Paleolino
Paleolino Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 Mountain
- 1 Mountain base
- 4 Caves
- 1 Hand axe
- 1 Village board
- 15 Inventions
- 4 Kids
- 30 Resource chips: 9 wood, 9 stone, 9 berry, 3 crystal
Only Before Your First Game
Please ask an adult to help you. Together, build the hand axe, the mountain and the mountain base, as well as the 4 caves. Follow the instructions in the rulebook or watch the video.
Important: Do not take these components apart after the game. You can store them all assembled in the box (see Storage below).
Hand axe: Assemble as shown on page 2 of the rulebook.
Mountain base: Assemble as shown on page 2 of the rulebook.
Cave (4x): Assemble four caves as shown on page 2 of the rulebook.
Mountain: Place the mountain backboard 1 flat on the table. Then carefully attach the mountain 2 with the mammoth side facing up, onto the backboard. Important: Take care to leave no gap between the mountain and the backboard! Finally, attach the slot 3 onto the mountain.
Note: A second slot is included as a spare in case the first one breaks.
Setup
- Take all components out of the game box. Place the box in the middle of the table and place the village board inside so that it fits snugly.
- Slot the mountain into the mountain base and place it within easy reach of everyone.
- Slide the 4 empty caves into the mountain base.
- Fill all 30 resource chips into the hole at the back of the hand axe and place it within easy reach.
- Each player chooses a kid. Place it in front of you with either side facing up. 1 to 3 players: Put the extra kids aside, you won't need them.
- Shuffle all 15 inventions. Make 2 roughly equal stacks and place them in front of the box. Playing solo: Make 3 stacks instead.
It's best to clear the table before the setup. Things can get quite shaky during the game!
How to Win
In Paleolino you play and win together. At the start of the game, your village has 10 empty building slots.
Can you build 10 inventions there before Lino goes to sleep and the game ends?
Gameplay
Whoever most recently invented something goes first. Then take turns playing clockwise. On your turn, perform the following steps in order:
- Pull two chips from the hand axe
- Roll two chips down the mountain
- Open a cave and take chips
- Build inventions
Pull Two Chips From the Hand Axe
Take the hand axe. Hold it with the tip facing down and shake it gently. Once you see a chip sticking out, pull it out with your other hand and place it in front of you.
Tip: Cover the hole at the back with your index finger while shaking.
Do this twice so you have 2 chips in front of you. Then place the hand axe aside.
Each chip shows 1 of 4 resources: wood, stone, berry or crystal. You can later use these chips to build inventions.
Roll Two Chips Down the Mountain
Now dump the 2 chips you pulled out, one after the other, into the slot at the mountain peak. It doesn't matter which chip goes first.
Each chip rolls down the mountain and lands in one of the four caves.
If a chip bounces away, just dump it into the slot again.
Earthquake: Sometimes a chip may get stuck. Then it's time for an earthquake! You all drum your fists on the table together and shout "Earthquake!" until the chip rolls on.
(Illustration caption: "Look closely where the chips fall and try to remember it!")
Open a Cave and Take Chips
Now choose 1 of the 4 caves below the mountain and pull it out. Take all chips inside that cave and place them in the middle of the table. Then slide the empty cave back into the mountain base.
Important: You must open a cave on your turn. You may not peek inside the caves beforehand to see what's hidden inside. If you choose an empty cave, you may not open a second one.
Build Inventions
You can now use the chips in the middle of the table to build inventions. Each invention shows the chips you need to build it. You may only build the inventions that are on top of the stacks.
You build an invention by taking all the chips shown on it from the middle of the table and dumping them into the pit. Then place the invention in any empty slot in the village.
On your turn you may build multiple inventions, even multiple times from the same stack. If a stack is empty, you have fewer options when building.
Crystals: The crystal chips are wild. When building an invention, you may use them to replace any other resource (wood, stone or berry). You may use as many crystals as you like when building an invention.
Example: There is 1 berry and 1 crystal in the middle. You can build the Sign invention with them, which requires 2 berries. There is only 1 berry in the middle, but you can use the crystal instead of the second berry. You dump the berry and the crystal into the pit and place the Sign in an empty slot in the village board.
Your Backpack
Each kid has a backpack. On your backpack you can store exactly 1 chip to use later. To do so, on your turn you may take any one chip from the middle of the table and place it onto your backpack. You may never place chips on other players' backpacks.
Note: You may use a chip from your backpack to build an invention and then store a different chip during the same turn.
Example: You open a cave with 1 wood. Unfortunately, you cannot build anything with it. You place the wood onto your backpack for later.
Asking for Help When Building
Sometimes you do not have the right chips to build an invention. On your turn, you may ask others to help you build an invention.
To do so, each player may place a chip from their backpack into the middle of the table. You may also add a chip from your own backpack. Then you may build an invention as described above and dump all the chips you used into the pit.
If you do not have the right chips for any invention even with help, you cannot build anything this turn. That's okay, maybe you can help someone else later!
Example: Now it's Elmar's turn. He opens a cave with 1 stone. To build the Seesaw, he's missing 1 wood. So he asks you for help. You place the missing wood from your backpack into the middle. Great, together you can build the Seesaw!
End of Your Turn
At the end of your turn, you must dump any chips that are still in the middle of the table unused into the pit.
Remember: You may store a chip on your backpack before you do that.
Pass the hand axe to the next player clockwise. It's their turn now.
Important: After your turn, no chips may be left in the middle.
Example Turn
- You open a cave with 2 stones and 1 wood in it. To build the Bed you need 2 wood and 1 berry.
- You pull 2 berries from the hand axe and roll them down the mountain. So you ask the others for help. Elmar places 1 wood from his backpack into the middle. Eva adds her crystal.
- Now you can build the Bed! You dump 2 wood and 1 crystal into the pit and place the Bed into a slot.
- Now the Clay Flute invention is on top. You're in luck and can build it right away using 1 stone. Finally, you place the leftover stone onto your backpack and pass the hand axe to the left.
End of the Game
The adventure can end in 2 ways:
- All building slots are filled: As soon as you've built the 10th invention, all of you win the game immediately! Hooray! Your village is complete, and Lino comes down the mountain to play with you.
- The hand axe is empty: If you start your turn and the hand axe is empty, the game ends immediately. Unfortunately, you have lost. Just try again! Lino got tired before you could finish the village.
Storage
Take the mountain off the mountain base and store everything in the box as shown.
Tip for packing up: First, fill all the chips into the hand axe.
Variants
Easy Game
When setting up, divide the inventions into 3 stacks instead of 2. This makes the game easier because you have more choices when building.
If you're playing solo, make 4 stacks.
For Experts
Looking for a challenge? Now you may only build 1 invention per turn.
If you're real experts, remove the 3 inventions that only require 1 resource. These inventions will not be used. Then set up the game as usual.