Perch: Birds of Play Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Seeds the Day
  • Setup
  • How to Play
  • Clarifications
• Points in the Sky
  • Setup
  • How to Play
  • Clarification
• Pond-emonium
  • Setup
  • How to Play
  • Scoring Example
  • Pond Clarifications
  • Creature Clarifications

Overview

Birds of Play brings three new expansions to the Homestead:

• Seeds the Day (see page 2)
• Points in the Sky (see page 2)
• Pond-emonium (see page 3)

All standard Perch rules apply, unless specifically noted otherwise in these rules.

The objective of the game remains the same. To play, set up the base game as usual for your chosen player count with the following changes:

1. When forming the hidden objective deck, include all cards from the base game and the Birds of Play expansion set that match your chosen player count. If a card shows an icon in the lower right-hand corner, only include it if that expansion is in play.

2. You can choose to play with one, two, or all three expansions by following the setup and gameplay instructions found in these rules. Mix and match the expansions of your choice to ruffle feathers and stir up a little homestead havoc!

Components: 20 Bread pieces; 4 Pond tiles; 2 Creature cards and standees (Frog, Perch); 1 Sun tile; 1 Moon tile; 13 Birdfeeders; 20 Objective cards.

Note: Throughout this rulebook, you'll find clarifications explaining how each expansion interacts with specific Locations or cards. Where you see the promo icon (a small star), it indicates that the referenced item is a promotional extra and not part of the base game.

Seeds the Day

Birdfeeder has been scattered across the homestead! This expansion is an early bird special - the first bird at each Location scores a snack (and 3 victory points!). Which hungry hungry hatchlings will swoop in to score the Birdfeeder first?

Setup

Place 1 Birdfeeder token on each Location tile. This means you will use the same number of Birdfeeders as there are Locations in the Homestead, which will vary based on your player count:

• 5 players | 13 Birdfeeders
• 4 players | 10 Birdfeeders
• 2-3 players | 8 Birdfeeders

Return all unused Birdfeeder tokens to the box.

How to Play

During the Perch phase, if a bird is placed on a Location with a Birdfeeder, the player whose bird was placed there collects the Birdfeeder and immediately scores 3 points. The player who gained the points then places the Birdfeeder in their own play area, where it will remain for the rest of the game.

Example: A bird from the Blue player's Flock is placed on "The Owl Barn." Because there is a Birdfeeder there, the Blue player immediately scores 3 points and moves the Birdfeeder to their play area.

Remember to keep an eye on the pecking order! Because players score VP from Birdfeeders immediately, turn order for the following round could be influenced!

Clarifications

2-player games: If the Bird-Brained player's bird is placed on a Location with a Birdfeeder, the Birdfeeder is removed from play and no points are scored.

Points in the Sky

Here comes the Sun... and the Moon! As they move around the Homestead, they'll change the rewards at each Location. Strategically position your Flock to take advantage of their position in the sky to soar ahead of the competition.

Setup

5 players | 13 Location tiles: Place the Sun and Moon on opposite edges of the board in the positions shown below, covering the printed values of the Locations beneath them.

4 players | 10 Location tiles: Place the Sun on the bottom-right corner Location, and the Moon on the top-left corner Location.

2-3 players | 8 Location tiles: Place the Sun on the center Location of the rightmost column, and the Moon on the center Location of the leftmost column.

The printed setup diagram shows the Sun and Moon positions for 5, 4 and 2-3 players, with the Sun and Moon tiles covering the Location values in each layout.

How to Play

At the beginning of each Upkeep phase, during scoring, the Locations covered by the Sun and Moon are scored using their respective Sun/Moon rewards instead of the values printed on the Location tile. In addition, any "During Scoring" abilities on those Locations are ignored while "During Upkeep" and "Before Assigning Turn Order" abilities are resolved as normal.

After the Upkeep phase is complete, move both the Sun and Moon one Location clockwise along the outer edge of the Homestead, placing them so they cover the printed rewards of their new Locations. If the Sun or Moon should move to a Location which has been removed from play, move it to the next available Location in clockwise order.

Clarification

Golden Goose Ability (promo): If the Golden Egg is placed on a Location with the Sun or Moon, the rewards are modified by +1VP as normal. While the Golden Egg must be placed on a new Location at the start of each round, its placement is not restricted by the position of the Sun or Moon.

Pond-emonium

Splish, splash, and score even more with Ponds! Birds splashing in the water (and their buddies nearby) can score extra points if they outflank the other Flocks.

So... water you waiting for?

Setup

1. Shuffle the Ponds, and randomly draw one or two based on your player count.

   • 4-5 players | 2 Ponds
   • 2-3 players | 1 Pond

   Place each Pond beneath one of the indicated three tile intersections, ensuring it touches all three adjoining Locations. The placement is up to you!

   In 4-5 player games, a single Location may be adjacent to more than one Pond, but each Pond must be placed at its own intersection.

   The printed diagram shows the possible Pond Locations (intersections) for each player count: 5 players | 13 Location tiles; 4 players | 10 Location tiles; 2-3 players | 8 Location tiles.

2. If one or more of the Ponds in the Homestead has a creature silhouette, locate the matching creature card and standee, placing them near the Homestead tiles within reach of all players.

3. Give each player Bread pieces based on your player count:

   • 4-5 players | 4 Bread pieces each
   • 2-3 players | 2 Bread pieces each

   Return all unused Ponds and Bread pieces to the box.

How to Play

During the Perch phase, either before or after placing a bird, a player may take a single Bonus Action as normal. When the Pond-emonium expansion is in play there are three changes to the Bonus Actions available to players:

1. Players now have the option to take a new Bonus Action: "Feed the Birds." To Feed the Birds, a player discards 1 Bread from their personal supply, removing it from the game. They then choose a Pond and relocate any 1 bird from an adjacent Location to that Pond, stacking birds of the same Flock together as normal.
2. When you take the "Build a Birdhouse" Bonus Action, the Birdhouse may not be placed on any birds within a Pond.
3. The "Activate a Creature" Bonus Action can be used to trigger the abilities of Pond creatures by following the activation instructions on their reference card.

During the Upkeep phase, after scoring Locations, check each Pond:

• If the Pond has no birds, skip it.
• If the Pond has at least 1 bird, score it.

Players must have at least 1 bird from their Flock on the Pond to participate in scoring.

To score, each eligible player counts the total number of birds they have on the Pond itself and all adjoining Locations. Birds on adjacent Ponds do not count.

From top to bottom, each Pond shows the number of points awarded to the player with the most, second-most, and third-most total birds (on the Pond and the adjoining Locations).

As in the base game, all ties cancel each other out. Use the guidelines from the base game to determine how points are awarded if 2+ players are tied.

Scoring Example

When scoring the Loonie Lagoon Pond, the following birds are counted:

Only the Red, Blue, and Yellow Flocks are eligible to participate in scoring the Pond, as there are no birds from the Green Flock on the Pond.

• The Blue Flock has 1 Bird on the Pond plus 7 Birds at the adjoining Locations, for a total of 8.
• The Yellow Flock has 1 Bird on the Pond plus 6 Birds at the adjoining Locations (including the Nest), for a total of 7.
• The Red Flock has 3 Birds on the Pond plus 3 Birds at the adjoining Locations, for a total of 6.

And the following points are awarded:

The Blue Flock has the most birds, and is awarded 3 points, the Yellow Flock is awarded 5 points, and the Red Flock is awarded 1 point.

When Locations that trigger "During Upkeep" are resolved, the Overstuffed Birdhouse will be removed from play. This means that in all future rounds, only the two remaining Locations adjoining Loonie Lake will contribute to scoring.

During the Upkeep phase when triggering Location abilities, the controlling player at each Pond with a Creature silhouette gains control of the Creature for the upcoming round. They take the matching Creature card and put it in front of them.

If the Pond creature is entering play for the first time, its standee is also placed on the Pond.

Control is determined in the same way as Pond scoring, by counting the total number of birds on the Pond itself plus all adjoining locations. A player may not gain control of a Pond Creature unless they have at least 1 bird on the Pond.

Pond Clarifications

• For all purposes, a Pond is not considered to be a Location.
• During the Perch phase, a player may "Zap a Bird" on a Pond.
• Birds on Ponds are unaffected by abilities on adjoining Locations.
• If a Location tile adjoining a Pond is removed (e.g., Overstuffed Birdhouse), the Pond remains in play, now adjacent to only two Locations.
• Ponds do not count towards hidden objectives unless specifically indicated on the card.
• During End-Game Scoring, Birds in Pond(s) do not count towards the "Largest Flock" award.
• Eagle of Justice Ability (promo): May be used to break ties on a Pond.

Creature Clarifications

• Most Creatures ignore Ponds, unless specifically indicated on the Creature's ability card. They do not enter them, and Ponds do not affect Creature movement.
• Owl: May affect birds in Ponds adjoining a Location it flies over. Owls do not fly directly over Ponds, and therefore do not count them as "spaces."
• Hawk: May land on a Pond as if it were a Location.
• Scarecrow may not be placed at the same intersection as a Pond.
• Yeti (promo): Prevents birds on its Location from being moved onto a Pond with Bread. Yeti protections do not extend to the Pond itself.