Strand unter Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Set Everything Up!
  • Playing area
  • Shells
  • Sea cloth
  • Players' material
• The Objective: Sand Castles!
• The Game Has 2 Major Phases – Low and High Tide
• The Game Rounds
• A) You Collect Shells and Take Castles from the Heap of Sand
  • Where do you collect shells?
  • The LEFT-BEFORE-RIGHT rule applies
  • Collect SINGLE SHELLS with a SAND CASTLE
  • Collect SHELL COMBINATIONS
  • Shell-spell
  • Consolation trove
  • Examples
  • Do we play this right...? (Little details for the big shell-collecting)
• B) You Build Sand Castles on the Beach
  • Do we play this right...? (Little details for the big sand-castle-building)
• C) You Move the Sea and the Sandpiper
  • Low tide (game rounds 1–8)
  • Turn of the tide (between game rounds 8 and 9)
  • High tide (from game round 9 on)
• Over and Done!… and Which Sand Castles Are Left Standing?
  • Count your beach points …
  • Subtract the unfit shells ...
  • Tie
  • Example of a final score

Contents

• 1 beach
• 1 sea cloth with 2 sticks
• 2 wave breakers
• 4 shell dials
• 4 pointers + 4 push-clips
• 32 castle cards
• 32 castle parts
• 4 buckets
• 80 shells
• 1 shell bag
• 1 sandpiper (bird)

Set Everything Up!

Playing area

• Take everything out of the box – even the cardboard inlay.
• Tilt up all 4 risers in the cardboard inlay.
• Push the small "doors" towards the inside of the risers and set the cardboard inlay like this back into the box.
• Stick both wave breakers onto the opposite risers in such a way that their waves point in the same direction, and they complement the images of the box apron.
• Put the beach on top of the risers, as shown in the illustration.
• This completes the playing area! Place it in the middle of the table.
• Put the sandpiper together.

Shells

Fill the grooves 1 to 8 with shells that you draw out of the bag until:

• in the four-player game, there are 9 shells lying in each groove;
• in the three-player game, there are 8 shells lying in each groove;
• in the two-player game, there are 5 shells lying in each uneven-numbered groove, and 6 shells lying in each even-numbered groove.

Sea cloth

Cover the beach with the sea cloth. Leave only groove 1 visible and place the sandpiper there. Hang the cloth so that its front stick sits between both wave breakers, and let it dangle over the back of the playing area.

Players' material

Each player gets 4 castle cards, one per card back. Put them next to one another in front of you, with the shell side facing up. The remaining cards will not be used. Each card shows the shells (colors) that are required for building this sand castle. The four-color shell stands for any color. The value of the castles increases with the number of shells.

Before the first game, attach a pointer to each shell dial. In doing so, push the two clips firmly together (e.g., against the table) so that they cannot be separated any more.

Each player takes the bucket and the shell dial in his player color.

Put the sand castles together, each consisting of a foundation and a castle top. Put them out ready on a common heap of sand.

The Objective: Sand Castles!

During the game, players build sand castles on the beach, and the castles are supposed to keep standing when high tide comes in! The first player to build 4 sand castles ends the game. Every sand castle that is then (still) standing gives its owner beach points for:

• the value of the castle (e.g. 2)
• the value of the groove in which it is standing (e.g. +3)
• = 5

The player with the most beach points wins.

The Game Has 2 Major Phases – Low and High Tide

• Low tide: During the first 8 game rounds, the sea recedes.
• Turn of the tide: In between, the turn of the tide exposes the beach almost completely.
• High tide: From the 9th game round on, the sea floods the beach again.

The Game Rounds

All game rounds – at low tide and at high tide – proceed as follows:

A) You collect shells and take castles from the heap of sand. B) You build sand castles on the beach. C) You move the sea and the sandpiper.

A) You Collect Shells and Take Castles from the Heap of Sand

All players secretly set their shell dial on what they want to collect, and then simultaneously reveal it. Choose one of these 10 options:

• Collect 1 black shell + 1 castle from the sand heap.
• Collect 1 brown shell + 1 castle from the sand heap.
• Collect 1 gray shell + 1 castle from the sand heap.
• Collect 1 white shell + 1 castle from the sand heap.
• Collect 2 shells of the same color.
• Collect 3 shells of the same color.
• Collect 2 shells of different colors.
• Collect 3 shells of different colors.
• Collect 2 shells of one color and 1 shell of a different color.
• Collect all (remaining) shells of 1 color.

(The dial thus offers single shells with a sand castle, and shell combinations.)

Where do you collect shells?

You always collect shells from where the sandpiper is standing. You may take shells only from this current groove. In the 1st game round, this is groove 1.

The LEFT-BEFORE-RIGHT rule applies

• Compare the positions of your pointers.
• The player who has set his pointer furthest left on his shell dial is the first to collect.
• After that, the other players collect in the order of their pointer positions, from left to right.

Always wait until it's your turn, according to the position of your own pointer. Collect only then – never before that!

Collect SINGLE SHELLS with a SAND CASTLE

If you have set your pointer on a single shell, you take one shell of the chosen color from the current beach groove and throw it into your bucket. In addition, you pick one of your own castles from the sand heap and put it above your castle card of the same value.

If there are not enough shells of a color for all players who have set their pointer on a single shell of this color, all these players get no shell. Leave the shells in question on the beach.

Example 1: Hannah and Wilma both get their gray single shell they have set their pointer on. They both may also take any one of their sand castles from the sand heap: Hannah chooses the castle with the value 3 and puts it above her castle card with the value 3; Wilma takes the castle with the value 1.

Example 2: A single brown shell on the beach is not enough for Steven and Carl, who both have set their pointer on a brown shell. Neither of them gets a shell. The brown shell stays in the groove. However, Steven and Carl may both take a sand castle of their choice from the sand heap and put it above their corresponding castle card.

Collect SHELL COMBINATIONS

If you are the only one to have set his pointer on a particular shell combination, you take shells from the current beach groove that must (!) completely match the combination you set, and throw them into your bucket.

• If somebody else besides you has set his pointer on the same shell combination, you get no shells. Instead, you will (later on) participate in the shell-spell of this game round.
• If you are not able to collect your chosen shell combination completely, you get no shells. Instead, you will (later on) receive a consolation trove.

Example: Since they have chosen the same shell combination, Wilma and Steven get nothing. Carl collects his chosen shell combination, since nobody but him has set his pointer on "2 shells of different colors." Since Hannah's pointer is furthest right, she can collect only now. She had set her pointer on "3 shells of different colors." However, there are only 2 shell colors left (brown and gray); Carl has snatched the only white shell and the only black shell away from under her nose. So, since Hannah is not able to collect her chosen shell combination completely, she gets no shell at all – not even the part of her combination that is still available.

Shell-spell

All the players who have set their pointer on the same shell combinations in the current game round now carry out one shell-spell (after the pointer positions of all shell dials have been played, from left to right).

This is how a shell-spell is carried out. All players participating in the shell-spell:

• simultaneously and secretly set their pointer on a single shell on their shell dial.
• reveal their shell dials at the same time.
• take a shell of the chosen color from the beach and throw it into their bucket.
  • If there are not enough shells of a color for all the players who have chosen this color (single shell), all these players get no shell, and they don't receive a consolation trove either.
• pick one of their own castles from the sand heap (if there are any left).

After that, a shell-spell takes place between Wilma and Steven.

Consolation trove

Finally, a player who hasn't had enough shells for collecting his combination receives a consolation trove. If this applies to multiple players, they receive their consolation trove in the order of their pointer positions, from left to right. They obtain …

• a shell of their choice from the current groove (and throw this shell into their bucket)

or

• one of their own castles from the sand heap (and put it above their castle card of the same value).

If there are neither any shells nor any castles available, these players go away empty-handed.

After the shell-collecting, remove any remaining shells from the current beach groove and throw them back into the bag.

Examples

Example 1: Carl is the first to collect a single gray shell and to take a sand castle from the sand heap. Then Hannah collects two shells in different colors. After that, there are only two shell colors left. Therefore, Wilma cannot collect her combination of shells in three different colors; she gets nothing. This pleases Steven, who may take all remaining shells in one color. He can choose either the 3 brown shells or the 3 black ones. He takes the 3 brown ones. This round, there is no shell-spell, since no shell combination has been chosen by two or more players. Finally, Wilma gets a consolation trove: She may either take one of the remaining black shells or pick a sand castle from the sand heap.

Example 2: Carl and Wilma both have set their pointer on a single white shell. If there were (at least) one more white shell left, they would both get their shell; but the one white shell is not enough for both. Consequently, Carl and Wilma get no shell. Nevertheless, both may pick one of their own sand castles from the sand heap. Hannah's and Steven's pointers show the same shell combination. Therefore, they both get no shells either. But now, they carry out a shell-spell – which doesn't involve Carl and Wilma, since they had set their pointer to single shells. At the shell-spell, Hannah and Steven both set their pointer on a brown shell and get this shell. In addition, they may also pick a sand castle from the sand heap.

Do we play this right...? (Little details for the big shell-collecting)

• You may never collect only a part of your chosen combination.
• If you have multiple possibilities of collecting your chosen combination, you can freely choose one of them.
• If a shell combination that only you have chosen is available completely, you must collect it. (You may not pass it up.)
• Players who have chosen single shells never participate in a shell-spell nor receive a consolation trove.

B) You Build Sand Castles on the Beach

In any order, each player may build one sand castle in the current beach groove. You may only build …

• castles that have already been lying above one of your castle cards, and
• if you have the shells (in your bucket) that are required for this castle card.

The four-color shell on each card can stand for any shell.

This is how you build:

1. Take the shells you use for building a castle out of your bucket. Show all players that these are the color-matching shells of the respective castle card.
2. Place the sand castle that belongs to this castle card in the current beach groove.
3. Then throw the shells back into the bag. Turn the finished castle card over.

Example: With these shells, Carl could build his value-2 sand castle. However, he hasn't yet picked this castle from the sand heap. He has only picked the value-1 sand castle, but he doesn't yet have the appropriate shells for that. So Carl cannot build any sand castle in this game round.

Example: Wilma wants to build her value-3 sand castle on the beach. She can do this since she already picked this castle from the sand heap. Wilma's value-3 castle card shows the 7 shells that she needs for this. (She uses an(other) white shell for the four-color shell on the card.)

Do we play this right...? (Little details for the big sand-castle-building)

• There is no order prescribed in which you have to build. Whoever isn't willing or able to build simply doesn't do it.
• Each beach groove may contain castles of all players.
• Each player may build only one sand castle per game round.
• You may not build a sand castle in a groove where the sandpiper is not standing.

C) You Move the Sea and the Sandpiper

At the end of each game round, you move the sea cloth and relocate the sandpiper to the groove of the next game round. In doing so, always hang the sea cloth so that its front stick sits in the new position of the two wave breakers.

Low tide (game rounds 1–8)

The sea cloth and the sandpiper move one groove in the direction of the sea.

• Move the sea cloth one groove "seawards."
• Place the sandpiper in the just-revealed groove.
• This groove becomes the current groove for the next game round.

At the end of the 1st game round, you move the sea cloth so that the 2nd groove becomes visible, and place the sandpiper in this groove. After the 2nd game round, you make the 3rd groove visible and shift the sandpiper there. This is how you continue during the entire low tide phase. So, in the 8th game round, beach groove 8 is the current groove, with the sandpiper standing there. The sea cloth covers beach groove 9 (and everything behind it).

Turn of the tide (between game rounds 8 and 9)

The "playing direction" is reversed.

• The sea recedes further – how far depends on where your sand castles are standing. There are 3 possibilities:
  • I. Aren't there any sand castles in beach grooves 7 and 8? In this case, hang the sea cloth in such a way that groove 9 becomes the latest visible groove, so the sea cloth covers beach groove 10 (and everything behind it).
  • II. Does beach groove 7 contain sand castles, but beach groove 8 doesn't? In this case, hang the sea cloth into the second latest wave. This way, groove 10 becomes the latest visible groove. The sea cloth still covers beach groove 11.
  • III. Does beach groove 8 contain sand castles? In this case, hang the sea cloth into the last wave. This way, even the last groove (11) becomes visible.
• Place the sandpiper back into beach groove 7.
• Fill beach groove 7 with the same number of shells from the bag as during the set-up of the game.

So, due to the turn of the tide, the sandpiper always is at a certain distance from the sea cloth during high tide (in contrast to low tide).

High tide (from game round 9 on)

The sea cloth and the sandpiper move one groove in the direction of the beach.

• Use the sea cloth to "flood" the next open groove.
• Move the sandpiper one groove "landwards."
• Then fill this groove with the same number of shells from the bag as during the set-up of the game.

In the 9th game round, beach groove 7 is the current groove. This is where the sandpiper is standing. After each game round, the sea cloth is moved one groove further "landwards"; so is the sandpiper. In the 10th game round, beach groove 6 is the current groove. This is where the sandpiper is standing, and so on. Since the sandpiper and the sea cloth are always moved one groove further at the same time, the sandpiper's distance to the sea in the high-tide rounds always remains as large as it has become during the turn of the tide.

Have any sand castles been flooded? Any sand castles that are covered by the sea cloth are immediately flooded and destroyed. Take these castles (before moving the sea cloth) out of the groove in question. They are now worthless and cannot be used again.

Over and Done!… and Which Sand Castles Are Left Standing?

The first player to build his 4th sand castle ends the game. (In this game round also, each player may build one sand castle.) If no one succeeds in building their 4 castles, you play until the end of the round in which the sandpiper has reached sea groove 1 again at high tide. Don't move the sea cloth anymore! Remove the sandpiper from the beach.

Count your beach points …

For each of your own sand castles that are still standing on the beach, you score

• the value of the beach groove (groove number) where it is standing, and
• the value of the sand castle itself.

Unfortunately, you have to subtract your unfit shells from this result.

Subtract the unfit shells ...

Take all remaining shells out of your bucket. Put them on any suitable shell spaces on your unfinished castle cards (i.e., cards that are still lying face up in front of you). Any shells that don't find a place there are considered unfit shells. For each unfit shell, you unfortunately have to deduct one of the beach points you have earned.

Now players compare their beach points. The player who now has the most beach points is the winner!

Tie

Do several players have the same number of beach points? In case of a tie, the player involved who has more beach points in the "most dangerous" beach groove prevails. To determine this, the tied players compare their beach points in the groove that is now closest to the sea. If there is still a tie, the number of points in the "second most dangerous" groove is decisive (this is the next groove "landwards"), and so on. There can be more than one winner.

Example of a final score

• Wilma has only 2 sand castles showing: castle 3 in beach groove 6 (3+6 = 9 points) and castle 1 in groove 4 (1+4 = 5 points). She has no unfit shells, since her leftover shells fit on her remaining castle card. Wilma has 14 beach points.
• Carl also has 2 visible castles left, but these are his most valuable ones: castles 2 and 3 in grooves 4 and 6 (2+3+4+6 = 15). So far, he scores 15 points. But unfortunately, he cannot fit two shells on his remaining castle card, which turns them into unfit shells (15-2 = 13). Carl has 13 beach points.
• Hannah has 3 visible sand castles left on the beach, with the values 1, 2, and 3. Two of these are standing in groove 6; one, in groove 3. This gives her 1+2+3+6+6+3 = 21 points. One unfit shell reduces her total score (21-1 = 20) to 20 points. Hannah has 20 beach points.
• Steven still has all 4 castles showing, in grooves 2, 4, and 5, with the values 0, 1, 2, and 3. His points also add up to 0+1+2+3+2+4+4+5 = 21. Since he also has to deduct one unfit shell, he scores a total of 20 points, too. Steven has 20 beach points.

Steven and Hannah are tied; Hannah wins, since she has castles with a total value of 3 standing in groove 6 (i.e., the groove closest to the sea), whereas Steven has no sand castle there.