Kraken Up
Kraken Up Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
90 cards (62 fishing cards, 16 tentacle cards, 4 cruise ship cards, 4 kraken cards, 4 lair cards)
Setup
Each player takes a kraken and a lair card. Place the 4 cruise ship cards together in the middle of the play area. Separate the tentacle and fishing cards. The tentacle cards should be "straight" side up.
Play
Shuffle the fishing deck and deal cards to each player according to the table below:
| Players | Cards each |
|---|---|
| 2 players | 14 cards each |
| 3 players | 9 cards each |
| 4 players | 7 cards each |
Each turn, all players will do the following:
-
Select a card from their hand to keep and place it face down in front of them. When all players have chosen a card, turn them face up.
-
Either place the chosen card in front of them in the position shown on the card (see below), or discard it for its food value and take the corresponding number of tentacle cards.
-
Catch a piece of the cruise ship if able.
-
Pass their hand of cards to the left.
This will continue until no one has any cards in their hand.
Card Layout
Each fishing card shows three values in its corner icons — food, points, and height — and each tentacle card shows a tentacle number.
Placing Cards
Players will arrange cards in front of them according to height above their lair. The height at which a card must be played is indicated on the card. Multiple cards may be placed at the same height. Cards showing an 'L' are placed directly in the player's lair.
Growing Tentacles
Some cards have a food value. Instead of playing the card in front of them, a player may discard it to take a number of tentacle cards equal to the food value of the card. Tentacle cards must be added to the top of your kraken immediately.
Tentacles and Fishing
When a tentacle grows, it extends upwards. When it retracts, it catches all of the fishing cards in front of a player up to the height of the tentacle and moves them all to the player's lair. Cards in the lair will ultimately score points.
Cruise Ship
The cruise ship is a height of 4 above all the players. Any tentacle that reaches a height of 4 grabs the highest value cruise ship card and their tentacle retracts immediately (collecting other cards in reach as well).
If more than 1 player reaches the cruise ship at the same time, priority is determined by the lowest numbered tentacle.
End of a Round
When all of the cards have been played, the round is over and all tentacles retract (collecting all cards within reach). Return these tentacles to the tentacle deck. Any cards that are out of reach of tentacles are discarded.
Games are played over 2 rounds. Note that cruise ship cards are not replaced.
Scoring Notes
When scoring baby kraken cards, tied players split the points rounded down. If there is a tie for most baby krakens, no second place points are awarded. When scoring mermaids, the maximum size of a set is 3; any additional mermaids begin a new set.
End of the Game
After 2 rounds have been played, add up the points from cards in each player's lair. The player with the most points wins.
Designed by Tom Harvey
© 2019 Tom Harvey. All rights reserved. Published under license by Flying Carpet Games.