Lynx Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• How to Play
  • Step 1. Planning
  • Step 2. Resolving Actions
    • Gaining and Spending Money
    • Off-Season
    • Trap Hare
    • Trap Lynx
    • Trapping Costs
    • Sell Lynx Pelts
  • Step 3. Reset
    • Adjust the Hare Population marker
    • Adjust the Lynx Population marker
    • Update the Lynx Pelt Price Track
• End of the Game
• Final Scoring

Components

• 40 Action cards (set of 8 in each player color)
• 5 Storage cards (1 in each player color)
• 60 Trap/Pelt cards
• 12 Venture cards
• 1 double-sided board
• 5 Money cubes
• 1 Black cube (used in Trapper's Variant)
• 41 Price tokens (there are 11 unique tokens for 2-3 players and 10 more for 4-5 players)
• 2 Population markers for Lynx and Hare
• 1 Maple Syrup token

Setup

1. Place the board on the table with the correct side up according to the player count (see bottom right corner of the game board).
2. Take the Price tokens with the green fronts. Add to them the Price tokens with the blue fronts (if 2-3 players) or the ones with the red fronts (if 4-5 players). Shuffle these tokens together and place one of them at random facedown on each slot of the Lynx Pelt Price Track. Put the remaining tokens in the box unseen.
3. Flip the first 4 Price tokens at the top of the track faceup.
4. Place the Hare Population marker on its track according to the value of the first Price token at the top of the Lynx Pelt Price Track (the value is the large number in the center of the token). If the token's value exceeds that of the Hare Population Track, place the marker on the topmost space.
5. Place the Lynx Population marker on its track according to the value of the second Price token (or at the top of the track if the value exceeds that of the Lynx Population Track).
6. Give each player a Storage card of their player color and a matching Money cube.
7. Place the Money cubes on the "0" space of the Money Track.
8. Each player takes a set of 4 Action cards in their player color (Trap Hare, Trap Lynx, Sell Pelts, Off-Season) and places those cards in their hand or in front of them. When playing with the Wildcat variant (see below), each player takes 2 of each Action card, for a total of 8 cards.
9. Shuffle the Trap/Pelt cards and deal each player 12 cards facedown. Players take these cards into their hand, oriented so that the trap portion (black number) of the card is on top. Cards in hand should be kept hidden from other players.
10. Shuffle the Venture cards and deal each player 3 (2-3 players) or 2 (4-5 players) cards facedown. Add these cards to hand. Place the remaining cards in the box unseen.

How to Play

Lynx is a simultaneous action selection game of trapping and selling. The player who earns the most money after 14 seasons is the winner. There are 2 modes of play: Snowshoe and Wildcat. In Snowshoe, actions are resolved for each season before moving on to the next season. In Wildcat, players plan their action for the next season before resolving actions for the current season (details for Wildcat are shown in brown text boxes in the rulebook, and are marked "Wildcat" below). Whichever mode is chosen, follow these 3 steps each season:

• Step 1: Planning
• Step 2: Resolving Actions
• Step 3: Reset

Step 1. Planning

Each player secretly chooses one Action card and places it facedown in front of them.

• If you chose Trap Lynx or Trap Hare, you must select 1 or more Trap cards from your hand and place them facedown under the Action card.
• If you chose Sell Lynx Pelts, you must place 1 or more Lynx Pelt cards from your hand facedown under the Action card.
• If you chose Off-Season, you may place 0 or more Venture cards facedown under the Action card.

When all players have finished their Planning, move to Step 2.

Wildcat: After choosing your Action for the current season, you must also plan your Action for the next season by playing another Action card facedown next to your Storage card (with any relevant cards under it). Note: Do not plan your next season's Action in the last season of the game.

Hint: You only have 12 Trap/Pelt cards and 2 or 3 Venture cards. Use them wisely for the next 14 seasons.

Step 2. Resolving Actions

Players reveal the facedown cards in front of them and resolve each type of Action in the following order: Off-Season, Trap Hare, Trap Lynx, Sell Lynx Pelts.

Gaining and Spending Money

When a player gains/spends money, move the player's Money cube forwards/backwards on the Money Track accordingly. It is most likely that players will go into debt before starting to make money. Track the debt by moving on the negative Money track (in red).

Off-Season

Each player who played the Off-Season Action card simultaneously and completely resolves all of the Venture cards they played, if any (this is the only Action card with which no other cards need be played). Each Venture card is resolved individually according to their written effects. They may be resolved in any order, apart from the Venture card, Pan for Gold, which is always resolved last.

After all Venture cards have been resolved, pass each Venture card to the player to the left who puts it in their hand. They may play the card in a future season.

Remember: Players may play as many Venture cards as they want for their Off-Season action, including not playing any Venture cards. If they play no Venture cards, no action is resolved for this player.

(Venture card examples shown in the rulebook: Campfire Cook - Gain $1 for each Venture card played by all other players this round. For example: one other player played 1 Venture card, and another player played 2 Venture cards: gain $3. Frontier Guide - Gain $1 AND take all the Venture cards played by all other players after they have been resolved. Pass all Venture cards you played (including the Frontier Guide card) to the player to your left.)

Trap Hare

For all players who played the 'Trap Hare' Action card, compare the numbers on the played Trap cards. Resolve the card with the lowest number first and then the next lowest and so on. For each Trap card, move the Hare Population marker down its track a number of spaces equal to the Trap card's first digit (1 to 6 spaces). Its owner pays all the costs shown between the spaces the marker moved.

Example: Player 1 will resolve the 21 Trap card first, trapping 2 hares. Then Player 2 will resolve their 25 card, also trapping 2 hares. Finally, Player 1 will resolve their 38 card, trapping 3 hares.

Example: When Player 1 resolves the '38' Trap card, move the Hare Population marker down 3 spaces. Player 1 spends a total of $1 (0+0+1) to trap the 3 hares.

If moving the Hare Population marker would move it off the Track (across the "X"), no hares are caught by this card. Discard the Trap card. Do not move the Hare Population marker. No costs are paid.

Example: Using the example above, if the Hare Population marker was on 3, it would not be moved at all. Player 1 traps no hares with this card, and forfeits their trap. The Trap card is then discarded.

After each Trap card is resolved, if it wasn't placed to one side (due to causing the Hare Population marker to cross the "X"), place it facedown under the Hare Pelts Storage Card, where it remains until the end of the game when it is scored.

Trap Lynx

For all players who played the 'Trap Lynx' Action card, compare the numbers on the played Trap cards. Resolve the Trap card with the lowest number first and then the next lowest and so on. For each Trap card, move the Lynx Population marker one space down the Lynx Population Track (unlike hare traps, each card in a Trap Lynx action can only trap one lynx). The owner of the card pays the amount shown between the spaces the marker moved.

If moving the Lynx Population marker would move it off the Track (across the "X"), no lynx are caught by this card. Discard the Trap card. Do not move the Lynx Population marker. No costs are paid.

After each Trap card is resolved, if it wasn't discarded, the owner places it back into their hand, oriented so that the Pelt side (red number) is on top.

Example: After these two Traps are resolved, they are turned into Lynx pelts and returned to hand to be sold off later with the 'Sell Lynx Pelts' Action.

Note: Once Pelt cards are in your hand, you must manage the orientation of your hand so that your Pelt cards don't become Trap cards and vice versa. The Hare Pelt Storage card offers a reminder to keep your hand in a consistent orientation.

Trapping Costs

The trapping cost represents the time, effort, and supplies needed to enter the wilderness and return with a pelt. As the hare and lynx populations decline, they become more difficult to trap, increasing the cost.

If the population of hare or lynx is too low, trapping proves unsuccessful and traps are abandoned or lost. This is represented by a trapping cost of "X" on the bottom space of each Population Track.

Sell Lynx Pelts

For all players who played the 'Sell Lynx Pelts' Action card, compare the numbers on the played Pelt cards. Starting with the card with the highest number first and then the next highest and so on, award players money according to the Lynx Pelt Price Track. The number in the center of the topmost Price token shows the money gained for the first pelt sold. The value of each subsequent pelt is reduced by the amount shown in the smaller number to the right of the coin, to a minimum value of $0.

Discard sold Lynx Pelt cards.

Another Example: This $8 token is the topmost token. The 0 indicates NO price reduction. This means all pelts sold this season will receive $8 per pelt sold.

Note: There is no limit to the number of pelts that can earn the shown price if the reduction value is zero.

Example: The Price token above is the topmost token on the Lynx Pelt Price Track. Four Pelt cards were played across all players this season. The first Pelt card to be sold is worth $13. The next one is worth $11. The next two, $9 and $7 respectively.

Selling Lynx Pelts at $0: Be careful when selling multiple lynx pelts; the price reduction per pelt could reduce the value of your pelts to $0.

After all Actions are resolved, return the Action card to its place, then move to Step 3.

Wildcat: You may only use cards currently in your hand to plan actions and must plan a season in advance. Therefore, in the final season, you cannot sell lynx pelts that were trapped in the second-to-last season.

Step 3. Reset

Adjust the board in preparation for the next season. This is done in the following order:

• Adjust the Hare Population marker
• Adjust the Lynx Population marker
• Update the Lynx Pelt Price Track

Wildcat: Move the facedown Action card (and any cards below it) from next to your Storage card to just in front of you. This will be your Action for the next season. (During the Planning step in the next season, you will be Planning for the season after the current one.)

Adjust the Hare Population marker

Set the Hare Population marker to the Carrying Capacity (cc) minus the current lynx population. The cc is 14 (in a 2-3 player game) or 20 (in a 4-5 player game).

In the absence of predation, the snowshoe hare breeds rapidly. However, an abundance of lynx reduces the hare population significantly.

Example: In a 4-5 player game, with the lynx population at 6, the hare population will be set to 14 (cc of 20, minus the lynx population of 6).

Wildcat (Trapper's Variant): In this variant, trapping hare reduces the hare population's ability to reach their Carrying Capacity (cc). Count the number of Trap cards successfully used to trap hare each season and mark the corresponding cc with the black cube. If 1 card or fewer was used, use the default cc (14 or 20). If 2-3 cards were used, the cc is reduced by 1 (13 or 19). If 4 or more cards were used, the cc is reduced by 2 (12 or 18).

Adjust the Lynx Population marker

• If the new hare population is equal to or greater than the current lynx population, set the lynx population to twice its current value.
• If the new hare population is less than the current lynx population, set the lynx population to half the hare population, rounded up.

As a specialist predator, the lynx population depends directly on the availability of snowshoe hare - their primary food source. If there is sufficient hare, the lynx population breeds and doubles. If not, some lynx starve, others cannot breed, and their population drops.

Example: Since the hare population is less than the lynx population, the lynx marker drops to 4 (half of the hare population rounded up).

Hint: Some spaces of the Lynx Population Track contain arrows: if the Lynx Population marker is on a space with an arrow at the end of the season, the lynx population will double during Step 3. Otherwise it will drop.

In the Trapper's Variant, if the Lynx Population marker is on a space with an arrow with one or no bars, the lynx population may double depending on how many hares were trapped this season.

Update the Lynx Pelt Price Track

Remove the topmost Price token on the Lynx Pelt Price Track. Then flip the topmost facedown token so it is now faceup.

End of the Game

When the last Price token has been removed at the end of the 14th season, the game ends.

Final Scoring

In addition to money tallied throughout the game, additional money is awarded at the end of the game:

• Players gain $2 for each hare pelt they have trapped ($2 x the sum of the first digits of each Trap card under their Storage card). In addition, the player with the most hare pelts (the sum of the first digit of each card number) gains $10. The player with the second most gains $5. If there is a tie for players with the most, $15 is split equally between the tied players (rounded down) and there is no second place. If there is a single player with the most but a tie for second most, nobody gets the second place money. Players must have at least 1 hare pelt to score this bonus.
• Each unsold lynx pelt is worth $5. The player with the most unsold lynx pelts gains an additional $10. If there is a tie for the players with the most, the tied players split the $10 equally between them (rounding down).
• The player with the most money becomes a free trapper and wins the game. In the event of a tie, the tied player with the most unused Trap cards in their hand wins.

Example: The yellow player has 5 hare pelts (1+1+3) and receives $10. The blue player has 8 hare pelts (2+2+4) and receives $16. The green player also has 8 hare pelts (3+5) and also receives $16. Blue and green tie for the most hare pelts and gain an extra $7 each ($15 split between them, rounded down). There is no second place. Yellow and blue have 2 unsold lynx pelts each and green has none. Yellow and blue both gain $10 for their 2 pelts and then split the $10 bonus between them, so each player gains $15 in total for their unsold pelts.