Only One Collection
Only One Collection Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Overview
Your goal is to collect these magical ingredients by drawing cards from the deck and placing them into a column (explore action) or by taking the ingredients in the column (collect action).
However, if you break the "Only One" magic by having two ingredients of the same value in a column, then the ingredients are ruined.
Crafting valuable potions by collecting these "Only One" ingredients strategically will earn you victory points. The player with the most points will be the winner.
Game Components
- Ingredients Cards (Total 78 cards)
- [1] Magical Fig: 1 card
- [2] Dual Headed Snake: 2 cards
- [3] Secret Cheese: 3 cards
- [4A] Lucky Clover: 4 cards
- [4B] Lucky Clover: 4 cards
- [5] Tiny Star: 5 cards
- [6A] Dieshroom: 6 cards
- [6B] Dieshroom: 6 cards
- [7] Rainbow Sugar: 7 cards
- [8A] Forest Octopus: 8 cards
- [8B] Forest Octopus: 8 cards
- [9] Fox Tails: 9 cards
- [10] Chatty Pumpkin: 10 cards
- [3/5/7/9] Unbreakable Egg: 5 cards
- Potion Token: 13 pieces
- Score Board: 4 pieces
- Player Marker: 4 pieces
- Start Player Token: 1 piece
- Familiar Cards: 4 cards. Not used in the first game. See "Variant Rules: Familiar Cards" for details.
When playing with 4 players, use all components listed above (except for Familiar Cards).
When playing with 3 players, remove all [4B] and [8B] cards (cards with the 4-player icon), and the corresponding Potion Tokens. Put these as well as 1 Score Board and 1 Player Token back in the box.
When playing with 2 players, remove all the above as well as all [6B] cards (cards with the 3-4 player icon), and the corresponding Potion Tokens. Put these and an additional Score Board and a Player Token back in the box.
Game Setup
- Players sit around the table.
- Each player takes 1 Score Board and places it in front of them. Take a Player Marker of any color and place it on the [0] space. Also, reserve enough table space in front of you to place Ingredients Cards during the game.
- Take out the [1] card from the deck of Ingredients Cards and shuffle them well to create a face down deck. Draw and place 5 cards face down from the bottom of the deck and place the [1] card on top of it face down. Then, place the remaining deck on top of it. (In other words, the [1] card will be the 6th card from the bottom of the deck. This card has a different design on the back making it easier to distinguish).
- Place the Potion Tokens and the Deck at the center of your playing space.
- Reserve enough space next to it to place Ingredients Cards for each player.
- Reserve a space for discarded cards.
- A player with the best personality takes the Start Player Token and becomes the Start Player of the game. (Alternatively, use any random method to choose a start player).
Round Flow
The game is played over multiple rounds.
Each round starts with the Start Player taking an action and continues clockwise until all players have taken Collection Action (or Busts). After a round is over, the next round begins.
These rounds continue until the [1] Ingredient Card is revealed.
Each round has the following 2 phases.
- Preparation Phase
- Exploration Phase
1: Preparation Phase
Draw Ingredients Cards equal to the number of players from the deck and place them face up next to each other. (Example: when playing with 3 players, 3 cards are placed.)
These cards become the top card of each column.
2: Exploration Phase
Starting with the player with the Start Player Token, each player takes a turn in clockwise order. On your turn, you choose one of the two actions below.
- [a] Explore (draw an Ingredients Card and add it to a column of your choice)
- [b] Collect (Take all cards from a column of your choice and end your round)
After taking your turn, the next player takes their turn. If that player has already ended their round, skip that player and continue to the next player who has not yet ended their round. (If you are the last player in the round then you can continue taking your turns.)
[a] Explore (draw an Ingredients Card and add it to a column of your choice)
Draw the top card of the deck and add it to a column of your choice. (Add it to the bottom of the column, below other cards already added to the column.)
As players take this action, the number of cards in each column will increase.
There are two rules that you need to pay attention to.
- Each column may only have a maximum of 4 cards. If all columns have 4 cards, then you may not take the Explore action.
- If the chosen column already has a card of the same number (even if A and B differ), then you will Bust. Collect only the card that you just added and discard the other cards face down into the discard pile. Since you Busted, your round is over.
[Tip] As the round progresses, players will begin to end their rounds. The "number of columns remaining" and the "number of players remaining in the round" will always match.
Example of a Bust
You drew [6A] when the current card columns look like this: the columns are topped by [4A], [8A], [10]; beneath them are [9], [6A], [5]; and beneath those is [6B] under the [5]. (The [6A] you drew is the card just drawn.)
You can add the card to the left most column without any conflict, but other columns already have a [6]. For example, if you choose to add the card to the right most column, then you will only collect the [6A] you just added and end your round. The [10], [5], and [6B] from that column are discarded face down into the discard pile.
The third column is now gone, so there is one fewer column to choose from in the future turns.
Normally you do not want to Bust since you will only collect 1 card. Sometimes you may choose to do so strategically but other times you may have no other choice. (You are more likely to bust when there are fewer remaining columns.)
[b] Collect (Take all cards from a column and end your round)
Collect all cards from a column of your choice and place them face up in front of you. It doesn't matter how many cards are in that column. (It is possible to collect 1 to 4 cards.)
Clearly display all collected cards so that everyone sees which cards you have and how many of them. (For example, spread all collected cards from 1 to 10 in order)
When you choose to collect, your round ends and your turn is skipped for the rest of the round.
Example of a Collect action
You take the Collect action and choose the middle column when the card columns look like the example: [8A] on top of [6A] in the middle column. You take [6A] and [8A], and place them face up in front of you. Your round is now over, and your turn is skipped for the rest of the round. Additionally, there is now 1 fewer column. The remaining 2 players continue taking their turns. (Place the cards among other cards you've collected in the previous rounds.)
When there are no remaining players because players have either Busted or taken Collect actions, the round is over and you start preparing for the next round.
The player who takes the last turn of the round takes the Start Player Token and becomes the start player of the next round.
When [1] is revealed
Revealing [1] during the Preparation or Exploration Phase indicates that the game is almost over.
Players can no longer take the Explore action.
All remaining players take the Collect action, and end the round. Cards remaining in the deck are returned to the box, and players proceed to Scoring.
Scoring
Your score is calculated in two steps.
- Points from special ingredients
- Points from each ingredient (for each Ingredients Card value)
1: Points from special ingredients
Each player looks at the Ingredients Cards they collected and gain 1 point for each card with the Special Ingredients icon (cards with a pointing-hand icon).
Mark your score on your Score Board by advancing your Player Token. If you exceed the score track then use other means to mark your score. (There is 1 Special Ingredients card for each card value except for [1]. Unbreakable Egg [3/5/7/9] is also Special Ingredients.)
Example: 4 cards with the icon, so score 4 points.
2: Points from each ingredient (for each Ingredients Card value)
In ascending order from [1] [2] [3] [4A] [4B] [5] [6A] [6B] [7] [8A] [8B] [9] [10], disregarding the cards returned to the box, check which player has the most card of each value. The player with the most gains everything listed below. The game is over after scoring [10].
- [a] A Matching Potion Token and the Start Player Token
- [b] Bonus points from discarded cards
- [c] Bonus points from the player to your right
[a] A Matching Potion Token and the Start Player Token
Take the matching Potion Token from the supply (for example, if you had the most [6A] then take the Potion Token with the same illustration as the [6A] card) and the Start Player Token.
Additionally, gain 1 point.
Points from [b] and [c] below are considered bonus points.
[b] Bonus points from discarded cards
Check the discard pile and gain the number of points equal to the number of matching Ingredients Cards (the value must match exactly, distinguishing A and B).
To make this step easier, organize the discard pile by value before Scoring.
[c] Bonus points from the player to your right
Check the cards your right neighbor collected and gain the number of points equal to the number of matching Ingredients Cards (the value must match exactly, distinguishing A and B).
* This is the player who takes their turn before you since players take turns in clockwise order.
First, check the player who has the most [1].
Since there is only one [1] in the game, the player with the card takes the matching Potion Token (gain 1 point) and the Start Player Token.
Then, proceed to comparing [2], [3], [4A], [4B], and so on. Note that the higher valued cards have more cards, so it is more likely that the cards have been discarded or the right player has collected them.
Don't forget to score these bonus points.
[Important notes when scoring]
If more than 1 player is tied for the most card, then the player who is holding the Start Player Token wins the tie.
If neither player is holding the Start Player Token, then the player closest clockwise to the player holding the token wins the tie.
About Unbreakable Egg
Although "Unbreakable Egg" is an Ingredients Card, it is ignored when comparing most cards. (It only scores 1 point as a Special Ingredients.) On the other hand, while they are in the column during Exploration Phase, they will count as one of [3] [5] [7] or [9] values and can cause the column to Bust.
- If "Unbreakable Egg" is added to a column with [3] [5] [7] or [9], then that column will Bust.
- If [3] [5] [7] or [9] is added to a column with "Unbreakable Egg", then that column will Bust.
Determine the Winner
At the end of the scoring, the player with the most points is the winner. In case of a tie, then among the tied players, the player with the most Potion Token is the winner. If there is still a tie, then the player holding the Start Player Token or closest clockwise to the player holding the Start Player Token is the winner.
Game Tips
This game is about collecting the most cards of a value, but you can only take 1 card of each value per round. You will need to slowly build up your collection but pay attention to the card just below the card you want to score (for example, if you want to win and score [10] then you need to think about [9] as well).
It is very common that two players are tied for the most, so having the Start Player Token is a big advantage. Try to win consecutive values like [8B] [9] and [10].
Also, note that having too few cards won't make you win and score, but having too many of them isn't good either.
If you have too many cards of a value, that means the player to your right doesn't have many and there aren't many discarded either. If you are certain that you will win a value then you might want to purposely Bust and discard those cards to increase your bonus points.
Variant Rules: Familiar Cards (3- or 4-players)
Familiar Cards are not used in the basic game. You should introduce them once everyone is familiar with the game rules.
When playing with this variant, during the first round's Preparation Phase, reveal the Familiar Cards for each player instead of 1 Ingredient Cards from the deck. You may use either side of the card. (They have different special powers on each side. Choose a side to play with or pick randomly.)
In the first round, each column may only have up to 4 cards including the Familiar Card. When you take the Collect action or Busts, take the Familiar Card along with any Ingredient Cards you would normally take.
All Familiar Cards have the Special Ingredients icons (pointing-hand icons) and a special power. The Special Ingredients icons are used during Scoring, and the special power is an ability the owner can use starting with the second round of the game.
Abilities of the Familiar Cards
- When gaining Potion Token during Scoring, if you already have the Start Player Token then gain 2 additional points.
- During your turn when taking the Collect action, if no other player has ended their round then gain 1 point.
- When gaining 3 or more Bonus Points during Scoring (bonus points are gained from discarded cards and cards your right player took), gain 2 additional points.
- At the end of the game, you win if you are tied for the most points regardless of how many Potion Tokens you have.
- During your turn when taking the Explore action, look at the top 3 cards of the deck and choose 1 card. The other 2 cards are returned to the top of the deck in any order. You may use this ability only once during the game (turn the card to its side to indicate that you have used it).
- If your score reaches 16 points or more during Scoring, then the game ends immediately and the winner is determined. (The remaining Ingredients Cards are not scored)
- During your turn when taking the Explore action, if you Bust then you may gain any card of that column instead of the card you busted with. All other cards are discarded as normal.
- During your turn when taking the Explore action, gain 1 point if you Bust.
Variant Rules: Team Game (4-players only)
When playing with 4 players, you may choose to play the game as a 2 vs 2 team game, partnering with the player sitting diagonally across from you. The rules are the same except that you score as a team.
You will enjoy a more strategic game where you may choose to Bust "strategically" to benefit your partner. Also, it is important to know that the amount of bonus points you gain depends on how your opponent team plays.
At the end of the game, if two teams are tied for the highest score, then the team with more Potion Tokens wins. If you are still tied, then the team with the Start Player Token wins.
You may choose to play this variant along with the Familiar Cards variant.
When playing with 2-players
When playing with 2 players, draw 3 Ingredients Cards in [1. Preparation Phase] as if you are playing with 3 players.
However, as soon as one player ends their round, the remaining player may only add cards to the column closer to the deck.
Additionally, the remaining player may only choose to Collect the column closer to the deck.
In the example, if one player takes the second column ([8A] + [6A]) and ends their turn, then there are 2 columns remaining ([4A] + [9] and [10] + [5] + [3]). However, the remaining player may only add cards to or collect the column with [4A] and [9] cards.
In the next round, you only refill the two columns that were taken. (In other words, there will be a column with [10] [5] and [3] from the beginning of the round.)
As an exception, if there is a [1] in a column, then you must choose to add to or collect the column with the [1] card.
The column that remains at the end of the game is not added to the discard pile. (Treat them like the cards left in the deck.)
During scoring, you will not gain bonus points from [b] Bonus points from the discard pile.
You do get bonus points from [c] Bonus points from the player to your right so pay attention to which cards your opponent takes.
Quick Reference
Round Flow
- Preparation Phase: Draw Ingredients Cards equal to the number of players from the deck and place them face up next to each other.
- Exploration Phase: Start with the Start Player and each player takes one of the two actions below in clockwise order.
- [a] Explore (draw a card and add it to a column). If you did not Bust, stay in the round. You will Bust if you add a card with a value that already exists in the column. Take only the card you just added and discard the rest.
- [b] Collect: Take all cards in a column.
Either way, your round is over. No more turns until the next round.
Scoring
- Points from special ingredients: Gain points for each Special Ingredients (cards with the icon).
- Points from each ingredient: Compare the number of cards you have for each card value of [1] to [10]. The player with the most gains below.
- [a] Matching Potion Token and the Start Player Token: 1 point
- [b] Bonus points from discarded cards: 1 point per matching card in the discards.
- [c] Bonus points from the player to your right: 1 point per matching card the right player has.