Nouvelle-France
Nouvelle-France Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Concept and Goal of the Game
Each turn, carefully place a construction block to help build either the military redoubt, the church, or the seigneurial mill. At the end of each turn, points are gained based on the placement of these blocks. It will snow three times during the game and this is when extra points are awarded. After each of the first two storms, snowdrifts are added to the buildings, hiding the levels that have just been tallied, therefore limiting the remaining space available to gain points.
The player who has the most points at the end of the game is the winner.
Game Setup
- Assemble and place the game board in the centre of the play area.
- Place the tiles representing the foundations of the three construction sites around the game board. Put the character standees next to their corresponding site: the soldier (or the Lady) next to the military redoubt, the priest (or the Ursuline nun) next to the church, and the colonist (or the merchant) next to the seigneurial mill.
- Arrange the construction blocks by shape using the identification strip to create the stockpile. The stockpile should be placed at the edge of the play area, visible to all players.
- Place the snowdrifts, two large and two small for each construction site, at the edge of the play area.
- Assign a tally stick at random to each of the construction sites. Place them next to the character standee at each site.
- Place a Bonus Point disk on the plastic support of each character standee. The Bonus Disks should be placed according to the colour of the uppermost cube on the tally sticks.
- Remove the three snowflake cards from the construction-block deck. Shuffle the 36 construction-block cards and deal them face down into 6 separate piles, with pile 1 having 11 cards and piles 2 to 6 each having 5 cards. Add a snowflake card to piles 2, 4 and 6.
Shuffle each of these piles separately and then combine them in numerical order, with pile 1 at the top and pile 6 at the bottom to form the construction-block deck. Place the deck at the edge of the play area with space for the discard pile.
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Draw the first two cards from the top of the construction-block deck and place them on top of the matching illustration on the identification strip. Each player choses a different colour and receives the following:
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3 Ally tokens (a Fur trader, a King's Daughter/Ward, and a member of a First Nations People); 3 bonus construction blocks of their colour; the point marker of their colour (placed on the game board at zero).
To determine the order of play, take all the point markers, shake and release them over the centre of the game board, as indicated by the coin featuring the head of Louis XIV. The player whose marker is closest to the coin goes first. Turns are taken clockwise. Place the point markers on the game board at zero.
Player Turn
1. Draw a construction-block card
(or place a bonus construction block, see Bonus Construction Blocks). Place the new card on top of the matching illustration on the identification strip.
2. Choose a construction block and add it to one of the three construction sites
Choose one of the three visible cards and take the corresponding construction block from the stockpile. Add the block to one of the three construction sites in accordance with the placement rules (see Placement Rules). Until the block's placement is final, it is possible to change the location, the orientation, the site or even to exchange it for another block of the same shape from the stockpile.
3. Calculate the points
The player whose turn it is receives one point for each cube of their colour on the newly placed block. The player receives an additional point for each cube of their colour already in place linked to the newly placed cube through face-to-face contact. The points are totalled, and the player's point marker is moved forward the corresponding number of spaces on the game board. This ends the player's turn, and the player to the left then starts their turn.
For example: Brown receives 2 points because the newly placed block has two brown cubes. Yellow receives 1 point as the newly placed block only has one yellow cube and it has not been placed face-to-face with another yellow cube. White receives 3 points because the newly placed block has two white cubes and one of these cubes has been placed face-to-face with a white cube already in play.
4. Discard the chosen card
(corresponding to the construction block just placed).
Placement Rules
- All players can build on all three construction sites.
- When placing a block, it does not have to touch another block already in play.
- The construction blocks must be placed from above (figure 1). The blocks cannot be inserted under other blocks (figure 2).
- The construction blocks must stay within the limits of the foundations (figure 3).
- The walls cannot be more than three cubes high.
- The construction blocks can either be free standing or held in place by other blocks. They cannot use the snowdrifts for support.
Special rule: On the military redoubt, the joints shown on the foundation are considered as one space. As a consequence, even if the cubes do not touch, they are considered as being placed face-to-face for the purpose of calculating the points.
For example: Brown receives 3 points as the brown cubes on the middle row are considered to be touching face-to-face.
Snowstorms
Three times during the game (one third through, two thirds through and at the end) a snowflake card will be drawn. The active player's turn is suspended, points are calculated for the level in play, and snowdrifts are added. The active player keeps the snowflake card in front of them as a reminder that their turn continues after the tallying of the points.
1. Calculation of points for level in play
When the first snowflake card is drawn, the points are calculated for the first level of each of the three construction sites.
When the second snowflake card is drawn, the points are calculated for the second level of each of the three construction sites.
When the third and final snowflake card is drawn, the points are calculated for the third level of each of the three construction sites.
The tally stick next to each construction site indicates the value of each level at that site:
- Score for third snowstorm
- Score for second snowstorm
- Score for first snowstorm
For each construction site, calculate the number of cubes of each colour found in the level in play:
- if the tally stick indicates "+", each player gains the number of points equal to the number of cubes of their colour found in the level;
- if the tally stick indicates "2", each player gains the number of points equal to twice the number of cubes of their colour found in the level;
- if the tally stick indicates "-", each player loses the number of points equal to the number of cubes of their colour found in the level.
The players go forwards or backwards the corresponding number of spaces on the game board.
Example calculation for the first snowstorm/first level:
For the church: White gains 1 point and moves forwards 1 space. Brown gains 3 points and moves forwards 3 spaces. Yellow gains 4 points and moves forwards 4 spaces. Blue gains 0 points and moves forwards 0 spaces.
For the military redoubt: White gains 2 points and moves forwards 2 spaces (1 cube x 2). Brown gains 4 points and moves forwards 4 spaces (2 cubes x 2). Yellow gains 6 points and moves forwards 6 spaces (3 cubes x 2). Blue gains 4 points and moves forwards 4 spaces (2 cubes x 2).
For the seigneurial mill: White loses 2 points and moves backwards 2 spaces. Brown loses 3 points and moves backwards 3 spaces. Yellow loses 1 point and moves backwards 1 space. Blue loses 1 point and moves backwards 1 space.
2. Placing the snowdrifts
Once the points have been awarded, it is time to place the snowdrifts (made up of two parts) around their respective buildings, being careful not to move the blocks already in play. The wider snowdrifts are used for the first snowstorm, covering the first level. The narrower snowdrifts are used for the second snowstorm, covering the second level.
Preparation for the Next Round
Set up
Once the points have been calculated for each site:
- remove unused bonus construction blocks (see Bonus Construction Blocks);
- return the Ally tokens to their respective players (see Ally Tokens);
- the player who drew the snowflake card draws a new card and continues their turn.
Playing with snowdrifts
All blocks below or at the same level as the snowdrifts are "covered" by snow and are not used in the calculation of points.
However, construction blocks can be placed into empty spaces, at or below the level of the snowdrifts.
As the walls can only be three cubes high, after the first snowstorm when the first snowdrifts have been placed, only the top two levels are used in the calculation of points.
After the second snowstorm and the placement of the snowdrifts, only the top level is used.
Completing a Building
Players can complete a building by covering (when seen from above) the last free space on the foundation tile of a construction site. In doing so, the player receives the character standee associated with that site. The player receives the points associated with each character standee at the end of the game.
Bonus Construction Blocks
During three different stages of the game, each player can choose to place one of their three bonus construction blocks: the Beam, the Post, and the Peg.
The beam must be placed before the first snowflake card is drawn. The post must be placed after the first snowflake card is drawn but before the second. The peg must be placed after the second snowflake card is drawn but before the third.
If a player decides to place a bonus construction block, they do not draw a construction-block card.
The bonus construction blocks must be played before the next snowflake card is drawn, according to the rules above; if not, they are returned to the box. If a player mistakenly draws a card, they cannot place their bonus block this turn.
Ally Tokens
During a player's turn, players may use the three Ally tokens received at the beginning of the game. Once played, the token is turned face down and can only be used again after the next snowstorm. It is possible for several players to play an Ally token during the same turn.
Ally tokens cannot be used when calculating the points for a level after a snowflake card has been drawn, nor can they be used for the points associated with a character standee awarded upon the completion of a building.
Fille du Roy (King's Daughter/Ward) token: Used by the active player to double their points during their turn.
Coureur des bois (Fur trader) token: Used by a player to receive additional points during someone else's turn equal to half the number of points received by the active player (rounding down). This action does not affect the points received by the active player. If the active player uses the "Fille du Roy" token, the additional points are not included in the calculation.
Only a single "Coureur des bois" token may be used each turn. The first player to shout "Fur trader!" can use their "Coureur des bois" during the turn.
First Nations People token ("Anishinabe", "Innu", "Wendat" or "W8banaki"): Allows the player to look in secret at the top three cards of the deck and to put them back in any order. This action may be played before or after a player's turn.
A Player is Unable to Place a Block
If a player is unable to place a block (from the three cards visible on the identification strip), they can seek the permission of the other players to return the block to the box and draw another card.
However, before the block is removed from the game, the other players, starting on the left of the active player, can each try to place the block in question. If a player succeeds, they receive the points for the placement. Players can exchange the block for one of the same shape from the stockpile if it is more advantageous for them. The game then restarts on the left of the player who was initially unable to place the block, who as a consequence misses their turn.
If no one is able to place the block, the active player returns it to the box and can now draw a new card and continue their turn.
End of the Game
The game ends when the final snowflake card is drawn.
The points are tallied for the third level of each building. Players who have a character standee, won for the completion of a building, receive the number of points indicated on the base and advance the corresponding number of spaces.
The player with the most points is declared the winner.
In the case of a draw, the player who has used the lowest number of ally tokens before the arrival of the third snowflake wins the game. If it is still a draw, the player who has not used their peg wins. If it is still a draw, the tied players are declared the winners and share the title of King's Engineer.
Simplified Version
It is possible to play a simplified version of the game when playing it for the first time or to make it easier and more accessible for younger players.
The suggestions are as follows:
Only one construction-block card available per turn. Instead of choosing one of the three construction-block cards available on the stockpile identification strip, the active player simply draws the top card from the construction-block deck. The player then chooses a block corresponding to that shown on the card from those left in the stockpile.
The construction-block deck is prepared slightly differently: the cards are dealt into 6 piles of 6 cards, with the remaining steps (insertion of the snowflake cards, shuffling, and creation of the construction-block deck) staying the same.
Ally tokens being used only once during the game. Whereas the Ally tokens add to the game, they are not essential. As a consequence, their use can be limited, or they can simply be left out.
If they can only be used once, players will still need to judge the best moment to play each Ally. For example, using the First Nations People Ally towards the end of the game is advantageous when the choice of construction-block cards becomes more limited.
The challenge is different but can be equally exciting.
The rules for the solo version and the educational version are available for download at jackbro.com.
Components
- Game board (4 parts)
- Identification strip (3 parts)
- 3 stands
- 39 cards
- 4 point markers
- 3 tally sticks
- 3 bonus point disks
- Construction blocks: 4 cannons, 4 beaver pelts, 4 escaliers (stairs), 4 equerres (squares), 4 charrues (plows), 4 faux (scythes), 4 girouettes (weathercocks), 4 anguilles (eels), 4 croix (crosses)
- 4 pegs, 4 posts, 4 beams (bonus construction blocks)
- Character standees: colonist, priest, soldier, merchant, Ursuline nun, Lady (alternative standees)
- Ally tokens: 3 brown, 3 yellow, 3 blue, 3 white (each set containing a Fille du Roy token, a Coureur des bois token, and a First Nations People token)
- Point discs for the solo version and the educational version of the game (download the rules from jackbro.com)