Candy Hunters Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • Advanced game: Haunted Patterns
• Gameplay
  • 1. Action: Placing a Building
  • 2. Action: Moving a Ghost
  • 3. Action: Scoring a Pattern
    • Scoring a Pattern (general)
    • Scoring a Haunted Pattern (advanced)
  • 4. Action: Exchanging a Regular Pattern
  • 5. Action: Placing a Kid (omitted on the last round)
• Game End and Scoring
• The Large Ghost pawn
  • Playing with the Large Ghost
• Candy Hunters Puzzles
  • Goal
  • Special rules

Components

• 4 sets of 9 Building tiles in each color
• 28 Regular Pattern cards
• 20 double-sided Puzzle cards
• 8 Haunted Pattern cards
• 4 Player Aid cards
• 4 Ghost pawns
• 10 wooden Scare Markers worth -1 Victory Point
• 5 cardboard Scare Markers worth -2 or -3 Victory Points
• 4 sets of 5 Kid tokens in each color

Setup

1. Place starting Building tiles and Ghost pawns as shown in the setup diagram. No tiles of the same color may be placed edge-to-edge.
2. Separate the Building tiles into stacks by color and place the 4 stacks next to the playing area.
3. Place Scare Markers next to the playing area.
4. Each player takes a set of 5 Kid tokens in one color.
5. Shuffle the Regular Pattern cards and place them face down next to the playing area. Each player then draws 2 Regular Pattern cards to their hands (these cards should be kept secret).

Advanced game: Haunted Patterns

After playing a few games, you can introduce a new element to the game: the Haunted Pattern cards. To do so: shuffle these cards and deal 1 to each player (should be kept secret). Put the rest of the Haunted Pattern cards in the box; they will not be used during the game.

Gameplay

The game lasts 6 rounds. During a round, players take turns clockwise, beginning with the starting player. The starting player is the person who ate the most sweets on the day the game is played.

On their turn, a given player performs the below actions in order:

1. Placing a Building
2. Moving a Ghost
3. Scoring a Pattern
4. Exchanging a Regular Pattern
5. Placing a Kid (omitted in the last round)

1. Action: Placing a Building

Place a Building tile of any color next to the SIDE (not only a corner) of a Building previously placed on the board.

Important: Tiles are considered adjacent if they are connected by an edge (not by a corner).

In the rare case when Building tiles of a specific color have run out, the player has to choose a Building of a different color to place.

2. Action: Moving a Ghost

You can make up to 2 Ghost moves. To make a Ghost move, move it to the adjacent tile (through an edge, not a corner). You can move one Ghost 2 times, two Ghosts 1 time, one Ghost 1 time or make no Ghost moves at all.

If a Ghost is moved into a tile with a Kid token, move that Kid token to any adjacent empty Building tile including one that the Ghost just came from. A Kid cannot be moved on a tile with a different Kid or Ghost.

If a Ghost is moved into a tile with another Ghost, move that other Ghost once to any adjacent tile. The other Ghost can be moved to any adjacent tile, even one with a Kid or a Ghost. In such a case, apply the effects of Ghost movement described above.

Important: At any time, a single tile can hold ONLY 1 Kid or 1 Ghost. If a Ghost move would result in an impossible situation, meaning a Kid or a Ghost unable to move to any other tile, such a Ghost move is forbidden.

3. Action: Scoring a Pattern

You can score only 1 Pattern card during this action. It can be a Regular Pattern or a Haunted Pattern (in case of playing with Haunted Patterns). Regular Patterns give you 2 Victory Points at the end of the game and the Haunted Patterns are worth 5 Victory Points each.

Scoring a Pattern (general)

If any of your Pattern cards matches the Building tiles placed on a board:

• Reveal that Pattern card and put it face-up in front of you.
• If there is any Kid token on any Building tile designated by the Pattern card, that Kid token is returned to its owner along with the Building tile. The building tile should be turned over to its candy side and the Kid token should be placed on it. Such Kid tokens will not be used anymore during the game; they are busy eating the sweets.
• Take 1 Scare Marker for each Ghost on any Building tile designated by the pattern.
• In case of a Regular Pattern, draw a new Regular Pattern card into your hand.

Important: you can rotate the Pattern to any facing but you cannot "mirror" flip it.

After scoring a Pattern, there can be "holes" in the playing area. Building tiles separated by such "holes" are still an integral part of the game and follow all rules.

Scoring a Haunted Pattern (advanced)

• Haunted Pattern cards include Ghosts. These Ghosts must be located on any Building tiles and do not grant Scare Markers. The Buildings with Ghosts are not considered part of the scoring Pattern.
• When scoring a Haunted Pattern you can ignore up to 3 requirements related to Building tiles or Ghosts but you have to draw the same number of Scare Markers.
• After scoring a Haunted Pattern card, do not draw a new Pattern card.

Example: A player scores a Haunted Pattern. The playing area lacks one blue Building (A) and one Ghost is in a wrong location (B). The player may ignore up to 3 elements of the Haunted Pattern card and draw the same number of Scare Markers. In this case the player draws 2 Scare Markers. The Haunted Pattern card is always worth 5 victory points.

4. Action: Exchanging a Regular Pattern

You can discard one of your Regular Pattern cards and draw a new one. Place the discarded card at the bottom of the deck.

5. Action: Placing a Kid (omitted on the last round)

Place one of your Kid tokens on any empty Building tile.

Game End and Scoring

After 5 full rounds, when all players run out of Kid tokens, play one more round omitting step 5 (Placing Kid tokens). After that round the game ends and the player with the most Victory Points wins. The points are calculated in the following way:

• 2 Victory Points for each completed Regular Pattern
• 5 Victory Points for each completed Haunted Pattern
• 2 Victory Points for the first Candy of a given color
• 1 Victory Point for any additional Candies in the same color
• -1 Victory Point for each Scare Marker

In case of a tie, the winner is determined using the following criteria, in order:

• The winner is the player with the least number of completed Patterns (simply count the number of all Pattern Cards of a given player).
• The winner is the player with the least number of Scare Markers.
• The winner is the player with the greatest number of colors of their candies.

If the above fails to determine the winner, the game ends in a tie.

The Large Ghost pawn

The Large Ghost pawn was a crowdfunding exclusive only for backers. However, if you wish, you can incorporate the Large Ghost rules in your games by substituting the Large Ghost pawn by any suitable replacement.

Playing with the Large Ghost

• Place the Large Ghost next to the playing area during game setup.
• Every time a Building tile is added to the playing area, the Large Ghost should be placed on that Building.
• The Large Ghost follows all other rules related to Ghosts and their movement and impact on scoring.

Candy Hunters Puzzles

Puzzles for single player or for cooperative play with friends or children.

The puzzles presented on the Puzzle cards use slightly modified rules of the basic game. Each presents the playing area during a game and requires discovering moves that will allow you to collect the required number of Victory Points in a given number of rounds. When solving Puzzles, use elements for only one player, no matter the number of people trying to solve the Puzzle. There is only one "player" to take all the actions.

The Puzzles will help you to learn the game, to improve your pattern recognition skills and to discover smart moves. You can also solve them together with friends or children.

Goal

The Puzzle card shows the number of points required to win (1) and the number of rounds you have to complete the task (2). You earn points according to the basic rules of the game, and the available Patterns are located at the bottom of the card (3). Each puzzle has a number and difficulty level (4) ranging from very simple to very difficult.

Special rules

The turn of the player solving the Puzzle is very similar to that of a normal game. You only need to skip the 5th action: Placing a Kid.

All Kid tokens shown on a Puzzle card belong to the player solving that Puzzle.

The Puzzle is considered solved if you manage to collect the required number of points in the required number of rounds without cheating or breaking the rules.

Puzzle solutions are given as diagrams at the end of the rulebook and are not transcribed here.