Tropichaos
Tropichaos Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 48 Fruit Chips (16 each): Kiwi, Mango, Pomegranate (front shows points for each season; back is a common pattern)
- 12 Season Chips (front and back)
- 1 Bag
- 1 Season Board
- 5 Chip Stands
- 10 Deduction Chips
- 1 Season Marker
- Game Manual
1. Game Objective
Players are fruit vendors trying to sell their fruit in each fruit's peak season, but no one knows when the seasons will change. You can keep up to 5 fruit. Will you play it safe and sell before the season passes you by or will you risk it by stockpiling fruit that isn't in season yet and sell them all at once? The player that earns the most points from selling their fruit is the winner.
2. Set-up
- Place the season board in a location that is easy for all players to see. Then place the season marker on the space in the upper left marked with an "S".
- Place the deduction chips in a location that all players can reach.
- Each player takes a chip stand and places it in front of them with the green side on their left and the pink side on their right. Return any leftover chip stands to the box as they will not be used.
- Put all of the fruit chips and season chips into the bag and mix well.
- Take out 3 chips from the bag, and line them face up in the middle of the play area. This is called the "Market".
- If a season chip or 3 of the same type of fruit are drawn from the bag, please redraw until there are 3 chips and at least 2 different kinds of fruit.
- Choose a starting player.
- In this game turns are taken clockwise in order from the starting player. The last player and the second to last player in the turn order each take 1 chip from the bag, and place them in their starting hand. When placing chips in your hand, place them into the chip stand so that the other players cannot see the front of your chips.
- If a season chip is drawn, reveal it and then return it to the bag. Keep drawing until a fruit chip appears.
When playing a 2-player game: The player that isn't the starting player takes 1 chip.
(Diagram labels: (1) season board, (2) season marker, (3) chip stands, (4) deduction chips, (5) Market, (7) starting hand placed in the chip stand — color doesn't matter when placed in your hand — and the starting player marker.)
3. Taking Turns
On your turn you must either "(1) Take" or "(2) Sell". If you have 5 chips in your hand when your turn comes, you can only "(2) Sell".
(1) Take
Choose 1 of the 3 chips in the market and add it to your hand. Place it in your chip stand so that only you can see the front.
Take 1 chip from the bag and place it face up in the previous chip's location.
Overstocked
After replenishing the previous chip, if there are 3 of the same type of fruit in the market, it becomes overstocked. The player that took the fruit during that turn receives 1 deduction chip. Then, you must exchange the fruit chips in the market with any fruit chip from your hand, except for the fruit that is overstocked, ensuring that there are at least 2 different types of fruit chips in the market. Each deduction chip reduces your score by 1 point during the score calculation.
Advancing the Season
After replenishing the previous chip, if a season chip appeared, move the season marker on the season board to the next space and continue the season. Remove that season chip from the market, take out a new chip, and place it in the market.
If season chips keep appearing, repeat this process.
(2) Sell
You earn points by selling the fruit chips in your hand. The points are determined by the season in which you sell, and it is different depending on the type of fruit. The numbers and their colors shown at the top of the chips tell you the points for each season for that fruit (Spring, Summer, Autumn, each shown in its own color).
If you sell a kiwi in spring it's worth 2 points and worth 1 point in other seasons. Mangos are worth 2 points in summer and 1 point in other seasons. Pomegranates are worth 3 points in autumn and 0 points in other seasons.
If you have an even number of chips in your hand (2 or 4), you can choose to sell half of them or all of them. (You can choose which chips you want to sell.) If you have an odd number of chips in your hand (1, 3, or 5), you must sell all of them.
The season marker on the season board indicates the current season.
(Diagram caption: "When the season marker is in the spring area".)
4. Ending the Game and Calculating the Score
Once the season marker reaches the final space, the game ends. Players add up the points of the face-down chips in front of their chip stand for each season. Your final score is the total of these points minus the number of deduction chips you have. Any chips left in your hand will not become points or deductions.
| Sold in Spring | Sold in Summer | Sold in Autumn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiwi | 2 points | 1 point | 1 point |
| Mango | 1 point | 2 points | 1 point |
| Pomegranate | 0 points | 0 points | 3 points |
The player with the most points is the winner.
In case of a tie, the player that sold the most fruit chips is the winner. If it's still tied, the player with fewer deduction chips wins. If it's still tied after that, the player that took their turn the latest is the winner.