Fairy Lights
Fairy Lights Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview & Goal of the Game
Complete sets of identical bulbs in order to make the most beautiful garland and earn the most points. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Contents
- 1 rulebook
- 103 cards distributed as follows:
| Cards depicting 1 bulb | Cards depicting 2 bulbs | Card color | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Racoon-Chicken | 28 | 6 | Yellow |
| Rabbit-Hedgehog | 23 | 5 | Pink |
| Owl-Butterfly | 16 | 4 | Orange |
| Fox-Deer | 13 | 3 | Silver |
| Dragon-Dragonfly | 5 | 0 | Gold |
Card Anatomy
Each card shows a number of bulbs (1 or 2) and has a color (for example, a silver card with 0 extra bulbs in the example, or a pink card with 2 bulbs). All cards have the same back.
Setup
Shuffle all of the cards and stack them face down in the middle of the table to create a deck. Beside the deck, leave enough room to be able to lay out 5 cards that will become the "shop".
Also reserve free space beside the deck to eventually create a discard pile.
Each player has their own play area, which includes their own Garland stack.
Randomly determine the first player.
Playing the Game
Players take turns in clockwise order. On your turn, you must/may (depending on the situations described below) perform a Reveal action, then a Take action. After this, your turn is complete.
IMPORTANT: During the game, do not confuse the number of bulbs depicted with the number of cards (1 card could depict 1 or 2 bulbs)!
Reveal Action
You have different options depending on the number of cards already revealed in the shop:
- If there are 0 cards revealed: You must reveal a card.
- If there are 1 - 4 cards revealed: You may reveal a card.
- If there are 5 cards revealed: You cannot reveal a card.
To reveal a card, you take the top card of the deck and place it in the shop:
- If there are currently no cards revealed, place the card beside the deck to inaugurate the shop.
- If at least one card is already revealed, place the new card beside the last card of the shop (which may have been revealed there by another player).
You can repeat the Reveal action several times consecutively in the same turn, until there is a maximum of 5 cards in the shop.
IMPORTANT: However, as soon as you reveal a card that is the same color* as the previous card in the shop, your turn ends without being able to perform the Take action (see below).
* In this case, the number of bulbs on the cards is irrelevant.
You can only reveal one card at a time.
Example: 1 pink card was already revealed before Michael's turn. He chooses to reveal (he had the option not to reveal) a new card A, and he draws a silver card, which he places beside the pink card. He decides to draw 1 more card, and reveals another silver B, and places it beside the last one. Because this last card is the same color as the previous card, Michael must end his turn without taking a card!
Take Action
If you have not already ended your turn (see above), you must now perform a Take action.
What should I take from the shop?
The number of cards revealed in the shop determines the cards that you must take from the revealed cards:
- If there are 1 - 4 cards revealed: You must take one color of card. You must take every card from the shop of this color.
- If there are 5 cards revealed: You must take two colors of card. You must take every card from the shop of these two colors.
NOTE: If there is only one color of card in the shop, you take only this color.
What should I do with the cards I take from the shop?
Add the cards you took to your play area, sorting them by color. By doing this, you will create or complete sets.
You cannot create multiple sets of the same color.
- If a set has 1 or 2 bulbs, then this set is "under construction" and remains where it is face up in your play area; you can complete it later.
- If a set has a multiple of 3 bulbs (3, 6, 9, 12), then you must immediately store it face down on your Garland stack. The bulbs in your Garland stack will count at the end of the game.
- If a set has any other number of bulbs (4, 5, 7, 8, 10, or 11), then you must immediately discard it face up on the common discard pile. Cards you discard are lost, and will serve no further purpose in the game.
NOTE: There are only 5 cards depicting the Dragon-Dragonfly bulb. Thus, it is only possible to form a single set of them per game.
What do I do with the cards remaining in the shop?
Shift all cards remaining in the shop - i.e. those that weren't taken - toward the deck to close the gaps before the next player's turn.
End of Your Turn
Your turn is over when either of the following occurs:
- You reveal a card the same color as the last card in the shop.
- You have completed your Take action.
NOTE: You can never end your turn early to avoid taking cards you don't want from the shop.
End of the Game
As soon as someone reveals the final card of the deck, they finish their turn and the game ends.
NOTE: If the final card revealed is the same color as the last card in the shop, the game ends immediately.
At this point, if there are any revealed cards remaining in the shop, discard them.
Count the Points
For scoring, only the bulbs count.
- You score 1 point for each bulb in your Garland stack.
- You lose 1 point for each bulb in the sets "under construction" (not finished) in your play area.
The player with the most points wins.
If there is a tie, the tied player with the most cards in their Garland stack wins. If it is still a tie, the tied player with the most negative points in their play area wins. If even this is a tie, the tied players share the victory.
The Game at a Glance
Your turn begins. Are there cards in the shop?
- No: Reveal 1 card. Is the card the same color as the last card in the shop? If yes, your turn is complete (no Take action).
- Yes: Are there 5 cards? If no, choose an action: reveal a card, or take 1 color. If yes, take 2 colors.
- Your turn is complete.
Example of a Game in Progress
Joan, Michael, and Sophie are playing a 3-player game. It's Joan's turn. Because there are no cards in the shop, he must reveal the top card from the deck A. It's pink. He chooses to reveal another B, but it is also pink. So his turn ends immediately.
It's Michael's turn. He hasn't started collecting any sets, so he decides not to reveal cards, and just takes the 2 pink cards. This is a good move, because with their 3 total bulbs, they form a complete set, and they have 4 points that immediately get stored safely in his Garland stack. His turn is over.
It's Sophie's turn. She must reveal at least 1 card; she reveals a silver. Then she reveals 4 more, one after the other, luckily never the same color as the previous: pink, silver, pink, orange. With 5 cards revealed, she cannot reveal any more, and must take 2 colors of cards. She chooses to take silver and pink.
With 6 bulbs, the silver set is complete, and must be stored. Her pink set now has more than 3, without being a multiple of 3: She must discard this set. If she had taken the orange card instead of the 2 pink, she would have lost the orange set, but she's banking on the greater number of points in her orange set.
Before Joan starts his turn, Sophie shifts the cards left in the shop closer to the deck. Then it's Joan's turn and he chooses to reveal a card, then another: Gold, then orange. He decides to stop so he can take the orange set, because it is complete, and he doesn't have one started in his play area. As a result, he directly stores this set.
Michael reveals 4 more cards. Unfortunately, the final card is the same color as the previous card. His turn ends without him getting to take cards.
Sophie cannot reveal a new card because there are already the maximum of 5 in the shop. She is therefore required to take 2 colors of cards. No choices let her complete a set this turn. If she had taken the orange card, she would have lost her orange set (4 bulbs).