Crystalla
Crystalla Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
A Each player takes a scoring overview, a starting tableau and the 3 playing pieces of the matching color. Return unused starting tableaus to the box.
B Shuffle the 90 cards well and deal 3 cards at random to each player. Each player places these cards next to their starting tableau according to the placement rules (see below). If you do not like one of your 3 cards, you may exchange it once for a new card.
C Distribute the remaining cards.
- 4 players: Distribute the remaining cards into 9 piles of roughly equal size and lay them face up in a 3×3 grid. Each player places their 3 playing pieces on one card pile in a corner of the grid. (Each color must start in a different corner.)
- 3 players: Distribute the remaining cards as in the 4-player game. Place your 3 playing pieces on the card piles marked in the illustration. The unused playing piece color (gray in the example) plays along as a neutral color. Each player adds one neutral playing piece to their 3 pieces.
- 2 players: Distribute the remaining cards into 6 piles of roughly equal size and lay them face up in a 2×3 grid. Each player places their 3 playing pieces on one card pile each, in opposite corners of the grid. Return the playing pieces of the other colors to the box.
Choose your starting corners at random, or simply take the corner closest to your seat.
D Shuffle the crystal pieces, separated into large and small shapes, and place them as 2 face-down stacks. Reveal 2 crystal pieces from each stack and lay them out as the open display.
Components: 90 cards (each with 2 segments), 12 playing pieces, 36 crystal pieces (large and small), 4 starting tableaus, 4 scoring overviews, 1 score pad.
Gameplay
You play in clockwise order. The player who most recently touched a crystal starts the game.
On your turn, choose a card pile on which at least one of your playing pieces is standing, and take all playing pieces from the chosen card pile into your hand.
From the chosen pile, place any one playing piece on an adjacent card pile. Place the next playing piece on a pile adjacent to that one. Continue like this until you have no playing pieces left in your hand. You "walk" across the card piles, placing one playing piece on a pile with each step. You may not walk diagonally, and you may not walk directly back to the pile you just came from.
From the card pile on which you place the last playing piece (no matter whose piece it is), take the top card. The playing pieces lying on it stay on the pile. Place the card you took in your display. (If one of the piles ever becomes empty, take the 3 bottom cards of another pile to refill it.)
Example: Ennia (gray) chooses the card pile at top left. She takes all 3 playing pieces from this pile (A) and then places one playing piece on each of the further adjacent card piles (B). Since she placed the last playing piece (not necessarily her own) on the card with the ruby segment (C), she takes this card from under the pieces and adds it to her display.
Tip: When placing the playing pieces, it helps to first put them at the edge of the cards. After you have placed all pieces and taken the card, slide the pieces to the centers of the cards. This makes it easier to keep track.
If applicable, crystal pieces are then distributed and placed (see below). After that it is the next player's turn in clockwise order. Continue until everyone has exactly 12 cards in their display. Then scoring follows.
Placement Rules
Observe the following rules when adding a card to your display:
- Starting from your starting tableau, the cards must be placed in a grid of 3×4 cards (3 cards vertically and 4 cards horizontally).
- In each of the 4 columns, the card must always be placed as far down as possible.
- You may rotate the card as you like before placing it.
- You cannot decline to place the card in your display.
- Cards already placed can no longer be moved or rotated.
Crystal Pieces
If, while distributing the playing pieces, you bring together exactly 2 playing pieces of the same color on one card pile, then at the end of your turn you choose 1 of the face-up crystal pieces of your choice and give it to the player to whom those playing pieces belong. If they were 2 of your own playing pieces, you take a crystal piece yourself.
Important: You choose the crystal piece, but the player themselves decides where the crystal piece is placed in their display.
If you distribute several crystal pieces in one turn, you determine the order. The open display of 2 crystal pieces of each shape is always refilled immediately from the corresponding face-down stack. If one of the stacks is empty, refill the open display with the other shape so that 4 face-up crystal pieces are available again.
- If you bring 3 playing pieces of the same color together on one pile, nothing happens.
- In the 3-player game, no crystal pieces are awarded for the neutral playing pieces.
Example: While distributing the playing pieces, Ennia (gray) brought together 2 blue, 2 gray and 3 green pieces. After she has added a card to her display, she takes a crystal piece for herself and immediately refills the display. Then she picks out a crystal piece for Marvin (blue) and gives it to him. Lorin (green) receives no crystal piece, because exactly 2 playing pieces of the same color were not brought together there, but 3.
When you receive a crystal piece, you must immediately use it to cover a crystal segment on one of the cards in your display. Observe the following rules:
- Crystal pieces can only be placed on the same shape, so that they completely cover the crystal segments underneath.
- The crystal piece must be of a different crystal type than the one on the card that it covers.
- Crystal pieces may not be placed on other crystal pieces (i.e. a card can hold at most 2 crystal pieces, one on each segment).
- Crystal pieces must be placed if possible. Only if there is no way to place it is the crystal piece removed from the game.
End of the Game and Scoring
As soon as everyone has placed their 12th card in their display, the game ends and you add up your points.
Use the score pad and a pen to help. Write your names in the top row. There is a row for each of the 7 crystal types, in which the points are now entered.
Notes on Scoring
- Each card has a larger and a smaller crystal segment. For scoring, large and small segments are equal in value. (The sizes are only relevant for covering with crystal pieces.)
- Placed crystal pieces count as crystal segments. The covered segments underneath no longer count.
- For the crystal types Tourmaline, Amethyst and Hematite, only the number of segments in your display matters; for the other types, a particular arrangement matters as well.
Tourmaline: You receive X points according to the table for the total number of your Tourmaline segments. (The arrangement of the segments in your display does not matter.)
| Segments | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 21 | 28 |
Example: 4 Tourmaline segments: 10 points.
Amethyst: You receive 7 points for each pair of Amethyst segments. (The arrangement of the segments in your display does not matter.)
Example: 4 Amethyst segments: 2×7 = 14 points.
Ruby: You receive 10 points for each complete Ruby flower in your display. (Half Ruby flowers count 0 points.)
Example: 1 complete Ruby flower: 1×10 points.
Emerald: You receive 23 points when 4 Emerald segments form an Emerald flower. Incomplete Emerald flowers count 0 points.
Example: 1 complete Emerald flower: 1×23 points.
Citrine: You receive 3 points for each group of Citrine segments. The size of the group does not matter (even 1 Citrine segment is already a group).
Example: 2 Citrine segment groups: 2×3 = 6 points.
Diamond: You receive X points according to the table for the number of adjoining (connected) Diamond segments, for each group.
| Connected segments | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 30 | 35 |
Example: 1 group with 4 connected Diamond segments: 5 points.
Hematite: All other players receive 2 points for each Hematite segment in your display.
Example: 3 Hematite segments: 3×2 = 6 points for each other player.
Add up your points. Whoever has the most points has created the most beautiful work of art and wins the game. In case of a tie, you share the victory.