Tides
Tides Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
18 cards
Players provide: pen and paper to keep score
Setup
Give the First Player card to the player who most recently visited a beach.
Shuffle the deck and deal five cards in a row with the Low Tide side up; place the remaining cards nearby to form a draw pile, with the Low Tide side up.
Deal 2 cards to each player.
Each player looks at the High Tide side of the 2 cards in their hand; chooses one to keep, and discards the other.
Card Anatomy
Low Tide side
1-2) These are the items you can collect from the beach, shown small on the left for quick reference and larger in the middle.
- The High Tide object on the reverse side, along with the items it uses for scoring.
High Tide side
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Points if this set is scored during High Tide.
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Points if this set is scored during Low Tide.
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The items on the reverse side.
Note: You may look at the back of the cards in the row at any time.
Gameplay
The game consists of repeating Tide Cycles, each with two phases: Low Tide and High Tide. The game starts in the Low Tide phase.
Low Tide
Explore the beach for treasures from the sea.
Starting with the player with the First Player card, each player takes turns taking one action at a time until both players have completed exactly two actions.
Actions
- Take a card from the row into your hand.
- Score a set from your hand (see below).
- Pass.
You may look at the back of the cards in your hand, but you cannot flip them over to their reverse side, changing the type of card.
Hand Limit
You may never have more than 6 cards in your hand, regardless of which way the cards are facing. You may discard a card at any time.
End of Phase
Once both players have taken two actions, flip all cards left in the row to the High Tide side. Draw new cards as needed, flipping them as you draw, to make a row of 5 High Tide cards.
High Tide
Make crafts from your gathered items.
Starting with the player who has the First Player card, each player gets one action during HIGH TIDE.
Actions
- Take a card from the row into your hand.
- Score a set from your hand (see below).
- Pass.
Scoring a set
From your hand, choose a High Tide card with a scoring condition and the Low Tide cards with the required items from your hand, and place them face-up in front of you.
You receive the number of points shown on the scoring card, for the tide that it is played in. Write down your score, then discard all the cards that made up your set, including the High Tide card.
You may only score one set per action, even if the items on your cards could potentially score more than once.
End of Tide Cycle
After High Tide, switch back to Low Tide in the same way: flip any cards left in the row to their Low Tide side, then draw new cards until there are 5 in the row.
If you need to draw a card and there are no cards in the draw pile, shuffle the discard pile to form a new draw pile.
Pass the First Player card to the other player, and begin a new cycle of tides.
End of the Game
Play until someone reaches 50 points. Finish the current Tide Cycle before ending the game.
If the score is tied, play another full Tide Cycle, until someone is in the lead at the end of the cycle.
The player with the highest score wins!
Solo (AI) Play
Set up the game as usual, with these changes:
- Do not deal scoring cards to the AI. It doesn't use them.
- Deal 4 cards to the row instead of 5.
You start the game with the First Player card.
Low Tide
Take turns taking 1 Action each, as in the 2 Player game. The AI only uses the Take a card Action, and always takes the leftmost card from the row.
Place the AI's hand of cards to one side, face-up on the table where you can see them.
High Tide
The AI takes both of the following actions:
- Discard the leftmost card in the row.
- Score sets, if possible.
When the tide changes, slide any cards remaining in the row to the right as far as they will go. Then deal new cards into the empty spaces, from right to left.
The AI does not use high tide cards for scoring. It uses its own scoring on the back of the First Player card. It automatically scores whichever set (or sets) that give it the most points.
If you must choose between two sets that would score the same amount, score the set that uses the more common item.
The AI can score more than one set in a turn, but each set must be scored one at a time, discarding the cards as you score it — cards cannot be assigned to more than one set.
Hard Mode
Instead of taking the leftmost card during low tide, the AI takes the card with the rarest item from the row. The rarity is shown on the Solo Scoring card, top-left to bottom-right. Stones are the most common, shark teeth are the most rare.