Sunrise at the Studio Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • Personal Area Setup
  • Community Area Setup
• Gameplay
  • Elements of Play
    • The Studio Mat, Tiles, & Resources
    • Projects
    • Other Elements
• Playing the Game
  • Deal Resource Cards
• A Game Round
  • Step One: Select Resource Cards (All Simultaneously)
    • Work Styles
    • Game Round Example
  • Step Two: Work on Projects (All Simultaneously)
    • Understanding Your Resources
    • Place Resources onto a Project
    • Place Resources into the Reserve
    • Discard Resource Cards
    • Use Resources from the Reserve
  • Step Three: Complete Projects (In Project Order)
    • Determine Project Order
    • Complete a Project (In Project Order)
    • Use Advantage Cards
    • Always Having an In-Progress Project
    • Running Out of Available Projects
    • Complete a Studio Challenge
    • Complete Multiple Projects
  • Step Four: End the Round
• Begin a New Day
• Game End & Scoring
  • Award the Cup of Coffee
  • Tiebreaker
  • Final Scoring
    • Scoring Example
• Advantage Card Reference
  • One-Time Use
  • End Game
  • Showpiece

Components

• 4 Studio mats (1 per player)
• 12 Large tiles (3 per player)
• 12 Small tiles (3 per player)
• 60 Resources
• 1 Wastebasket
• 30 Projects
• 4 Starting Projects
• 3 Day cards
• 6 Studio Challenges
• 1 Cup of Coffee
• 30 Advantage cards
• 48 Resource cards
• 4 Friend cards (Solo)
• 1 Friend mat (Solo)
• 6 Coffee Bean / Damage cards (Solo)

Setup

Personal Area Setup

First, each player should set up their personal area in front of them.

A. Each player takes the Studio mat, 3 Large tiles, and 3 Small tiles of a matching color, plus 15 Resources from the supply. Place the studio mat in front of you with the rest of your items nearby.

B. Find the 4 Starting Projects (with the icon in the lower left corner) and randomly give 1 to each player. Place yours to the left of your studio mat with the in-progress side up (showing the white border). For fewer than 4 players, remove the remaining starting project(s) from the game; they will not be used.

C. Keep a space beneath the studio mat to place your resource cards draw stack during play.

Community Area Setup

Second, set up the Community area. This should be in the middle of the table, visible to all players. The community area can be set up and managed by a single player, or as a group.

A. Randomly choose 3 Studio Challenges and place them face-up in a row at the top of the community area. Remove the remaining studio challenges from the game; they will not be used.

B. Place the Cup of Coffee next to the studio challenges.

C. Shuffle the 30 Projects. In the area below the studio challenges, place the deck (in-progress side up) and draw 3 projects to form a row of 4 visible projects, which is known as the project row.

D. Place the Wastebasket near the cup of coffee.

E. Prepare the deck of Resource cards: Remove all resource cards with a player count higher than the number of players. See the lower center of the cards for player number icons. For example, for 3 players, remove all resource cards with a 4-player icon. Put the removed cards back in the box; they will not be used.

Shuffle the remaining resource cards and place them in a face-down deck near the wastebasket.

F. Shuffle the 30 Advantage cards and place them near the project row.

G. If there are remaining Resources, place them in a supply. In a 4-player game, no resources will remain.

H. Place the 3 Day cards in a face-up stack near the Studio Challenge cards with Day 1 showing on top, then Day 2, and Day 3 on the bottom.

Gameplay

Over the course of Sunrise at the Studio, players simultaneously draft clay, glaze, and kiln resources to complete the various pottery projects in front of them. The game is played over 3 days, each divided into 3 rounds called Sunrise, Midday, and Sunset. Each round, players simultaneously draw 4 resource cards and choose a work style, which determines how many resource cards they keep and how many are passed to the other players or discarded to the wastebasket. Once all resources are distributed and placed, players who have completed a project have the opportunity to select new projects, select advantage cards, and complete studio challenges.

After 3 days, players total their scores from their projects, studio challenges, advantage cards, and the cup of coffee. The player with the most points wins!

Elements of Play

Before jumping into learning how to play, it's useful to have an understanding of the various elements of play.

The Studio Mat, Tiles, & Resources

These are your starting materials.

• Pottery wheel — Distribute resource cards here during play.
• Unused resource supply — You will gain these resources to use or store in the reserve.
• Reserve — Store extra resources here to use during play.
• Work styles — You will select these with large tiles.
• Resource cards — Store your dealt stack here to draw from each round.
• Small tiles — You will use these to track completed studio challenges.

Projects

Projects are the focus of your time. These begin on the in-progress side to the left of your studio mat, where you will use resources to complete them.

The in-progress side of a project shows the victory points awarded by the completed project, the coffee bean provided by the completed project (if present), the resources needed to complete the project, the type of project (mug, plate, bowl, pitcher, or vase) & project order #, and scoring icon reminders used as a reference for completing studio challenges & scoring.

When completed, you flip the project to the completed side and move it to the right of your studio mat. Each project is worth points, and potentially a coffee bean, at the end of the game.

Other Elements

You will encounter various other elements over the course of play.

• Resource Cards: Resource cards provide specific resources that allow you to complete projects. Resources are divided into three general types (Clay, Glaze, Kiln), each of which has three sub-types.
• Advantage Cards: You may gain advantage cards after completing projects. There are various types, but each one provides some sort of benefit to you during play or at the end of the game.
• Studio Challenges: Shared community goals that players race to complete in order to earn points.
• Cup of Coffee: Awarded at the end of the game to the player who has the most coffee beans.
• Wastebasket: This is where players collectively place discarded or used resource cards. At the end of each day, all distributed resource cards should be in the wastebasket.

Playing the Game

At the start of each day, shuffle all of the resource cards. On the first day, they will be in the deck you created during setup. On the second and third days, they will be on the wastebasket.

Deal Resource Cards

• Deal 12 face-down cards to each player.
• Each player places these 12 cards in a draw stack beneath their studio mat.

You will draw resource cards from your stack to distribute according to your selected work style during the round.

You are now ready to begin playing!

A Game Round

Each game round consists of 4 steps:

• Select Resource Cards (All simultaneously)
• Work on Projects (All simultaneously)
• Complete Projects (In project order)
• End the Round

Step One: Select Resource Cards (All Simultaneously)

During this step, players keep, pass, or discard cards based on their selected work styles. This is often called drafting in other games.

Draw Resource Cards. Draw 4 resource cards from the stack of resource cards below your studio mat.

Select Work Style. Select an available work style you have not yet used in previous rounds this day, as shown on your studio mat.

Distribute Resource Cards. Distribute your resource cards face-down according to your selected work style.

Place Large Tile. Place one of your large tiles on the work style you selected. It will not be selectable again this day.

The large tile stays on the selected work style until the end of the day. Thus, during each day, you must select a different option for each of the 3 rounds. Each day, each of the 3 work styles will be used once.

Work Styles

Efficient — Keep 3, Pass 1 Left. Put 3 cards on your pottery wheel and put 1 card on the player's pottery wheel to your left.

Measured — Keep 2, Pass 1 Left, Pass 1 Right. Put 2 cards on your pottery wheel, put 1 card on the player's pottery wheel to your left, and put 1 card on the player's pottery wheel to your right. In a 2-player game, put 2 cards on the other player's pottery wheel.

Wasteful — Keep 1, Discard 2, Pass 1 Right. Put 1 card on your pottery wheel, put 2 cards face-down on the wastebasket, and put 1 card on the player's pottery wheel to your right.

Game Round Example

1. Ed draws four resource cards from his stack.
2. Since Ed selected Measured in the first round (Sunrise), he must select either Efficient or Wasteful for the second round (Midday).
3. Ed selects Wasteful as his work style. According to this chosen style, he must choose 1 card to keep, 2 cards to discard, and 1 card to pass right. He distributes these cards face-down, and this can be done in any order.
   • Discard 2: He discards two cards on the wastebasket...
   • Pass 1 Right: ... puts one card on Steve's pottery wheel to his right...
   • Keep 1: ... and keeps the final card by placing it on his own pottery wheel.
4. Finally, he places his large tile on the Wasteful space.

Step Two: Work on Projects (All Simultaneously)

During this step, players try to complete their projects by using their resource cards to place resources directly onto their in-progress projects, in-progress showpieces (see Advantage Cards), or into their reserves.

Understanding Your Resources

All players simultaneously reveal the resource cards placed on their pottery wheels, and then use the resource cards to work on their projects.

If you run out, you may take resources from the community supply or another player's unused supply. Each resource card allows you to place at least 1 resource from your supply onto an in-progress project or into your reserve on your studio mat.

Resource Card Icons

• Clay: Earthenware (Red), Stoneware (Gray), Porcelain (White)
• Glaze: Light, Dark, Luster
• Kiln: Fire, Gas, Electric
• Other: Wild Resource, Either Resource, Two Resources

A resource card may allow you to place a single resource, two resources, or either of two resource types, depending on the icon(s) shown on the card.

Place Resources onto a Project

The resource icons at the bottom of each in-progress project depict the specific resources needed to complete that project. You must match an icon on a resource card to an icon on an in-progress project.

When you place a resource on an in-progress project, place it on an icon to indicate that this requirement has been fulfilled.

Place Resources into the Reserve

Your studio mat has a reserve space. If you cannot, or choose not to, place a resource onto an in-progress project, it must be placed into your reserve.

For example, since Ed cannot use this resource card's kiln for his in-progress project, he instead places a resource into his reserve.

Discard Resource Cards

After using a resource card, place it face-down on the wastebasket.

You must use all resource cards to place resources onto in-progress projects and / or into the reserve during this step. You may not hold resource cards to use in later rounds or days. By the end of this step, all players' resource cards will be on the wastebasket.

Use Resources from the Reserve

At any time, during any step, you may convert 2 resources in your reserve into any 1 resource to place onto an in-progress project or showpiece. To do so, return 1 of the resources in your reserve to your personal supply, and then place the other resource on any 1 icon on an in-progress project or showpiece.

You can convert resources from your reserve to complete projects and showpieces!

• If a project is completed this way during Step 2, simply proceed to Step 3 as normal.
• If a project is completed this way during Step 3, it is considered a newly completed project and is subject to project order.

Step Three: Complete Projects (In Project Order)

During this step, any player who completed at least one project during the round has the opportunity to take a completion bonus action based on project order.

Determine Project Order

When you place resources on every icon on an in-progress project, you complete the project. When you complete a project, it is helpful to announce it: "I completed a project!" Anyone who has a completed project(s) takes part in Step 3. You may complete multiple projects during a round.

Project Order

• If more than one player has completed a project(s), compare the project numbers shown on the in-progress projects that have been completed.
• Players take turns performing Step 3 in order from lowest to highest project number. This determines the project order. If you have more than 1 completed project, you perform Step 3 for each project in project order.
• Skip this step if you do not have a completed project.

Complete a Project (In Project Order)

After you complete a project, return the resources on that project to your personal supply.

Flip the in-progress project to its completed side, then move it to the completed area on the right of your studio mat for scoring at game end.

It is possible to complete multiple projects during a single round.

Completion Bonus Actions

After completing a project, you must choose a bonus action:

• Take 2 Projects. Take 2 projects from the project row, one at a time. Place your new projects in the in-progress area to the left of your studio mat in-progress side up. After taking each project, fill in the project row from the top of the project deck so there are 4 visible projects.
• Draw & Keep 1 Advantage Card, Take 1 Project. Draw 1 advantage card, then take 1 project from the project row. Place your new project in the in-progress area to the left of your studio mat in-progress side up. After taking the project, fill in the project row from the top of the project deck so there are 4 visible projects.
• Draw 3 & Keep 1 Advantage Card. Draw 3 advantage cards and keep 1 of them. Return the 2 unchosen advantage cards to the bottom of the deck face-down in either order.

Use Advantage Cards

When drawn, keep an advantage card face-down in your personal area. There are 3 sub-types of advantage cards with their own special benefits and rules: Immediate, End-Game, and Showpiece.

You may choose to use an advantage card during your turn in one of these two ways:

• Reveal the card by placing it face-up in your personal area to gain its associated benefit.
• Discard the card face-down to the bottom of the advantage deck to place 1 resource into your reserve.

Once an advantage card is revealed for its benefit, you may not discard it.

For example, since Ed has revealed this showpiece, he may not discard it.

Always Having an In-Progress Project

You must always have at least 1 in-progress project at the start of each round. After completing a project, if you have no in-progress projects, you must choose the Take 2 Projects action or Draw & Keep 1 Advantage Card, Take 1 Project action so you have an in-progress project at the start of the next round.

In-progress showpieces are not in-progress projects.

Final Round Exception: During the final round (Sunset) of day 3, you may choose any completion bonus action even if you do not have an in-progress project because there will not be another round to play.

Running Out of Available Projects

If the project deck runs out and at least 1 project is left in the project row, you may only take a project if you would otherwise not start the next round with an in-progress project. In other words, you may only choose the Draw 3 & Keep 1 Advantage Card action if you still have an in-progress project.

If the project deck and project row run out, the game ends at the end of the current round, which is now the final round. See the Final Round Exception above.

Complete a Studio Challenge

After you complete a project and take the bonus action, check the studio challenges.

The first player to complete a studio challenge places a small tile on the higher point space on the left.

• Any other player(s) to complete the studio challenge places a small tile on the lower point space on the right. The lower point space may contain tiles from multiple players.
• You may only complete each studio challenge once.
• You may complete multiple different studio challenges during a single round.

For example, Ed has completed his second mug, and qualifies for a studio challenge. Since another player has completed it previously, he places his small tile on the lower point space.

Studio Challenges List

A completed project may be used to complete multiple studio challenges. Each completed project may be used for 1 project, clay, and glaze type. You must choose 1 glaze type to use for a project with 2 glaze types.

• 2 completed projects of the same project type.
• 3 completed projects of the same clay type.
• 4 completed projects of the same glaze type.
• 4 completed projects of 4 different project types.
• 3 completed projects of 3 different clay types.
• 3 completed projects of 3 different glaze types.

Completed showpieces are not projects and may not be used to complete studio challenges.

Complete Multiple Projects

If you have more than 1 completed project, turns are still taken in project order. Depending on the project order, you may or may not have two turns in a row to select a completion bonus action and check if you completed a studio challenge.

As the result of an advantage card, you might complete another project during this step. If so, the newly completed project number is used for the project order.

Once all players have taken turns choosing completion bonus actions for each of their completed projects and checking for completed studio challenges, Step 3 ends.

Step Four: End the Round

If it is Sunrise or Midday, meaning you've only played 1 or 2 rounds during the day, proceed to the next round.

After Sunset, or 3 rounds, the day ends. At this point, no player will have resource cards in their stack to draw from. All players will have placed all 3 of their large tiles on the work style spaces on their studio mats. Proceed to Begin a New Day.

Begin a New Day

When all players have completed Day 3, the game is over. Continue to Game End & Scoring.

If less than 3 days have been played, prepare a new day:

• Shuffle all of the resource cards from the wastebasket and deal 12 resource cards to each player.
• Each player removes the large tiles from their studio mat so that all 3 work styles are available.
• Reveal the next day card.

Then, start a new day as described in A Game Round.

If you run out of available projects, the game ends at the end of the current round.

Game End & Scoring

Award the Cup of Coffee

Before scoring, award the cup of coffee to the player with the most coffee beans on completed projects, completed showpieces, and advantage cards.

If there is a tie for the most coffee beans, nobody wins the cup of coffee.

Tiebreaker

If there is a tie, the player with the completed project with the lowest project number (excluding starting projects) wins.

Final Scoring

Total your points from the following sources:

• Projects — points for completed projects; -1 per in-progress project; 1 per resource on in-progress projects.
• Studio Challenges — points for each of your small tiles.
• Advantage Cards — points for completed end game goals.
• Showpieces — points for completed showpieces (incomplete showpieces are not worth negative points); 1 per resource on in-progress showpieces.
• Reserve — 1 point for every 2 resources in reserve, rounded down.
• Cup of Coffee — 3 points for the winner of the cup of coffee.

Scoring Example

Ed scores a total of 40 points.

• In-Progress Showpieces: 1 point
• In-Progress Projects: -1 + 1 + 1 = 1 point
• Completed Studio Challenges: 1 + 3 = 4 points
• Reserve: 3 ÷ 2 = 1.5 (Rounded down) = 1 point
• Completed End Game Goals: 1 point
• Completed Showpieces: 4 points
• Completed Projects: 2 + 4 + 5 + 5 + 9 = 25 points
• Cup of Coffee: 3 points

Ed earned the cup of coffee because he has the most coffee beans (3).

Advantage Card Reference

One-Time Use

Keep this card face-down until you choose to reveal and use it. Once revealed, resolve the benefit, then discard the card.

• Gain Resources: Place 2 resources into your reserve.
• Go First & Gain Resource: Go first when you complete your next project, regardless of project order. Also, place 1 resource into your reserve.

End Game

Keep this card face-down until you choose to reveal and use it. You may reveal it as late as game end & scoring. Do not discard it when revealed.

• Personal Goal: Score the indicated number of points if you completed at least 1 of each project type shown. Each completed project may be used for multiple personal goal cards. You do not score additional points for multiple sets from the same personal goal card.
• Coffee Bean: Add 1 coffee bean to your total.

Showpiece

Keep this card face-down until you choose to reveal and use it. A showpiece is not a project. Place it on the left side of your studio mat. A showpiece cannot be used to complete studio challenges or personal goals.

Place resources on the icons to complete a showpiece. After completing a showpiece, return the resources to your personal supply and move it to the completed area on the right of your studio mat. You do not gain a completion bonus action. A completed showpiece gives no other benefit than the points shown and a coffee bean, if present.

At any time before you reveal an advantage card, you may discard it to place 1 resource into your reserve.