The Mysterious Forest
The Mysterious Forest Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 24 Path cards: 1 Starting card, 13 Forest cards, 4 Wanderer cards, 6 Final Battle cards
- 1 Backpack board
- 55 Equipment tokens: 4 Magnifying Glasses, 4 Ropes, 4 Crystal bags, 4 Compasses, 4 Flowers, 4 Maps, 4 Swords, 4 Capes, 4 Gloves, 4 Draconia claws, 4 Lighters, 11 Loki
- 2 Wanderer tokens
- 1 Jonas figure
- 4 dice
Set Up
- Sort the Path cards and shuffle each type separately to make 3 face-down piles: Forest cards, Wanderer cards, Final Battle cards.
- Make the Path through the Mysterious Forest by placing cards face-down in this order: Starting card, Forest cards (x4), Wanderer card, Forest cards (x2), Final Battle card. Cards are drawn randomly from the corresponding piles.
- Place Jonas on the Starting card.
- Make a pile of each type of Equipment to form the Reserve. Put the Loki tokens face-down (Loki head visible) in one single stack. Do the same with the Wanderer tokens.
- Put the dice and the Backpack board near the Path.
- Take 4 random Loki tokens and put them face-down on any spot on the Backpack board.
- You are now ready to play!
- The player who imitates the Queen of the Draconia's screech the best is first player. If you cannot decide, the youngest player goes first.
Goal of the Game
After crossing the Mysterious Forest and facing its dangers, help Jonas defeat the Queen of the Draconia. Put your memory and sense of observation to the test and rise to the challenge!
Gameplay
The game plays over 3 phases:
- Phase 1: Look at the Path to memorize the different Equipment you will need for your adventure.
- Phase 2: Fill your Backpack with Equipment to prepare for the journey.
- Phase 3: Explore the Mysterious Forest.
Phase 1: Scout Out the Path
Before starting your adventure, you need to become familiar with your surroundings. To do that, you head off scouting the Path.
Starting with the first player and going clockwise, turn over the first Forest card of the Path. Together, memorize the Equipment on the card, which you will need to cross this part of the Forest.
Turn the card back over face-down. Then the next player reveals the second card of the Path and memorizes it. Continue in this way until you've seen each Path card. Pay attention, a Path card can only be looked at one time. The Scouting Phase ends as soon as the Final Battle card is turned back face-down at the end of the Path.
The second phase of the game then begins.
Phase 2: Prepare for the Journey
You memorized the different Equipment you need for your journey. Now, you have to prepare your Backpack so you can start exploring. Starting with the first player and still going clockwise, roll the 4 dice. The faces on the dice show you which Equipment is available for your journey.
From the 4 Equipment shown on the dice, choose 2 of them and put the corresponding tokens on the Backpack board.
You can always collaborate with other players on which Equipment to choose.
Special case: A die face shows an Equipment that isn't in the Reserve. In this case, and this case only, reroll the die and then choose your Equipment as explained before.
Some of the dice have a side with Loki's face. This little animal is your best friend in the forest. He takes precedence over Equipment.
- If you roll one Loki with the 4 dice, you must take a face-down Loki token and an Equipment of your choice and put them in your Backpack.
- If you roll two Lokis with the 4 dice, you must take two face-down Loki tokens and put them in your Backpack.
The Preparation Phase ends when all of the spaces of your Backpack are filled.
Phase 3: The Expedition
You are ready and equipped, you can now start your big adventure!
Forest cards
- Reveal the first Path card and put the Jonas figure on it. Then, move the Equipment tokens shown on the card from your Backpack to this card. Once every Equipment symbol is covered, turn over the next Path card and move the Jonas figure onto it.
- If you don't have the Equipment necessary to continue your adventure, you can ask Loki to bring you one. To do this, take a Loki token from your Backpack and turn it over. Loki tokens can have 1 of 2 powers:
- Power 1: Choose one of the Equipment shown on the Loki token and put it in your Backpack.
- Power 2: Exchange an Equipment in your Backpack with one in the Reserve.
Once you use a Loki token, put it back in the Reserve.
Special case: There are only Loki tokens in your Backpack. In this case, and this case only, if you turn over Power 2, exchange this Loki token with an Equipment of your choice in the Reserve.
Wanderer Card
Turn this card face-up to meet the Wanderer. He offers to exchange his crystal weapon with certain Equipment in your Backpack. This weapon has the power to create two Equipment of your choice, represented by the Wanderer tokens. You can use these tokens to replace any Equipment on the next Path cards and the Final Battle card. You do not have to use the Wanderer tokens on the same card, however, each token can only be used once.
This card is not required, you can choose whether or not to take the weapon:
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If you choose to take the crystal weapon, complete the exchange proposed by the Wanderer (the card shows one of the following):
- Remove two identical Equipment from your Backpack,
- Remove an Equipment and a Loki token from your Backpack,
- Remove three different Equipment from your Backpack,
- Remove any four Equipment from your Backpack.
Any tokens you remove from your Backpack are returned to the Reserve. Take the Wanderer tokens and put them on the spaces on the card.
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If you choose to continue along the Path, turn over the next Forest card without taking Wanderer tokens. If you do not have the necessary Equipment to take the crystal weapon, you must continue along the Path.
Final Battle card
When you arrive at the monster's den, you must face the Queen of the Draconia...
Like the other Path cards, turn over the Final Battle card and use the Equipment shown on the card to fight the Queen of the Draconia.
End of the Game
You reached the Queen of the Draconia and successfully gathered the Equipment needed to defeat her! Bravo, you won the game!
If, on the other hand, your Backpack didn't contain the Equipment necessary for you to trek through the forest or to fight the Queen of the Draconia, you lost the game.
To Go Even Further
You can adjust the difficulty level of the game by following the different variants described below. The game plays with the same rules, with some exceptions:
1. During Set Up
Choose your difficulty level and follow the directions below:
- Budding Explorers: Place 4 Forest cards, then 1 Wanderer card, then 2 Forest cards, and finally 1 Final Battle card face-down. Then put only 2 Loki tokens in your Backpack.
- Courageous Travelers: Place 4 Forest cards, then 1 Wanderer card, then 2 Forest cards, and finally 1 Final Battle card face-down. Do not put any Loki tokens in your Backpack.
- Lead Adventurers: Place 5 Forest cards, then 1 Wanderer card, then 3 Forest cards, and finally 1 Final Battle card face-down. Then put 4 Loki tokens in your Backpack.
- Foliage Conquerors: Place 5 Forest cards, then 1 Wanderer card, then 3 Forest cards, and finally 1 Final Battle card face-down. Then put only 2 Loki tokens in your Backpack.
- Heroes of the Forest: Place 5 Forest cards, then 1 Wanderer card, then 3 Forest cards, and finally 1 Final Battle card face-down. Do not put any Loki tokens in your Backpack.
2. During the Final Battle
You can follow this rule for each difficulty level. Before revealing the Final Battle card, put an Equipment token above the card for each Equipment you think is shown on it. Once you all agree on the Equipment, turn over the card. If the Equipment tokens match what is shown on the card exactly, bravo, you win the game!