Tucana Builders Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Scoring Board
  • Island Boards
  • Starting Tiles
  • Path Tiles
  • Cards
  • Scoring Pad
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • Correct Connections
  • Playing the Joker Card
  • End of Round
  • Round 2
• Connecting Huts to Each Other
• Game End
• Variant for Experienced Players: Bonus Cards
• Solo Mode: Highscore Hunt

Components

• 1 scoring board
• 5 island boards
• 30 starting tiles (6 per person)
• 30 huts (10 each in yellow, red, and blue)
• 120 path tiles
• 25 scoring discs (5 per person)
• 40 cards, consisting of:
  • 12 terrain cards
  • 6 bonus cards
  • 6 starting cards
  • 11 setup cards
  • 5 joker cards
• 1 scoring pad

Scoring Board

The scoring board has 3 scoring tracks running from 0/40 to 39, one for each hut color (yellow, red, blue).

Island Boards

Each island board shows a hexagonal grid of terrain fields (sand, grass/jungle, and lava/rock) with 6 hut spaces, labeled A through F. It also shows, along its lower edge, which kinds of path tiles exist and how many of each.

Starting Tiles

30 starting tiles, 6 per person, numbered 1 to 6.

Path Tiles

120 path tiles. Each has a front side (showing a path across the terrain, sometimes with an animal on it) and a back side (a plain terrain color).

Cards

• 12 terrain cards: front shows a terrain type (sand, grass/jungle, or lava/rock); back shows the Tucana Builders logo.
• 6 bonus cards: front shows a condition (for example, "Connect huts C and F to each other") with a higher score (left) and a lower score (right), such as 8 stars / 6 stars; back shows stars.
• 6 starting cards: front shows an animal on a colored island field; back shows a cave.
• 11 setup cards: front shows a sample island layout with huts A–F marked; back shows a wrapped package.
• 5 joker cards: front shows a four-color island field; back reads "Turn over at the end of round 1."

Scoring Pad

Used at game end to total each person's score. It has one row each for the yellow, red, and blue tracks, a "MIN" row, and a star row (see Game End).

Setup

1. Place the scoring board in the middle of the play area.

2. Each person chooses a player color and places 1 scoring disc of that color on the "0/40" space of each of the 3 tracks on the scoring board. The remaining two discs of each color are used only in the variant for experienced players (see page 4). Put all discs you do not need back in the box.

3. Each person receives 1 island board, 6 starting tiles (one each numbered 1 to 6), 1 joker card, and 2 huts each in yellow, red, and blue. Lay your island board in front of you and your joker card face up next to it. You place the starting tiles and huts on your island in the following steps.

4. Shuffle the 11 setup cards face down, draw 1 of them, and lay it face up next to the scoring track for everyone to see. Then place the huts on your hut spaces A to F according to that card. They mark the villages on your island.

5. Shuffle the 6 starting cards into a face-down stack. One person draws the top card and lays it face up next to the setup card / scoring board. Then everyone places their starting tile "1" on the island field showing the pictured animal. Make sure the dock on your tile is oriented the same way as on the printed island field on your island board. Draw the next card and do the same with starting tile "2". Keep going until all 6 starting cards are revealed and all 6 starting tiles are placed.

   Example: The 1st starting card shows the yellow fish. Place all your starting tiles "1" on your island field with the yellow fish. Pay attention to which corner the dock must be on.

6. Once you have finished preparing your islands in steps 4 and 5, you can put the starting cards and all setup cards (including the face-up one) back in the box. You will not need them for this game.

7. Shuffle the 120 path tiles face down and place them as a shared supply next to the scoring board. Note: The lower edge of your island board shows which kinds of path tiles exist and how often each occurs.

8. Choose a lead player, who will be responsible for revealing the terrain cards during the game. This person shuffles the 12 terrain cards and places them as a face-down stack next to their island board.

9. Place the scoring pad at the edge of the play area. You will only need it at the end of the game.

10. For your first game: Put the bonus cards back in the box. You only need them for the variant for experienced players (see page 4).

Gameplay

A game runs over 2 rounds. Each round consists of 12 turns. At the end of each round you carry out a scoring and receive, for each hut, as many points as there are animals and toucans connected to it in the same color. Whoever has scored the most points after 2 rounds wins.

Each turn proceeds as follows:

1. Reveal a terrain card: If you are the lead player, reveal the top card of the terrain card stack, announce the shown terrain out loud, and lay the card face up so that it covers any terrain cards already revealed in earlier turns.

   Example: The lead player reveals a card with the terrain "sand." Irina draws a puma tile and places it on the sand field next to the yellow hut on her island board, so that the puma is connected to the hut.

2. Place path tiles: All players simultaneously draw 1 path tile at random from the supply and reveal it. Place it on a free field of your choice on your island board that matches the terrain shown on the current terrain card. You do not need to place it adjacent to huts or other tiles. You may rotate the tile however you like. You may not put a tile back into the supply in order to draw a different one instead. IMPORTANT: You do not have to continue the paths of adjacent tiles (though it is advisable to).

Correct Connections

In Tucana Builders, the goal is to build clever connections. A connection is a continuous path between an animal and a hut. A hut always marks the end of a path. Paths are never continued through huts. Note the number of approach paths that exist between the huts and their neighboring island fields:

• Hut B has 2 approach paths.
• Huts A, C, E, and F have 3 approach paths.
• Hut D has 4 approach paths.

At the end of each round you receive points for every animal on your island that is connected to a hut of the same color by a path.

• Pumas score 1 point for each yellow hut they are connected with.
• Snakes score 1 point for each red hut they are connected with.
• Monkeys score 1 point for each blue hut they are connected with.
• Toucans score 1 point for every hut they are connected with.

Playing the Joker Card

Once per round you may decide to play your joker card. If you play your joker card, turn the card face down. Then place your current path tile on any free terrain field of your choice, instead of following the terrain card's instruction. At the end of round 1, i.e. after the first 12 turns, turn all face-down joker cards face up again, so that they are available to everyone again for round 2. So each person can use their joker card at most twice per game.

End of Round

The round ends once you have revealed the 12th terrain card and placed your 12th path tile. Now the scoring takes place. Start with the two yellow huts and score each hut for each person as follows:

• 1 point for each connected toucan,
• 1 point for each connected puma.

Advance your scoring disc on the yellow scoring track 1 space forward for each point you earn with your yellow huts.

Then do the same for the red huts (1 point per toucan or snake) and then for the blue huts (1 point per toucan or monkey).

If you reach more than 39 points in a color, move your scoring disc back to space "0/40" and add 40 points to your result. IMPORTANT: If an animal is connected to both huts of its color, it counts twice (1 point per hut). If a toucan is connected to 2 or more huts, it counts 1 point for each of those huts.

Example: After round 1, Klaus has 1 puma and 3 toucans connected to hut D (4 points) as well as 3 pumas and 3 toucans connected to hut F (6 points). He therefore moves his scoring disc on the yellow track 10 spaces forward. The puma and the toucan on the left between huts E and F score no points for yellow, because the path they are on is not connected to a yellow hut and ends at the red hut.

Round 2

Once you have finished scoring after round 1, carry out the following preparations:

• Turn joker cards face up again, if they were turned over.
• The lead player shuffles all terrain cards and forms a new, face-down stack next to their island board.

Then play another 12 turns following the same rules as in round 1. At the end of round 2, score all your huts again as described above. On each scoring track, keep counting onward from the position you reached at the end of round 1.

Example: Klaus scored 10 points with his yellow huts in round 1; at the end of round 2 that's 12 more points. He therefore moves his scoring token from the 10 to the 22.

Connecting Huts to Each Other

There are no extra points for connecting huts to each other. It can still be worthwhile to do so, though, since it lets animals on the path score twice — once for each connected hut of the same color. Note that toucans count for all huts they are connected with. And do not forget that huts are always the end point of a path, so the path cannot continue past a hut!

Game End

The game ends after the round 2 scoring. Use the scoring pad to work out the total score for each person. In rows 1 to 3, enter the score reached in the corresponding color (matching each track's result on the scoring board). In row 4, enter the lowest of those three values once more.

Note: If you scored 0 points in a color, that is your lowest value. In that case you also enter a "0" in row 4.

Now total each person's points. Whoever has scored the most points overall wins! If there is a tie, the person with the highest value in row 4 wins. If there is still a tie, everyone involved shares the win.

Note: Row 5 is used only in the variant for experienced players (see below). Skip that row if you are playing without the variant.

Example: Irina wins the tiebreak against Sebastian, since her lowest value is higher (13 vs. 10).

Variant for Experienced Players: Bonus Cards

Once you have played a few games of Tucana Builders, we recommend trying this variant. It adds new challenges and more interaction to the game.

Change to setup: Shuffle the 6 bonus cards face down, draw 2 of them, and lay them face up next to the scoring board. Put the remaining 4 bonus cards back in the box. Take the 2 extra scoring discs of your player color and place them next to your island board.

Change to gameplay: Each bonus card shows a condition to score it. The first person (or persons) to fulfil the condition places 1 of their extra scoring discs on the star next to the higher (left) value of the corresponding bonus card. Everyone who fulfils the condition at a later point places their scoring disc on the star next to the lower (right) value on the bonus card. Each condition can be fulfilled by each person only once.

Change to game end: For each person, total the points earned from the bonus cards and enter the sum in row 5 of the scoring pad. Only then calculate the total score for each person.

Example: Klaus and Sebastian connect huts C and F as the first to do so, and in the same turn. They may therefore both place 1 of their scoring discs on the star next to the 8 on the bonus card. At game end they receive at least 8 bonus points (more, if they were also able to fulfil the condition of the 2nd bonus card).

Solo Mode: Highscore Hunt

If you would like to play entirely alone, the rules apply as described above, including the bonus cards from the variant for experienced players, with the following changes:

For the bonus cards, you get the higher value only if you fulfil the condition in round 1. If you only manage it in round 2, you get the lower value instead.

If you have not fulfilled the conditions of both bonus cards by the end of the game, you lose and score no points. Otherwise, total all your points.

Try to reach as high a score as possible. Then check the table below to see how well you did.

Score	What they say about you in Tucana
<40	"We'd sink you in the next volcano, but that wouldn't get rid of the disgusting smell either."
40-49	"Thanks to you, 'monkey crap' has a new name."
50-59	"If you were an ice cream flavor, you'd be vanilla with bird droppings."
60-69	"Tidy, but the invertebrates on these islands have more backbone than you."
70-79	"Delicious! The snakes would love to eat you."
80-89	"Congratulations, you've won a piranha pedicure."
90-99	"Your elegant handling of these paths is a great inspiration to all of us."
100-109	"Feasts are held in your honor across the whole island group."
110-119	"Listen closely! The wind is singing your name... and praising your intelligence."
120-129	"We're making you Chief of all Tucana!"
>129	"Are you sure you're not a deity? Your intellect certainly isn't of this world."

Thanks to all external testers, especially Lin Heidi Isaksen, Marianne Ringås, Maija Buvarp, Geir André Wahlquist, Robert Grønås, Sturla Kristoffer Naas Johansen, and Silje Bjørge.