Ecogon: Stille Wasser Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1. Stille Wasser 2nd Edition
• 2. Components
• 3. Beginner Rules
  • 3.1 Goal
  • 3.2 Setup
  • 3.3 Turn Sequence
  • 3.4 Habitats
  • 3.5 Living Beings
  • 3.6 Establishing Animals
  • 3.7 Event Cards
  • 3.8 Removing Nature Cards
  • 3.9 End of the Game
• 4. Missions Module
  • 4.1 Setup
  • 4.2 Turn Sequence
  • 4.3 End of the Game
  • 4.4 Mission Explanations
• 5. Habitat Module
  • 5.1 Setup
  • 5.2 Turn Sequence
  • 5.3 End of the Game
  • 5.4 Effects of the Habitat Tiles
• 6. Stille Wasser + Base Game
  • 6.1 Setup
  • 6.2 Turn Sequence
  • 6.3 Playing Nature Cards
  • 6.4 Event Cards
• FAQs

1. Stille Wasser 2nd Edition

Ecogon Stille Wasser is a cooperative tile-laying game in which you build an aquatic ecosystem together. You can combine it with the base game of Ecogon and create a huge ecosystem, or bring only the native still waters to life.

In both cases you create the largest and most stable web of animals, plants and habitats you can. Try to place the animals, plants and habitats next to one another so that the animals' needs are met by directly adjacent cards. Various event cards change your game again and again, so winning is not made easy for you.

This 2nd edition additionally contains 2 new modules, which can be combined with both the base game and Ecogon Stille Wasser. Missions pose new challenges, and the Habitat module gives you more room to manoeuvre and plan.

If you do not feel like reading the instructions, you can also have the rules explained in a video at www.gaiagames.de/spiele/stille-wasser/. There you will also find further variants and ways to use Ecogon.

Ecogon is meant to be versatile and also be used for educational purposes. The cooperative approach in particular is ideal for teaching in schools. Players learn not only about ecosystem relationships and native species, but also teamwork and tactical thinking.

2. Components

• 80 nature cards (18 habitats, 19 plant species, 43 animal species)
• 20 event cards
• 32 habitat tiles
• 32 module markers
• 10 mission cards
• About 60 organic beans

(Illustrations may differ from the actual game components.)

3. Beginner Rules

3.1 Goal

Try to get as many victory points as possible by cleverly playing your nature cards. You receive them for every animal that feels at home in your ecosystem.

3.2 Setup

• Place 1 hexagonal shore habitat card and 1 still-water habitat card in the middle of the play area.
• Shuffle the remaining hexagonal nature cards into a face-down stack. This is the nature stack.
• Then give every player 3 cards from the nature stack, face up, as a hand.
• Place the beans at the edge as point markers.
• Decide on a number between 5 and 20 and shuffle that many rectangular event cards into a face-down stack. This is the event stack. The larger it is, the longer the game lasts. Put the remaining event cards back in the box.

(Layout: event stack and nature stack each with a discard pile beside it; 78 nature cards in the stack, 5-20 event cards; the start habitats in the middle.)

3.3 Turn Sequence

Whoever last went swimming in a lake begins the game. Play proceeds clockwise.

Turn overview:

1. At the start of your turn you draw 1 nature card from the stack into your hand (face up).
2. Play 0, 1 or several nature cards.
3. If, as a result, animals have everything they need to live, place beans equal to the victory points on the established animal (game markers for establishing).
4. Your turn ends as soon as you no longer want to play nature cards. If you now have more than 3 nature cards in hand, you must put nature cards on the discard pile until you have only 3. These can then no longer be used. In solo play the hand limit is 5 cards.
5. If applicable, draw an event card and carry it out.

3.4 Habitats

Habitat cards make it possible to play plants and animals. New habitat cards must always be placed adjacent to any nature card already lying on the table.

There are 2 different habitat types: Shore and Still water.

3.5 Living Beings

In Ecogon there are 2 forms of living beings: plants and animals.

Playing living beings: To play a living being, it must be directly adjacent to at least 1 habitat of its own colour. It is not necessary that any needs are already being met. After the end of your turn, placed cards may no longer be moved.

The living-being cards are divided into 2 areas. The upper area has a light background and shows what the living being gives. The lower, dark area shows what it needs.

The diamond symbols in the upper area of the card show what the living being has to offer. This is important for knowing who could feed on the animal or plant. (A legend of the symbols is on the inside of the box lid.)

Example plant: gives: floating plant, blossoms, seeds, (plant). Needs: still-water habitat.

Example animal: gives: small flying animal, small free-swimming animal, 2 victory points. Needs: still-water habitat, small flying animal, small animal.

For animals, the top right shows how many victory points they give once they are established. In the lower, dark area there are usually 1 to 3 symbols showing what the respective animal species needs to survive. Each symbol stands for one need.

3.6 Establishing Animals

An animal gives victory points when it is established. An animal is established as soon as all its needs are met.

A need is met as soon as a directly adjacent living being has the same symbol in its upper area.

• It does not matter on which side the living beings touch.
• To establish an animal, the adjacent living beings do not themselves need to be established.
• A living being can never satisfy two needs of one and the same animal.
• Do not forget that all living beings must also be adjacent to a habitat!

As soon as all needs are met because the respective cards lie directly against each other, place beans equal to the victory points on the established animal. Thereby the victory points count for the final scoring.

Legend: Beans (indicate establishment); arrow = serves as food (for).

Example: The Crucian carp (Karausche) needs either a floating plant or a small bottom-dwelling animal and a small free-swimming animal. The fish gets the floating plant through the Water milfoil (Tausendblatt), the small free-swimming animal through the Water strider (Wasserläufer). The Water strider in turn needs a small flying animal, which it gets through the Mosquito (Stechmücke). This in turn sucks blood from the Marsh turtle (Sumpfschildkröte).

Example: The Mosquito feeds on the blood of the Marsh turtle and is thereby established. The Marsh turtle itself is not yet established; it still lacks 2 small bottom-dwelling animals. The small animal need is already met by the Mosquito.

If 2 symbols among the needs are connected with a line, you have the choice between one of the two. The Crucian carp can feed either on a floating plant or on a small bottom-dwelling animal.

3.7 Event Cards

When: The event stack only comes into use when at least 3 habitats lie in the play area. As soon as this is the case, at the end of the turn the 1st event card is revealed and carried out immediately. From this point on, 1 event card is carried out after every 3 turns.

It is best to start playing now and read on once you have drawn the 1st event card.

Carrying out event cards: The effect of an event card is read aloud to all players and carried out immediately. If it cannot be carried out, e.g. because no card with the corresponding symbol is in play, the card is put face down under the event stack and a new one is drawn. If only part of the stated effects can be fulfilled, the event is nevertheless carried out as far as possible.

Often several nature cards can be a potential target of the event card. If so, you must agree as a team which card receives the effect.

If an event changes the position of a living being or brings a living being back onto the play area, the card must be placed according to the rules.

Tip: To keep track of when the next event card is due, simply place 3 nature cards from the stack face down beside it. At the start of a turn you draw 1 of these face-down cards instead of one from the stack. When all 3 nature cards have been drawn, the next event card comes into play at the end of the turn.

Example: Possible targets of the event "Pesticide input" (Pestizideintrag): a small free-swimming animal or a small bottom-dwelling animal must be removed. In this case only small free-swimming animals are present: the Mosquito and the Water strider. Now it is decided together which of the two animals is removed from the game.

3.8 Removing Nature Cards

Nature cards can be removed from the game for 2 reasons:

• By the effect of an event card.
• When an animal is completely surrounded (no further possibility to place cards next to it) and not all of its needs are met.

If the removed nature card met a need of an animal, this can mean that this animal is no longer established. In this case remove the beans you received as victory points. When a card is removed from the play area, it is placed on the discard pile.

Example: With the event card "Pesticide input" the players agreed to remove the Water strider. As a result the Crucian carp no longer has a small free-swimming animal to eat. It is therefore no longer established, loses its beans and gives no victory points until its need is met again.

3.9 End of the Game

The game ends as soon as no event card or no nature card can be drawn any more.

Who wins? At the end, add up all victory points of the established animals. You have created a stable ecosystem as a team if you have collected at least twice as many victory points as you had event cards ("Aktionskarten" in the original text) in the game: you win together. If you have fewer victory points, you unfortunately did not manage to create a sufficiently stable ecosystem: you lose together.

Try again, or go and get some fresh air first!

4. Missions Module

For those looking for new challenges, we have developed mission cards. These can also be played with the base game of Ecogon, although some goals are harder and some easier to fulfil there than in Ecogon Stille Wasser.

4.1 Setup

Nothing changes in the basic rules of the game. However, you must now observe a few particulars:

• You always play with 17 event cards (randomly sort 3 out of the stack).
• At the start of the game draw 2 mission cards and choose 1 of them. Then consult the mission explanation (4.4) before you play the mission for the first time.
• Prepare the round mission markers and the level markers.

Tip: For better overview you can set aside mission markers equal to the golden mission level as a supply, and so keep in view how far you still are from the Gold level.

Mission card layout: the top shows the mission's name (e.g. "Flora") and its picture. Task (e.g. "Place at least 3 plants adjacent to 1 habitat"). "Every mission card counts -10 points". Mission levels: Bronze - Silver - Gold. The numbers (e.g. 2, 3, 4) show how often the task must be fulfilled to reach the respective level.

4.2 Turn Sequence

In addition to the normal game you should now pay attention to fulfilling your mission:

As soon as you have fulfilled the task of the mission card, place a mission marker on the respective nature card.

If you thereby reach a mission level (number), you cover it on the mission card with the respective level marker (Bronze, Silver or Gold). Whatever happens, you have achieved this level.

The player whose turn it is may, as an additional reward for reaching a level, draw 3 nature cards and keep one of them. The remaining cards are shuffled back into the nature stack.

Example: You place the Water soldier (Krebsschere) next to a habitat. As a result there are now 2 habitats next to which 3 or more plants are adjacent. Place a mission marker on the habitat. Cover the Bronze level on the mission card and draw 3 cards from the nature stack and choose one.

If removing a nature card means a task is no longer fulfilled, you also remove the mission marker.

4.3 End of the Game

At the end of the game you check which mission level you have reached. Every mission gives you -10 points at the start. Every level fulfilled gives you +5 points. If you reached the Gold level, each further fulfilment of the task at the end gives 1 point. Add all mission points to your normal victory points to see whether you were successful.

Pro variant: Draw 3 mission cards and choose 2 that you play at the same time. For clarity use the 2nd side of your mission markers.

4.4 Mission Explanations

(LR = Lebensraum, habitat.)

Biotope: Place the mission marker on the middle card.

Flora: The plants can be counted for several habitats.

Size diversity: Pay particular attention to "very small" and "very large" animals. Animals can be counted for several habitats.

Landscape structure: An area consists of all connected cards of the same colour. Place 1 mission marker on 1 habitat of the area.

Food chain: A food chain is the linear relationship between different living beings, where each living being is the food basis of the next species. Each living being counts only once and the chain may not branch. It is best to count from the 1st link of the food chain upward.

Example: (1) Water lily (Seerose) → (2) Great ramshorn (Posthornschnecke) → (3) Caddisfly (Köcherfliege) → (4) Backswimmer (Rückenschwimmer) → (5) Roach (Rotfeder) → (6) Pike (Hecht) (→ is eaten by)

During the game place a mission marker on each link of the food chain. You may decide on a different food chain at any time.

Ornithology: Setup: 1) Before the start of the game divide the nature cards into 3 stacks of roughly equal size and shuffle all birds into one of them. 2) Place the binoculars marker on the start shore or the start forest edge.

Ecological niche: The animal that is inserted into the gap must subsequently be established.

Planner: Animals with only 1 need that shows either/or do not count.

Key species: Example: Crucian carp, Marsh turtle and Snout snail (Schnauzenschnecke) feed on the Water soldier. The Water soldier is thereby a key species.

Abundance: Example: As soon as 2 or more plants are adjacent to the Snout snail (need: general plant), it fulfils this task.

5. Habitat Module

With this module we want to give you even more control over your ecosystem. Have fun!

5.1 Setup

• Shuffle the 16 habitat tiles into one shore stack and one water stack. (The tiles for other habitats are used for the base game of Ecogon.)
• Place one face-up habitat tile from the respective stack on each of the start habitats.

5.2 Turn Sequence

Nothing changes in the basic rules of the game. However, you must now observe a few particulars:

• Whenever you play a habitat, draw 1 random habitat tile of the corresponding habitat colour and place it face up on it.
• When you completely surround a habitat, you immediately carry out the stated effect and then remove the habitat tile.
• Note: If an effect cannot be carried out, it lapses.
• When you remove a habitat, you also remove the habitat tile from the game.

5.3 End of the Game

At the end you count, as always, all victory points of the established animals as well as any extra points. However, you now need 2.5 times the number of event cards as victory points (rounded up).

For a hard game, try to reach 3 times the number of victory points. For the hard game we recommend at least 15 event cards.

Chaos variant: Place the habitat tiles face down on the habitats and reveal them only once the habitat is completely surrounded.

5.4 Effects of the Habitat Tiles

Water habitat tiles:

• Take 1 water living being back into your hand.
• This habitat counts additionally as "floating plant".
• Look at the next 3 event cards and put them back in any order.
• Bring 1 nature card from the discard pile back into the ecosystem.
• Bring 1 water habitat from the discard pile or the nature stack into the ecosystem.
• Change the position of 1 free-swimming animal in the ecosystem.
• Remove 1 floating plant from the ecosystem.
• Choose 1 event card from the discard pile and carry it out again.
• Swap 1 shore living being with 1 water living being.

Shore habitat tiles:

• Take 1 shore living being back into your hand.
• This habitat counts additionally as "reed" (Röhricht).
• Draw 3 nature cards and play 1 of them.
• All adjacent plants give +1 victory point.
• Bring 1 shore habitat from the discard pile or the nature stack into the ecosystem.
• Change the position of 1 flying animal in the ecosystem.
• Each adjacent water card gives +1 victory point.

Forest-edge habitat tiles:

• Take 1 forest-edge living being back into your hand.
• Bring 1 plant from the discard pile back into the ecosystem.
• Remove 1 plant from the ecosystem.
• In this turn, established animals give 1 victory point more.
• Change the position of 1 animal of size 3, 4 or 5 in the ecosystem.
• Bring 1 habitat from the discard pile or the nature stack into the ecosystem.
• This habitat counts additionally as "grass".
• Change the position of up to 2 herbs and/or grasses in the ecosystem.
• All adjacent forest plants give +1 victory point.
• This habitat counts additionally as "tree hollow" (Baumloch).
• Change the position of 1 forest living being in the ecosystem.
• Discard 1 hand card and draw 1 new one from the nature stack.
• Bring 1 animal from the discard pile back into the ecosystem.

This habitat counts additionally as ... Place the matching round marker on the habitat. The habitat thereby counts additionally as a plant that meets the corresponding need. The markers therefore also count as a general plant.

Additional victory points ... The victory points are scored directly as soon as you surround the habitat and remove the tile. Place 1 additional bean on all nature cards that now give you +1 victory point.

Change the position ... If a habitat tile changes the position of a living being or brings a living being onto the play area, the card must be placed according to the rules.

Swap ... If a living being, after swapping, no longer lies next to the matching habitat, it is removed.

Draw 3 nature cards and play 1 of them. Put the remaining nature cards either on top of or under the nature stack.

Bring 1 habitat into play ... Pick the corresponding nature card from the nature stack and then shuffle it again.

6. Stille Wasser + Base Game

You can also combine the base game of Ecogon with Ecogon Stille Wasser. For your first games, however, we recommend playing only with Ecogon Stille Wasser.

6.1 Setup

• Shuffle all nature cards from both games together into 1 face-down stack.
• Agree on a number of rounds (at least 10) and prepare the corresponding number of event cards from both games in separate stacks. (With 10 cards: 5 from Ecogon and 5 from Ecogon Stille Wasser.)
• Look for 1 still-water, 1 shore and 1 forest-edge habitat each from the nature stack and place them adjacent to each other in the middle of the play area.

Variant (for more planning): Sort out all habitats, shuffle them and place them face down in a separate stack. At the start of your turn you may now decide whether to draw from the nature stack or from the habitat stack.

6.2 Turn Sequence

Nothing changes in the basic rules of the game. However, you must now observe a few particulars:

• Your hand limit increases to 4. In solo play it increases to 6.
• The event cards only come into use when at least 4 habitats lie in the play area.
• When drawing event cards, alternate between the Ecogon and the Ecogon Stille Wasser stack.

6.3 Playing Nature Cards

This illustration shows which of the 5 card types may be placed next to which card type (shown by a connecting line). It does not matter whether it is a habitat or a living being.

The 5 card types are: Still-water cards, Shore cards, Open-land cards, Forest-edge cards, Forest cards. (Which card types may touch is shown only by connecting lines in the original figure; the figure is not reproduced here.)

6.4 Event Cards

For 2 event cards of the Ecogon base game, deviations occur in the combined game variant:

• Bushfire (Buschfeuer): "Choose a habitat, remove all adjacent [symbols] and [symbols]." Deviation: No shore or water habitats may be chosen.
• Landslide (Erdrutsch): "Change the position of a habitat in the ecosystem." Deviation: No water habitat may be chosen.

FAQs

Do you have rules questions? Visit our website and see whether the answer appears among the frequently asked questions. If not, simply use the contact form on the website: www.gaiagames.de/spiele/ecogon/faq/

A list of all animal and plant species that appear in the game, with descriptions, can also be found on our website.