Dorfromantik: The Duel
Dorfromantik: The Duel Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
138 tiles, composed of:
84 Landscape tiles (42 per person), showing Forest, Stream, Track, Grain, Village, and Flag features, with Back side blue for one player and Back side red for the other.
54 Task tiles (27 per person), with the following 7 Task types:
- 4x Forest with Forest Task
- 4x Grain with Grain Task
- 4x Village with Village Task
- 4x Track with Track Task
- 4x Stream with Stream Task
- 4x Wraparound Tasks
- 3x Double Tasks
- Back sides
54 Task markers each (27 per player):
- 4x Forest Task markers
- 4x Grain Task markers
- 4x Village Task markers
- 4x Track Task markers
- 4x Stream Task markers
- 4x Wraparound Task markers
- 3x Double Task markers
1x number 3, 4, 5 and 6 for each Task type per player. Double Task markers values are always 6.
Score pad — 50 double-sided sheets.
Contents for Module 1: 9 Task cards (3 each for Grain, Forest, Village) — Large Field (Closed-off Grain territory size 5+), Forest Master (Most closed-off Forest territories size 2+), and Many Villages (Number of closed-off Village territories size 2+).
Contents for Module 2:
- 2 Storage boards (1 per person)
- 2 Photographers (1 per player) with stands
- 18 Camera markers (one side red, one side blue)
- 6 Red wooden Hearts
- 8 Special tiles (4 per player): Photographer, School, Granary, Old Oak
- 5 Point of Interest cards
Do you already know Dorfromantik – The Board Game? Then turn to the "Do You Know Dorfromantik – The Board Game?" section below for a short description of what you need to know to start playing right away.
SETUP
First, decide who will play with which color.
Then one player separates the Landscape tiles in their color from their Task tiles and shuffles each pile unseen. Then they build two face-down stacks in front of themselves.
Next, have this player return 3 Landscape tiles to the box unseen.
In addition, this player shuffles their 24 Task markers (except for the Double Task markers) and places them face-down, preferably sorted by Task type. Then they add the 3 Double Task markers back in.
The other player organizes all their Landscape and Task tiles face-up in front of themselves, so all tiles are clearly visible to both players. For efficiency, it can be helpful to sort the tiles either by Task type or according to the prevailing Landscape on them.
Finally, have this second player set their 27 Task markers, face-up and sorted by Task type, next to the Task tiles.
Both players should ensure they have enough space to play their tiles.
Set the score pad aside as it will not be needed until the end of the game.
Leave the contents of both Modules in the box for your first game. Details on their use can be found in the Modules and Variations section below.
Sorting the insert
There is space on the left and right edges of the insert tray for all of a player's hexagonal tiles. The 4 Special tiles fit in the top-most compartment, all 27 Task tiles in the compartment below, and all 42 Landscape tiles in the bottom-most compartment.
In the center of the insert is space for the 14 cards. The two storage boards and the score pad can be placed on top of these.
The 54 Task markers, 6 Hearts, 18 Camera markers, and the two Photographers with stands can be placed above and below, if you wish to keep them separate for each player.
GOAL OF THE GAME
Each turn, the player with face-down tiles will reveal a new tile. The second player then locates the matching component from amongst their face-up tile supply. Next, each player places their tile separately into their own play area. Both players are trying to complete the Tasks of the inhabitants, as well as create the longest continuous Track and Stream, all while taking Flags into consideration. Whoever manages to best succeed in these goals will score more points and will win the game.
GAMEPLAY (1/3)
The player with face-down tiles reveals 1 tile (Landscape or Task tile) each turn, which the other player must locate from amongst their face-up tiles. Both players place their tile in their own play area according to the placement rules (see below).
Whether a Landscape or Task tile is revealed is subject to the following rules:
Reveal 1 Task tile in each of the first 3 turns of the game.
Whenever a Task tile is revealed, the player with the Task markers face-down in front of themselves must also immediately reveal 1 matching Task marker. The other player must pick out the same Task marker from amongst their face-up Task markers. Then, place the revealed Task marker on your Task tile and add both to your own play area.
There are 7 different Task types: Forest Tasks, Grain Tasks, Village Tasks, Track Tasks, Stream Tasks, Wraparound Tasks, and 3 different Double Tasks.
Example: If you reveal a Task tile with a Forest Task, turn over 1 Forest Task marker and place it on the tile. Then place both together in your play area.
On each subsequent turn, always first check how many Task tiles with Task markers are in each of the play areas:
A) If 1 or both players have fewer than 3 Task tiles with Task markers on them in their play area, turn over 1 new Task tile and place it with a matching Task marker in your play area according to the placement rules. This means that 1 player can have more than 3 Task tiles with a Task marker on them in their play area.
B) If there are 3 (or more) Task tiles with Task markers on them in both play areas, turn over 1 new Landscape tile and place it in your play area according to the placement rules.
Now for the placement rules - where and how do you place a tile?
The fundamental rule is: All of a player's tiles must always be placed so that they maintain a single connected group of tiles. This means that you must place each tile with at least 1 of its 6 edges along an edge of a tile that is already in your play area.
Beyond that, there are only 2 more placement rules:
- Tracks and Streams must always match edges with their own type. For example, you may not connect an edge with a Stream to an edge without a Stream. (Of course, you may start several, non-contiguous Tracks or Streams.)
- On the other hand, you are allowed to place the tile edges depicting Forest, Grain, and Village, as well as the neutral Meadow, however you wish. They are not required to match edge types.
GAMEPLAY (2/3)
These examples are all allowed: connecting two tiles so that Grain meets Forest, Village meets Track, Village meets Village, Track meets Track (matching), and Stream meets Stream (matching), each sharing at least one edge with the existing group.
These examples are not allowed: placing a tile so it does not touch the existing group along a full edge, so a Track edge meets a non-Track edge, so a Stream edge meets a non-Stream edge, or so the tile is not connected to the rest of the play area at all.
Completing Tasks
Each Task marker shows a number – 3, 4, 5 or 6. This number indicates how many tiles (Landscape tiles, Task tiles, or Special tiles if Module 2 is used) the corresponding territory or Track/Stream must consist of for this Task marker to be considered completed. (A territory is formed by tiles of one Landscape type connected by matching edges).
In the case of Double Tasks, 1 of the two specified territories must consist of exactly 6 tiles in order to complete the Task.
There is a small exception for Wraparound Tasks:
A Wraparound Task is considered fulfilled if there are exactly as many tiles on its edges as the number on the Wraparound Task marker indicates. Important: The Task tile itself does not count here!
It is possible to complete Task markers immediately upon playing them.
Example: The Grain Task marker and the Wraparound Task marker are completed because the Grain territory consists of exactly 4 tiles and exactly 3 tiles are adjacent to the Wraparound Task tile.
If you have completed a Task marker, place it face-up on the edge of your play area. For a better overview, sort completed Task markers one by one (by type) next to each other. At the end of the game, completed Task markers are one source of points.
Don't forget: Before revealing the next tile, check whether there are fewer than 3 Task tiles with Task markers on them in one (or both) play areas.
Example: The Stream Task marker with the number 5 is not yet completed because the Stream only consists of 4 tiles so far.
In a later turn you place a Stream Task tile with a number 6 Task marker on it. This completes Task marker 5. Place it on the edge of your play area with any other completed Task markers. To complete the number 6 Task marker, you must add another tile with a Stream.
GAMEPLAY (3/3)
Further details:
- You may place Task tiles in a territory that already has 1 or more Task tiles with or without a Task marker.
- You may not place a Task tile in such a way that the territory (or Track, Stream, and Wraparound Task) would consist of more tiles at the moment of placement than the value of the Task marker. You are also not allowed to close-off a territory, Track, or Stream when placing a Task tile by forming a territory smaller than the task marker requires. (Closed-off means there is no longer an open edge to enlarge a territory with further tiles).
Example: You are not allowed to place the Task tile with the number 5 Village Task marker in this orientation because the Village area would then be closed-off, but would only consist of 4 tiles, yet the Task marker requires 5.
To place the tile in this position, you would have to turn it clockwise by 1 edge. Then 1 tile with a Village is still missing to complete the 5-Village Task.
- However, you are allowed to later add a tile to a territory, Track, or Stream that then contains more tiles than any Task marker already in place requires. In this case, the Task marker is canceled and must be returned to the box without being scored. The same applies if you later close-off a territory, Track, or Stream in such a way that there are fewer tiles than the Task marker requires. A Double Task may only be canceled if the conditions described can be applied to both territories. A Wraparound Task can never be canceled.
- By placing a tile you may complete more than 1 Task marker at the same time.
Example: You can place this tile with Grain like this, which would then complete the number 6 Double Task, but the number 5 Grain Task would have to be canceled.
If the 5 Grain Task was a 6 Grain Task, you would complete both Tasks by placing this tile.
- If the stack of Tasks is used up, you cannot bring any more Task tiles into play. Continue playing by placing only Landscape tiles until the end of the game.
The Flags
There is single Flag in 1 of 3 colors across 6 Landscape tiles (there are 2 tiles of each color Flag in the game):
A green Flag is always associated with Forest, a yellow Flag with Grain, and a red Flag with Village tiles.
Follow the usual placement rules when adding a Flag to your play area just like any other tile.
Note, however: At the end of the game, you only get points for Flags in territories that have been closed-off, i.e., in territories that do not have an open edge (see also the Scoring section and the Scoring Example below).
END OF GAME
The game ends immediately when you are required to reveal a Landscape tile and there are none remaining. Any remaining Task tiles that have not been revealed and placed will not come into play this game.
If any players complete or cancel a Task with the final Landscape tile, check whether there are fewer than 3 Task tiles with Task markers on them in one (or both) play areas. If this is the case, the game continues with revealing and placing a new Task tile - until both play areas contain at least 3 Task tiles with Task markers on them.
Now calculate your points.
Scoring
Take 1 sheet from the score pad (see the Scoring Example below):
- First, write your names here.
- Tasks — Add up the numbers of all your completed Task markers of a single type and write the sum in the corresponding fields: points for all completed Forest Tasks, points for all completed Grain Tasks, points for all completed Village Tasks, points for all completed Track Tasks, points for all completed Stream Tasks, points for all completed Wraparound Tasks, points for all completed Double Tasks. In the "Subtotal" field below, note the sum of the points from all completed Tasks.
- Flags — Check each Flag individually, in turn. For each Flag in a closed-off territory, you will score points according to the number of tiles that make up that territory. Write the sum of the points in the corresponding fields: points for green Flags, points for yellow Flags, points for red Flags.
- Longest Stream and Longest Track — Now count how many tiles make up your longest Track and your longest Stream. (All tiles with a Track or Stream that are connected to each other without interruption, count as a Track or Stream.) Write the number of tiles for the longest Track and the longest Stream in the corresponding fields. Write the sum of all points for Flags, the longest Track, and the longest Stream in the "Subtotal" field below.
- Modules — Only enter points in these two fields if you are playing with Module 1 and/or Module 2, and then write the sum of the points you have achieved with each Module.
- Enter the result of your game here.
Scoring Example
Example (Excerpt from the blue player's score at the end of the game):
Tasks: During the game, you have completed 2 Village Tasks, 1 Grain Task, 1 Track Task, and 1 Wraparound Task. In total, these completed Tasks score you 20 points.
Flags: There are also 3 Flags: 1 yellow and 2 red Flags. Since the Grain territory with the yellow Flag is not closed-off (it has 2 open edges), you do not score any points for this Flag. The Village territory with the 2 red Flags is closed-off. Since it consists of 7 tiles, you note a score of 14 points (7 points per Flag) in the corresponding field on the score sheet.
Longest Track: There is only 1 Track in this example, consisting of 3 tiles. This means that the longest Track consists of 3 tiles, which is why you may record 3 points for it.
This example player would score a total of 20+14+3=37 points.
Do You Know Dorfromantik – The Board Game?
Here you will find a short description of what's new!
- You play against each other.
- One player shuffles all their Landscape and Task tiles separately, placing them into face-down stacks in front of themselves (returning 3 Landscape tiles back to the box, unseen). They also randomize all their Task markers face-down in front of themselves. The other player lays out all their tiles and Task markers in plain view, face-up for both players to see.
- Each turn, the player with the face-down tiles reveals 1 tile. The other player chooses the same tile from the face-up tiles in front of themselves. Then both players place this tile in their respective play areas.
- A new Task tile always comes into play if there are fewer than 3 Task tiles with Task markers in at least 1 of the two play areas. This means that there can be more than 3 Task markers in one player's play area.
- Each type of Task marker consists of 1 copy each of value 3, 4, 5, and 6.
- There are 2 new types of Tasks: Wraparound Tasks and Double Tasks.
- Wraparound Tasks: These new Tasks are completed when there is exactly the number of tiles as shown on the Task marker, adjacent to the Wraparound Task. The Wraparound Task tile itself does not count towards the required number in this case.
- Double Tasks: These show 2 different Landscape types. As soon as 1 of the two territories consists of exactly 6 tiles, a Double Task is completed.
- At the end of the game, players tally their scores individually and the person with the highest score will win.
- In addition, there are 2 Modules that can be brought into play, separately or together. More details are found in the Modules and Variations section below.
MODULES AND VARIATIONS
Module 1: The Task cards
Module 1 brings the 9 Task cards into play.
Setup: Shuffle each of the 3 cards of a single Landscape type (i.e., the same color) face-down and turn 1 face-up. Put the other cards back in the box as you will not need them this game. This results in 1 face-up Task card for each of the Landscape types - Forest, Grain, and Village.
There are the same 3 Task cards for each Landscape type.
Closed-off territory size 5+ (Large Field — closed-off Grain territory size 5+). This Task must be completed during the game.
Each player may only score this Task once per game. If you succeed in creating a closed-off territory of size 5+ in the indicated Landscape type during the same turn, add up the points of the first two places and divide them. You then score 6 points each. Write the points for this Task immediately on the score sheet in the field below the trophy.
When playing a two-player game, only use the first two numbers. The other two numbers are only used in games with 3 or 4 people.
Most closed-off territories size 2+ (Forest Master — Most closed-off Forest territories size 2+). You score this Task at the end of the game. If both players have the same number of territories in the specified Landscape type of size 2+, add up the points of the first two places and divide them. You will then score 6 points each. Write the points on the score sheet in the field below the trophy.
When playing a two-player game, only use the first two numbers. The other two numbers are only used in games with 3 or 4 people.
Number of closed-off territories size 2+ (Many Villages — Number of closed-off Village territories size 2+). You score this Task at the end of the game. You are not in competition with each other, as you both score the points regardless of the other player's success. Write the points on the score sheet in the field below the trophy.
The scoring table for Many Villages, by number of closed-off territories size 2+ (2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8+): 1 / 2 / 4 / 6 / 9 / 12 / 15 points.
Module 2: Points of Interest
For this Module you will need the 2 storage boards, the 5 Point of Interest cards, the 6 Red Hearts, the 8 Special tiles, the 2 Photographers with stands, and the 18 Camera markers.
Setup: Take the storage board of your color and place it in front of you. Place the Point of Interest cards next to each other on the edge of the shared play area. Place the Red Hearts, the Special tiles, and the Photographers with the Camera markers on their corresponding cards.
Gameplay: Whenever you complete a Task, place the Task marker on your storage board, starting on space 1 and continuing in ascending numerical order. If you place a Task marker on space 4, 7, or 10, i.e., if you have completed your 4th, 7th, or 10th Task, you may choose 1 Point of Interest to bring into play. You may only choose each Point of Interest once. (The illustrations on special tiles B and C contain either the color red or the color blue, so you can take the tile that matches your game color.)
The Points of Interest are:
Hearts. If you choose the Hearts, you may bring them into play one at a time, starting from your next turn, by placing 1 Heart on a Landscape tile at the same time you place it. Cannot be played onto a Task or Special tile.
Important: Whichever player first chooses the Hearts may take 3 of them. In addition, return 1 of the remaining 3 Hearts back to the box. The other player thus only gets 2 Hearts if they choose this Point of Interest and can therefore probably score fewer points with them. If you are allowed to choose 1 Point of Interest at the same time and you both want to take the Hearts, then you both get 3 Hearts each.
At the end of the game, locate each tile with a Heart, and check how many of that tile's 6 sides are adjacent to tiles with a matching edge—Forest/Forest, Meadows/Meadows, Track/Track, etc. Each matching edge gives you 1 point. You can score up to 6 points per Heart.
The Photographer. If you choose the Photographer, first place the Special tile in your play area according to the placement rules and place the Photographer on the tile. For the rest of the game, each time you place a tile adjacent to the tile on which the Photographer is standing, you may move the Photographer onto the newly placed tile. Then place 1 Camera marker (with your color facing up) on the tile with the Photographer.
Be aware: there are only 18 Camera markers available to all players, regardless of color. It is possible for one player to score more Camera markers than another, if they choose to place their Photographer early in the game and activate it frequently.
At the end of the game, you score 1 point for each Camera marker placed in your play area.
The School, the Granary, and the Old Oak. If you decide on this Point of Interest, you must first choose 1 tile from the 3 Special tile types. Place it in your play area according to the placement rules.
Important: Each player can only choose to place 1 of these 3 Special tiles in a game, and will lose access to the remaining 2 Special tiles after making their choice. If only one player chooses a Special tile Point of Interest, return the second tile of that type (in the other player's color) to the box. The other player can only choose from these two remaining Special tile types, in the future. If both players choose a Special tile Point of Interest at the same time, you may both take the same Point of Interest. Once you have both chosen 1 of these 3 Special tile types, return the remaining tiles back to the box.
At the end of the game, you score 1 point for each tile with the corresponding required Landscape type within 2 tiles of the Special tile. Empty spaces also count for the distance calculation (see also the examples on the backs of the 3 Points of Interest cards).
Record the sum of the points from your Points of Interest on the score sheet in the field below the Star.
Variation: Playing the game with 3 or 4 players
With 2 copies of Dorfromantik - The Duel, you can play with up to 4 people. You can discover what to look out for using the following link (or scan the QR code): www.pegasus.de/DoRo-Duel-3-4-Players
Variation: Team play
Of course, you can also play Dorfromantik - The Duel with more people by having 2 teams of any number of players play against each other.
CREDITS
The Dorfromantik Video Game Team: Sandro Heuberger, Luca Langenberg, Timo Falcke, and Zwi Zausch are the developers for the Dorfromantik video game that has been released for PC and Nintendo Switch so far. Together they founded the development studio Toukana Interactive, under whose name they would like to develop many more creative and high-quality indie games. Their first title, Dorfromantik, has enjoyed great international success. In addition, Dorfromantik has been awarded many prizes, including Best Game Design and Best Debut at the German Computer Game Awards 2021, as well as the Best German Game at the German Developer Awards 2021. All four are enthusiastic board gamers and had a lot of fun contributing to the implementation of their title.
Illustrator: Paul Riebe, from Berlin, is a visual development artist and works mainly for the entertainment industry. Among other things, he works for the award-winning KARAKTER Design Studio and Envar Entertainment based in Stockholm as well as several renowned AAA video game series, well-known series formats, and blockbusters. Dorfromantik is the first board game he's illustrated. The big challenge was to preserve the charming style of the video game while also meeting the requirements of a board game. He especially enjoyed adding the numerous little scenes on the tiles.
Game Designers: More than 20 years ago, the two designers—Lukas Zach from the north of Germany and Michael Palm from the south of Germany—met by sheer coincidence (or perhaps by good luck?). Lukas wanted to know how games were actually developed and pulled a randomly chosen game from his game shelf to write to the game's designer. Michael received the message in his game and comic shop Seetroll on Lake Constance. The two met, and in addition to some initial game ideas, they developed their first game together, Die Kutschfahrt zur Teufelsburg (Adlung Verlag), which was crowned Card Game of the Year in Italy.
Since then, they've developed numerous games together. They work together via video conference every week, trying out their games together online or in their testing groups in the north and south. This has resulted not only in games like The Dwarfs, Magic to the Power of Three (both for Pegasus Spiele), Bang! The Dice Game (Abacusspiele), Aventuria (Ulisses Spiele) and the UNDO series (Pegasus Spiele), but also in a friendship between 2 game designers who live more than 800 km apart. Both hope that players will be elated with their latest work, Dorfromantik.
Game Design: Lukas Zach and Michael Palm | Illustration: Paul Riebe Graphic Design: Jens Wiese | Realization: Klaus Ottmaier
Pegasus Spiele GmbH, Am Straßbach 3, 61169 Friedberg, Germany, under license from Toukana Interactive UG. © 2024 Pegasus Spiele GmbH. All rights reserved.
v1.0 All rights reserved. Reproduction or publication of the rules, components, or illustrations and graphic design is only permitted with prior permission of Pegasus Spiele.
This board game is based on Dorfromantik, the award-winning video game from Toukana Interactive in Germany.