Crossing the Woods Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Components and Setup
• Gameplay
  • Phase 1: Play Movement Cards
  • Phase 2: Move Pirouette
  • Movement Cards and Jump Cards
• End of the Game
• Scoring
• Example of a Turn

Goal of the Game

Help Pirouette find the way home. Together, cooperate and guide her through the forest by telling her which direction to take. Don't dawdle: she must get home before sunset.

Note: the word "player(s)" is a convention used to refer to players of either gender.

Components and Setup

• 1 Forest board in 4 parts. Assemble the four parts of the Forest board as shown in the illustration.

• 3 Forest tiles (double-sided). Take two at random and place them in the centre of the Forest board. Choose the location, side and orientation of each tile at random.

• 1 Movement board. Place it beside the Forest board, within reach of all players.

• 1 Pirouette pawn. Place it on the starting square.

• 1 House to assemble. Assemble Pirouette's house as shown in the illustration, then place it on the dotted lines visible from the arrival square.

• 1 First Player pawn. The first player is the last person to have walked in the forest (or the youngest). That player places the First Player pawn in front of them.

• 40 Movement cards, consisting of:

  • 13 Lake cards (blue, wave icon)
  • 10 Poppy Field cards (red, poppy icon)
  • 10 Meadow cards (green, grass icon)
  • 4 Joker cards (multicoloured icon)
  • 3 Jump cards

  Shuffle all the Movement cards and place them in a face-down pile near the Forest board.

Gameplay

Crossing the Woods is a cooperative game. Your goal is to bring the Pirouette pawn to her house before the Movement card pile is empty.

Players take turns, starting with the first player, then the player to their left, and so on.

Each turn has two phases:

1. Play Movement cards: players place Movement cards face down and plan the movement of Pirouette.
2. Move Pirouette: players reveal the Movement cards and move the Pirouette pawn across the Forest board.

Phase 1: Play Movement Cards

On your turn, take the first Movement card from the pile and look at it without showing it to the other players.

Take care never to reveal your Movement card, never to talk about it with the other players, and never to give hints about the contents of your hand or about what you are going to play.

Each Movement card shows, through its colour and illustration, how the Pirouette pawn will move during the second phase.

You must then choose, on your own, a free space on the Movement board on which to place the card you have just taken, face down. Choose any free space, but choose carefully.

During the "Move Pirouette" phase, the Movement cards will be revealed in order, from left to right, as indicated by the white arrow.

Look carefully at the Forest board. Try to imagine which Movement cards the other players may have placed, based on the space they chose for their card.

Once you have placed your Movement card, your turn is over, and it is the turn of the player to your left.

When the Movement board holds exactly five Movement cards face down (regardless of the number of players), move on to the "Move Pirouette" phase.

Phase 2: Move Pirouette

When the Movement board holds five Movement cards face down, it is time to reveal the cards. Reveal them one after the other, in order, following the direction of the arrow on the Movement board.

When you reveal a Movement card, you must immediately move the Pirouette pawn in the direction indicated by the Movement card.

The Pirouette pawn always moves from one tree to the next:

• Passing through branches if the Movement card indicates a Poppy Field, a Lake, a Meadow or a Joker.
• Not passing through branches if the Movement card indicates a Jump.

Movement Cards and Jump Cards

Movement cards: The Pirouette pawn always moves from one tree to the next.

• Lake, Poppy Field or Meadow: you must move the Pirouette pawn toward the edge shown on the card, passing through a branch.
• Joker: you may move the Pirouette pawn toward any one of the three edges shown on the card (Poppy Field, Lake or Meadow), passing through a branch.

Jump cards: You must move the Pirouette pawn orthogonally, without passing through a branch, by "jumping" over an empty area.

You may choose any orthogonal direction, as long as the section does not contain a branch.

If you cannot move the Pirouette pawn in the direction indicated by the Movement card, take the first Movement card from the pile without playing it and place it in the box. That card will not be played during this game.

Once all the Movement cards of this turn have been revealed, place them in the box.

The first player gives the First Player pawn to the player on their left, who begins a new turn.

End of the Game

The game ends in one of two situations:

• The game is lost if you must take a Movement card while the pile is empty.
• The game is immediately won when the Pirouette pawn reaches the arrival square (her house).

Scoring

To find out your score, count the Movement cards remaining in the pile. Each card back shows a hazelnut. The number of hazelnuts gives your final score:

Score	Squirrel rank	Comment
Between 0 and 5	Calm Squirrel	You have just enough hazelnuts for next winter!
Between 6 and 10	Prudent Squirrel	You have built up a nice stock of hazelnuts.
Between 11 and 15	Agile Squirrel	You have enough for a real hazelnut feast.
More than 15	Hazelnut Expert Squirrel	With all these hazelnuts, you have enough to invite all your squirrel friends to a party!

Example of a Turn

Phase 1: Play Movement cards. In turn, each player takes the first card of the Movement pile and places it, face down, on a free space of the Movement board. Once five Movement cards have been placed, the players move on to the "Move Pirouette" phase.

Phase 2: Move Pirouette. The first revealed card moves the Pirouette pawn toward the Lake, then the Jump card comes in handy and the pawn advances again. The card in third position does not allow the Pirouette pawn to advance toward the Meadow. The players take a Movement card from the pile and place it in the box. The last two cards allow the Pirouette pawn to advance smoothly toward the Lake. The turn ends: the First Player pawn passes to the next player, and all the cards on the Movement board are returned to the box. A new turn begins.