Les Rondins des Bois
Les Rondins des Bois Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- Rules of the game
- A board with a pattern on it
- A spinning top
- 4 tokens with different colours to be stacked up
- Each player has 8 wooden shapes: 2 parallelepipeds, 2 cubes, 2 rectangles and 2 cylinders
- 65 cards showing the shapes to be done. Each card is worth a number of points ranging from 1 to 3. As you win points, you move forward.
- A ease to put the cards on. (printed as "A ease"; the easel is the stand for the card)
Preparation
Place the board on a table. The spinning top should be placed on its allotted space on the board.
Each player is given his 8 wooden shapes. The 65 cards named "shapes to be done" have been shuffled and are face down on one side of the board. The three legged wooden frame is place in a way so that the cards can be seen by all the players.
Each player selects one token. One player shuffles all the tokens and stacks them on top of the others on the start.
Object of the game
The winner is the 1rst player to complete the course by earning the building challenges. It is possible for a few players to complete the course all at once (in this very case, their tokens will be stacked on top of each other), so they share the win! It's only normal as they helped each other...
If you really want a winner, it will be the player who helped last.
All in all: as you cross the finishing line, you'll be a winner!
The play
The player whose token is on top of the pile starts the play. He spins the top in the centre of the board, turns the top card over and places it on the easel.
Should the spinning top get out of its allotted space, you have to spin it again.
As the top spins, each player tries to build the shape shown on the card. Obviously, the shape should be built in height and not flat on the table!!!
As the top stops spinning, you cannot hold your shape unless otherwise stated on the card.
The player to spin the top next is the player whose built is the exact copy as the one shown on the card.
We have done all the shapes shown on the cards, so they can all be done!
You are not allowed to hide while building!
Depending on the way the top is spun, it will spin from 15 to 40 seconds. So it is advisable to play this game on a flat, sturdy surface.
Who wins the go ?
The winner is the player whose shape is completely built. If no player has succeeded in building the shape, the winner is the player who has stacked more blocks than the others.
The points are written on the cards.
The Acted squares
A player (whether his token is on top of a pile of tokens or not) can deliberately put his token on the Acted Square. A token can only be put on an Acted square when it was previously on the square near the path that goes to an Acted square.
If the player on the Acted square or one of the last players wins the go, the player that has helped the others moves forward 2 squares and the other players move forward for as many squares as shown on the playing card.
If there is no winner, the player on the Acted square can decide whether or not he stays on the Acted square in order to help the losing players. Otherwise, he carries the game on as normal.
Watch out !
There can only be one winner at a go. If someone's stacking-up doesn't correspond to what's shown on the card, they are out of the go! (Malo)
Should more than one player have the same number of wooden pieces stacked, they are out of the go! (Léo & Isaac)
Amongst the players still in the go, the winner (Luna) is the player who stacked -if not all of his wooden pieces- most of his wooden pieces building the shape shown on the card.
The winner will move his token forward for as many points as shown on the card.
Should all the players have successfully built the shape shown on the card, there is no winner and the next card is turned over. The person who spins the top is considered as the referee. So if there is any raised objection, the referee will bring things to a stop! Whenever the shape shown on a card is an easy one to do, it is very likely that all the players will have completed the shape before the spins stops. So, it might be advisable to take one or two pieces of the built off as a player may be eliminated if there is a draw.
Consequently, as the players put their wooden pieces together, they should have a look at the spinning top and at what the others are doing!
Finally, if your token is on top of 2 or 3 other tokens, it might be clever to be at a draw with another player's token, so that if a player whose token is in your pile wins, you are sure of moving forward.
(Illustration captions: Léo, Isaac, Luna, Malo.)
How to move forward ?
At the beginning of the game, all the tokens are piled up on top of the others. The player who finishes the shape shown on the card first (without being eliminated) will move his token forward making sure he takes the token(s) on top of his'. As the player reaches the square he has to go to, he will turn the token(s) upside down.
Consequently, his token is now on top of the pile!
If a few tokens are already on the square a player has to go to, the player puts the tokens on top of the others.
Should the token's player be on top of the pile, then he only takes his token leaving the others behind!
Special cards
Most of the cards are simple ones (meaning there is just a shape represented). However, a few cards also show the players special things to do!
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Memorize: The players have to memorize the shape shown on the "mémo" card before doing it. The player, who spun the top, now turns the "mémo" card around so it can be seen by everyone. After counting from 1 to 10, the player will put the "mémo" card face down. The building can now start!
Players are allowed to copy the shape the other players are building, however keep in mind, they might get it all wrong!
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Between the thumb and the forefinger: The very 1rst wooden piece of the built is hold in between the thumb and the forefinger. Your arm does not lay on the table (way too easy!). So, you carry on building with the other hand.
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Chin on the table: Everybody puts their chair backwards and lay their chin on the table. Now, everyone can build as usually. Remember that the top is spinning!
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Cheek on the table: Everybody puts his cheek on the table. Time to build!
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Left hand for the right handers and right hand for the left handers: All you can use to build up the shape is your left hand if you're right handed or your right hand if you're left handed. Good luck and good laugh!
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Little fingers only: This one is a tough one! Only the little fingers can be used in order to build the shape shown on the card.
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Thumbs only: Same as before using only the thumbs.
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Standing on the leg:
The card illustrations are labelled Fig. 1 to Fig. 7 in the printed rulebook; the figures themselves are not reproduced in text.
Rules for children from 3 year's old
The object of the game is to complete the course as fast as can be.
Do not use the spinning top, nor the Acted squares. Finally do not take into account the additional indications written on the cards.
Pick only the cards with the dices with 1, 2 or 3 points. The cards are kept face down on their allotted space on the board. Each player takes a token and puts it next to the others on the start. The older player turns the 1rst card over and puts it on the easel. The 1rst player who manages to complete the figure shown, wins. So he moves his token forward for as many points as written on the card. Then, the player who's just won turns the following card over and so on...
The 1rst player who reaches the finishing line is the winner.
(Side panel on the page: "Pick only the cards with the dices with 1, 2 or 3 points. Do not use the Acted square. Do not use the spinning top.")
Special Cases
You cannot pass this point if you are more than 2 players, you are too heavy.
Unable to cross the bridge alone. You must be accompanied by one or more players.
You can leave your travel partners and travel alone.
Just a little help: Should you want to hear the spinning top when it stops, push in 4 drawing pins at regular intervals in the board. Be careful as boxwood is a hard wood! So don't push the drawing pins in completely!