

Phase 4 - End of Round

This is the final phase where the aspect card decks are replenished. Starting with the first player, players gather all their aspect cards used during the round (see "Spending Aspect Cards") and place them back in one of the 3 aspect card decks. The used cards are placed faceup in the player's chosen deck, and below any cards that might remain in the slot for that deck. When a slot is empty you see the hand icon on it. This means that you cannot place used aspect cards again on that slot. Therefore all the players including you will not be rewarded with aspects in the following rounds from that specific element. In order to avoid this case, we suggest placing your used aspects in slots which contain few cards before it is too late.

A player cannot divide his cards into several decks. All the cards from a player must be placed back at the bottom of a single deck.

There is no limit to the amount of cards contained in a deck during the game. In theory, one single deck could hold all the aspect cards. Some decks may remain empty for a whole round or even longer. Attention: this could penalize players who built their families based just on these aspects.

After the used cards have been placed, the first player hands the marker tile to another player of his choice. This action marks the end of the current round and the beginning of the next round. This action is mandatory; the first player cannot keep the marker tile two rounds in a row.

Spending Aspect Cards

You may use your aspect cards in two ways: you may either build additional elements or score victory points.

Aspect cards can be played only at the beginning of each of the 4 phases in a round.

Moving clockwise and starting with the first player, each player may play one or more cards or just pass. This can be done only once at the beginning of each phase. Once each player has had a chance to play cards or pass, the first player must initiate the current phase. More cards can then be played only at the beginning of the next phase.

For each phase of an entire round, you can spend one aspect card for each family you have built in the village at the time you play the card. Example: if your clan has 5 families in the village, you cannot spend more than 5 aspect cards per each phase of the entire round. If you have 1 family, whatever its size, you are limited to playing a single aspect card.

Thus, before playing any aspect card, you must check that you still have enough families to be able to play it. When you play an aspect card, you keep it face up in front of you until the end of the round. This makes it easier to keep track of the number of cards you played.

If you lose some families during the catastrophe phase, and you already played some aspect cards during the construction phase, you might end up having spent more cards than your new amount of families would have allowed you. In this case you do not lose the cards that you already played. You just lose the ability to play additional cards for this round.

Note: the drawings on the cards have no gameplay purpose. They are just there to provide archaeological flavor.

There are a few wild cards (the "metal" cards). They can replace a card of any kind for the construction of new elements or to score victory points.

1. Building Additional Elements

Each aspect card lets you build an element. This element is represented on the card's upper left corner. You can place the element anywhere on the village, using the same rules as during the initial construction phase.

Example: by playing a card showing a shrine, you can either build a shrine, or score 1 victory point (see below).

2. Scoring Victory Points

Instead of building an element, you may also spend a group of aspect cards with the same element symbol to score victory points, or you can even spend a single aspect to score just 1 point.

The point amounts are listed on the bottom left corner of each card. The value in the black rectangle is the number of cards played together, and the value next to it in yellow is the victory points won. The more cards you play together, the better the score will be.

Cards played together: 1 card = 1 point, 2 cards = 3 points, 3 cards = 5 points, 4 cards = 8 points, 5 cards = 12 points.

If you have at least 4 families in the village, you can play 4 cards and score 4 points or you can spend them in order to build the equivalent elements they represent.

Note: the 4 cards in the illustrated bottom row all display the same element (house). This would allow you to collect 8 victory points (since you are playing 4 cards). This illustrates why you have to be careful with which aspect cards you collect and how they play into the strategy you use.

Note: the highest number of similar aspect cards you may score is 5 (as noted on the card). No bonuses are awarded for groups higher than 5. If you had more than 5 of a symbol, then you would need to group them into separate groups.

For example: if you had 8 aspect cards with the family symbol, and you wanted to use them all to score victory points, you would need to first turn in a group of 5 (for 12 victory points) and then you would play a second group of 3 (for 5 victory points). Thus you would end up scoring a total of 17 victory points.

When you spend aspect cards to score points, these points are immediately added to your score. These spent aspect cards cannot be used later to form a larger group (should you obtain more aspect cards later during the round). So, for example, suppose you played 3 cards early in the round to score 5 points and then later you get 2 more cards with the same symbol you used previously. You would not be able to combine the 2 new cards with the 3 you already cashed in. This new group would, if used for victory points, score 3 new victory points.

Each player keeps score using the track along the outside of the game board. Each time you score, move your disc forward 1 space for every 1 point scored. Note: your disc cannot move backward for any reason.

End of Game

When a person builds his 25th house, this triggers the end of game at the end of that round. Players, including the player who built his 25th house, can continue building other elements (shrines, pens, ovens, etc.) until the end of the round. The remaining players may also continue building what they can. The placing of the 25th house simply triggers the end of the game.

House rule: instead of playing a game where players use 25 houses, consider choosing 20, or even 15, for shorter games.

Final Scoring

Any unplayed aspect cards left in your hand will be worth 1 victory point each. No group bonuses are applicable for these.

During game end, at the end of Phase 4, you will inspect the village one last time. Block by block, the owner of the largest family of each block is awarded 1 victory point per house. The largest family in a block is the one composed of the highest amount of adjacent houses, regardless of height. If there is a tie, then the award goes to the family with the most 2-story houses. If a tie still remains, then no player receives this award.

The winner is the player who scores the most victory points. If there is a tie, then the player with the most 2-story houses wins. If a tie still remains, then the game is a draw.

Important note: a house built with another house on it is considered to be 1 house, but with 2 stories. This plays a significant role when dealing with catastrophes.

Medium Game

To play a more strategic game, use the additional two aspect slots on the board (number of houses and height of houses / area I) and deal 20 of the remaining 40 aspect cards of the game onto these slots, forming 2 decks of 10 aspect cards. Discard the rest. Each deck must be face up. In medium mode you will use a total of 50 cards broken out the following way: 11 aspects with the shrine icon, 11 with the oven icon, 11 with the pen icon, 9 wild cards, 8 with the house icon.

The rules for this mode are the same as for the basic game, with the following additions:

1. During Phase 3, inspect the height of the houses in each block. The player that owns the most 2-story houses wins an aspect card. If tied, then no player receives an aspect card. For example if 2 players each have 3 2-story houses, no aspect card is received.

2. During Phase 3, inspect the number of houses in each block. The player that owns the most houses wins an aspect card. In the case of a tie the player with the most 2-story houses wins an aspect card. If tied, then no player receives an aspect card (see the example picture).

Note: you cannot build a house on top of a house owned by another player!

Advanced Game

To play an advanced game, add the remaining 20 cards, face up, to the last 2 aspect slots (cattle and villagers), 10 cards per slot. Then place the wooden cattle and villager meeples on their respective spaces on the board (cattle and family area) as illustrated in the diagram. Next, take the shaman meeple and place it on the spotted area of the board. In this mode, it is suggested that you use all of the 24 catastrophe cards.

Shuffle all 15 construction cardboards and place them face down on their respective area of the board (lower left corner).

The rules for this mode are the same as the Basic Game + Medium Game with the following additions:

1. During Phase 3, inspect the number of cattle placed in the pens attached to your houses. The player that owns the most cattle wins an aspect card. If several players have the same amount of cattle in their pens, the aspect card is awarded to the player having the most cattle placed in pens which are attached to 2-story houses. Again, in the case of a tie, no player receives an aspect card. (In example A, both players are tied for pens and cattle. The blue player gets 1 aspect card from the A block because his cattle is placed in a pen attached to a 2-story house.)

2. During Phase 3, inspect the number of villagers tokens on your houses in each block. The player that owns the most villagers in each block wins an aspect card. If there is a tie, then the aspect card is awarded to the player having the most villagers on a 2-story house. If a tie remains, then no aspect card is awarded. (In example B, the yellow player gets 1 aspect card from the B block because his villager is placed on the highest house.)

Cattle Rules

A) Cattle are placed only inside the pens. This means that you must build a house, add a pen, and then place cattle in the pen. You place a wooden cattle meeple on the pen tile. B) You are allowed to place only 1 cattle meeple per pen. C) If your house is destroyed by a catastrophe and it has an attached pen with cattle, flip the house to its ruined side and return the pen tile and cattle meeple to their respective holding areas on the board. D) You may not place a cattle meeple in a pen that does not belong to you. E) End of game: at the end of Phase 4, inspect the village one last time, block by block. The player with the most cattle meeples in each block receives 1 victory point each. In case of a tie, points are awarded to players having the most cattle meeples in pens connected to 2-story houses. If a tie remains, then no point is awarded.

Villagers Rules

A) Villager meeples are placed only inside houses. This means that you must first build a house and then place a villager meeple on it. B) You are allowed to place only 1 villager meeple per house. C) If a house containing a villager meeple is destroyed, then the house is flipped to its ruined side and the villager is returned to its respective holding area on the board. D) You may not place a villager meeple on a house that does not belong to you. E) After you have placed a villager within a house, you may not add a 2nd story. To do that, you must first remove your villager, place it back to its area, build a 2nd story, and then if you draw the appropriate construction cardboard, you could place a villager again. Be careful how you build. F) A house can hold a villager in addition to an oven or a shrine, but not all three elements together. There is enough room for one additional meeple other than the villager, but not both. G) End of game: at the end of Phase 4, inspect the village one last time, block by block. The player with the most villager meeples in each block will be awarded 1 victory point per villager meeple. In case of a tie, points are awarded to the player having the most villagers in a 2-story house. Again, if a tie remains, then no point is awarded.

Shaman Rules

If you find the shaman on the construction cardboard you have drawn, then you place the shaman meeple in a block of your choice on top of one of your own houses. The block that the shaman is on will not be affected by the next catastrophe that would normally affect it. At the end of that round, if the shaman was used to block a catastrophe, remove it from the block and return it to its respective holding area on the board.

Clan Abilities

As was mentioned at the beginning of this manual, there are 5 different clans: the Ders, Sneerg, Oleyli, the Ruples, and Lebu Tribe. Each clan has a specific ability you can use during the game. The power of clans is not a variant or advanced-optional rule; it is part of the game and any player can use the ability of his clan during the game. To trigger the ability of your clan you must first collect 5 aspects of the same icon and discard them in order to score 12 points on the score meter. Each time you score 12 points, you can trigger this ability. You can only use the clan abilities when you play the advanced game.

• The Ders: Destroy 1 house of another player (along with any other elements on it, if there are any) which is built next to one of yours and instantly build 1 house (without extra elements) at the location of the destroyed house.
• Sneerg: Collect 1 pen and 1 cattle for free and place them on the board.
• Lebu Tribe: Collect 1 pen and 1 villager for free and place them on the board.
• Oleyli: Steal 2 elements of your choice (except houses) from any player and use them as you wish.
• The Ruples: Build 1 house according to the construction rules and place the shaman meeple on that house.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What happens when a house containing an oven or a shrine is destroyed by a catastrophe card? The shrine or oven is returned back to its respective area on the board. The house is destroyed and flipped over to its ruined side.

2. What happens if I draw a construction cardboard and want to build an oven, shrine, or pen when its respective token is depleted? You can only build elements that are available (have available tokens).

3. When do I score points? You score each time you spend aspect cards to collect points (rather than use them for building additional elements). You also score at the end of the game when you inspect who has the biggest family in each block. Final scoring is for any unplayed aspect cards you may have.

4. Is there a limit to how many aspect cards I can collect? No, there is no limit.

5. Can I remove a shrine or an oven from my house in order to build a 2nd story? Yes. Place it back in its respective area on the board and build another house (2nd story) on top of the existing house from which you removed the shrine or oven. Of course, this will have an impact upon the strategy you choose to play, since when the aspect phase arrives, you will have to count each block that contains the most shrines or ovens to determine who receives aspect cards. Every decision you make in the game is very critical.

6. Do I have the option of moving a house I have built to another location (i.e., block)? No, once a house is built, you cannot move it.

7. Can you help me understand the game modes again? Basic: play with only 3 aspect card bases - shrine, oven, and pens - and the respective components. Use only 10 of the 15 construction cardboards (refer back to page 4). Medium: add another 2 aspect card bases - 2nd story and number of houses. In this mode, don't use any extra components besides an additional 20 aspect cards (10 per new base). Advanced: use all the aspect card bases along with all 70 aspect cards (10 per base). All components of the game are used in this mode.

8. Do the different game modes make the game more difficult? Not necessarily. Each mode, beyond the basic game, simply adds more choices and, thus, more strategy.