Rival Realms Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • Example One: Setting up the Game
• The Turn
  • Summon a Region
    • Example Two: Summoning a Region in your Realm
  • Go Adventuring
    • Example Three: Go Adventuring
  • Go Adventuring: Region Cards
  • Go Adventuring: Adventure Tokens
• End Your Turn and Redraw
• Special Condition: Passing
• End of Game
• Final Scoring
• Quests
• Adventure Tokens
  • Creatures
  • Gems
  • Artifacts
• Enchantments and Events
• The Mischievous Raven: A Solo Summoners Tale
  • Setup
  • The Turn
  • Adventure Tokens
  • Final Advice for Your Solo Adventure
  • Bonus: Rift of the Rival Realms
• Also Available: Far Frontiers
• Also Available: Fantastiqa
• Credits
  • Acknowledgments

Components

• This Rulebook
• 3 Standees with plastic bases: 2 Adventurers and 1 Raven
• 1 Starting Player Token
• 50 Region Cards
• 6 Quest Cards
• 24 Adventure Tokens
• 24 Mountain/Valley Cards
• 8 Enchantment Cards
• 12 Event Cards
• 2 Player Reference Cards
• 4 "Rift of the Rival Realms" bonus cards for Fantastiqa

Setup

Each player should do the following:

• Choose an Adventurer Standee and set it in its plastic base.
• Claim 12 Adventure Tokens whose backs all show the same color.
• Claim 12 Mountain/Valley Cards.

For your first game, the starting player is The One Who Most Recently Conquered the Bear-Badger Brandon in a Honey-Drinking Competition. After your first game, the player who lost the previous game begins.

• Give the starting player the Starting Player Token.
• Give the other player the Raven Standee.

The start player sets up the game as follows. See Example One, next page. Use its layout as a guide for setting up the first game.

1. Lay out Mountain/Valley Cards in two rows of 6, Mountain-side up. Then flip over any 3 cards in each row to their Valley side (6 total). Leave room above and below each card for placing Region Cards.
2. Place Adventure Tokens in the Sub-Realms above and below the eight central Mountain/Valley cards. Each row receives 1 Gem, 1 Artifact, and 2 Creatures, in random order.
3. Your opponent now creates a "Looking-Glass Realm" which is a perfect reflection of yours. She then places the Raven Standee on any Mountain card.
4. Place your Adventurer on any space in your Realm, start player first. Immediately claim the Adventure Token (if present) in that space and place it in front of you, face-up. Your opponent does likewise, choosing any space in her own Realm freely.

Example One: Setting up the Game

Set up the rest of the playing area:

1. Place the six Quest Cards to the left side in ascending order, facing up. For your first game, return all Enchantment and Event Cards to the box. See p. 15 for more details.
2. Shuffle the Region Deck and set it to the right, face down, within easy reach. Shuffle thoroughly to prevent suits from clumping!
3. Deal 5 Region Cards to each player. Keep cards secret. The start player now begins the game!

The Turn

You must perform exactly ONE action on your turn: SUMMON A REGION or GO ADVENTURING. You may also play as many Adventure Tokens as you like. Then END YOUR TURN and REDRAW. See below for details on each action.

Summon a Region

Remove ONE Region Card from your hand and place it, face up, in your own Realm.

• The space chosen must NOT already contain a Region Card. It may contain an Adventure Token or your Adventurer Standee, however.
• Your card must be placed legally based on its number value. All cards in this same Sub-Realm (Upper, Middle, or Lower rows) must each increase in number value from left-to-right with no exceptions. Gaps are permitted, so long as any new card played does not violate the "increase from left-to-right" rule. Each Sub-Realm is considered independently — numbering does not continue from one Sub-Realm to another. In Example Two, below, checkmarks show legal placements of the 23 card in the Middle Realm.

Example Two: Summoning a Region in your Realm

(Example row of cards in the Middle Realm; a 23-value Region Card can legally be placed in either of the two slots marked with a green checkmark, and cannot legally be placed in either slot marked with a red X, based on the ascending left-to-right number rule.)

• If there is an Adventure Token in the space you choose, place it directly on top of this Region Card. Do NOT claim the Adventure Token!
• If your Adventurer Standee is in this space, automatically explore the Region you just placed (rotate the Region Card 90 degrees clockwise).
• On a turn in which you Summon a Region, you may use as many Gems and Artifacts as you like, but not Creatures. See page 13 for descriptions of Adventure Tokens.

Your turn is now over. Proceed to "End Your Turn and Redraw" on page 11.

Go Adventuring

You may discard any number of Region Cards and/or Creature Tokens from your supply to move your Adventurer through accessible Unexplored Regions, exploring them one Region at a time. See Example Three on the next page.

Each Unexplored Region into which you move your Adventurer must be accessible, which means it must be directly adjacent, or be connected by a Valley Card, or be connected by a series of one or more Regions you have already explored.

You may freely move across an unlimited number of accessible Explored Regions (cards rotated clockwise 90 degrees) as many times as you like. Doing so will help you reach Unexplored Regions!

Example Three: Go Adventuring

You can create powerful combos by playing cards and tokens cleverly.

1. Move across the 32, 22, 23, and 28 cards freely since they have already been explored (rotated). Valley Cards permit free crossing between Sub-Realms. You can also cross the Mountains freely when you receive the Raven's help — in this case no Gem is needed because the Raven Standee is already perched on this card!
2. Explore the 38 Forest Region by discarding a 3 Forest Card from your hand. Rotate the 38 Forest Region Card and collect the Billy Goat Creature Token in place on it.
3. Explore the 46 Highlands Region by using the matching Billy Goat Creature Token you just collected. Rotate the 46 Highlands Region Card.
4. Explore the 49 Hills Region by discarding a 14 Hills Card. Rotate the 49 Hills Region.
5. Explore the 44 Hills Region by using a matching Troll Creature Token from your supply. Rotate the 44 Hills Region and collect the Bear Creature Token in place on it.
6. Explore the 43 Forest Region using the matching Bear Creature Token you just collected. Rotate the 43 Forests Region and collect the Magic Mirror Token in place on it.
7. Your turn is now over. (If you had more cards or tokens to play you could do so.)

Remember: all Region Cards used for Exploring are discarded into your Opponent's Raven's Nest. All Creature Tokens used for Exploring are discarded to the side.

(Diagram: the yellow arrow path in Example Three shows the Adventurer moving from the 32/35 cards through the 22, 23, and 28 cards to the Raven's Nest space, then up through the 38 Forest and 46 Highlands Regions, down through the 44 Hills and 49 Hills Regions, and finally down into the 43 Forest Region, per the numbered steps above.)

Go Adventuring: Region Cards

• Each Region Card you play must match the Unexplored Region into which you move. For example, to move into an Unexplored Forest Region, you would need to discard a Forest Card.
• VERY IMPORTANT: Used Region Cards are always discarded into your OPPONENT'S Raven's Nest (face-up supply). Display discarded cards so that each card in each player's Raven's Nest remains visible. In this way the cards you discard will become available to your opponent whenever he redraws!
• Rotate explored Regions clockwise 90 degrees and immediately collect any Tokens on these Regions — add them to your supply.

Go Adventuring: Adventure Tokens

• You may play any number (and any kind) of Adventure Tokens in your supply before, after, or while you Go Adventuring. These may be played in combination with Region Cards or on their own.
• Creature Tokens (Dragon, Troll, Goat, etc.) work just like Region Cards. By discarding a Token that matches an accessible Region's color, you may explore it. For example, if you play a Bear Token (green border) you may explore an accessible Forest Region. Note: the Dragon is wild and can explore any Region type.
• VERY IMPORTANT: Any Adventure Tokens that you collect on your turn may be used IMMEDIATELY to continue Adventuring. You can create powerful combinations this way!
• If you prefer, you may instead hold onto collected tokens for use in later turns. See page 13 for a summary of each Adventure Token's action.
• Discard used Adventure Tokens to the side, but keep track of them. Even though you can't use them again, they still belong to you and can help you complete Quests.

Follow these important movement rules when you Go Adventuring:

• You may move your Adventurer across as many accessible Explored Regions (those rotated 90 degrees) as you like without having to spend any Region Cards or tokens. You may do so multiple times in the same turn!
• You may never move into an empty space — it must contain a Region Card.
• You may cross, overlap, and loop around your prior path as many times as you choose, but you may never stop and turn around to reverse directions as part of the same action. For example, if you Go Adventuring into a corner Region and can't continue your journey without turning around, you will need to end your turn there.

Your turn is now over. Proceed to "End Your Turn and Redraw."

End Your Turn and Redraw

• Check for Quests. After you perform your action, see if you have completed any available Quests. Collect and place any completed Quest in front of you, face-up. Important: once collected, a Quest cannot be completed by the other player. See page 13 for details on each Quest.
• Redraw to 5 cards. If you hold fewer than 5 Region Cards in your hand, now redraw until you hold exactly 5 cards. There is no hand limit — but only draw cards if you hold fewer than 5!
• When redrawing, you may draw any combination of cards from the Region Deck and/or from your own Raven's Nest (if it contains any cards). You may examine each card you draw to help you decide which type of card to draw next.
• VERY IMPORTANT: You may freely choose ANY available card(s) from your own Raven's Nest when redrawing. You may NOT take cards from your opponent's Raven's Nest when redrawing, however.

Special Condition: Passing

If you are unable to perform a turn action, you must pass instead. To pass, show your opponent that you cannot perform any actions by revealing your cards. You cannot perform any additional actions for the rest of the game. Your opponent now has unlimited actions until he or she must pass or the game ends.

End of Game

The end of the game is triggered at the very end of the turn in which any of these events has occurred:

• If a player places a Region Card in the last available space in his or her Realm (the 18th card).
• If the last Region Card is claimed from the Region Deck.
• If both players have passed.

Players are guaranteed an equal number of turns. When the end of the game is triggered, the non-starting player always performs the final turn. Example: If the starting player triggers the end of the game, the non-starting player goes one more turn. If the non-starting player triggers it, then the game ends immediately. When the game ends, go to FINAL SCORING.

Final Scoring

• -1 point: each space without a Region Card
• 1 point: each unused Gem
• 1 point: each Explored Region
• 2 points: each matching, adjacent pair of Region Cards in a Sub-Realm
• 3 points: each matching pair of Region Cards connected by a Valley
• Quests: score as marked

The player with the most points is declared the Master Magician of Fantastiqa and wins the game! If players tie, then the player who explored more Regions is declared the winner. If players still tie, then the player who completed more Quests wins. If players still tie, they share the victory.

Quests

There are six possible Quests to complete in each game.

• Upper Realm/Middle Realm/Lower Realm: Fill one Sub-Realm with Region Cards! These Regions do NOT need to be Explored to fulfill this Quest. 4 points each.
• Wanderer: Explore all 5 different Region types! Fields, Forests, Wetlands, Highlands, and Hills. 5 points.
• Tea Time: Gather all 6 different Creatures for Tea with the Peaceful Dragon! It does not matter if these Creature Tokens have been used and discarded or not. 6 points.
• Far Frontiers: Explore all 4 corners of your Realm! This Quest is not the same thing as the Far Frontiers Expansion. The expansion just happens to be set in the same area. 7 points.

Adventure Tokens

Adventure Tokens consist of Creatures, Gems, and Artifacts.

Creatures

When you Go Adventuring, you may use Creatures as guides into the following Regions, allowing you to explore these Regions just like Region Cards would.

• Rabbits: FIELDS
• Water Nymphs: WETLANDS
• Troll: HILLS
• Bear: FORESTS
• Billy Goat: HIGHLANDS
• Dragon: WILD (Enter any accessible Region.)

Gems

Gem — Attract help from the Raven! Fly the Raven standee to any of your own Mountain Cards to create free passage there, OR perch it next to the Region Cards and steal 2 cards from any combination of draw piles: the Region Deck, your Raven's Nest, and even your opponent's Raven's Nest! The Raven must be perched next to the Region Deck if you wish to steal cards using its ability. You are not required to move the Raven if you wish to keep it perched next to the Region Cards and pay a Gem to steal more cards there.

Artifacts

• Double Espresso — Take an extra turn after completing this one. Redraw between turns as usual. You may perform this action even on the very last turn of the game.
• Flying Carpet — Move your Adventurer to any other Region Card in your own Realm and immediately explore it. If your turn action is Go Adventuring, you may continue Adventuring in any available direction after playing this token.
• Magic Mirror — Exchange any two of your own Region Cards, Adventure Tokens, or Mountain/Valley Cards that are in play. Keep cards or tokens facing as they were (rotated or unrotated and facing up or down).

Follow these rules when playing the Magic Mirror:

• Card values must qualify as legal moves in their new positions.
• When exchanging Region Cards do not move Adventure Tokens — leave them in their original spaces and place them on top of the newly placed Region Cards. If an Adventure Token is now in place above an Explored Region, a player can claim it later by crossing that Region.
• If an exchange of Region Cards places an Unexplored Region directly beneath your Adventurer Standee, immediately explore that Region as a benefit.
• If you exchange an Explored Region Card with a Corner Region which has not yet been explored, turn the corner card to "Unexplored" (unrotated).

Enchantments and Events

Enchantments and Events are optional. They add additional fun, variety, and unpredictability to the game. These cards should be added only if players agree, and after players have played the basic game first.

Enchantments: at the beginning of the game, select one Enchantment at random or by mutual agreement and place it face-up next to the Region Deck for both players to see. (You may select more than one if the cards do not conflict.) The rules on the card are in effect for the full game.

Events: at the beginning of the game, shuffle 5 Event Cards into the Region Deck (either choose randomly or agree on any 5).

• If you receive one or more Events in your starting hand, reshuffle them back into the Region Deck.
• Whenever a player draws an Event, resolve it immediately.
• Events always affect both players. The active player performs the action first unless indicated otherwise.
• After the Event is resolved, remove it from play. The active player then draws a replacement card from the Region Deck (repeat as necessary).
• Important: if an Event has already occurred this turn, set the newly drawn Event aside — do not perform it. After redrawing, reshuffle any of these extra, unplayed Events back into the Region Deck.

The Mischievous Raven: A Solo Summoners Tale

By Brandon Scott of Eagle-Gryphon Games

In solo mode you are racing to beat the Mischievous Raven, who steals magical cards from the deck every time you resupply! Can you beat the Raven? Will you finish your realm? Is there time to explore all of the beautiful landscapes? Only time will tell, and it's quickly vanishing — as are your cards!

Setup

New Rule! After shuffling, remove the first 15 cards from the deck; do not look at them. The Raven steals these cards to gain the upper hand! Remove these cards from the game before you begin.

• Rule Change! Perch the Raven standee beside the Region Deck and leave it there. You can no longer summon the Raven to your Realm.
• Rule Change! Do not use Event Cards with the solo game. You may use any Enchantments that you like.
• Adjust your Difficulty! For an easier game, remove only the first 10 cards at setup. For a harder game, remove the first 20 cards.

Setting up your Realm is the same. Only set up your own Realm.

The Turn

1. Summon a Region OR Go Adventuring (everything is the same as the standard game).
2. Redraw until you have 5 cards in hand (if needed) and End Your Turn.

New rule! If you draw from the Region Deck during your redraw phase, the Raven steals and places cards (equal to the number drawn) into EACH Raven's Nest, first into the opponent's nest and then into your own. Example: If you redraw 2 cards from the Region Deck, the Raven will place 2 cards into your opponent's Ravens Nest AND then place 2 cards into your own Raven's Nest.

The Raven can only steal cards from the Region Deck. If you draw from the Raven's Nest no cards are stolen.

Adventure Tokens

Gems: as usual, you may use a Gem to draw two cards from any combination of the Region Deck, your own Raven's Nest, or your opponent's Raven's Nest. Gems are essential to any winning strategy in the solo game!

Double Espresso: if you play a Double Espresso Token to take an extra turn, the Raven does not steal any cards between these two turns, even if you draw from the Region Deck.

Final Advice for Your Solo Adventure

As with the regular game, there is no maximum hand size. You only redraw if you have fewer than 5 cards in your hand at the end of your turn. This makes using your own Raven's Nest and the Gem Token even more valuable to extend play!

Bonus: Rift of the Rival Realms

Your game includes 4 copies of a brand-new Artifact Card, "Rift of the Rival Realms," for use in the board games Fantastiqa: Enchanted Edition or Fantastiqa: Rucksack Edition. Add one card to each player's starting deck at the beginning of the game. This card brings the exciting new gameplay of Rival Realms into Fantastiqa itself! Instead of discarding subdued Creatures as usual, this Awesome Artifact lets you add subdued Creature Cards to your hand and use them on the very same turn that you subdue them. In this way you can concoct clever new combos as you continue adventuring in Fantastiqa!

Also Available: Far Frontiers

Fantastiqa: Rival Realms – Far Frontier Expansion adds powerful Relics to Rival Realms. Relics are chosen at random and placed in the 4 corners of your Realm. You must explore the corner regions of your Realm to claim the Relics!

Also Available: Fantastiqa

FANTASTIQA is a deck-building strategy game set in a fantastical landscape of dark forests, mist-shrouded highlands, and frozen wastes. As you and your foes journey around the table, you will subdue strange creatures and fulfill fabulous quests. By completing quests you score victory points and claim other special rewards. The world of FANTASTIQA changes every time you set up the game, so prepare for a new, exciting adventure each time you play! FANTASTIQA is easy to learn, yet challenging to master. Special simplified rules are included for beginning players and children.

2-4 Players, Ages 8+, 45-60 Minutes

Credits

Game Design: Alf Seegert Development: Ian Dudley and Brandon Scott Graphic Design: Bryce Cook Art used by permission from Bridgeman Art Library, New York

Acknowledgments

Fantastiqal thank-yous go out to our Kickstarter backers and to Natasha Seegert, Zach Johnson, and Shannon VanMeter.

Brandon Scott at EGG deserves Very Special Recognition for first suggesting a travel version of Fantastiqa, for developing it so helpfully, and for creating an excellent solo version of the game!

Thanks also to Alex Soued and the whole EGG team, especially Bryce Cook, Ian Dudley, Daniel Zayas, and Ralph Anderson.

Copyright © 2017 FRED Distribution Inc. All Rights Reserved.