Bubble and Shadow
Bubble and Shadow Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Objective
A game consists of a maximum of three rounds.
At the end of each round, during the resolution phase, players receive Soul Tokens based on the scoring results.
The entire game ends either at the conclusion of the third round or when any player possesses more than 5 Soul Tokens after a round.
The player with the most Soul Tokens wins.
Components
- 36 Regular Pact Cards
- 9 Special Pact Cards
- 5 Player Aid Cards (Before Resolution: Special Price Tokens Activation Order; Resolution: follow the steps below. If more than 6 Silver Coins, the excess is treated as an equal number of Bubbles. The most Bubbles is out; the fewest Silver Coins is out; the most Moons gets 1 bonus Soul Token.)
- 5 Player Screens
- 47 Main Price Tokens: 13 Moons, 13 Bubbles, 21 Silver Coins
- 21 Special Price Tokens: 3 Apples, 3 Roses, 5 Snakes, 3 Oysters, 1 Crown, 3 Palettes, 3 Chess Pieces
- 30 Soul Tokens
- 1 Bag
- 1 Game Manual
Players: 2-5. Age: 10+. Time: 30 minutes.
Set Up
- Each player randomly takes one Screen and places it upright in front of themselves.
- Shuffle all Special Pact Cards, draw 3 and place them face-up in the center of the table as Public Pact Cards. The remaining Special Pact Cards are set aside and will not be used until the next round of the game.
- Shuffle all Regular Pact Cards, each player draws 6 cards from them to form their starting hand.
- Prepare the Price Tokens for this game according to the table below:
| Number of players | Moons | Silver Coins | Bubbles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 7 | 11 | 7 |
| 3 | 10 | 16 | 10 |
| 4 | All Main Price Tokens (Total 47) | ||
| 5 | All Main Price Tokens (Total 47) + 3 Apple Tokens + 5 Snake Tokens + 3 Rose Tokens |
The remaining Price Tokens are returned to the box and will not be used in this game.
If this is your first game, it is not recommended to use Special Price Tokens (except in a 5-player game). Starting from your second game, players may agree to use Special Price Tokens to replace the same amount of Main Price Tokens of the same color. For detailed rules, see the Special Price Token section below.
- Place all selected Price Tokens into the bag and shuffle them thoroughly. Each player draws 11 tokens from the bag and conceals them behind their screen. The remaining Price Tokens are hidden in the bag—do not look inside.
- Place all Soul Tokens aside for later use.
Game Flow
A round consists of multiple turns. In each turn, one player acts as the Magician to play a pact, then choose another player as the Mortal to sign the pact. Both players complete the pact as indicated on the Pact Card. Afterwards, the chosen Mortal becomes the Magician for the next turn.
In the first round, the player whose clock on the screen is closest to the current time acts as the Magician.
Pact Card Description
The Price Tokens shown at the top and bottom of the Pact Card indicate the price that the two players in the transaction need to pay.
Example: a Pact Card showing 2 Moons on one end and 3 Silver Coins on the other represents that the two players will trade 2 Moon Tokens for 3 Silver Coin Tokens.
Making a Pact
The Magician may choose one of the following actions:
A. Play one Pact Card from hand to the front of another player, OR B. Select one Pact Card from hand, replace one Public Pact Card on the table, and immediately play that Public Pact Card in front of another player.
Then, that player becomes the Mortal.
Important: When offering a pact, the Magician must choose the player with the fewest Pacts in front of them, excluding the Magician themselves.
Signing a Pact
The Mortal chooses which end of the Pact Card to take as the price, orients it toward themselves, and returns it to the Magician's screen.
Golden rule: Mortals must choose the price they can fully pay if possible.
- If Mortals can fully pay the price on both ends of the Pact Card, they can choose either end.
- If Mortals can only fully pay one end, they must choose to orient that end toward themselves.
- If a Mortal cannot fully pay the price on either end of the Pact Card, they can choose either end.
Example: Mary plays the Pact Card from her hand and designates William as the Mortal. William does not have enough Price Tokens to pay the price on either end, so he may freely choose a direction.
Complete the Pact
Based on the orientation of the Pact Card, both players pay the indicated price to each other. They must pay truthfully and to the best of their ability. The transaction process is public, meaning other players can see the Price Tokens paid by both sides.
Note: Players place collected Price Tokens in front of their screen (not behind it), so everyone can see them clearly. Tokens both in front of and behind the screen belong to that player and count toward payments and the Golden Rule.
After completing the pact, the Mortal becomes the Magician for the next turn, the last Mortal becomes the Magician for the new turn.
Example (continued): He chooses to pay the Bubble, pointing the Bubble side toward himself and returning it to Mary. William pays Mary 2 Bubble Tokens, and Mary pays William 2 Moon Tokens. Both players place the tokens they received in front of their own screens.
End of a Round
After each player has 4 Pact Cards in front of them, the round ends and resolution is conducted immediately.
Before resolution: If Special Price Tokens are used in the game, convert them into other prices according to the rules.
After that, all players reveal every Price Token they possess and resolve in the following steps:
- If a player possesses more than 6 Silver Coins, the excess is treated as an equivalent amount of Bubbles. The player(s) with the most Bubbles no longer participate in subsequent resolution and do not score any Soul Tokens. The excess Silver Coins are only considered as Bubbles in this step, not converted into them. They are still Silver Coins and are resolved in later steps.
- The player(s) with the fewest Silver Coins (among those still in the resolution phase) score 1 Soul Token and then no longer participate in subsequent resolution.
- The player with the most Moons (among those still in the resolution phase) scores 3 Soul Tokens, while each other player still in the resolution phase scores 2 Soul Tokens. The resolution phase then ends.
Note: If only one player remains in the resolution process at the end of a step, that player immediately scores 3 Soul Tokens. And then, the round is over.
Example (Moons / Silver Coins / Bubbles): Larry 2 / 8 / 1; Charles 4 / 3 / 5; Paul 6 / 4 / 2; Philip 2 / 4 / 4; William 1 / 6 / 3.
- Larry has 8 Silver Coins and 1 Bubble Token, treated as 6 Silver Coins and 3 Bubble Tokens during resolution. Charles has the most Bubbles and immediately exits the resolution phase, scoring no Soul Tokens.
- Paul and Philip have the least Silver Coins and no longer participate in the resolution, each scoring 1 Soul Token.
- Larry holds the most Moon Tokens, gaining 3 Soul Tokens, while William gains 2 Soul Tokens.
And then, the resolution is complete.
Resolution Rules for 2-Player Games
Players reveal all the Price Tokens they possess, comparing the quantity of each type of Price Token (both players participate in all resolution steps); for each of the following conditions met, the player gains 1 Soul Token:
A. Having the most Moons (including ties) B. Having the most Silver Coins (including ties) C. Having the least Bubbles (including ties)
Fulfilling all conditions grants the player an additional Soul Token.
Note: In a 2-player game, when a player possesses more than 6 Silver Coins, the excess amount will also be considered as an equivalent quantity of Bubbles when counting Bubbles.
Prepare for a New Round
If this is not the third round, return all Price Tokens to the bag; each player draws 11 tokens again. Shuffle all Regular Pact Cards and deal 6 to each player. Draw 3 new Special Pact Cards and place them face-up in the center. The last round's Mortal becomes the starting player and begins the new round.
Special Pact Cards & Special Price Tokens
Blank Pact Card
This is a type of Special Pact Card. When the Magician plays a Blank Pact Card, they must determine the pact's content, name the missing type of price (only the Moon, Silver Coin, or Bubble may be chosen, and it cannot be the same type as the other end) and the quantity for the missing price (from 1 to 3).
Note: When the number of Pact Cards in front of a Magician reaches three, a Blank Pact Card cannot be played by that player.
Special Price Token
This game includes various Special Price Tokens, which players can use to replace Main Price Tokens (except for the Crown) during setup. Generally, special prices are considered as a type of main price and may have various effects at different times.
Some Special Price Tokens' effects will be activated before resolution, following this order: Apple, Rose, Crown, Oyster, Snake.
Before resolution, have one player act as the announcer and sequentially declare the timing at which the owner of the Special Price Token may execute its effect.
1. Chess Pieces — Replace the Bubble during game setup. The two sides of the token represent Bubble and Silver Coin respectively. When a player draws it from the bag, they may freely choose which side faces up. The piece is always treated as the price indicated by its upward-facing side. Whenever the piece is used in payment, the receiving party must immediately toss it, thereby re-determining which side faces upward.
2. Palettes — Replace the Moon during game setup. The two sides of the token represent the Moon and Silver Coin respectively. When a player draws it from the bag, they may freely choose which side faces up. The piece is always treated as the price indicated by its upward-facing side. Whenever the piece is used in payment, the receiving party must immediately toss it, thereby re-determining which side faces upward.
Note: Players may not change the orientation of either of these two prices at any other stage except when drawing from the bag or upon completing the pact and tossing it.
3. Apple — Replaces the Moon during game setup. This token is treated as a Moon during action-taking, converts into a Bubble before resolution, and remains a Bubble throughout the resolution.
4. Rose — Replaces Bubble during game setup. This token is treated as a Bubble when actions are taken, converts into a Moon before resolution, and remains a Moon throughout the resolution.
5. Crown — The Crown can be directly included during game setup without replacing any Main Price Tokens. After the game setup is complete, the player holding the Crown must place it in front of their screen. Before resolution, the player with the Crown may declare two main prices to immediately be swapped quantities (one treated as the other, and vice versa). The player with the Crown may choose to forgo this effect.
6. Oyster — Replaces Silver Coins during game setup. When signing and fulfilling a Pact, it is treated as 1 Silver Coin; before resolution, it is converted into 4 Silver Coins; during resolution, it is treated as 4 Silver Coins.
Note: Oysters are not affected by the Crown's effect.
7. Snake — Replaces Silver Coins during game setup. This token is treated as 1 Silver Coin when actions are taken and resolution. Before resolution, if you have at least 1 Snake and there is a type of Price Token that reaches 5, you must discard 5 of them (choose one if multiple qualify). If no token meets the condition, the effect does not trigger.
Note: When multiple prices meet the condition, it is not mandatory to discard the price you have the most; Snakes may be discarded as silver; if you have multiple Snakes, the effect is executed only once.
Example: Paul has 6 Moons, 2 Silver Coins (1 Snake, 1 Oyster), and 5 Bubbles. At this point, the Moons, Bubbles and Silver Coins that Paul possesses all reach at least 5 (the Oyster converted into 4 Silver Coins). He chooses to discard 5 Bubble Tokens.
Variant Rules for 3-5 Players: Complacency
If players wish to experience a more compact pace and more thrilling gameplay, they may use the below variant rules when playing.
- During setup, the number of Price Tokens each player draws is changed from 11 to 5.
- In this variant game, each round is divided into a maximum of 4 phases: when a player ends their turn, if the number of Pacts in front of all players is the same, the current phase ends.
At the end of a phase, starting from the last player who became a Mortal, players take turns in clockwise order to choose and perform one action:
Draw Price Tokens — Based on the number of Pacts in front of each player, draw new Price Tokens and conceal them behind your screen.
| Number of Pacts signed | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price Tokens drawn | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
OR Declare Satisfaction — If a player is satisfied with the current situation, they may declare satisfaction. This player temporarily leaves the game and rejoins during resolution. Other players participate in the next phase of the game, and the next phase becomes the final phase of the round. During this phase, the player who declared satisfaction does not participate and cannot be chosen by other players as Mortal.
In a round, only one player may declare satisfaction. If a player earlier in the order declares satisfaction, the remaining players may not do so. If the player who last became a Mortal declares satisfaction and leaves the game, the player who last became a Magician starts the first turn of the next phase.
Declare Satisfaction Flow:
- After Phase 1 or Phase 2: If no player chooses to declare satisfaction, all players proceed to the next phase (the next phase is not the final phase of the round). Otherwise, it will be the final phase.
- After Phase 3: Phase 4 is always the final phase of the round, regardless of whether any player chooses to declare satisfaction.
- End of Round: All players (including the declared-satisfaction player) participate in resolution as usual.