Tohuwabohu Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Idea
• Components
• Setup
• Sequence of Play
• Building Rules
• The Order Cards
  • Blue Order Cards
  • Red Order Cards
  • Green Order Cards
• Variants
• Component Notes
  • The Electronic Timer

Game Idea

In this game, the aim is to be the first player to fulfil your order cards. To do so, you build structures, tear them down and rebuild them, and place the matching figures.

Components

• 19 building blocks:
  • 4 neutral small bricks
  • 2 each of small red, blue and green bricks
  • 1 neutral large brick
  • 2 each of large red, blue and green bricks
  • 2 arches
• 15 figures: 5 each of red, blue and green
• 8 levels: 5 quadrilaterals and 3 triangles
• 36 order cards: 12 each of red, blue and green
• 1 playing area
• 1 electronic timer
• 1 rulebook

Setup

"And out of nothing, chaos arose ..."

Place the playing area in the middle of the table. Distribute all building blocks, levels and figures at random around the playing area. An even distribution is an advantage.

Sort the order cards into 3 stacks by colour. Deal the cards to the players according to the number of players:

• 2 players: 6 each of red, blue and green cards
• 3 players: 4 each of red, blue and green cards
• 4 players: 3 each of red, blue and green cards

Each player shuffles their cards well and places them face down in front of them as a personal draw pile.

The most disorderly player becomes the starting player. The player to the starting player's right receives the electronic timer, which is set to 15 seconds.

Sequence of Play

The players take turns in turn order. The timer is started and the starting player begins their turn immediately. They have exactly 15 seconds for their turn. They turn over the top card of their draw pile and begin to build the construction it requires.

When the 15 seconds are up, the next player takes their turn. The timer is restarted immediately and passed to the left. Every subsequent player likewise has only 15 seconds for their turn.

If a player fulfils their order card during their turn, they may place it aside and turn over the next card from their draw pile. Players who are not currently taking their turn watch whether the order was actually fulfilled.

If a player does not manage to fulfil their order during their turn, the order card stays face up in front of them and they try again on their next turn.

Orders can only be fulfilled while the player is taking their turn.

Once per turn, the active player may put their order card back under their draw pile and reveal a new order card.

The player who first fulfils all of their orders wins the game.

Building Rules

• Building takes place only on the playing area.
• A player may build with both hands, but each hand may hold at most one building block.
• Arches may be used as "normal" bricks. Figures may not!
• Arches may connect levels of the same height.
• Levels must rest on bricks.
• Levels must lie horizontally on bricks of the same height. "Tilted" levels are not allowed.
• Figures may only be placed on the points in the areas of the same colour. It is sufficient if the figure touches the marked point; it does not have to stand exactly inside the circle.
• Each level may hold exactly one red, one blue and one green figure.
• The player whose turn it is may extend, rebuild or destroy the structures as they wish. Only the wanton destruction of an entire structure at the end of a turn is frowned upon and forbidden.

The Order Cards

The order cards always refer to individual components. Blue cards refer to the building blocks, green cards refer to the figures, and red cards refer to the levels. In every case, the structure must be built in accordance with the rules, and the building rules above must be observed. The illustrations on the order cards show an example construction. The actual construction may differ from it, as long as it satisfies the building rules.

Blue Order Cards

Cross with a red / green / blue crossbar (three cards, one for each crossbar colour) Build a cross from two large bricks and one small brick. Only the colour of the crossbar is specified. The cross must stand at least on level 2.

Arch on a red and green pillar / a red and blue pillar / a green and blue pillar (three cards) An arch must be placed on bricks of the colours named. The shape of the bricks does not matter. The pillars must be placed at least on level 2.

Two quadrilateral levels of two structures joined by 1 arch / a triangle and a quadrilateral level of two structures joined by 1 arch / two triangle levels of two structures joined by 1 arch (three cards) An arch must be placed as the connection between two levels of two structures. The shape of the levels is specified. The arch must stand at least on the first level.

Tower of red / green / blue bricks (three cards) Bricks of the colour named must be stacked on end, one on top of another, so that a tower the height of four small bricks results. The tower must stand at least on level 2.

Red Order Cards

Triangle as 4th level / triangle as 5th level The 4th or 5th level of a structure must be a triangle.

Quadrilateral as 4th level / quadrilateral as 5th level The 4th or 5th level of a structure must be a quadrilateral.

Level 4 stands on exactly 3 pillars The 4th level must rest on exactly 3 bricks.

Structure with exactly 5 levels The structure must consist of exactly 5 levels.

Two structures, each with at least 2 levels There must be exactly 2 structures, each with at least 2 levels.

Levels 1, 2 and 3 each on exactly one pillar The lowest 3 levels of a structure must each rest on exactly one brick.

Triangle, triangle, quadrilateral / quadrilateral, quadrilateral, triangle / triangle, quadrilateral, quadrilateral / quadrilateral, triangle, quadrilateral (four cards) In one structure, three directly consecutive levels must consist of the shapes named, the lowest level being named first. This may apply from level 1 or from any higher level.

Green Order Cards

At least 4 figures on level 3 and higher There must be at least four figures on level 3 or higher. The figures must have been placed correctly; their colour does not matter.

At least 1 figure on level 5 There must be at least one figure on the 5th level. The figure must be placed correctly.

Exactly 8 figures / exactly 10 figures (two cards) There must be exactly as many figures in one structure as stated on the card. The figures must have been placed correctly. The levels on which the figures stand do not matter, and nor does their colour.

Variants

And the chaos grew bigger and bigger ...

For advanced players: All the rules above apply. However, the timer is set to 10 seconds, and each player has only 10 seconds for their turn.

In the printed rulebook, the following green order cards appear after the variants heading, and are listed here in that position.

The green order cards for the variants:

Exactly 4 red / green / blue figures (three cards) There must be exactly four figures of the colour named in one structure. The figures must have been placed correctly. The levels on which the figures stand do not matter.

3 figures each on levels 1 and 2 / exactly 3 figures on level 4 (two cards) There must be 3 figures on each of the levels named. Therefore each of these levels must hold one red, one green and one blue figure.

Two quadrilateral levels with 3 figures each / two triangle levels with 3 figures each (two cards) There must be 3 figures on levels of the shape named. These figures must be placed correctly, so each such level must hold one red, one green and one blue figure. The height of the level within the structure does not matter.

At least 2 figures each on levels 2 and 3 (one card) There must be at least two figures placed correctly on each of levels 2 and 3. The colour of the figures does not matter.

For professionals and lovers of chaos: The playing material is spread around the playing area. Each player receives order cards according to the number of players (as described above) and shuffles them together. The electronic timer is set to 4 minutes.

Each player reveals their three top order cards. On a signal, the timer is started and all players begin building at the same time. The building rules above apply, with the following restriction: each player may only remove parts of the currently highest level. A complete demolition is forbidden.

As soon as a player calls "Stop," all players must stop building immediately. Pieces still in players' hands may no longer be built with. The timer is stopped. The player who caused the interruption must now prove that one or more of their order cards are fulfilled. Fulfilled order cards are placed face down. In turn, the other players may also place fulfilled order cards aside. Then the timer is started again and the game continues.

A round ends as soon as a player has fulfilled their three open order cards, or when the timer's sound signals the end of the round.

A new round then begins. The playing area is cleared, and each player tops up their open order cards from their draw pile until three open order cards lie in front of each player again. If three cards can no longer be topped up, correspondingly fewer cards are laid out open. The game ends here too as soon as a player has fulfilled all of their order cards.

If a structure collapses while being built, the game is interrupted and the players decide together whether to continue the round or to begin a new round and punish the player who caused the collapse. As a penalty, the player who caused the collapse must put one of their already fulfilled order cards back under their draw pile and fulfil it again.

Component Notes

The Electronic Timer

• Set the time with the "Minute" and "Second" buttons.
• Press "Start/Stop" to start the timer. To pause it, press "Start/Stop"; press it again to resume.
• When the set time has run out, an audible signal sounds. Pressing "Start/Stop" silences the signal; pressing it again restarts the timer with the set time.
• To clear the set time, press "Minute" and "Second" at the same time.
• The timer runs on one 1.5-volt button cell (LR44). Avoid short-circuiting the battery, as it could explode. Remove empty batteries from the timer.
• To change the battery, loosen the screw on the battery cover and remove the cover. Insert the battery with the correct polarity (negative pole pointing down), press it lightly into the compartment, close the cover and re-tighten the screw.
• Dispose of used batteries in accordance with local environmental regulations.