Corvids
Corvids Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 40x trash cards
- 8x bird cards
- 15x feather tokens
- 1x canvas game mat
- 2x tweezers
- 1x rulesheet
Preparing to Play
- Lay out the game mat face-up on the play area.
- Shuffle the trash cards, randomly turning them face-up and face-down. Create a messy pile of all the trash cards on the mat; mix the cards and push them around. Make sure all the cards are fully on the mat and all eight nests are completely covered (do not cover the bird names).
- Divide the feather tokens as evenly as possible among the players. Players then drop all 15 feather tokens so they all touch trash cards, and stay on the mat. This is all called the trash pile.
- Shuffle the bird cards and give each player one face-down. Players may look at their own card and secretly find their bird's 'nest' on the mat (the circled symbol above each bird's name). Return the other bird cards to the box.
- Place the tweezers in reach. The first player is the one who most recently touched a paperclip.
Overview & Goal
Each player takes their turn in clockwise order until no cards are left on the mat. Then the player with the most points wins!
Action Summary
On your turn, perform these three actions in order:
- Peck - Flip any card (mandatory)
- Pick - Take an uncovered card (mandatory)
- Resolve - Use abilities & steal (optional)
Peck
Choose a card in the trash pile to flip. The current player flips a single card of their choice that is visible (even just a corner). They can use their fingers or their beak (AKA the tweezers). To peck, the player must lift the card up, turn it over, and set it back down. This is essentially a 'flip', but it may be done quickly, slowly, or whatever feels best.
The chosen card may have other cards or feathers on it; when you peck, those pieces will likely be pushed, moved, or tossed off the card. This is an important part of play. You can do this to mess with players, uncover nests, and even remove cards from the game (even though it will end your turn).
You can use both hands if you have any difficulty.
If a player knocks any cards/feathers onto the table (even partially touching), their turn immediately ends, and any pieces touching the table are discarded from play.
Pick
Choose a card to take from the trash pile. The card cannot have another card on top of it, not even a little (hovering above is okay if they aren't touching). Take the card and keep it in front of you, but do not turn it over (even if it is face-down). If the card is face-down, the player may look at it at any time. The player also gains any feather tokens that were touching the card (above or below) for their personal collection. Double-sided cards only work as their face-up side. Players may look at any other player's face-up cards.
Players may slightly nudge or push cards and tokens by accident, and make choices that interfere with your plans. You are encouraged to gently say "caw caw" to show your displeasure.
Effects
Resolve your card's ability. Immediately resolve the face-up side of double-sided cards if necessary, as the face-down side does not count for abilities or points:
- Acorn. Peck again after taking this card.
- Earring. Take another completely uncovered earring from the trash pile after taking this card, including feathers.
- Nut. Take up to two feathers from the trash pile after taking this card.
- Paperclip. Take another card that is touching this card (even if it's covered). That card's ability is also triggered, if applicable.
String and ticket single-sided cards both have abilities that only work if they were picked face-down, and get turned face-up when used. If taken face-up, these cards no longer have an ability and cannot be turned face-down again. Note that tickets follow the same restrictions as the normal stealing rules (i.e., uncovered nests only), and when string is used, the stealing player still pays feathers/flips the ticket.
Stealing
If your nest is uncovered at any time (including the circle), your bird card is turned face-up. As long as your nest (including circle) is uncovered, other players can target you for stealing.
To steal, place two of your feathers back on the trash pile so they are touching cards. Then take a card from another player whose nest is uncovered. When you steal a card, do not flip it over (it stays face-up or face-down). If it was face-down, you may still peek at it. Stolen cards cannot be used for their instant abilities (but can be used if face-down tickets/string), but they can still earn bonus points (e.g., keys and buttons).
You may only steal once per turn, unless you used any tickets at the start of your turn.
(Illustration: a covered nest and an uncovered nest.)
At the end of each turn, if a feather or card is not touching any other feather or card, it is discarded from play. This will cause the trash pile to shrink, and even uncover nests!
Scoring
When the trash pile contains no cards, finish the current player's turn; the game is now over. All players score their cards (including face-down single-sided ones). All cards are worth at least one point. Some cards also give bonus points for having sets (keys and buttons), while coins are worth 3 points if face-down.
Example: Gabe has 2 tickets (1 pt each), 3 keys (5 pt set and 1 pt for the extra), and 1 face-down coin (3 pts). Gabe's cards earn a total of 10 points.
Players also receive bonus points from their bird card. The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the tied player with the most feathers wins. Further ties are shared.