Canvas
Canvas Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
You are a painter competing in a prestigious art festival. Over the course of the game you will collect transparent Art Cards and layer them to create paintings. Depending on which cards you choose and the order in which you place them, you will reveal or cover icons that trigger various scoring conditions. Each card combination creates a fun, unique illustration and title for your painting. When all players have completed 3 paintings, the game ends. The player with the most points wins Best In Show!
The Art Cards
Each painting is comprised of exactly 3 Art Cards and a Background Card.
A completed painting shows:
- Illustration
- Title
- Icons
The Art Cards have a clear plastic film to protect them during manufacturing. You can remove it or leave it on for a few games. The film loosens with use, making it easier to peel off.
These 4 Element Icons represent the elements of design. Various combinations of Elements will score points.
- Hue
- Shape
- Texture
- Tone
Silver Bonus Icons let you take a Silver Ribbon for each matching Element on the painting. Bonus Icons are not Elements. Each Silver Bonus Icon shows "PER" above one of the four Elements (per Hue, per Shape, per Texture, per Tone).
The Color Swatches are visual aids to help identify an icon's position. For example, a red Swatch is always in the leftmost position.
Setup
- A Place the Canvas Mat in the center of play.
- B Place any 4 Scoring Cards on the Canvas Mat's colored spaces, or use a Scenario setup found on the last page of the rulebook. For your first game, try playing with Variety, Repetition, Emphasis, and Composition. Return the remaining Scoring Cards to the box.
- C Place the Ribbons in 5 piles next to the matching Ribbon icons on the Canvas Mat.
- D Shuffle the Art Cards and place them inside the Deck Box. Place the Deck Box on the deck space. Draw and place 5 Art Cards face-up on the spaces to the left of the Deck Box.
- E Place each Background Card in a sleeve. Each player takes 3 sleeved Background Cards. Return the remaining Background Cards and sleeves to the box.
- F Each player takes 4 Inspiration Tokens. Return any remaining Inspiration Tokens to the box.
Components
- A Canvas Mat (x1)
- B Scoring Cards (x12)
- C Ribbons (x20 of each color)
- D Art Cards (x60)
- D Deck Box (x1)
- E Sleeved Background Cards (x20)
- F Inspiration Tokens (x20)
Setup for each player: 3 sleeved Background Cards and 4 Inspiration Tokens.
On Your Turn
The player who painted most recently takes the first turn, and then play proceeds clockwise. On your turn, you must either Take an Art Card or Complete a Painting. You can have a maximum of 5 Art Cards in hand. If you already have 5 cards in hand, you must Complete a Painting as your next action.
- Take an Art Card OR
- Complete a Painting
Take an Art Card
If you have fewer than 5 Art Cards in hand, you may take 1 of the Art Cards from the mat. You may take the card farthest from the deck for free, or you may skip cards to access those farther down the row by placing an Inspiration Token on every skipped card. If the card you take has Inspiration Tokens on it, take them along with the card. Next, slide each remaining card (and any tokens on it) away from the deck to fill in the empty space. Draw a new Art Card from the deck and place it in the now empty space next to the deck.
On Abby's turn, she wants to take the third card. She places 1 of her Inspiration Tokens on the first card to skip it, another token on the second card to skip it, and then takes the third card.
The cards slide to the left to fill in the empty space. A new card is drawn and placed in the space next to the deck.
On Charlotte's turn, she wants to take the second card. She skips the first card by adding 1 of her tokens to it. Then she takes the second card with the token that Abby placed last turn.
Complete a Painting
If you have at least 3 Art Cards, you may Complete a Painting. Select exactly 3 of your Art Cards and sleeve them with 1 of your Background Cards. Layer your Art Cards in any order you choose, however only the visible icons count for scoring. Covered icons are ignored. Keep any leftover cards to use in future paintings.
Abby chooses 3 Art Cards from her hand to arrange into a painting. She keeps her remaining cards for later.
Next, Abby arranges the 3 chosen Art cards to her liking and then places them in 1 of her sleeves.
Show your painting to the other players and read its title. Compare the icons on your painting to each scoring condition. Each time your painting meets a condition, take a Ribbon from its supply. Take a Silver Ribbon from the supply for each Element matching a Silver Bonus Icon.
Some scoring conditions can be met multiple times with a single painting. As a general rule, each Element can only be counted once per scoring condition. Clarifications can be found on the back of each Scoring Card. You can not take more Ribbons than are depicted on the Scoring Card. In the rare case that you run out of Ribbons, use any reasonable substitute token.
Anatomy of a Scoring Card
Each Scoring Card shows:
- Title
- Scoring Condition
- Points
Scoring Example
Abby's painting has met the Repetition scoring condition twice because she has 2 pairs of Shape, so she takes 2 Green Ribbons.
Abby's painting has also met the Composition scoring condition because all 5 Swatches have icons, so she takes a Violet Ribbon.
After checking all the Scoring Cards, Abby takes 1 Silver Ribbon because the painting has 1 Texture matching her Silver Bonus Icon.
Scoring Cards Reference
The four Scoring Cards used in the recommended first-game setup, as shown on the Canvas Mat. The Ribbon color a Scoring Card awards is determined by the colored space of the Canvas Mat it is placed on (red, green, blue, violet), and the number below each score value shows how many Ribbons of that color are needed to earn it.
| Scoring Card | Ribbon | Scoring Condition | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Variety | Red | Hue + Shape + Texture + Tone | 4 (1 Ribbon) / 8 (2 Ribbons) / 13 (3 Ribbons) |
| Repetition | Green | Shape + Shape | 3 (1 Ribbon) / 7 (2 Ribbons) / 11 (3 Ribbons) / 16 (4 Ribbons) |
| Emphasis | Blue | Exactly 1 Hue | 1 (1 Ribbon) / 4 (2 Ribbons) / 11 (3 Ribbons) |
| Composition | Violet | All 5 Color Swatches have icons | 1 (1 Ribbon) / 3 (2 Ribbons) / 9 (3 Ribbons) |
Silver Ribbons are worth 2 points each.
Game End
When all players have completed 3 paintings, the game ends. Once you complete your third painting, your turns are skipped.
Calculate your score by adding the points from each set of matching Ribbons. To determine the value of each Ribbon set, compare the number of Ribbons in the set to the corresponding Scoring Card. Silver Ribbons are worth 2 points each. The player with the most points wins. If tied, the player with more Inspiration Tokens wins. If still tied, have a neutral person judge the artwork of the tied players and declare a winner.
Example Scoring
A player's three paintings ("Chosen Game", "Wandering Truth", "Unashamed Adventure") earned Ribbons that total as follows:
| Ribbon set | Points |
|---|---|
| 2 Red Ribbons | 8 Points |
| 3 Green Ribbons | 11 Points |
| 1 Blue Ribbon | 1 Point |
| 2 Violet Ribbons | 3 Points |
| 3 Silver Ribbons | 6 Points |
Total Score = 29 Points
Variants
For these variant game modes, follow the standard rules of play with the following exceptions.
Painting with Vincent (for 1-2 players)
In this variant, you play with Vincent, a simulated, non-scoring player. You can use this variant as a solo mode, or in a 2-player game to increase the turnover of the available cards. Vincent begins with 4 Inspiration Tokens. Vincent goes last in turn order. On Vincent's turn, shake and toss all his Inspiration Tokens. Any tokens that landed face-up are spent to skip cards. At most, Vincent can spend 4 tokens. If no tokens land face-up, Vincent selects the card farthest from the deck. Vincent discards the selected Art Card from the game and gains any Inspiration Tokens that were on it. Vincent will never Complete a Painting. If playing solo, remember Vincent still gets a turn if you Complete a Painting as your action.
On Vincent's turn, his Inspiration Tokens are tossed and 1 lands face-up. The face-up token is placed on the first Art Card. The second card is discarded, and Vincent gains the Inspiration token that was on it.
Solo Puzzle (for 1 player)
In this variant, you have complete control of the available Art Cards. In addition to your 4 starting Inspiration Tokens, create a separate supply pile of 4 Inspiration Tokens next to the leftmost Art Card. When spending Inspiration Tokens, do not place them on the Art Cards. Instead, place them into the supply. Any skipped Art Cards are discarded from the game. After taking an Art Card, slide the remaining Art Cards all the way to the left. Draw cards to refill all empty spaces. Whenever you take the leftmost Art Card, gain 1 Inspiration Token from the supply. Whenever you Complete a Painting, gain 1 Inspiration Token from the supply. If there are no Inspiration Tokens in the supply, you do not gain an Inspiration Token.
You want to take the third card. You pay 2 Inspiration Tokens to the supply to discard the first 2 cards. Then you take the third card.
Solo Scoring
Before playing a solo game, declare your difficulty level. If you meet or exceed the score for that difficulty level, you win! Or if playing with a scenario (see the next page), you win if you meet or exceed the goal.
| Easy | Normal | Hard | Master |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25+ | 30+ | 35+ | 40+ |
Scenarios
Use one of the following setups that features interesting card interactions. If any player's score meets or exceeds the goal, you pass the scenario! Color in the paint blob beside the scenario.
Simplified
Family Game — Goal 18
Ideal for families and new gamers, this very simple setup covers all the basics.
- Composition, Variety
- none, none
Chill Mode — Goal 25
For a simpler puzzle, play with any 3 Scoring Cards.
- Random, Random
- Random, none
Synergy — Goal 28
There is a lot of overlap in these scoring conditions, making it easier to get more Ribbons.
- Proximity, Space
- Variety, none
Standard
First Time Playing — Goal 32
This set of cards is easy to teach and is a great introductory setup for new players.
- Composition, Emphasis
- Repetition, Variety
Balanced — Goal 33
Use 2 cards with Elements and 2 cards without Elements, like this setup, for a well-rounded puzzle experience.
- Consistency, Emphasis
- Hierarchy, Proportion
No Elements — Goal 35
These cards do not require specific Elements, making all Art Cards more balanced in value.
- Composition, Consistency
- Proportion, Symmetry
Complex
All Elements — Goal 36
These cards do not overlap their conditions. Expect a challenge to score multiple Ribbons.
- Emphasis, Hierarchy
- Repetition, Style
Spatial — Goal 37
This setup requires you to focus on the specific placement of Elements.
- Movement, Proximity
- Space, Symmetry
Bonus — Goal 40
Score big points if you can combine these scoring conditions with the right Bonus Icons.
- Hierarchy, Movement
- Proportion, Style
Achievements
Color in the paint blob beside each achievement when completed.
- Meet all 4 scoring conditions with 1 painting
- Score 4 Silver Ribbons with 1 painting
- Score 7+ Ribbons with 1 painting
- Have 5 of the same Element on 1 painting
- Get max Ribbons from all 4 Scoring Cards
- Score 7+ Silver Ribbons
- Score 14+ Ribbons
- Pass every scenario
- Score 40+ points
- Beat the designers' top score (47)