Wadi Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Preparations
• Object of the game
• Course of the game
  • Game round
• Game turn - Basic rules
  • Actions per turn
  • Build shadoofs
  • Pumping
  • Reach shadoof
  • Water flows
  • New Round
• End of the game
• Scoring
• Remaining rules
  • Remaining rules shadoofs
  • Remaining rules for pumping
  • 2 players
• Advanced players
  • Spreading rule
  • What is easily forgotten
• Scenarios
  • Building your own scenario

Preparations

1. Use the wadi and land tiles to build up the game board according to the scenario (see Scenarios).
2. Place the water pawns at the starting points of the Wadi as indicated in the illustration. The numbers at the starting points indicate how many water pawns have to be placed there.
3. Each player chooses a colour and receives the seven shadoofs in his or her colour.
4. Determine which player will be the first to start the game. This player receives the talisman.

Components: 7 shadoofs in each of 4 colours (total 28), 21 water pawns, 1 talisman for the starter, 21 land tiles with 1 water reservoir, 11 land tiles with 2 water reservoirs, 7 land tiles with 3 water reservoirs and 17 wadi tiles.

Use the scenario shown in the rulebook (the first scenario) when playing Wadi for the first time.

Object of the game

Players try to build their shadoofs in the vicinity of the most fertile land tiles and fill the water reservoirs on these tiles.

Course of the game

The game is played in several rounds. If there are no more water pawns left in the wadi at the end of a round, the game ends.

Game round

Each round consists of the following phases:

1. All players carry out their actions.
2. The water flows.
3. The next player becomes the starter.

After all these phases have been carried out, players start a new round.

Game turn - Basic rules

This paragraph contains the basic rules of a game turn. More details can be found under Remaining Rules.

Each player has one turn per round. The starter is the first player to carry out his actions. The other players' turns are carried out clockwise.

Actions per turn

In his turn a player can carry out two actions. He can either:

• Build 1 shadoof first and then pump once (or vice versa)
• OR pump 2 water pawns.

It is allowed to carry out only 1 action or even no actions at all. After the player has carried out his actions, his turn is over. Now it is the next player's turn.

Build shadoofs

If a player chooses to build a shadoof he is allowed to:

• Build 1 shadoof on an empty land tile (without shadoof or water pawn on it).

(See also: Remaining rules shadoofs.)

Pumping

If a player chooses to pump water he is allowed to:

• Pump 1 water pawn from a wadi tile to a land tile (with no water pawn lying on it).
• Or pump 1 water pawn from a land tile to a land tile (with no water pawn lying on it).

Only a water pawn on a land or wadi tile that lies within reach of the shadoof may be pumped away. This same water pawn may only be pumped to a land tile that lies within reach of the shadoof.

Reach shadoof

A land tile or wadi tile lies within reach of a shadoof if it:

• borders directly on the shadoof horizontally or
• borders directly on the shadoof vertically or
• borders directly on the shadoof diagonally or
• is the land tile on which the shadoof is situated.

A land tile that borders on the shadoof diagonally but lies on the other side of the wadi, does not lie within reach of the shadoof.

(See also: Remaining rules for pumping.)

Illustration notes: The dashed lines indicate the reach of the shadoofs. A land tile does not lie within reach of a shadoof if it is situated on the other side of the wadi. In the pumping example, two players pump a water pawn from a wadi tile to a land tile, and one player pumps a water pawn from a land tile to a land tile.

Water flows

When all the players have had their turn, the water pawns in the wadi flow downstream:

• Water pawns always flow downstream, in the direction indicated on the scenarios.
• All water pawns on each wadi tile flow to the next wadi tile.
• Water pawns that lie on the last tile of the wadi, leave the wadi and are returned to the box.

New Round

After the water pawns have been moved, the next player (clockwise) becomes the starter. He or she receives the talisman and starts a new round.

End of the game

The game ends as soon as there is no wadi tile left with a water pawn on it at the end of the round (that is after the water has flown).

Scoring

After the game ends, players calculate their scores. Only land tiles containing a water pawn contribute to the score.

A player receives points for every land tile containing a water pawn, that lies within reach of a shadoof (see Reach shadoof). The score is calculated for each shadoof. A player adds the scores of all of his shadoofs, to reach his total score. The player with the highest score wins.

There are three types of land tiles. A land tile with only 1 water reservoir on it, represents the least fertile land. A land tile with 1 water reservoir AND a water pawn on it, counts for 1 point. A land tile with 2 water reservoirs AND a water pawn on it, counts for 2 points. A land tile with 3 water reservoirs AND a water pawn on it, counts for 3 points.

A land tile containing a water pawn can contribute to the score of more than one shadoof. Even if these shadoofs belong to the same player.

Note: Land tiles containing water pawns, but lying on the other side of the wadi, do not count.

Scoring example: Player A receives 2 points for a land tile with 2 water reservoirs and a water pawn on it, + 2 points for another land tile with 2 water reservoirs, + 1 point for a land tile with 1 water reservoir. Total: 5 points. The other land tiles within reach of shadoof A do not contain any water pawns, so they bring no points. A land tile with a water pawn on the other side of the wadi brings player A no points.

Scoring extra example: Player D receives 9 points for the upper shadoof and 8 points for the lower shadoof. Total 17 points. Player A receives 7+7=14 points. Player B receives 5 points. Player C receives 6+7+0=13 points.

Remaining rules

Remaining rules shadoofs

• A player is allowed to build only 1 shadoof per turn.
• It is not allowed to build a shadoof on a land tile with a water pawn lying on it.
• It is not allowed to build a shadoof on a land tile with a shadoof standing on it.
• It is not allowed to build a shadoof on a wadi tile.
• It is not allowed to remove a shadoof from a land tile.
• It is not allowed to move a shadoof from one land tile to another.

Remaining rules for pumping

The following rules and restrictions apply to the pumping of water pawns:

• A water pawn can only be pumped to a land tile without water pawn.
• It is not allowed to pump a water pawn from a wadi or land tile to a wadi tile.
• The same shadoof can pump more than once in a player's turn.
• A shadoof on a land tile containing a water pawn can still pump other water pawns within its reach.
• When a player builds a shadoof, it can be used to pump water pawns right away (= in the same turn).
• Water belongs to nobody. Every player can pump every water pawn that lies within reach of his shadoof.
• It is allowed to pump away a water pawn that lies on a land tile with a shadoof of another player on it.
• It is also allowed for a shadoof to pump a water pawn to a land tile (without water pawn) containing a shadoof. Even if this shadoof belongs to another player.

Illustration notes: Player D carries out 2 pump actions during his turn. Further illustrations show examples of pump actions player A is NOT allowed to carry out.

2 players

The rules of the game for 2 players are exactly the same as the rules for more players. There is only one exception:

• Each player can carry out 1 extra pump action per turn.

Advanced players

Spreading rule

In order to distribute the water evenly across the land, shadoofs have to be spread out. Therefore, advanced players have to build their shadoofs according to the next rule:

Spreading rule: A shadoof is not allowed to border on another shadoof directly, either horizontally or vertically.

Illustration note: It is not allowed to build a shadoof on the land and wadi tiles marked with a black cross.

What is easily forgotten

• The same shadoof can pump more than once during a turn.
• A shadoof standing on a land tile with a water pawn on it can still pump other water pawns within its reach.
• A land tile containing a water pawn can contribute to the scoring of more than one shadoof.
• Land tiles lying on the other side of the wadi, do not lie within reach of a shadoof.

Scenarios

The rulebook shows some scenarios to build a game board (Wadi el 'Arîsh (Egypt), Wadi al Mabraq (Saudi Arabia), Wadi al Masilah (Yemen)); the tile layouts are illustrations and are not reproduced here. More scenarios can be found at the website: www.martynf.com

Be aware: in most scenarios not all land and wadi tiles are being used.

Building your own scenario

When you have become a real Wadi expert, you might want to build your own scenarios. Here are some tips:

• A very long riverbed can make the game last longer. It might also lead to a boring game. Very short riverbeds shorten the game.
• A river bed with only 1 endpoint makes the game more difficult than a scenario with 2 or more endpoints. The first kind of scenario might lead to less possibilities to pump water pawns out of the wadi towards the end of the game.
• In a 4-player scenario it makes more fun (and it is also fairer), if each player has the possibility to build his shadoof bordering to a starting point of the wadi. You can achieve this by building a wadi with at least 3 river arms. Or you can use two river arms, starting far away from each other (not in a corner).