Little Big Fish
Little Big Fish Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Content
- 1 rule of the game
- 4 boards
- 8 Surprise tokens
- 8 Plankton tokens
- 24 Fish figurines
Aim of the Game
Be the first to eat 5 adverse fishes whatever their size.
Beware, as soon as a player has only one fish in play, he lost the game!
Se(a)tting Up
- Each player chooses a fish colour and collects the fish and 4 Plankton tokens (red, yellow, blue and green) in that colour in front of them (as a reserve).
- The 8 Surprise tokens are stirred up and placed into a pile with their face hidden next to the board.
- A square is randomly created with the four boards so as to create the play area.
- The first player puts 3 of their Little Fishes on the first line in front of them, on unoccupied Ocean square (see image). Then the second player does the same.
First Games
During the first games, we recommend to place the boards exactly like on the opposite drawing.
First Player
The player who last ate fish is chosen to be the First Player.
The Fishes
There are three sizes of Fishes. In order: SMALL, MEDIUM AND BIG.
A Fish can eat another fish of the same size as its, or a smaller one. To get bigger, a fish must eat Plankton.
SMALL FISHES: The Little Fishes can eat other Small Fishes. They can go through the Wreck squares.
MEDIUM FISHES: The Medium Fishes can eat the Small Fishes and the other Medium Fishes. They cannot go through the Wreck squares.
BIG FISHES: The Big Fishes can eat Fishes of any size. They cannot go through the Wreck squares.
Moving
When it is their turn, the player must:
Move 1 fish two squares
OR
Move 2 fishes one square
- A fish moves vertically or horizontally, but not diagonally.
- As soon as a fish goes through a square, its effect is immediately applied.
- You can't move on a square occupied by another Fish of yours.
The Squares
Ocean
No effect.
Plankton
The Plankton enables you to make your Fishes bigger.
- When the Fish of a player goes on a Plankton square, it is replaced with a Fish of a bigger size from their reserve.
- The player discards the Plankton token of the corresponding colour. From now on and until the end of the game, this square will have no effect on the player.
Note: If a Big Fish moves on a Plankton square and if this square hasn't been already used by the player, this square will have no effect and the corresponding Plankton token is not discarded.
Wrecks
The Wrecks are only accessible to the Little Fishes. However, they are not allowed to stop on it.
A Little Fish can go through one or several adjacent Wreck squares during one single moving action. The Wreck squares does not count as moving (see image).
Birth
The Birth squares enable you to increase the number of your fishes in play. There is one on each of the 4 boards of the game.
- When a player stops on a Birth square, they take a Little Fish from their reserve and place it on an unoccupied square (except wrecks) located on the concerned board.
- The effect of the square where the Little Fish has been put is not applied.
- The Little Fish freshly created can move immediately if the player still has a move to do.
Eat a Fish
To eat Fish, you just have to move on the square of a smaller or same-sized adverse Fish. The player who takes an adverse Fish grabs it and places it near their reserve.
The Surprise Tokens
When a player stops on a Surprise square "?", they take the first token of the pile and immediately apply its effect before discarding it.
When the 8 tokens have been discarded, they are stirred up again and placed in a pile with their face hidden.
Fisherman
When a player draws a Fisherman token, they lose the Fish which is on the Surprise square. This Fish is straight away put back into the reserve.
If there is on the same board an adverse Fish, it is also eliminated and placed into the reserve of its owner.
- Remark: If several adverse Fishes are on the concerned board, the adverse player chooses which Fish they wants to eliminate.
- Once the effect has been applied, the token is discarded.
Plankton
When a player draws a Plankton token, he replaces the Fish on the Surprise square by a bigger Fish of their reserve.
- If it is a Big Fish, this token will have no effect.
- Once it has been used, even if it had no effect, the token is discarded.
Birth
The Birth token enables you to add a Little Fish of your reserve on the board of the Surprise square. This Little Fish must be placed on an unoccupied square (except wrecks).
- If the player has no more Little Fish available in their reserve, the token has no effect.
- Once it has been used, even if it had no effect, the token is discarded.
Whirlwind
When the player draws a Whirlwind token, they must turn the board of their choice 90° left or right.
End of Game
The game ends when a player has eaten 5 adverse fishes whatever their size or as soon as a player only has one single fish on the play area.