Seasons' Keepers Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• Before Your First Game
  • Assemble the Tray
  • Stick the Transparent Sleeves in the Book of Seasons
  • Insert the Museum Card into the Blue Envelope
• Setup and Contents
  • 1 Book of Seasons (Game Board)
  • 1 Wolf Meeple
  • 1 Tray and 48 Movement Cards
  • 4 Season Tokens
  • 12 Object Cards
  • 4 Keeper Cards and 4 Keeper Meeples
  • 1 Chest Card
  • 90 Adventure Cards
• The Book of Seasons
  • Seasons
  • Spaces in the Book of Seasons
  • Shortcuts
  • Hiding Places
  • The Season Houses
  • The Wolf's Trailers
  • Portals
• How to Play
• Game Round
  • 1 Flip a Movement Card
    • Movement Cards - Types of Actions
  • 2 Activate the Wolf
  • Encounter with One or More Keepers
  • Protected From the Wolf
  • 3 Activate the Keepers
    • Move From One Season to Another
  • Round Example
• End of Game
• Stowing an Adventure
• Powers of the Keepers
  • Meryl
  • Sam
  • Peck
  • Misha
  • Other Powers

Game Overview

Seasons' Keepers is a cooperative game made up of several adventures. Each of them has its individual setup and victory conditions and is replayable, even if you have already completed it.

Before Your First Game

Assemble the Tray

Detach the parts of the tray and assemble them according to the diagram below. You can store the assembled tray in the box - no need to take it apart.

Stick the Transparent Sleeves in the Book of Seasons

In the Book of Seasons, stick the 12 sleeves (3 per double page) on the spaces delimited by dotted lines, the slits upward. Make sure to position the sleeves correctly, as you cannot remove them afterward.

Insert the Museum Card into the Blue Envelope

The Museum card, found among the Object cards, is only used in "The Four Seasons Museum" adventure. Put it in the blue envelope.

Cocow, your space mascot: Hi, I'm Cocow! I'll be by your side as you read this booklet. I'm going to give you bits of advice and other instructions to help you get the most out of the game!

Setup and Contents

1 Book of Seasons (Game Board)

Place the Book of Seasons in the center of the table.

1 Wolf Meeple

Keep the Wolf meeple near the Book of Seasons. It will be placed on the board during the first round of the game.

1 Tray and 48 Movement Cards

Place the tray above the Book of Seasons. Shuffle the Movement cards and place them in the right-hand side of the tray, with the arrow side faceup.

4 Season Tokens

Shuffle the 4 Season tokens, then draw one. That token shows in which Season the game starts. Open the Book of Seasons to the corresponding page. The tabs will help you quickly find any given Season.

12 Object Cards

Shuffle the 12 Object cards, then insert one card facedown into each of the sleeves in the Book of Seasons.

4 Keeper Cards and 4 Keeper Meeples

Place the 4 Keeper cards near the Book of Seasons and the 4 Keeper meeples in the starting Season's house.

Regardless of the number of players, the 4 Keepers are always in play.

1 Chest Card

The Chest card allows you to store and transport up to 4 Object cards.

This card is only used with some adventures. Follow the instructions on the Adventure cards to find out if the Chest card is in play or not.

90 Adventure Cards

(divided into 5 adventures, each in a colored envelope)

Choose an adventure and take the envelope of the corresponding color.

You can play the adventures in any order you want. If you are playing the game for the first time, we recommend that you start with the orange adventure, "Mayhem Among the Seasons".

Take the Adventure cards out of the envelope, read card 1A, and follow its instructions.

Each Adventure card bears a number and the letter A (front) or B (back).

Each adventure has its color and symbol:

• Mayhem Among the Seasons
• The Investigation
• The Wolf's Birthday
• The Four Seasons Museum
• The Treasures of the Kingdom

The Book of Seasons

Seasons

The book is made of 4 double pages, each representing a season (spring, summer, autumn, winter).

Spaces in the Book of Seasons

A meeple can move from one space to another if they are adjacent. However, some spaces are special and are only accessible to the Wolf or the Keepers.

Shortcuts

The shortcuts are not spaces: They allow connecting two spaces that are not adjacent. To use a shortcut, the Keepers must have the power permitting them to do so.

The Wolf can never use a shortcut.

Hiding Places

The hiding places are safe spaces. There are three of them in each season, and each holds an Object card (facedown at the beginning of the game).

The hiding places are accessible to the Keepers but not the Wolf. The Keepers are protected from the Wolf while on a hiding place.

When a Keeper reaches a hiding place, the Players may look at the Object card on that space. Then, they must choose one of the following actions:

• Move the Object card from that space onto the Chest card (if the Chest is in play);
• Swap the Object card from the hiding place with one of the cards already on the Chest card (if the Chest card is in play);
• Return the Object card faceup to the hiding place.

The Season Houses

The season houses are safe spaces. Each season has one house space. The Keeper meeples are placed on the starting season's house to begin the game. The houses are spaces accessible to the Keepers but not to the Wolf. The Keepers are protected from the Wolf while on a season house.

The Wolf's Trailers

The trailers are spaces only accessible to the Wolf. Each season has one trailer. When all the Keepers are on a safe space (a hiding place, a season house, or a portal), i.e., protected from the Wolf, the Wolf must move toward his trailer. The Wolf stops upon reaching the trailer space.

Note: The trailer space is NOT the space in front of the trailer, but the trailer itself.

Portals

The portals are safe spaces. They allow Keepers to move from one season of the book to another. Next to the portal, one or more signboards indicate which seasons are accessible through that portal.

To move from one season to another, all Keepers must be on a portal giving access to the same season. However, they don't need to be on the same portal.

The portals are spaces accessible to the Keepers but not to the Wolf. The Keepers are protected from the Wolf while on a portal.

How to Play

During an adventure, you will explore the Kingdom of Lyfr by completing missions. At times, you will have encounters, and at others, you will be confronted with events.

Keepers are played collectively, and none are assigned to any particular player.

While each adventure is different, you must follow the standard rules herein. However, when a special rule found on an Adventure card contradicts a standard rule, the special rule takes precedence.

During a game, you will play a series of rounds, following the sequence detailed below.

Game Round

1 Flip a Movement Card

Flip the top Movement card from the right side of the tray onto the left side. The combination of these two Movement cards (left and right) determines the order in which the characters will activate, and the actions they can take.

This side of the card shows the Wolf's action on this round.

This side shows the order of the Keepers' activation and the type of action they can perform.

Movement Cards - Types of Actions

• The Wolf must be moved (or placed on the board) during his activation, according to the shown value. The Keeper may be moved several spaces ranging from 0 through the indicated value.
• The Wolf or the Keeper cannot be activated this round.
• The Keeper may be placed on the portal of your choice.
• The Keeper may be directly placed on the hiding place of your choice.

2 Activate the Wolf

The Wolf is always the first to be activated during a round.

At the start of the game, or if the Keepers have just arrived in a new season, the Wolf will not yet be on the Book of Seasons.

Look at the value displayed on the left Movement card, underneath the Wolf. If the Wolf is already on the Book of Seasons, he must move as many spaces as indicated on the Movement card. Otherwise, simply place the Wolf meeple on the Book of Seasons in the space displaying the same value. The Wolf does not move in the same round in which he was placed.

If the Movement card displays an X, the Wolf is not activated this round.

Example: The game begins, and the Wolf is not yet on the Book of Seasons. Therefore, place him on the space depicting the matching value on the Book of Seasons, as shown on the Movement card.

Here are a couple of rules to follow when moving the Wolf:

• The Wolf always moves toward the nearest Keeper (count the spaces if necessary);
• If several Keepers are at the same distance, the players choose which Keeper the Wolf will move toward.

Example: The Wolf is 3 spaces away from Sam and Peck. The Wolf moves toward the Keeper chosen by the Players. They choose to move the Wolf to Sam.

Encounter with One or More Keepers

If the Wolf moves to a space occupied by one or more Keepers, he captures them. The Wolf's movement is interrupted and his activation ends on that space. The meeple of each captured Keeper is removed from the board.

Note: The Keepers are free to move to a space occupied by the Wolf. However, if they do, the Wolf immediately captures them.

Example: During his activation, the Wolf must move 4 spaces. Sam is the closest Keeper. The Wolf moves in his direction and stops on the space that Sam occupies: the Wolf encounters Sam. The Wolf stops his movement on Sam's space and captures him. The Wolf's activation ends.

Had other Keepers been on the same space as Sam, they would have been captured as well.

Protected From the Wolf

When a Keeper is on a safe space (a portal, a hiding place, or a season house), they are protected from the Wolf who has no access to these spaces.

When the Wolf is left with no more Keepers to which he can move, he heads to his trailer. He remains in his trailer after reaching it.

When at least one Keeper is no longer on a safe space, the Wolf moves in the direction of the closest Keeper.

Example: All the Keepers are on safe spaces: Peck is on the season house, Meryl is on a portal, and Misha on a hiding space. During his activation, the Wolf heads to his trailer.

3 Activate the Keepers

Players activate the Keepers one after the other, in the order shown on the two Movement cards, which also specify the type of action each Keeper will perform and how far they can move during their activation. They can move as they wish as long as they comply with the Movement cards instructions.

Players are under no obligation to activate a Keeper.

Move From One Season to Another

When all Keepers are in one or more portals leading to the same season, they can switch seasons, which ends the round.

The Wolf is removed from the Book of Seasons and the players turn the pages to reach the new season. The Keepers do not move as they are already placed on the new season.

Players start a new round: they flip a Movement card onto the left side of the tray, which causes the Wolf to be placed on that new season.

After the Wolf and Keepers have completed their actions, a new round begins.

Round Example

Movement cards for the round: On this round, the Wolf is not activated (X). Now, it is the Keepers' turn to play.

Meryl is the first Keeper to be activated. She can move up to 5 spaces. Players decide to use the shortcut thanks to Meryl's power, and move her to the hiding place.

This is the first time a Keeper reaches this hiding place during this game, so the players reveal the Object card placed there. Unfortunately, it is useless for the mission, so it is returned faceup to the sleeve.

Then, in the activation order:

Peck can only move one space. Luckily, the players can move this Keeper to the season house and protect him from the Wolf.

Having been captured by the Wolf on a previous round, Sam can no longer be activated for the rest of the game.

Misha can move up to 5 spaces. To protect him from the Wolf, the players decide to move Misha toward the closest portal. By moving 3 spaces, Misha reaches the portal and ends his activation there.

Layout at the end of the round.

Cocow: Sometimes there are several missions to complete simultaneously. If you don't know what to do next, feel free to ask the following question aloud when you start a round: "What should we do on this round?"

End of Game

The game can end in one of three ways:

• There are no more cards on the right side of the tray: You are defeated.
• The Wolf has captured all Keepers: You are defeated.
• The Adventure card tells you that the game is over: You achieve victory or are defeated, depending on the card's text.

Stowing an Adventure

Remember to put the Adventure cards back in the corresponding envelope when you have completed it. You can replay it at any time. We recommend stowing the cards in ascending order, A side up.

Cocow: Remember to stow all Adventure cards, including the powers you slipped under the Keeper cards.

Powers of the Keepers

Each Keeper has a basic power written on their Keeper card. Throughout the adventures, Keepers can acquire new powers. Slip the card showing the new power under the Keeper's, leaving the new power visible.

A power can only be used during a Keeper's own activation. A power cannot be used when a Movement card displays X for the Keeper in question.

Below are a few specifications about powers. If you do not want to spoil your game experience, only read about the powers you already know.

Meryl

• Meryl can look at the object of the hiding place of her choice before moving. Only an Object card on the current season may be looked at, and it is put back facedown.
• Meryl can hop over the Wolf during her movements. If Meryl uses that power, do not count the space the Wolf occupies during her movement. Meryl cannot be captured when hopping over the Wolf.

Sam

• Sam can go directly to the hiding place of his choice INSTEAD OF moving. This power cannot be used when the Movement cards display X for Sam.

Peck

• Peck can use all of the shortcuts (spring, summer, autumn, and winter). Peck can use every shortcut in every season.

Misha

• Misha can carry a Keeper while moving. The other Keeper can either be on the space Misha starts in, OR on any space Misha moves through during this movement. When Misha carries a Keeper, place the other Keeper in Misha's space at the end of his movement. Misha can move in one direction to join a Keeper and then move in the opposite direction (while carrying this Keeper).
• The Wolf is scared of Misha. When he moves, the Wolf is no longer drawn to Misha. Also, the Wolf cannot move to or stop on a space occupied by Misha. Therefore, the Wolf can no longer capture Misha when that power is in play. However, Misha cannot be placed on a space occupied by the Wolf.

Other Powers

• This Keeper can go directly to the hiding place of their choice instead of moving. This power cannot be used if the Movement card displays X for that Keeper.
• This Keeper can take the winter shortcuts. All Keepers can benefit from this power, except Misha.
• This Keeper can use all of the shortcuts (spring, summer, autumn, and winter). This Keeper can use every shortcut in every season.