Vivarium Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Playing the Game
  • 1) Swap a Domino
  • 2) Take 1 Card or 2 Gems
  • Example
• Cards & Tokens
  • Creature Cards
  • Equipment Cards
  • Contract Cards
  • Priority Tokens
• Gems
• End of the Round
• End of the Game and Scoring
  • Scoring Example
• Adaptations for a 2-Player Game
• Contract Details
• Equipment Details
• Priority Token Details

Components

• 1 gameboard
• 48 CREATURE cards
• 16 EQUIPMENT cards
• 21 CONTRACT cards
• 4 STARTING CONTRACT cards (color)
• 4 STARTING CONTRACT cards (type)
• 9 Dominoes
• 1 1st PLAYER token
• 9 PRIORITY tokens
• 40 Gems
• 1 scorepad (each sheet can score 2 games)

Setup

1. Place the gameboard in the middle of the table.

2. Shuffle the different decks of cards separately, then fill each space on the board with a face-up card as follows:

   • 2.a • The first 2 rows with Creature cards.
   • 2.b • The 3rd row with Equipment cards.
   • 2.c • The 4th row with Contract cards.

3. Place the remainders of the decks beside the gameboard, face down as 3 distinct decks.

4. Set aside the blank Priority token (the front and back are identical). Shuffle the 8 remaining Priority tokens face down, then stack 6 of them to form a face-down deck. Return the other 2 tiles to the box, then place the blank token beside the deck. This will be the active token for the round in progress.

5. Each player receives 1 random color Starting Contract card and 1 random type Starting Contract card, which they keep face down in front of them (you can look at your own).

6. The dominoes you will use depends on the player count:

   • 4 players: Use all the dominoes.
   • 3 players: Remove the 2 dominoes bearing the first removal symbol shown in the table.
   • 2 players: Remove the 3 dominoes bearing the first and second removal symbols shown in the table.

   Each player takes 2 random dominoes. Place the remaining domino in the middle of the table, where everyone can reach it. (For a 2-player game, see Adaptations for a 2-Player Game.)

7. Each player receives 1 gem.

8. Randomly determine a 1st player, and give them the 1st Player token.

Playing the Game

Starting with the 1st player and going clockwise, each player uses their dominos to take a card from the gameboard and then:

• identify new creatures
• obtain equipment to help in their adventures
• claim new contracts that will earn victory points according to the cards they have at the end of the game.

In practice, on your turn, you must:

• Swap a domino
• Then take 1 card from the gameboard, or 2 gems.

1) Swap a Domino

You MUST swap one of your 2 dominoes with the one in the middle of the table.

2) Take 1 Card or 2 Gems

Take a card from the gameboard, respecting the following rules:

• The number on one of your dominoes must match the card's row.
• The number on your other domino must match the card's column.

Do not refill the card's space after you take it.

If you cannot take a card, or do not wish to, take 2 gems instead.

Take turns doing this until each player has had 2 turns.

NOTE: You can use the 1st Player token to remind you of which round it is (the front has a "1"; the back, "2").

Example

At the start of your turn, you have two dominoes (shown in the illustration), and there is one domino in the middle of the table.

You choose to keep domino 1-2, and swap the other for the domino in the middle of the table (a 3-4 domino).

Now you have two dominoes you must use to form a combination of two numbers. You could form any of the following:

• 1 • 3 (or 3 • 1)
• 2 • 3 (or 3 • 2)
• 1 • 4 (or 4 • 1)
• 2 • 4 (or 4 • 2)

You choose to form the combination 3•2. You take the card from row 3, column 2.

Your turn is complete. The card is not replenished. The next player clockwise takes their turn with the new domino in the middle of the table.

Cards & Tokens

Creature Cards

Each Creature card has:

• one of four types A (mineral, vegetable, animal, or dragon).
• one of four colors B that indicates the natural habitat of the creature (mountain, forest, desert, or marsh). Each color has its own icon to help colorblind people. The type and color are used for Contract cards.
• A victory point value C which is always 1 to 3 victory points.

Equipment Cards

• Each Equipment card has one of four symbols A, which could be used for certain Contract cards.
• It immediately earns the number of gems indicated B.
• It has a special ability C which either applies immediately when you take the card, or provides an endgame bonus.

Contract Cards

Your starting contracts and the contracts you collect as you play work the same way: They are personal collection objectives that will allow you to score victory points A according to the cards you have B at the end of the game. Thus, each player will earn points in different ways.

Priority Tokens

These tokens indicate the patrons' priorities, and will provide a bonus each round (except the 1st round, in which the token is blank).

During the round: The current token indicates the cards which get a bonus this round A. If you take a matching card, you immediately gain a gem B, in addition to whatever the card gives you.

At the end of the round: The player who has the most cards matching the token's criteria claims the token. It will earn them 2 victory points at the end of the game C. If it's a tie, the tied player latest in the turn order gets the token.

NOTE: There are always two Priority tokens visible: The one for the current round, and the one for the next round. Only the one for the current round is active.

Gems

Each gem you have at the end of the game will be worth 1 victory point.

During your turn, you can discard a gem to increase or decrease the value of a number on a domino by 1. You can use several gems this way at the same time, but you can neither decrease a value below 1 nor increase it above 4.

On your turn, you can take 2 gems instead of taking a card from the gameboard. If you do, you must still swap one of your 2 dominoes with the one in the middle of the table.

End of the Round

After each player has played 2 turns, the 1st player passes the 1st Player token to the left. Fill empty spaces on the gameboard from their corresponding decks. If there are not enough Equipment cards or Contract cards, fill their empty spaces with Creature cards.

Replace this round's Priority token with the next one (except in the 7th round), which becomes the new active Priority token. This also reveals the next round's token. Start a new round in the same manner, using the domino that's in the middle of the table.

End of the Game and Scoring

The game ends at the end of the 7th round.

Each player scores as follows (note your scores on the scoresheet):

• Victory points for all the creatures you've identified.
• Remaining gems (1 point each).
• Points for Priority tokens you have.
• Points awarded for completed contracts (starting contracts and contracts collected during the game). Each creature, type, color, equipment, etc. can count for several contracts.

The player with the most victory points wins the game. If there's a tie, the tied players share the victory.

Scoring Example

A player finishes with 8 Creature cards worth 12 victory points, 4 Gems worth 4 points, and 3 Priority tokens worth 6 points. Their contracts score:

Contract	Scored with	Points
4 symbols	A, B, C, D	4
3 colors	A, B, E	3
3 pairs	E + G, F + H, J + J	9
3 pairs	G + A, H + B, J + C	9
2 pairs	A + D, B + K	5
3 symbols	J, K, L	9

Creatures 12 + Gems 4 + Priority tokens 6 + Contracts 39 = TOTAL 61.

Adaptations for a 2-Player Game

During setup, place the 2 remaining dominoes in the middle of the table. Flip a random 1 of them face down. It will not be available this round. At the end of the round, flip this domino face up to become available, and flip the domino in the middle of the table face down. Look at the larger number on the newly revealed domino, and remove all of the cards from the column of that number. Otherwise, fill the gameboard as usual. Do the same thing at the end of each round (except the final round).

Contract Details

• Color contract: Gain 1 VP for each of your creatures of this color.
• Sets contract: Gain VP according to the number of sets of 4 types/colors on your cards.
• Equipment symbol contract: Gain 3 VP for each Equipment you have that has this symbol.
• Type contract: Gain 1 VP for each of your Creatures of this type.
• Contract/Equipment contract: Gain 1 VP for each Contract/Equipment you have.
• Pairs contract: Gain VP according to the number of pairs of these types/colors on your cards.
• Minimalist contract: Gain 6 VP. For each equipment you have, you lose 1 VP.

Equipment Details

• BAG: During the final scoring, this gives you 1 additional color of your choice. Gain 1 gem.
• WINESKIN: During the final scoring, this gives you the 2 types depicted. Gain 1 gem.
• BINOCULARS: You may discard 1 gem to gain the card above, below, left, or right of this card.
• CAMERA: You may discard 1 gem to draw 2 Creature cards. Keep 1 and discard the other.
• COMPASS: Draw 1 Creature card from the deck. Gain 1 gem.
• LAMP: When you obtain this, discard all of the other cards from its column. Gain 2 gems.
• MAP: Gain 3 gems.
• SHOVEL: Draw as many Creature cards as there are players. Look at them, and give 1 of these cards to each player, including yourself. Gain 1 gem.

Priority Token Details

Creature type token

• During the round: When you gain a Creature card of one of the two types indicated on this token, immediately gain 1 gem.
• At the end of the round: The player who has the most Creature cards of the 2 types indicated claims this token, which is worth 2 VP at the end of the game. If it's a tie, the tied player later in turn order gets the token.

Equipment/Contract token

• During the round: When you gain an Equipment/Contract card, immediately gain 1 gem, in addition to what the card gives you.
• At the end of the round: The player who has the most Equipment/Contract cards claims this token, which is worth 2 VP at the end of the game. If it's a tie, the tied player later in turn order gets the token.