Reef Route
Reef Route Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 game board
- 2 coloured dice
- 6 predatory fish (2 fish of each size, i.e. the size of one, two and four tiles)
- 16 small fish (4 fish of yellow, red, green and blue colour)
- 4 round fish tokens to be used as player colour markers
Goal
The goal of the game is to help a small fish to safely reach the reef or to remain in the game until none of the small fish are left on the game board.
Starting Player
The player who most recently saw a fish in an aquarium or the player who likes seafood starts the game.
Game Setup
Place the game board in the centre of the table so that every player can clearly see it. The reef occupied by the predators is on one side of the board. Choose 3 predatory fish out of 6 and place them on the row in front of the reef. There must be at least one empty tile in between the predatory fish.
The small fish are heading towards the reef from the other side of the sea. Each player chooses the colour of his/her small fish and places the corresponding player colour marker in front of himself/herself. Then the players agree on the number of fish (2, 3 or 4) their school of fish will consist of.
The starting player starts the game by placing one of his/her small fish on the first row of the start line (which is the closest row to the predatory fish). Other players join the game by placing one small fish each on the same row. The remaining fish are then placed anywhere on the first two starting rows, first by the starting player and then by all other players.
If there are just a few players playing the game, then the remaining empty tiles on the starting rows should be covered by some of the fish that are left untaken. This way, an equal number of same colour fish are placed on the starting tiles.
How to Play
When it is your turn, roll both of the coloured dice. Move your fish depending on the dice colour you have rolled. The predators move first towards the school of fish. Then, the small fish move towards the reef.
If you roll a predatory fish
If you roll one or two predatory fish, at least one of the predatory fish must move from the reef onward. One rolled fish means that the predator moves one tile forward. The predatory fish can either move forth towards the school of small fish or to the sides but can never move backwards to the reef.
If a predator reaches a tile with a small fish on it, the predator eats it, i.e. the small fish is taken out of the game.
If you roll both a predator and a small fish, you must first move the predator and then the small fish.
If you roll a small fish
Let's say that you roll one red fish and one blue fish. In such a case, you move a red and a blue fish one tile forward. You can only place the fish on vacant tiles.
If you roll a fish that is not yours, you can only move it forward. If you roll a fish of your chosen colour, you can also move it to the sides. The fish cannot move diagonally, backwards or jump over other fish.
If you roll two fish of the same colour, you can move a fish of this colour two tiles forward.
If you cannot move a fish according to the outcome of the first dice, then you only move a fish according to the outcome of the second dice.
If you cannot move any fish according to the outcome of both dice, then you can choose any of the small fish on the board and move it one tile forward.
Winning the Game
The game ends when the fish of just one of players remain on the board or if one the players successfully reaches the shelter on the reef. In any case, this player wins the game.
If the reef is reached by a fish which belongs to none of the players or such a fish is the last one remaining on the board, no one wins the game and no one loses the game either.
Summary of the Major Rules
- The predatory fish always make their move first; the small fish always move after the predators have made their move.
- The predatory fish swim away from the reef towards the school of small fish.
- The small fish swim across the open sea towards the reef.
- The fish can move forward or to the sides but never backwards or diagonally.
- You can move the fish of other players only forwards.
Versions
In the standard setup, the game is played with 3 predatory fish. You can change the difficulty level of the game by changing the size of the predatory fish. The bigger the predators, the more challenging the game becomes. The game is even more difficult if you play with 4 predatory fish.