Coldwater Crown
Coldwater Crown Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- Game board
- 4 Player boards
- 60 Fish cards (5 each of Wrasse, John Dory, Mackerel, Flounder, Rainbow, Brown, Salmon, Roach, Perch and Sea Trout and 10 Pike)
- 30 Master Angler cards (6 each of Crab, Conger Eel, Char, Dogfish and Ray)
- 1 Drawstring bag
- 97 Bait (16 each of Blue, Red, Purple, Black, Green and Yellow and 1 Clear-white)
- 35 Trophy tiles (including 1 Kickstarter Edition trophy)
- 15 Tackle pieces (6 Lure and 3 each of Reel, Rod and Line)
- 7 Wooden Angler tokens
- 14 Angler Token stickers
- 14 Kickstarter Edition Bonus Angler Token stickers (alternate art)
- 5 Tag tiles
- This Rulebook
Before you start: Apply the Angler Token stickers to the Wooden Angler tokens. Each token should have a "1" applied to the front side and a "2" applied to the back. Two sets of stickers have been included in the game. You may choose which style of sticker to apply.
Example 1: Fish Cards: Front and Back — A Sea Trout fish card shows "SEA TROUT" and its weight range (e.g. "3-7 LBS") on the Fish-side (front), and on the Weight-side (back) shows its exact secret weight (e.g. "5 LBS"), its Location ("THE LAKE"), and a tag & timestamp (e.g. "8:32").
Goal
During the game, you will catch a variety of fish from the Shore, River, and Lake. You will compete with the other players to win various contests based on the fish you catch to earn victory points. At the end of the game, the player with most points is crowned champion!
To catch fish, you'll cast bait from the four Zones (Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6) on your player board. Whenever you cast the last piece of bait from a particular Zone, take note of the bait's color and the Zone number. You catch a fish from the same Zone number on the game board that matches that bait's color.
You'll also catch the special Master Angler fish by casting the right combinations of bait as the game goes along.
Setup
A. Unfold the game board and place it in the center of the table.
B. Shuffle all the Shore Fish cards (John Dory, Mackerel, Flounder and Wrasse) and place them Fish-side-up (see Example 1, previous page) on the designated Shore space (B1) to form the Shore deck.
Do the same for the River Fish cards (Brown, Salmon, Rainbow and Roach) and Lake Fish cards (Pike, Perch and Sea Trout) to form the respective River (B2) and Lake (B3) decks.
Note: Throughout the game, the colors purple and green indicate the Shore, black and yellow indicate the River, and blue and red indicate the Lake.
C. Stock the Shore (C1) with fish from the top of the Shore deck (B1) until there is exactly one fish in each of the four Shore Zones. In the same way, stock the River (C2) from the River deck (B2) and the Lake (C3) from the Lake deck (B3).
Note: Any time you stock Zones with fish, stock Fish cards Fish-side-up so each fish's individual weight (e.g. 2 lbs) is kept secret; always stock the Shore with Shore fish, the River with River fish and the Lake with Lake fish; and always stock the lowest numbered Zones first.
D. Shuffle the five Tag tiles. Pick one randomly and place it face-up on the designated space on the game board. Fish you catch with the same tag color can earn you bonus points at the end of the game (see Scoring). Place the remaining Tag tiles back into the box.
E. Shuffle the Master Angler cards to form the Master Angler deck and place it face-down next to the game board as shown. Draw the top four cards and place them face-up in a row next to the deck.
F. Organize and place all of the trophies (see Example 3) according to their respective contests:
- F1: First to 12 Fish Challenge: Place the 2-Point trophy labeled "12" on the "First to 12 Fish Challenge" space.
- F2: Mystery Weight Contest: Shuffle the six 1-Point trophies labeled with the scale symbol and weight value (2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7). Place these trophy-side-up in a stack on the "Mystery Weight Challenge" space on the game board. Flip the top trophy to reveal the first "Mystery Weight".
- F3: Master Angler Challenge: Stack the four "Three Same" trophies and the four "Four Different" trophies on their matching spaces in the "Master Angler Challenge" section of the game board.
- F4: Small Species Challenge, Fastest to 8 Species Challenge, and Shore, Lake and River Contests: Stack each type in order from highest to lowest (5, 4, 3, 2) so the 5 is on top and place each stack on its matching space on the game board. For a 3-player game remove the 4-point trophy from each stack. For a 2-player game remove the 4-point and 2-point trophy from each stack.
Place all unused trophies back into the box.
G. Place all 15 Tackle pieces face-down in a stack near the board and give one randomly-selected piece to each player.
H. Place one Angler token on the red, yellow, and green circular Angler spaces on the game board so the "1" is showing on each token.
J. Give each player one Angler token flipped to the "1" side. Place any unused Angler tokens back into the box.
K. Give each player a player board. Each player should align their player board so the Zone numbers mirror the Zone numbers on the game board.
L. Prepare the Bait:
- L1: Place all the bait except for the clear-white piece into the drawstring bag and shake it so the bait is thoroughly mixed.
- L2: Each player fills Zones 3 and 4 on their player board with bait by drawing bait randomly from the bag equal to each Zone's number (i.e. place 4 bait in Zone 4 and 3 bait in Zone 3).
- L3: Place the clear-white bait into the bag and shake the bag thoroughly. Set the bag to the side of the game board within reach of all players.
Gameplay
1. Select a Start Player: The player who most recently caught a fish goes first.
2. Begin the Game: The start player takes the first turn, followed by the other players in clockwise order. This is repeated until the end of the game.
Turn Steps
On your turn, you must perform the steps below in order:
- Place your Angler token on an unoccupied Angler space on the game board and take that space's action(s) (see Spaces & Actions chart below).
- Remove a different Angler token from an occupied Angler space on the game board and take that space's action(s).
- Flip the Angler token you removed to its opposite side and place it near your player board for use on your next turn (see Example 5).
After completing Step 3, your turn is over.
Note: Resolve any actions immediately whenever you place or remove an Angler token.
Example 5: Angler Tokens — Angler tokens have a 1-side and a 2-side. The 2-side is more powerful. After you remove a token from the board and take that space's action (Turn Step #2), flip the token to its opposite side for use on your next turn. Thus, if you remove a "1", you will have a "2" to start your next turn, and vice versa.
Angler Spaces
There are seven Angler spaces. Six are Fishing spaces (blue, red, yellow, black, green and purple) and one is the Port space (anchor) (see Example 6: Angler Spaces).
The actions you take when you select an Angler space in Step 1 or Step 2 of your turn is determined by the space you select and the number showing on the Angler token.
For example, in Step 1 of your turn, if you place a token showing "1" on the Red space, you will take the Red action according to the "1". Similarly, in Step 2 of your turn, if you remove a token showing "2" from the Green space, you will take the Green action according to the "2".
At the start of Step 1 of your turn, three Angler spaces will be occupied with an Angler token, leaving you with only four available spaces to play your Angler token.
On Step 2 of your turn, you will remove one of three Angler tokens occupying an Angler space on the board (the token you placed in Step 1 cannot be removed in Step 2). After you've removed one of the Angler tokens from the board and taken its action, there will again be four open spaces for the next player's turn.
The chart below shows the actions associated with the different Angler spaces and how they differ when you use the "1" or "2" side of the Angler token. (Remember, you take your action(s) both when placing AND removing an Angler token!)
Spaces & Actions:
| Space | When using a "1" | When using a "2" |
|---|---|---|
| Fishing spaces | Cast one bait the same color as the fishing space you selected from each Zone on your player board. | Cast all bait the same color as the fishing space you selected from each Zone on your player board. |
| Port space | Take one Port space action: Fill one Zone on your player board with bait from the bag OR Take one Master Angler card. | Take two Port space actions in any order (i.e. fill two Zones on your player board with bait, take two Master Angler cards, or fill one Zone and take one card). |
Casting Bait
To cast bait, remove it from your player board and place it in a common discard pile near the game board. You always cast bait of the same color as the Fishing space you selected.
For example, in Step 2 of your turn, if you remove a "1" token from the Red space, you must remove one red bait from each Zone on your player board that contains red bait, and place the removed bait in the discard pile.
Whenever you cast the last piece of bait from a Zone on your player board (i.e. the Zone becomes empty) you will catch a fish (see Catching Shore, Lake and River Fish below)!
Gameplay Example 1: Casting Bait and Filling Zones (A) — It is Step 1 of Storm's turn. She places her "1" Angler token on Port and decides to fill Zone 4. She randomly draws 4 bait from the bag (green, black, purple and blue) and places them in Zone 4 on her player board.
Filling Zones With Bait
When you choose the Port space action to fill a Zone on your player board with bait, follow these steps in order:
- Choose any empty or partially filled Zone on your player board.
- Draw bait from the bait bag, one at a time, adding each to the Zone you chose until the number of bait in that Zone equals the Zone number (e.g. when there are three bait in Zone 3).
If you draw the clear-white bait while filling a Zone, return all bait in the discard pile to the bag, shake thoroughly, and finish filling the Zone. Then return the clear-white bait back to the bag and shake the bag thoroughly again.
Taking Master Angler Cards
When you choose the Port space action to take a Master Angler card, follow these steps:
- Choose any one of the four face-up Master Angler cards available on the table (or the top card from the deck) and place it face-up on the left side of your player board. This is a fish you will attempt to catch.
- Then, if you took one of the four face-up cards, flip the top Master Angler card from the deck and set it face-up in place of the card you took, so there are again four available fish.
Note: You may have at maximum three Master Angler fish you are attempting to catch at any one time, and you may never discard, return, or replace a Master Angler fish after you've taken it.
Gameplay Example 1: Casting Bait and Filling Zones (B) — Now it is Step 2 of Storm's turn. Storm decides to remove the "2" Angler token from the black Fishing space and casts all black bait from all Zones on her player board. The cast bait goes to the discard pile. Storm concludes her turn with Step 3 by flipping the Angler token she removed from the black Fishing space to its opposite side - in this case, to the "1" side. She places the token near her player board for use on her next turn.
Catching Master Angler Fish
There are between 3-4 spots to place bait on each Master Angler card. Each spot may hold one piece of bait. When you cast bait from your player board, instead of placing it in the discard pile, you may place it on an open spot of the same color on any of your Master Angler cards you are attempting to catch (see Example 7: Master Angler Fish).
You catch a Master Angler fish whenever you fill all the spots on the card with bait.
Move the completed card from the left-side of your player board to a score pile on the right side of your player board to indicate it's been caught, and move all the bait from that card to the discard pile.
Note: Bait remains on a Master Angler card until the card is completely full, and you may not reserve bait you've cleared from your player board for Master Angler cards you haven't selected yet.
Example 7: Master Angler Fish — Shows the Char, Crab, and Dogfish Master Angler cards. When you cast bait, place it on these spots to catch the Master Angler fish.
Catching Shore, Lake and River Fish
Catching a fish is easy...the trick is catching the right fish! You immediately catch a fish every time you cast the last piece of bait from a Zone on your player board (i.e. the Zone is completely emptied of bait). You catch the fish in the Zone on the game board with the same number as the Zone you cleared on your player board that also matches the color of the last piece of bait you removed from that Zone. Thus:
- Shore fish are caught with green or purple bait
- River fish are caught with yellow or black bait
- Lake fish are caught with blue or red bait
Take the fish you caught into your play area and secretly look at the weight-side. Then restock the empty Zone on the game board with the top fish from the deck at that Location.
Note: It is possible to catch multiple fish simultaneously, but each Zone you clear on your player board only allows you to catch one fish each time it is cleared.
Gameplay Example 2: Catching Shore, Lake, and River Fish — Griffin places his "1" Angler token on the green Angler space and casts 1 green bait from each Zone on his player board to the discard pile. The green bait was the final piece of bait removed from Zone 4, which means Griffin catches the fish in Zone 4 on the game board that corresponds to green bait. In this case it is a Flounder. Griffin secretely inspects the weight-side of the fish and places it in his score pile. Then, Griffin restocks Zone 4 at the Shore with a new fish from the top of the Shore deck.
Note: Even though Griffin cast bait from both Zone 3 and Zone 4, he only catches a fish from Zone 4 because he still has bait in Zone 3 on his player board.
Zone 5 Bonus (Tackle)
When you cast the last piece of bait from Zone 5, you may take the top piece of Tackle from the stack near the board. On the next Step of your turn (or later) you may play this piece of Tackle for a bonus.
There are four types of Tackle, each with a unique bonus, shown in the chart below.
After playing Tackle, discard it face-up to a discard pile near the game board. After the last piece of Tackle from the original stack is drawn, shuffle the discarded pieces and reform the stack.
Zone 6 Bonus
When you cast the last piece of bait from Zone 6, you may catch the top fish of the deck corresponding to the color of bait you cast instead of catching the fish in Zone 6.
Types & Uses of Fishing Tackle
Rod — Play as you are catching a fish. You may instead catch a fish from a different Location, but the same Zone number (e.g. if you are about to catch a Shore fish from Zone 3, instead catch a Lake or River fish from Zone 3).
Line — Play as you are catching a fish. You may instead catch a fish from an adjacent Zone at the same Location (e.g. if you are about to catch a fish from Zone 4 at the Lake, you may instead catch the fish from Zone 3 or Zone 5 at the Lake).
Reel — Play on your turn. Remove any two same-colored pieces of bait from anywhere on your player board (even from different Zones). Bait removed in this way may result in you catching a fish (or two!).
Lure — Play on your turn. Swap any two different-colored pieces of bait on your player board with one another.
Note: You may use more than one piece of Tackle on your turn, and one piece you use may affect the outcome of the next. For example, playing both a Rod and a Line could allow you to catch a fish at an adjacent Zone AND different location instead of the fish you were supposed to catch.
Note: You may not use the Rod with the Zone 6 bonus to catch the top card of the deck at a different location, and you do not gain the Zone 6 bonus when you use the Line to catch a fish in Zone 6. Similarly, you only gain the Zone 5 bonus by clearing the last piece of bait from Zone 5, not by using the Line to catch a fish from Zone 5.
Gameplay Example 3: Turn Actions & Bonuses
A. It is the beginning (Step 1) of Lydia's turn. She places her "2" Angler token on Port and takes two Port actions. The actions she chooses are: Fill one Zone with bait and take one Master Angler card. So Lydia fills Zone 4 with four randomly drawn pieces of bait from the bag (red, green, black and blue). Then she takes the Char from the set of available Master Angler cards. She places the Char card to the left of her player board to indicate it hasn't been caught yet.
B. Now it is Step 2 of Lydia's turn. Lydia removes the "2" Angler token from the red Fishing space and casts all the red bait from her player board. Two of these pieces of bait may go to the two open red spots on the Char card. The other two must go to the discard pile.
C. Since Lydia cleared the last pieces of bait (red in this case) from Zones 5 and 6 she is supposed to catch the Perch in Zone 5 and the Pike in Zone 6, but Lydia has other plans:
First, Lydia plays a piece of Tackle (the Rod) to catch the fish in Zone 5 at the Shore (a Wrasse) instead of the Perch in Zone 5 at the Lake. Lydia also takes a new piece of Tackle since she successfully cleared Zone 5 of her player board.
Then, Lydia elects to use the Zone 6 Bonus and takes the top card of the Lake deck (a Perch) instead of the Pike in Zone 6.
D. Lydia concludes her turn with Step 3 by flipping the Angler token she removed from the game board in Step 2 of her turn to its opposite side - the "1" side in this case - and placing it near her player board for her next turn.
Note: When catching multiple fish on the same turn Step, you may choose the order in which you catch them, but don't re-stock emptied Zones with fish until the end of that Step.
Contests
Complete the various fishing contests to collect trophies and earn points! Some trophies are available throughout the game to players who complete certain challenges. Others are only available at the end.
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Mystery Weight Challenge: If you catch a fish and its weight matches the weight shown on the top Mystery Weight tile, reveal your fish's weight to the other players and take the tile into your play area. Then, flip the next tile on the game board to show the new Mystery Weight. You may only win one Mystery Weight Trophy per Step of your turn, and fish caught previously are not eligible to win a newly revealed Mystery Weight tile.
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Fastest to 8 Species Challenge: If you catch an 8th unique species of fish (not including Master Angler fish) immediately take the topmost (i.e. highest) trophy from the "Fastest to 8 Species" stack.
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Small Species Challenge: If you catch at least one Roach, Perch and Flounder immediately take the topmost (i.e. highest) available trophy from the "Small Species Challenge" stack.
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Master Angler Contests:
- Three Same: If you catch three of the same type of Master Angler fish (e.g. if you complete three Crab cards), take one of the 2-Point "Three Same" trophies.
- Four Different: If you catch four different types of Master Angler fish (e.g. if you complete a Crab, Ray, Dogfish and Char card), take one of the 2-Point "Four Different" trophies.
Note: A card used for the "3 Same" trophy may also count for the "4 Different" trophy and vice versa, but you may only obtain one trophy from each stack during the course of the game.
-
First to 12 Fish Challenge: If you have 12 or more fish (not including Master Angler fish) at the end of your turn, take the "12" Trophy. This triggers the end of the game and all other players get one final turn.
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End of Game Contests: The contests for the Shore, Lake and River occur at the end of the game. See "Game End: Shore, Lake and River Contests" for instructions.
Game End
The game end is triggered at the end of any player's turn in which at least one of the following two things occurs:
- A player catches a 12th fish (not including Master Angler fish)
- A Fishing location cannot be restocked to four fish
Then, all other players receive one final turn.
Shore, Lake and River Contests
After all players have taken their final turn, it's time to submit fish to the Shore, Lake and River contests! Start with the Shore:
- Of the fish you caught, select one from each Shore species that you would like to submit to the Shore contest. Generally, you will want to submit the heaviest fish of each species.
- "Throw back" (discard) the Shore fish you didn't submit.
- Add the weights of the fish you submitted to determine your overall weight submission for the Shore.
- The player with the heaviest total weight submission takes the 5-Point trophy from the Shore trophy stack. The player with the next heaviest total takes the next highest trophy and so on until all players have taken one trophy. (Note: If you didn't submit any fish for the Shore contest, you do NOT take a Shore trophy!)
Repeat steps 1-4 above for the Lake and then the River contests. Remember, only one fish per species may be submitted for each contest!
Note: In case of a tie for heaviest total submission at the Shore, Lake or River, the winner of the tie is the player who submitted the single fish with the earliest time stamp from that Location.
Gameplay Example 4 - Shore Contest: Storm caught 2 Flounder, 1 Wrasse and 1 Mackerel. She can only submit one of the Flounders and chooses the five-pounder. She has a total weight of 14 lbs (5 lb Flounder + 4 lb Wrasse + 5 lb Mackerel = 14 lbs). Emmanuel submits a total weight of 12 lbs., and Lydia submits a total weight of 11 lbs, so Storm wins the 5-Point trophy, Emmanuel takes the 3-Point trophy, and Lydia takes the 2-Point trophy.
Scoring
Reveal all your trophies and compute your final score after the Shore, Lake and River contests have concluded:
- All trophies are worth their face-value in points.
- Completed Master Angler cards are worth 1 point each.
- Fish submitted to the Shore, Lake or River contests that are tagged the same color as the Tag tile on the game board are worth 1 point each.
- Incomplete Master Angler cards are worth 0 points.
You are crowned champion if you have the highest final score of your opponents!
Note: In case of a tie, the player who submitted the single fish with the earliest timestamp wins the tie.
Optional: For a game in which luck plays less of a factor in the outcome, do not score points for tagged fish in Scoring #3.
Practice Pond (1-Player Rules)
In 1-Player Coldwater Crown there is a "silent" player who will catch fish when certain conditions are met. To win the game, your final score must exceed the silent player's score. Unless noted below, play the 1-Player version exactly as you would the 2-Player version.
Setup
Instead of filling the bag with all the bait, count 9 of each color bait and place these in the bag only. Place the remaining bait back in the game box. Draw 7 bait randomly from the bag and place them in the discard pile. Then fill Zones 3 and 4 on your player board as normal from the bag, and place the clear-white bait in the bag. Lastly, give the silent player the 5-point Small Species Challenge trophy.
Gameplay
Take your turn as normal and then complete the silent player's turn: Draw one bait from the bag, and then complete Silent Player Actions 1 and 2 (described below) in order. After completing both actions, draw a second bait from the bag and complete Silent Player Actions 1 and 2 again. Then the silent player's turn is over.
Note: If at the beginning of the silent player's turn you have fewer fish (not counting Master Angler fish) than the silent player, you may draw one bait instead of two for the silent player's turn.
Silent Player Action 1 - Move Angler Tokens
Note the color of the bait your drew and move one Angler token. Angler tokens move around the board clockwise. The path is Port-Purple-Green-Blue-Red-Yellow-Black-Port-Purple...etc. Do not move a token if you draw the clear-white bait.
If an Angler token is on the space of the matching bait (e.g. if you draw a red bait and there is an Angler token on the red Fishing space), move this Angler token clockwise to the first empty space. Skip any occupied spaces.
If no Angler token is on the matching space (e.g. if you draw red bait and there is not an Angler token on the red Fishing space), move the Angler token next-in-line to this space. In other words, check backwards along the Angler Token Path for the closest Angler token and move it forward to the matching space.
Silent Player Action 2 - Fishing
Discard the bait you drew and count all the bait of that color in the discard pile. If there are exactly 3, 4, 5, or 6, the silent player catches a fish. The color of the bait determines the location and the number of that color bait in the discard pile determines the Zone.
Clear-White Bait: Any time the clear-white bait is drawn, place the top card of the Master Angler deck into the silent player's score pile. Place all the bait in the discard pile back into the bag as normal and then complete one of the following two options before also returning the clear-white bait to the bag and continuing play:
- Place a second Master Angler card from the top of the deck in the silent player's score pile
- Draw 7 bait randomly from the bag and place them in the discard pile
Gameplay Example 5 - Silent Player Turn: The silent player draws a blue bait and you move the Angler token on the Green space to the Blue space since blue is unoccupied. Then you place the blue bait into the discard pile and count 4 blue bait. The silent player catches a fish from Zone 4 at the Lake. Then the silent player draws yellow bait and you move the angler token occupying the yellow space to the black space. You place the yellow bait into the discard pile and count 2 yellow bait. The silent player does not catch a fish for the yellow bait since there are only two.
Game End & Scoring
Contests: The silent player is eligible for all contests. Check the weight of each fish caught and take any trophies earned.
Submitting Fish: The silent player always submits the heaviest possible fish for contests.
Credits
Game Design: Brian Suhre
Illustration: Beth Sobel
Graphic Design: Ryan Coleman
Kickstarter Backers: Funding to produce this game was raised through Kickstarter.com. Bellwether Games would like to thank all of the Coldwater Crown backers, without whom this game could not have been made! In particular, Bellwether Games would like to thank a few additional special backers:
Tournament Champions: Arwen & Samwise, and Wise Daddy J
Premium Backer: Derrick Johnston
Special Thanks:
For helping to edit this rulebook: Mike Tunison, Patrick Einheber, Ben Gerber, Alex Pereira, Denny Dukes, Jerry Tanner, Julien Grenier, Alison Shaw, and Sam Peavy.
For playtesting: Atomic Squash Game Group, Metro East Gamers, Sara Hoyle, Brian Herman, Michael Tunison, James Sander-Cederlof, Craig Bartelsmayer, Lawrence and Ray Gaydos, Terry Glassman, Grayhawke Gamers Guild and those who played at Geekway to the West, DieCon, Origins Game Fair, and GenCon.
The designer would like to dedicate this game to his loving and supportive family - Andrea, Storm and Griffin. The designer would also like to note that Coldwater Crown could not have been possible without the help from all of the fine people at Atomic Squash and Metro East Gamers.
Bellwether Games would also like to thank Jason Aemisegger and Heroic Adventures game store for supporting and hosting the Coldwater Crown Kickstarter Launch event, and John "Zinger" Zaenglein for his support.