Fairy Season
Fairy Season Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 64 Season Fairies: Two of each number (1-8) for each of the four seasons.
- 4 Royal Fairies: King, Queen, Prince, Princess.
- 16 Goblins: Two each of eight different Goblins.
- 6 Traps.
Setup
- Shuffle all the cards into one deck.
- Deal five cards to each player (which they may look at).
- Place the remaining cards face down in center of table to form the deck.
- The player that most recently ate a mushroom goes first.
Overview
Players take turns playing an escalating sequence of numbered Fairies through the four seasons onto a Swarm - the cards you can capture each round. They may also play Goblins, Traps and rare Royal Fairies to add some chaos into the hunt. If a player flunks (cannot follow), and another player cannot continue play with a Royal Fairy, play stops. The previous player wins the Swarm and puts it onto their Stash. Play starts again with the player who flunked. This continues until the deck is exhausted, then players total their points scored from Fairies in their Stash.
Stash
Your personal pile of captured cards. You get points for captured Fairies in your Stash at the end of the game. Your Stash is always a single pile, and always face-up. When you stash cards for any reason, put them on top of this pile face-up.
How to Play
Each of the card types will be explained shortly, but first here is how you play the game.
The first player chooses a card from their hand to play face-up next to the deck to create the Swarm. You may start with any card but typically you play a Spring or Summer Fairy.
When you play a card, use its ability if you can. Some Fairies allow you to draw cards, others allow you to stash a card for points, and some allow you to do both. Goblins do special tricks. Traps capture the whole Swarm, and Royal Fairies break the Traps.
Then play passes to the left. The next player may play a card onto the Swarm following The Rules of the Hunt.
If the next player can't follow your play, they flunk. Then, if another player doesn't continue play with a Royal Fairy, play stops and you win the Swarm! Place all the cards in the Swarm onto your Stash. Keep them face up, and don't change their order.
After a Swarm has been won, in turn order each player draws cards from the deck until they have five cards. If you already have five or more cards in hand after a Swarm has been won, don't draw. There is no hand size limit so you don't need to discard down to five cards.
The last player who flunked becomes the first player, and may now play any card to start the next Swarm.
Play continues this way with a number of Swarms being captured. When the deck is exhausted, it's the final Swarm. Once the final Swarm has been won the game ends. Players then tally the Fairies in their Stash to see who is the winner!
The Rules of the Hunt
There are 4 types of cards you play in Fairy Season: Season Fairies, Royal Fairies, Goblins and Traps.
Each of these cards types must be played according to The Rules of the Hunt. Generally you play Fairies in an escalating sequence of numbers across each of the four seasons in order to draw or stash cards, and possibly win the Swarm. Sometimes you play Goblins to do cunning tricks. Or Traps to try and capture the whole Swarm. Or powerful Royal Fairies to release those Swarms. The following pages describe how to play each type of card.
1. Season Fairies
Season Fairies (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter Fairies) are the most common cards, and what you tally for points at the end of the game. All Season Fairies must be played following Season Rules:
Season Rules
If starting a new Swarm, or playing onto a Swarm that somehow has no Season Fairies, you may play any one valid card from your hand, including a Fairy from any season.
However, if playing a Fairy onto a Swarm that already has at least one Season Fairy, look at the topmost Season Fairy, and then play another Season Fairy that is:
- The same season, and has the same or higher number, or
- Any number Fairy from the next season.
The seasons follow this order: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. However, you may start a new Swarm from any season. Once a Swarm is started, you cannot skip seasons or go backwards.
The seasons do not loop, and end with Winter. Thus Winter 8 is the highest Fairy. You may not play any further Season Fairies on it (other than another Winter 8). After this the only cards that can be played are Traps, Goblins or Royal Fairies.
An example of Fairies played into a Swarm following season rules: 3 Spring, 3 Spring, 7 Spring, then 4 Summer, 6 Summer, then 2 Autumn, 7 Autumn, then 6 Winter.
Season Fairies allow you to draw and/or stash additional cards as you play them. Use the ability of each card as it is played.
- Draw: Draw a number of cards from the deck into your hand.
- Stash: Put card/s into your Stash (points pile) in front of you, face up. Use Season Fairy abilities to stash cards from your hand, or Goblin abilities to stash from the Swarm or a rival's Stash. At the end of the game you will score all the Fairies in your Stash.
Special Rule: Matching Bonus!
If the number of the Season Fairy you play matches the number of the topmost Season Fairy on the Swarm, first use your card's ability as normal, then as a bonus action you may either:
- Draw a card from the deck, or
- Stash a card from your hand.
Can I play a Season Fairy on top of...? Season Fairies may be played on top of any card except Traps, but must follow Season Rules.
What can I play on top of a Season Fairy? You may play any type of card from your hand on top of a Season Fairy, as long as it follows Season Rules.
Scoring: Season Fairies in your Stash are worth 1 point each at the end of the game.
2. Goblins
Goblins have chaotic abilities which may override the game rules.
Goblins may be played even if their ability does not work. In this case they are effectively a "wild" card, allowing you to continue the current Swarm. E.g. playing Robber Goblin ("Play a Fairy from the top of any Stash onto the Swarm, using season rules") when there is no valid target is still a legal play.
Play Goblins sideways across the Swarm so you can always see the current Season Fairy underneath.
Can I play a Goblin on top of...? Goblins may be played on top of any card except Traps and Royal Fairies.
What can I play on top of a Goblin? You may play any type of card on top of a Goblin.
Scoring: Goblins in your Stash are not worth any points at the end of the game.
3. Traps
Use Traps to try to catch the whole Swarm!
The only cards that may be played on top of a Trap are either another Trap, or a Royal Fairy. If the next player can't do this, they flunk. Then, if another player doesn't continue play with a Royal Fairy, you win the Swarm.
Play Traps sideways across the Swarm so you can always see the current Season Fairy underneath.
Can I play a Trap on top of...? Traps may be played on top of any card except Royal Fairies.
What can I play on top of a Trap? Only a Royal Fairy or a Trap can be played on top of a Trap.
Scoring: Traps in your Stash are not worth any points at the end of the game.
4. Royal Fairies
There are four Royal Fairy cards in the game: the King, Queen, Prince and Princess. They come to defend the Fairies from the Goblins and break them free from Traps. But they are also a valuable prize for Goblins to catch!
Play Royal Fairies sideways across the Swarm so you can always see the current Season Fairy underneath.
Can I play a Royal Fairy on top of...? Royal Fairies may be played on top of any card.
What can I play on top of a Royal Fairy? Traps and Goblins may not be played on top of a Royal Fairy. Only Season Fairies or Royal Fairies may be played on top of a Royal Fairy.
Royal Win: If at any time you have all four Royal Fairies in your Stash, you immediately win the game!
Royal Fairies may be played out of turn! If the current player cannot play a card and flunks then, in turn order, any other player may play a Royal Fairy to continue the Swarm. Play then continues as normal from the person who played the Royal Fairy. Players who flunked earlier this round may also continue to play in turn.
Scoring: Royal Fairies in your Stash are worth 2 points each at the end of the game!
End Game Scoring
When the last card is drawn from the deck, it's the final Swarm. When this final Swarm is won, the game is over. Players now score all the Fairies in their Stash. Cards in hand are discarded and not counted for points.
The player with the most points wins!
If tied, the player with the most Royal Fairies in their Stash wins.
| Card in Stash | Points |
|---|---|
| Season Fairy | 1 |
| Royal Fairy | 2 |
| Goblin | 0 |
| Trap | 0 |
F.A.Q.
Q: What happens if it's my turn and I have no cards left in my hand? A: You flunk, just like if you couldn't follow, and must wait until the next Swarm. This ends the current Swarm, unless another player plays a Royal Fairy to continue play. Once it has ended you draw cards from the deck until you have five in hand.
Q: Greedy Goblin says take the top two Fairies from the Swarm but there's only one (or none!) left. What do I do? A: Take as many Fairies as you can, up to the two that the card allows. It's OK if that means taking no Fairies. It still counts as playing a wild card, so you're still in the round.
Q: The previous player took all the Fairies from the Swarm and there are none left. What Fairy can I play? A: Any Season Fairy of any number you like! It is as though you were starting a new Swarm (but no-one draws up to five).
Q: Can I change the order of cards in my Stash? A: No. All cards go into your Stash in the order they are won or stashed.
Q: Can I choose to flunk even if I can actually play a card? A: Yes.
Important Rules
Season Fairies must be played into the Swarm following Season Rules (see Season Fairies above).
Special Rule: Matching Bonus! If the number of the Season Fairy you play matches the number of the topmost Season Fairy on the Swarm, first use your card's ability as normal, then as a bonus action you may either: draw a card from the deck, or stash a card from your hand.
Royal Fairies may be played out of turn! If the current player cannot play a card and flunks then, in turn order, any other player may play a Royal Fairy to continue the Swarm. Play then continues as normal from the person who played the Royal Fairy. Players who flunked earlier this round may also continue to play in turn.
Royal Win: If at any time you have all four Royal Fairies in your Stash, you immediately win the game!
| Card in Stash | Points |
|---|---|
| Season Fairy | 1 |
| Royal Fairy | 2 |
| Goblin | 0 |
| Trap | 0 |
Source note: the rules text is transcribed from the English Good Games Publishing rulebook (2019) supplied as the bgg-file PDF. Individual card abilities (e.g. Draw 2, Stash 1, and the eight Goblins' effects) are printed on the cards themselves; where the rulebook shows them only as card art, they are not transcribed here beyond the examples in the text.