Applejack Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• The Game Material
• The Aim of the Game
• Game Setup
  • Orchards
  • Honey
  • Harvest board and die
  • Initial honey
  • Tree tiles
• How to Play the Game
  • Your turn
    • 1. Select a tree tile or draw blindly
    • 2. Pay for the tree tile or turn it on the pasture side
    • 3. Placing the tree tile
    • 4. Collecting honey reward
    • 5. Move the Applejack
• The Harvests
• The Blossom Scoring
• End of the Game
• The Final Scoring
• Optional Rules
  • Individual orchards
  • Apple tiles
  • Additional tree tile
• Solo Rules
  • Campaign
• Turn Overview
• A Short History of the Apple
• Credits

The Game Material

• 100 tree tiles (Back: pastures / Front: trees)
• 7 apple tiles (only needed for the variant »Apple tiles«)
• 4 double-sided orchards (A-side is used for the base game, B-side is used for the variant »Individual orchards«)
• 2 double-sided harvest boards (for the game with 2 and 3 players respectively; the other side for the game with 4 players and the solo game)
• 148 honey chips (108 drops, 28 honeycombs, 12 honey jars)
• 1 die (the Applejack)
• 1 rulebook
• 1 score pad

The Aim of the Game

The player with the most honey wins the game. You will collect honey by skillfully placing tree tiles in your orchard and through regular apple harvests. After 19 turns each player will have a full orchard and will participate in final scoring.

Game Setup

We will first explain the game to you for 2 to 4 players. The solo rules can be found on page 10.

Orchards

Each of you gets an orchard. Place it in front of you with the A-side up. Excess orchards are not needed and are taken out of the game. The beehives in the corners of the A-side have the same values on all orchards. The B-side is only needed for the variant »Individual Orchards«.

Honey

Spread the honey chips unsorted on the side of your playing area.

Harvest board and die

Put the harvest board matching the number of players in the middle of the table. Turn the die to 1 and place it on the starting space.

Initial honey

Determine randomly who starts the game. This player starts with 16 honey in their personal supply.

• In a game for two, the second player receives 20 honey.
• In a game for three players, the second player receives 19 and the third receives 22 honey.
• In a game of four players, the second player receives 18, the third receives 20, and the fourth receives 22 honey.

Tree tiles

Shuffle the tree tiles and place them pasture side up in reach of all players. They form the general supply.

Now from this supply place 2 revealed (tree side up) tiles each in the seven troughs of the harvest board.

How to Play the Game

Each player takes a complete turn in clockwise order. The player order does not change during the game. You can always tell whether it's your turn by the space on which the die is currently located.

It's the 1st player's turn when the die is on the 1-space. Player 2 always takes the turn on the 2, player 3 on the 3 and finally player 4 on the 4.

Your turn

Your turn consists of 5 steps that you perform one after the other:

1. Select a tree tile or draw blindly

Look at the space with the die. You choose 1 tree tile that is located in one of the two troughs next to this space. Alternatively, you can take a hidden tree tile from the general supply. You must take a turn and cannot pass.

Note: During the die's first cycle around the board, it is still obvious which »both troughs« the die is adjacent to. Gradually, the die moves further to the inside of the harvest board. Follow the tree lines to the edge of the board to make sure you are choosing tree tiles from the correct troughs. The trees are illustrated in a straight line, even if they are not connected by lines.

2. Pay for the tree tile or turn it on the pasture side

In order to place a tile with its tree side facing up in step 3, you have to pay its price in honey now. The purchase price is indicated on the tile in the beehives. It is noted several times on many tiles. Pay the price as if it were only on the tile once. If you don't want to or can't pay the price, turn the tile to the pasture side. You then immediately receive 2 honey but have to place the tile with the pasture side up in step 3.

The purchase price of a tree tile is indicated by the number in the beehives (e.g. 5), no matter how often the number is present there.

If you turn a tree tile to the pasture side, you will immediately receive 2 honey. However, the tile offers no further advantages for you.

3. Placing the tree tile

Place the newly acquired tree tile on any free field in your orchard. Tree tiles do not have to be placed next to existing tree tiles.

4. Collecting honey reward

Check the edges of the newly placed tile. See if you connected two beehives. Then immediately receive the lower of the two numerical values in honey. Occasionally, when you lay a tree tile, you may have connected multiple beehives. In this case you get the lower number of each connection in honey!

In the corners of your orchard you will also find beehives with numbers in it. You can use these — just like the ones on your tiles — to make beehive connections.

Whenever you connect two beehives when laying a tree tile, you receive the lower number of the two connected beehives in honey. For example, connecting a 4 and a 5 gives you 4 honey.

5. Move the Applejack

Move the die clockwise by one position on the harvest board. Keep the following in mind:

Harvesting: If you cross one or two of the apples when moving the die, interrupt the game briefly. Each of you will then receive honey for apples of certain varieties (see »The harvests«).

The die moves first over the light green and then over the red apple. You first harvest (see p. 6) the light green apple variety. Then you carry out a harvest for the red apple variety.

Replenishment: If the die only provides a maximum of 1 tree tile to choose from in the two troughs that are next to it after moving, then please add exactly 1 new tree tile to each of the seven troughs. Start with the trough which follows the die clockwise. There is no limit to how many apple tiles may lay in any single trough.

When the die reaches a space and there is only 1 tree tile left in the two neighbouring troughs, immediately fill each trough with a tile from the supply, starting with the trough following the die. All tiles are placed with the tree side up.

New circulation: If the die is on the innermost space of the harvest board at the end of a turn, please move it back to the starting space across the bridge. Perform a blossom scoring then (see »The blossom scoring«). The blossom symbol on the harvest board reminds you of this special scoring. Finally turn the die one pip higher.

When the die has reached the innermost space of the harvest plan move it back to the starting space across the bridge, then perform a blossom scoring and afterwards turn the die one pip higher.

The Harvests

Whenever the die crosses one or two of the apples when moving along the harvest board, all players collect honey. The colour of the apple shows you which kind of apple is ripe for harvest. If two colours are shown, both varieties are harvested separately, one after the other.

This is how you determine the crop yield:

Look at the tree tiles on your harvest board that match the harvest. If these tiles are connected, they form an area. An area may consist of only one tile. In each of these areas, add up all the apples of the variety that is harvested. Subtract the number of pips on the die from the sum. If you are above zero, you will immediately receive the result in honey. If you are below or equal to zero, nothing happens; you do not have to pay a penalty!

Example (light green harvest): The die moves over the light green and then over the red apple. You first harvest the light green apple variety. Then you carry out a harvest for the red apple variety. You harvest the light green apples. You have two areas where tiles with these apples are connected. You count 2 light green apples on the top and 3 light green apples on the bottom. From this you subtract the number of pips of the die (1) from each area. You will receive 1 honey from the top and 2 honey from the bottom, totaling 3 honey as your crop yield.

Example (red harvest): It's the second journey of the die: You harvest the red apples. The 3 red apples each lie on adjacent tree tiles and form an area. So you count 3 red apples and subtract the number of pips on the die (2). You will receive 1 honey as your crop yield. (If there was a light green apple shown on this tile you could have harvested 6 apples in the area. So, your crop yield would have been 5 honey after subtracting the pips from the die.)

The Blossom Scoring

The die will travel back to the starting space across the bridge twice during the course of play. Each time this happens carry out blossom scoring; once during the first loop and twice during the second one according to the number of pips showing on the die. This means that each of you gets paid as much honey as you have blossoms on your tree tiles. The blossoms do not have to be adjacent and form contiguous areas as the apples! You also do not subtract the number of pips of the die.

The die moves across the bridge back onto the starting space and passes the blossom symbol. You score the blossoms. You do this twice because the die shows two pips. After blossom scoring, turn the die one pip higher.

All blossoms are counted, even if they are not connected. The number of pips of the die is not subtracted. For example, with 3 + 1 = 4 blossoms you receive 4 honey. When you carry out the blossom scoring twice as in the example, you receive 4 honey twice, totaling 8 honey.

From time to time during the first time the die circles around the plan, you will be in a situation that you can't afford a tile which you want to buy. In such a situation you will have to decide in which direction you want to develop your orchard. After the first blossom scoring this isn't so much of a problem anymore. You are more and more able to afford the tree tiles you want to have. So you can fill your orchard in the way you have chosen before without a lack of honey.

End of the Game

The game is over as soon as all players have completely filled their orchard. The die shows 3 pips on it and has reached the space with the autumn leaves (end of the game space).

If the die shows three pips and reaches the end of the game space with the autumn leaves, the last player takes their final turn. After that, the game ends.

The special symbol of the end of the game space helps you to recognise when the game ends during the third time the die circles the board. There is no further meaning of this symbol.

Now perform final scoring, as shown in the example on the next page. Please use the score pad as an aid. The player who has the most honey wins. In the event of a tie, there are several winners.

The Final Scoring

1. During the final harvest, each apple variety is harvested again from brown to yellow. You subtract the number of pips of the die (-3).

2. Now double the crop yield of the last harvest. In the example the crop yield is 18 and doubled to 36 honey for your final scoring.

3. Bonus for varieties. For 4/5/6/7 different apple varieties that were profitable (meaning you scored at least one honey) in the final harvest you will receive 4/11/21/35 additional honey. In the example, all varieties except light green and yellow yielded at least one honey, granting you 11 honey as a bonus for 5 different varieties.

   Note: You must have at least 4 contiguous apples of a variety to make it profitable in the final harvest and count for the variety bonus scoring!

4. Last blossom scoring. For each blossom on your tree tiles you receive 1 honey. In the example you receive 12 honey.

5. Honey in the supply. Now add the honey in your personal supply to the final result.

Optional Rules

Individual orchards

You play with the back sides (side B) of the orchards, which are all different. Instead of only beehives, you will also find apples in the corners, which you can connect with neighbouring tree tiles and count as an apple of the respective colour during harvests.

The orange apple in the corner of the orchard may also be harvested. Here you would count 4 orange apples during a harvest.

Apple tiles

You can use the 7 apple tiles (at random or not) to cover the first 7 printed apples on the path of the harvest plan (see example). So you can change the order of the first 7 harvests.

When using the apple tiles you change the order of the first 7 harvests of the path: In this example you start with the harvest of the pink apples instead of the brown ones.

Additional tree tile

In the right corner of your orchard plan you see Applejack's cottage. At the beginning of the game place 1 additional tree tile from the supply right beside it, tree side up. When it's your turn to select a tree tile you are allowed to select this tile instead of a tile from the troughs or a tile blindly drawn. Pay for the tile as usual or turn it onto the pasture side and place it in your orchard. Then, immediately take a new tile from the trough adjacent to the die or draw from the supply. Place this tile next to Applejack's cottage. This gives you a chance to »store« a tree tile from the troughs for a later turn that you won't or can't pay for yet.

At the beginning of the game place here right beside Applejack's cottage an additional tile. When it's your turn, you may choose to place this tile and replace it with a tile from the trough or the supply.

Solo Rules

For the solo game you need the solo harvest board. As a special feature, it has a space in the middle of the board. You start with 14 honey. Only equip the seven troughs (for the time being) with 1 tree tile each instead of 2 tree tiles. Also place a tree tile on one of the three pre-printed trees next to the space in the middle of the plan.

You play by the rules of the multiplayer game with these exceptions:

If you move the die to the space in the middle of the plan, you will immediately receive honey in the amount of the openly visible honey symbols on the trees. You may now choose one of the tree tiles on the harvest board. If you have only one or no tree tiles to choose from, you immediately fill up the harvest board until there are 2 tree tiles total. Otherwise, you fill up the board like the troughs (with 1 tree tile), but a maximum of three tree tiles can be accommodated here.

If all three pre-printed trees are empty, when you reach the space in the middle of the board, you immediately receive 3 honey (the openly visible honey symbols). After that fill up the board with exactly 2 tree tiles.

There are no blossom scorings during the course of the game. That's why there is no bridge and no blossom symbol printed on this harvest board.

The game ends like in the multiplayer game: The die shows the value 3 and has reached the end of the game space (the space in the middle of the plan). Your orchard is completely filled.

Perform the final scoring in the same way as in the multiplayer game, including a blossom scoring.

Your goal is to collect 65 honey. (If you even collect 80 honey, this can be rated as an outstanding result. You receive fewer honey as in the multiplayer game because you will have less harvests and blossom scorings.)

You may use all the optional rules (»Individual orchard«, »Apple tiles« and »Additional tree tile«) in the solo game.

Campaign

You play the campaign over 4 consecutive games. After the first game you can keep 1 of the tree tiles, which you placed on your orchard, for the next game. After the second game you can keep 2 of these tiles and finally you keep 3 tiles after the third game for the fourth one. Saved tree tiles need not be the same from game to game. So the tile which you choose after the first game may be different from the 2 tiles which you choose after the second game.

At the beginning of the next game of a campaign place your saved tree tiles on the pre-printed trees next to the space in the middle of the board (instead of the random tree tile!). At the beginning of the fourth game all pre-printed trees are filled with your chosen tree tiles. Though you will only place them all on your orchard, if you always select one of these tree tiles when the die reaches the space in the middle of the board, the third one in your very last turn.

In the campaign you place the saved tree tiles on the trees at the beginning of the game, instead of the normally placed tree tile. In the solo game you may select from this trough in turn 2 and turn 4.

Turn Overview

1. Select tree tile / draw blindly. You have the choice between all the tiles that sit in the two troughs next to the space with the die. Or you can take one blindly from the supply.

2. Pay for the tree tile or turn it on its pasture side. The purchase price of a tree tile is indicated by the number in the beehives, no matter how often it is present there. If you turn a tree tile on the pasture side, you will immediately receive 2 honey.

3. Placing the tree tile. You can place the tree tile on any free field of your orchard. There is no need to place it next to an existing tree tile.

4. Collecting honey reward. Whenever you connect two beehives when placing a tree tile, you receive the lower number of the two connected numbers in honey.

5. Move the Applejack. Move the die along the path. When the die moves over the light green and then over the red apple you first harvest the light green apple variety, then you harvest the red apple variety. When the die reaches a space and there is only 1 tree tile left in the two neighbouring troughs, immediately fill each trough with a tile from the supply, starting with the trough following the die.

A Short History of the Apple

The apple as we know it is the orchard apple. It belongs to the large family of rose plants and is therefore not only related to the common roses, but also to strawberries, cherries, plums, almonds and pears. (Unfortunately the German saying of comparing apples with pears does not work here as English speakers prefer to compare apples with oranges.)

Originally, the apple probably comes from Asia and can be traced back to the Asian wild apple. In the area of today's Kazakhstan, people must have cultivated it for the first time a few thousand years ago. In fact, the name of the Kazakh city of Almaty contains the Kazakh word for apple »Alma«. It is not until the Romans that apple tree and fruit cultivation are said to have come to Western Europe.

By the way, in their language, Latin, the Romans called or better scolded the apple »malus« meaning »evil« or »evil fruit«. This may be related to the bad reputation the apple enjoys in some stories. Thus, the Greek goddess Eris is said to have thrown the so-called apple of discord between the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, marked with the inscription »For the most beautiful«. The young man Paris had to decide the subsequent quarrel of the three goddesses. He chose the goddess of love, Aphrodite, and was afterwards helped by Aphrodite to kidnap Helen, who was also very beautiful but another man's wife and apple of his eye and triggered the Trojan War. Of course, the Bible has also (supposedly) set an unedifying monument to the apple, since Adam and Eve illegally ate an apple from the tree of knowledge. Let us ignore the fact that the Bible only speaks of a »fruit«. Who doesn't believe that a tasty apple is worth being thrown out of paradise?

Due to interbreeding and finishing today, there are several thousand different types of apples, from the Abram apple to the Zohar Greening. And with multi-variety trees or family trees it is quite common for three or four of these varieties to ripen on the branches of only one tree. Yes, there are tales of a proud tree in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, that carries more than 100 different types of apples! However, this diversity has had a hard time all over the world and has threatened to disappear.

Today attempts are being made again to preserve this wide variety of apples. Among other things, the creation of meadow orchards contributes to this. The trees may and should be allowed to grow out on it. Variety is expressly desired, preferably with a regional touch. And the meadow contained plays an important role. Herbs and grasses thrive on it and it offers many animals a home: first and foremost the bees that pollinate the fruit trees. Speaking of animal visitors: In addition to hay extraction, orchards are used for livestock farming. The sheep is most suitable because it appears quieter than cattle or horses (which burdens the ground less), but loud enough to drive away voles. In addition, its dung is worth its weight in gold as it serves as a natural fertiliser and attracts insects, which in turn attract birds, which thankfully eat some tree pests…

But who the heck is this Applejack? The answer is found in the USA. The colonial settlers there made an apple brandy that was very popular for a while. For this, they left freshly fermented cider outside in the cold over the winter. The water froze into ice and was knocked off. A drink with a greatly increased alcohol content remained. Since this frosting was probably called »jacking«, they also had a suitable name for the brewage. But our Applejack, as you can see on the cover, is more a non-alcoholic taster of apples. And that fits the old saying: »An apple a day keeps the doctor away«.

Credits

© 2022 The Game Builders, Ostendorf 7, 48612 Horstmar. Design: Uwe Rosenberg. Arts: Lukas Siegmon. Layout: Björn Pollmeyer. Realisation: The Game Builders. Translation: Dirk Schröder. Distribution in Germany: Calderan, an Imprint of Kraterleuchten GmbH.