Vulkan!
Vulkan! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Material
Uses Feurio! material.
- 48 water loads in four colors
- 36 forest tiles
- 1 set of rules
The forest tiles display a number between 1 and 6 - high numbers indicate a fiercer fire. Each forest tile also has one to three spaces on which a water load can be dropped. All forest tiles also display a "0" on the back.
Set-Up
Each player takes all the water loads of one color. The forest tiles are placed face-up on the table creating a compact surface where each forest tile is adjacent to a least two other forest tiles.
The oldest player turns over a forest tile which is enclosed on all six edges - this tile now displays a ring of fire representing a volcano.
The player on the oldest players’s left then executes the first game turn. Play then continues clockwise.
A game turn
First the player must drop water loads. Then, extinguished and isolated forest tiles are distributed to the players as reward.
Drop water loads
The player flies in a straight line over a row of connected forest tiles.
He drops one water load on each forest tile in his flight path still having a free space, as long as he still has water loads left. A player is allowed to continue flying over a row of connected forest tiles even if he runs out of water loads. Players are not allowed to fly over the volcano. Players must choose a flight path that will allow them to drop at least one water load. A player without any water loads left misses his turn.
Figure: Green flies over two forest tiles and extinguishes the "2" (having two free adjacent edges) - Green gets the "2", because he has the majority on it. Blue flies over three tiles but doesn't extinguish any of them.
Extinguish fire
Each forest tile where all spaces are occupied by water loads is considered extinguished if the forest tile has at least two free edges adjacent to each other. The player having the most water loads on an extinguished forest tile gets this tile as a reward. In case of a tie the forest tile always goes to the player who executed the current flight - wether he has any water loads on the tile or not.
As long as fires are extinguished this way the appropriate forest tiles are distributed among the players having the majority. All water loads on extinguished tiles are removed from the game.
Figure: Yellows fills the last space on the "4" but doesn't extinguish it because it has only one free edge. Red extinguishes the "3" and gets the tile because, as the current flyer, he wins all ties.
Isolate fire
Any forest tile not connected to the volcano, either directly or through a chain of other tiles, does not pose any threat to the firefighters on the ground and will be extinguished in the same turn it became isolated.
Any isolated forest tile goes to the player having the most water loads on it. In case of a tie, the forest tile goes to the player who executed the current flight.
Any isolated forest tiles without water loads are removed from the game.
All water loads on an isolated forest tile awarded to a player are removed from the game.
End of the game
The game ends when none of the players are able to execute a valid flight.
Scoring
Each player adds up the numbers on the forest tiles awarded to him. The player with the highest sum wins. In case of a tie, the tied player who has the fewest water loads sitting on the remaining forest tiles wins.
Figure: Examples for allowed and forbidden flights.
Figure: Green's flight ends immediately after crossing the "6"! The "4" is not yet extinguished because the two free edges are not adjacent.
Figure: Blue extinguishes and gets the "5". Now the "4" has three free edges adjacent to each other and is also extinguished. Because it is tied, it goes to Blue as the current flyer. As a result of this flight and the resulting tiles awarded to Blue, he has also isolated the three forest tiles below - which are now immediately extinguished. The "4" is removed from the game. The "3" is awarded to Yellow and the "6" goes to Blue because he wins the tie.
Vulkan! with 2 players
Each player gets all the water loads of two colors - he may use only one of these colors per turn. In this game the majority on a forest tile is decided by the individual color of the water loads dropped.
Ex.: A player using Red and Yellow does not have the majority on a forest tile "5" if a red and a yellow water load was dropped there - on this tile there is a tie! If this tile is isolated on another player's turn, the tile is awarded to the opponent because the colors are tied on the forest tile!
Vulkan! as a solitaire game
The player gets all water loads of all colors - he still may use only one of these colors per turn.
The player wins the solitaire game if all forest tiles are extinguished or isolated and if he is able to gather all the tiles (except the volcano). If a forest tile is isolated during the game without having any water loads on it, the player loses.
Vulkan! as a cooperative game
Here the rules are the same as for two to four players, but the goal of the game is switched to that of the solitaire game.
Vulkan! with 3 players
When playing with three players each player gets four water loads of the remaining color. On his turn, a player may either place water loads of his own color only or water loads of the fourth color only.
Whenever the fourth color has the majority on a extinguished or isolated forest tile, the forest tile is awarded to the player who executed the current flight.