Tulip & Rose
Tulip & Rose Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 84 Flower Cards
- 15 Special Orders cards (used in a variant - see page 10)
- 90 Coins (30 x 1 florin, 20 x 5 florins, 20 x 10 florins and 20 x 20 florins)
- 25 Special Cards: 15 Weeds, 2 Fertilizers, 2 Wandering Cows, 2 Bees, 2 Watering Networks, 1 Watering Can, 1 Well.
- 5 Player Aid cards
- 10 Loan Tiles
- 5 Merchant cards
- 1 Rulebook
Anatomy of the Cards
Flower cards show the flower's name, how many flowers of this type are there in the game, and its Starting Value (if there are two numbers, the first is for Day 1 and the second for Day 2).
Special cards show the card's name, its ability, the minimum number of players required to use this card, and its Starting Value (if there are two numbers, the first is for Day 1 and the second for Day 2).
Merchant cards show the merchant's name, their ability, and their Priority Number, along with their Additional Income.
Setup
Each player receives 1 Merchant card, 1 Player Aid, and an initial capital of 25 florins (for example you can give each player 4 coins worth 5 florins and 5 coins worth 1 florin).
The remaining coins are placed in a pile at the center of the table, along with the loan tiles.
Each flower or special card indicates at its bottom the minimum number of players needed so it can be used in the game. Depending on the number of players, remove the following cards:
- 3 Players: Hibiscus - Hydrangeas - Carnations - 11 special cards
- 4 Players: Carnations - 6 special cards
In addition, for your first game we recommend to remove the Weeds (Represented by the Dandelion) cards.
Shuffle the remaining cards to create a deck, which you place at the center of the table.
The Game in Detail
The game is played in two days, and each day is divided into rounds (1 round for each player). In each round there is an active player (seller), starting in the first round with the player with the lowest priority number, continuing in the next round with the player with the next highest, and so on. The active player of each round has the opportunity to sell their flowers to the other players. In each round, the following steps are performed in order:
1. Receive income
At the beginning of the active player's round, all players receive income. This income comes from various sources:
- From their merchant: Each player collects coins depending on the number in the lower right corner of his merchant's card.
- From their flowers: Some of the flowers offer income, which is shown in the lower right corner of the card.
- From their special cards: There are some cards that offer income shown on their lower right corner or through their ability.
2. Reveal flower cards
After receiving income, the active player begins to reveal cards from the deck, one at a time, until the sum of their starting values is equal to 20 or 21. If the sum exceeds 21, the active player must discard one or more of the revealed cards so that the ones remaining in front of him/her have a sum of 20 or 21.
Note: some cards have two starting values, i.e. 4/3. This means that the first value applies for the first day, and the second value for the second day.
If the deck is depleted at some point (rare case), shuffle the discarded cards to create a new deck.
3. Create bouquets
When the active player has finished revealing cards, the Player splits the cards that just got revealed into one to three "bouquets". Each bouquet can contain any number of cards (even just one), and any combination of types (even just one). The active player must place all the cards in bouquets, and is not allowed to keep some of them for himself/herself. Once the creation of the bouquets is finished, they are put up for auction, one after the other, in the order that the active player prefers.
4. Auctions
When the active player offers a bouquet for auction, each of the other players (without any specific order) can bid for it by saying (preferably loudly) how many florins he offers for it. The minimum bid is the sum of the starting values of the cards of the bouquet (if the sum is negative or 0, then the minimum bid is 1). There is no limit to the number of bids a player can make for a bouquet. Players keep calling their bids until only one remains.
The active player, also a collector like the rest, may decide to keep the auctioned bouquet for their collection. In this case, instead of taking money, the active player gives the high-bidder half the value of the winning bid (rounded up) as compensation, and adds the cards to their own collection (face-up in front of him/her). If the active player decides not to keep the bouquet, then the bidder gives the winning bid's money to the active player and adds the bouquet cards face-up to their collection.
When the auction of one bouquet is completed, the auction of the next one immediately begins, in exactly the same way. When all the auctions are completed, then begins the round of the player with the next highest priority number.
Example: Player A puts up for auction a bouquet of 2 Gerberas and 1 Tulip (with a total initial value of 8 coins). Players B and C bid for it. Player A can give the bouquet to the high-bidder player B and get the florins player B offered, or Player A can keep the bouquet, giving the bidder an amount of money equal to half of the value of the winning bid (rounded up).
Loans
Money is never enough! A player may place a bid for a bouquet but not have enough money to pay for it. In this case, if he/she has to pay for the bouquet, he/she must get a loan (or loans). Each loan immediately yields 20 florins, as well as a loan tile. Each player can get up to 2 loans in the course of the game. At the end of the game, each player loses 30 points for each loan tile he/she holds. If a player has already taken two loans, then the Player can't bid for more than the money he/she already has.
End of the Game and Scoring
The game ends after the end of 2 days (during each day, all players will become sellers once).
At the end of the game, players earn points for the flowers they acquired, for the coins they collected, and for the special orders they fulfilled (see variations), and will lose points due to loans and weeds (see variations).
As shown in the player aid cards, the more identical flowers of one type a player has, and the more different types of flowers he/she gathered, the more points the player will get. Each flower card is calculated for both cases. In addition, each remaining coin earns 1 point.
Finally, some special cards give points, either directly (Watering Network), or through their abilities.
On the other hand, players lose 30 points for each loan they have taken, and for all the weeds they unfortunately collected (variation).
The player with the most points is the winner. In the event of a tie, the winner is the player with the most coins.
Scoring example: A player has: 1 Orchid, 2 Lilies, 1 Anemone, 4 Gerberas, 11 Roses, 2 Carnations, 37 Coins, a watering network and 1 loan.
Score = 36 (6 different flowers) + 1 (Orchid) + 4 (Lilies) + 1 (Anemone) + 16 (Gerberas) + 121 (Roses) + 4 (Carnations) + 37 (Coins) - 30 (1 loan) + 25 (watering network) = 215 points.
Special Cards
Fertilizer: Choose a type of flower that you have in your possession. This card counts as two cards of this flower. It is assigned to a flower at the end of the game.
Well: In each round (not just yours), when receiving income, all other players must give you a coin (if they have one).
Watering Network: At the end of the game, this card gives you 15 points. (In 4+ players games, there's another one that gives 25 points).
Bee: Choose any type of flower, whether you own it or not. This card counts as a card of this flower.
Wandering Cow: This card gives you a lot of extra points at the end of the game. Discard 1 to 7 flower cards (any) from your collection. For each card you discard, you earn 10 points.
Watering Can: This card gives you four florins in each round, but it is not considered a flower. Alternatively, the player who gets this card can immediately discard it to gain 9 florins.
The Merchants
- Jan (income 2): He can keep one of the flower cards he is about to auction for free, as long as its starting value is no more than 3 florins.
- Engel (income 2): At the end of the game, Engel chooses a flower card from the ones left in the deck, and adds it to his collection.
- Peter (income 3): When he reveals flower cards, Peter stops when the sum of the starting values of the flowers reaches 22 or 23.
- Helena (income 4): Helena can create 4 instead of 3 bouquets in each of the 2 rounds where she will be the active player.
- Johan (income 4): He can place a bid which is equal to another player's. If no one else places a higher bid, then Johan wins the auction.
Variants
Weeds (Dandelion)
Weeds are cards with a negative starting value, and each player at the end of the game loses points depending on the number of weeds in his possession. Weed cards are not considered flower cards and do not generate winning points due to the variety of species like other flowers, nor can they be eaten by a Wandering Cow.
Each merchant at the end of the game loses points from the weeds according to the table below:
| Weeds | Points | Weeds | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -5 | 9 | -81 |
| 2 | -11 | 10 | -95 |
| 3 | -18 | 11 | -110 |
| 4 | -26 | 12 | -125 |
| 5 | -35 | 13 | -140 |
| 6 | -45 | 14 | -155 |
| 7 | -56 | 15 | -170 |
| 8 | -68 |
Special Orders
All players receive secretly three special order cards at the beginning of the game, which give them an extra chance to earn points at the end of the game. Each card lists some types of flowers and shows how many of these does the merchant need at the end of the game in order to satisfy this order and earn 15 victory points. In addition, each card shows at its bottom the minimum number of players required to be used in the game.
Each flower card can be used to fulfill only one special order card, so if a player has two cards asking for, let's say, two roses each, then to achieve both goals, the player must have 4 roses available at the end of the game, not 2.
6th Player
The game can be played with 6 players with the following modifications:
- The 6th player gets 5 florins from their character in the income phase, at the beginning of each round, without having any additional ability.
- Players open cards until they reach or pass the starting value sum of 17-18, instead of 20-21, which is used in a 3-5 player game.
- If playing with variant: special orders, shuffle the 15 special orders and secretly deal 2 to each player.
FAQ
Can the bee be used for special orders? No.
How many fertilizer cards can each type of flower get? Only one.
Is a player forced to get a loan in order to pay a coin to the owner of a well if he has no coin? No, it is not necessary as players can pay through their current income.
Can the fertilizer contribute to accomplishing special orders? No.
Having reached more than 21 regarding the sum of the starting values, can the active player choose to discard a card or cards, so that the total sum of starting values is less than 20? Yes.
If all the cards that Jan (player #1) reveals as a seller have starting values greater than 3, can he use his special ability (to keep a card with starting value more than 3)? No, he can't.
What happens when there is no bid for a bouquet? The active player must keep the bouquet for free.
Do players score their 2nd, 3rd, etc set of different flowers? No. Players score only their biggest set of flowers.
Can a player increase their own highest bid before the auction is finished to prevent the active player to keep the bouquet? Yes.
Are special order cards, flower or special cards or money open information? Special orders are dealt secretly and are revealed at the end of the game. Flower cards and Special cards are placed face up in front of every player, when acquired. Money is open information. You can yet play with hidden money as a variant.