Stable Times Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Objective
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • 1. Swap (Optional)
  • 2. Place
  • 3. Discard (Optional)
  • 4. Replenish
• Upgrading a Stable
• End of Game
• Solo Variant
• The Horses

Contents

• 74 Cards:
  • 5 Horse types, x12 cards each
  • Wild Horses, x9 cards
  • Reference, x5 cards
• Pasture Cloth Board
• Scorepad (25 double-sided sheets)
• 5 Double-Sided Stable Boards

Objective

Collect and place up to 12 Horses in your stable. Each horse scores uniquely depending on its preference. The player with the most ribbon points at the end of the game wins!

Setup

1. Place the Pasture in the center of the play area.
2. Give each player a Reference Card and a Stable (with the basic side face up).
3. Shuffle the Horses and deal 3 to each player.
4. Place the remaining Horses face-down on the designated space in the Pasture.
5. Flip over 3 Horses from the deck onto the designated spaces of the Pasture. These spaces are called the fields.

The player who most recently saw a horse goes first!

Gameplay

On a player's turn, they will perform the following actions, after which the next player clockwise will take their turn, until a player has filled 3 aisles of their stable, triggering the end of the game.

1. SWAP (Optional)
2. PLACE
3. DISCARD (Optional)
4. REPLENISH

1. Swap (Optional)

To start a player's turn, they may discard 1 of the horses from their hand by placing it on top of one of the three fields in the pasture. They will then collect a new horse from either the top of a different field, or from the top of the Horse Deck.

Note - Horses placed into fields should only cover the bottom half of the card underneath, so as to display all relevant information.

Example: Sarah places Dorothy down onto the 1st field, covering up Gizmo. She could take a new horse from the top of the deck, but instead takes Cream Puff from the 2nd field.

2. Place

Each turn, players may place up to 2 Horses into their stable, but not in the same aisle.

Example: Sarah wants to play both Cream Puff and Roscoe in Aisle 1 since they're the same type, but because she can't play more than 1 into the same aisle, she plays down just Cream Puff for now.

Horse cards must be placed from top (nearest to the stable) down.

Example: Since Cream Puff is the first horse to be played into Aisle 1, it is played closest to the stable.

Each aisle can only contain 1 type of Horse, as shown by the color/symbol on the top of each card. It is fine though to have multiple aisles with the same type.

Example: With Cream Puff in Aisle 1, now only horses of the same type can be placed in that aisle.

The max number of Horse cards per aisle is 3.

Example: Because Sarah already has 3 horses in Aisle 4, she can't place any more there.

Wild Horses are wild and may be played in any aisle, becoming that aisle's type for scoring purposes.

Note - In the unlikely event that a player cannot play a horse from their hand, they must discard all horses in hand, draw 3 new horses from the deck, and end their turn immediately.

3. Discard (Optional)

A player may then choose any number of horses they have left in their hand to discard on top of any of the fields.

4. Replenish

Players always end their turn by replenishing the following, after which the next player takes their turn:

• Their hand, up to 3 horses, taken from the top of the Horse Deck (reshuffle the discard pile if the deck ever runs out).
• The pasture (if needed).

The Pasture should only be replenished in the following circumstances, checked and completed one by one in this order:

• Any of the 3 fields have no horses, in this case flip over a horse from the Horse Deck onto any of these empty spaces.
• There are 3 or more horses of the same type anywhere in the fields, in this case discard all horses from the pasture and replenish with 3 new horses from the deck.

Upgrading a Stable

Each player's stable board has two sides: Basic and Upgraded. Each side has the same scoring conditions, but the Upgraded side scores more ribbon points. A player may immediately flip their stable to the Upgraded side when both of the following conditions are met:

• They have a complete aisle of 3 horses of their preferred type, as shown on their stable board.
• They have at least 2 horses of each discipline type anywhere in their stable (2x jump-rail icon, 2x block icon, 2x flag icon).

Example: Sarah just placed down Roscoe into Aisle 1 which now has 3 horses of her stable's preferred type. She also has 2 horses of each discipline, so she can flip over her stable board right away.

End of Game

Once one player has completed at least 3 aisles of 3 horses each, the game end is triggered. The game may also end if the Horse Deck is empty and there is no discard pile to shuffle (5-player game only). The current round is finished so that each player has an equal number of turns, then the game ends. Players earn ribbon points for:

• Each Horse in their stable.
• Scoring conditions on their stable (only face up side).
• Each set of all three disciplines in their stable (jump-rail icon, block icon, flag icon), worth 5 ribbon points each.

The player with the most ribbon points wins!

In the case of a tie, the player with the fewest Wild horses is the winner!

Note - For your convenience, Horse Cards are categorized into "Aisles 1-4" on the Scorepad for easier score calculation.

Solo Variant

For solo play, the player will play as normal, with the objective of trying to achieve maximum ribbon points. The player may play using any of the stables EXCEPT for Suncourt Villa. The game is played using the same rules as normal, with the exception of the following:

• Only 2 of the fields in the pasture will be used.
• When 2 (instead of 3) of the same horse types are present in the pasture at the end of the turn, all of the horses in the pasture are discarded/replenished.

Final scores are compared to the scores below to determine the player's Equine Mastery.

• Master Trainer - 52+
• Pro Trainer - 42+
• Amateur Trainer - 35+

The Horses

Did you know that each of the horses in Stable Times is real? Each one is unique and has their own stories, which is what we wanted to capture in this game. But, with limited space on each card, we were only able to capture a small snippet about each horse. Want to learn more about the horses? Scan the QR code on the back cover to read all of their stories.

A Special Thanks...

...To each of the wonderful horse owners/trainers who submitted their horses for consideration. Your horses are truly what make Stable Times come to life!

Also, many thanks to everyone who playtested and helped this game along the way: Indy Tabletop Game Creators, Carl Klutzke, Devon Mettlin, Philip Mott, Jay Payne, Julia Phipps, Protospiel Indy, Derik Smith, and Melodie, Jon, and Sydney Loveless.

Game Design: Kristen Mott Art & Design: Megan Galura [email protected]

Have Questions? Chat with us 24/7 at www.lovemoregames.com

We were thrilled when Kristen introduced us to Stable Times! Her designs are full of charm and personality, and the game fits seamlessly into our lineup. We can't wait for you to experience the joy of Stable Times with your family and friends! -Zac & Emily Loveless, Megan Galura