Loch Ness
Loch Ness Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Contents
- 1 gameboard
- 1 twelve sided die
- 36 photos of Nessie
- 1 cotton bag
- 12 plastic photographers (3 yellow and red, 2 blue, black and green)
- 1 Loch Ness Monster (divided into three parts: head, body and tail)
Setting Up
Put the board in the middle of the table.
If you're playing with two players, one player will be red and the other yellow.
Choose your colors and get your photographers.
If you're playing with more than two players, each player chooses one color and takes 2 photographers of his color from the box. Leave all the extra photographers in the box.
Remove all photos out of the frame and put them in the bag. Put Nessie in the center of the board, anywhere on the Monster Track. All pieces of Nessie have to be put in order: first the head, then the body and finally the tail. Each piece will be in a different circle of the Monster Track. These circles have to be adjacent to each other.
Starting to Play
The best photographer in the group goes first, with the other players taking turns going to the left. On your turn, put one of your photographers on the board. You can put your photographer on or next to any one of the Viewing Areas. But, each Viewing Area can only have one photographer! You must choose an empty Viewing Area. After everyone has placed a photographer, keep taking turns placing your second (and third) photographers. When all players have put all of their photographers on the board, the game begins!
Each Turn, You Can Either:
- Roll the die and move Nessie or
- Move one of your photographers
1) Roll the Die and Move Nessie
If you want to move Nessie roll the die.
If you roll a number, you have to move Nessie the number of circles equal to the number rolled. Nessie can't go backwards, she can only move ahead on the Monster Track. If Nessie is on a crossroads, you choose which way she moves.
If you roll the water symbol, Nessie dives under the water! Pick up all three Nessie parts and place them anywhere on the Monster Track you want! Remember to keep all three parts together and in the right order (head, then body, then tail).
Example: William rolls the die and he gets a "5". He has to move Nessie 5 circles. He decides to move her along the edge of the lake and down from the second crossroads. The monster moves exactly 5 circles.
After Nessie moves, all of the photographers nearby try to take her picture. Each Viewing Area can see only a few circles on the Monster Track, marked with a matching symbol. Each photographer on a Viewing Area that can see any part of Nessie after she moves draws one photo from the bag for each part of Nessie on a circle with the matching symbol.
Example: William's photographer (red) is on the Viewing Area with the sheep. Two of the circles covered by Nessie (the head and the body) also have a sheep, so he gets to draw two photos from the bag. He has two chances to get a good picture. Two of Tammy's photographers (black) are also near the monster: one on the dock and one in the lighthouse. The one on the dock can see all three parts of Nessie, but the lighthouse photographer only has one chance to snap a good picture!
Starting with the player who moved Nessie, each player in turn will draw photos from the bag for each photographer that can see the monster. Draw one photo for each part of Nessie the photographer can see, and place them all face up. Now choose which one photo you want to keep (usually the one with the highest point value). Return the rest of the photos to the bag. If there are not enough photos in the bag, draw them all and choose which one to keep.
Example: Tammy draws three photos for her photographer on the docks. She draws all three photos from the bag and sees a 5-point photo among them! She keeps this photo and puts the others back in the bag. Now she draws one photo for the photographer at the lighthouse: she's not so lucky this time! She only draws a 1-point photo, which she must keep.
After all players with photographers near Nessie shoot their photos, the next player starts his or her turn. Remember that you can get more than one photo on a turn: every photographer near Nessie shoots a photo!
2) Move One Photographer
If you want to move one of your photographers instead of moving Nessie, pick up any one of your photographers from the board and put him on any empty Viewing Area. No one can take any photos this turn. After you move your photographer, the player to your left starts his or her turn.
End of the Game
The game ends when there are no photos in the bag. Each player counts the points for all of his or her photos: THE PLAYER WHO HAS THE MOST POINTS IS THE WINNER!
Younger players can turn over their photos and count the stars on the back, instead of adding up the points. If there's a tie, the player who shot the most photos is the winner.
Extended Rules
To make the game more exciting, you can use any or all of these rules:
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When you draw photos, don't draw all of them at once. Instead, draw one photo at a time: if you like the photo, you can stop drawing and keep it. If you don't like it, you can set it aside and draw another. Continue drawing until you choose to keep one, or run out of draws. If you draw your last photo, you must keep it! Return all discarded photos back to the bag.
Example: Tammy has three chances to draw for her photographer at the docks. She draws the first one, and she gets a "4" point value photo. She thinks she can do better, and she draws another one. Unfortunately, she gets a "3" point value photo. She decides to keep it and not use her third chance. The 4-point photo goes back into the bag.
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You can "push" or "slow down" Nessie when she moves around the lake. After you roll the die, you can discard one of your photos (put it back in the bag) to add or subtract a number of circles from the die roll equal to the value of the photo.
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If Nessie dives under the water (when you roll the water symbol on the die), you still move the monster to any part of the lake you choose, but no one can take any photos this turn! Now you will have to think harder about where to place Nessie!