Fantasy Tiles Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Setup
• Goal of the Game
• Gameplay
• Game Turn
• 1. Place Tiles
  • Placement Restrictions
  • Discovery Tokens
  • Ghost
  • In Case of Deadlock
• 2. Score Points
• 3. Earn Bonuses
  • Treasure Tiles
  • Power Card Anatomy
• 4. Draw New Tiles
• End of Game
• Final Scoring
• Variants
• Team Mode
  • Swapping
• Appendix: Powers
  • Hammer Tokens
  • Fairy Tokens
• Examples of a 2-Player Game
  • Turn 1
  • Turn 2
  • Turn 3
• Variants
  • Haunted Plains
  • United We Stand
  • The Borderlands
  • Area Defense

Game Setup

1. Place the board in the middle of the table. For your first game, it is recommended that you use side A of the board.
2. Shuffle the 12 Discovery tokens face down, then place 1 randomly on each of the spaces marked with an X on the board. Then, flip them all face up. The Discovery tokens are: 8 Castle tokens, 4 Treasure tokens.
3. Form the supply next to the board as follows: a. Shuffle the 20 Treasure tiles with the Chest side face up into a pile. b. Place the 7 Power cards face up in a row next to the game board. c. Next to the game board, place as many Fairy tokens as there are players. Do the same with the Hammer tokens. Return the remaining Fairy and Hammer tokens to the box.
4. Place the 80 Faction tiles into the bag and mix them well. The Faction tiles are distributed as follows:
   • Elf x 14
   • Goblin x 13
   • Mermaid x 11
   • Dwarf x 10
   • Dragon x 9
   • Wizard x 8
   • Fairy x 7
   • Ghost x 8
5. Give each player a rack. Each player draws 6 tiles from the bag and places them on their rack so that only they can see their faces. Return any extra racks to the box.
6. Write each player's name on the scorepad.

Goal of the Game

The player who has earned the most Victory Points (VP) at the end of the game is the winner.

In a 4-player game, it is recommended that the players split into two teams of 2 players, and the team with the highest combined Victory Point (VP) total at the end of the game wins. Detailed rules for team play are found in the Team Mode section below.

Gameplay

Select the first player using any method you choose. That player takes the Dwarf Power card and 1 Hammer token.

The first player takes the first turn, after which play will proceed clockwise.

The game ends when the bag is empty AND when any player's rack is empty.

Game Turn

On your turn, perform these steps in order:

1. Place tiles
2. Score points
3. Earn bonuses
4. Draw new tiles

Once the above steps are completed, it is the next player's turn.

1. Place Tiles

On your turn, select 1 or more Faction tiles from your rack, which are either all identical or all different, then place them by connecting them orthogonally to at least 1 tile on the board.

The selected tiles must be placed in a straight line (which can be a row or column) so that they EXTEND or CREATE a continuous sequence of tiles horizontally or vertically:

• EXTEND a line: Tiles are placed into an existing line, forming a continuous sequence of tiles; the line may be extended on either or both ends.
• CREATE a line: The placed tiles form a new line of continuous tiles, which can extend or intersect 1 or more other lines.

All lines created or extended must consist of:

• A. Faction tiles that are all identical. OR
• B. Faction tiles that are all different.

Important: On the first turn, the first player must use the CREATE option above, placing at least 1 of their tiles on one of the 4 starting spaces in the center of the board instead of connecting to an existing tile. Furthermore, they cannot play a single Ghost on this first turn.

Placement Restrictions

You can place most Faction tiles on any type of space. However, placement restrictions apply to certain Factions:

• Dwarf tiles must be placed on Mountain spaces.
• Mermaid tiles must be placed on Water spaces. Note: A space containing a Castle Discovery token counts as both a Water space and a Mountain space.
• You cannot place a tile on a space orthogonally adjacent to a Ghost tile that is already on the board (see Ghost below).

The printed rulebook also includes a placement restriction chart (page 4) listing each Faction against each space type.

Discovery Tokens

When you place your Faction tiles on the board, you may place them on Discovery tokens. The Discovery tokens will be removed during the Score Points step.

Ghost

The Ghost is a special type of Faction. When placing tiles, you can choose up to 1 Ghost tile from your rack. A Ghost is considered identical when placing a line of identical tiles, or different when placing a line of different tiles. A line of different Faction tiles can contain at most 7 different Factions + 1 Ghost.

• A single Ghost tile can represent one Faction in one line and a different Faction in an intersecting line.
• A line on the board can never contain more than 1 Ghost.
• Once placed, a Ghost prevents players in future turns from placing tiles in the spaces that are orthogonally adjacent to it.

Example caption: A line of 5 different Factions, including 1 Ghost, is placed. The Ghost serves as a connection to the line of Dragons. Therefore, it is a Dragon in one line and a different Faction in the other line. From now on, no tiles can be placed in the spaces to the right of and below the Ghost.

In Case of Deadlock

In the rare instance when you CANNOT play on your turn (because no placements would be legal):

1. Reveal the Faction tiles on your rack to the other players (to show that you have no possible move).
2. Play a line such that 1 of the tiles touches the corner of an existing tile.
3. Each of your opponents draws 1 Treasure tile from the supply (see Treasure, page 6).

Example caption: It is Bea's turn, but she cannot play. She shows that she has neither an Elf nor a Ghost on her rack. She then plays tiles by creating a new line touching the corner of an existing tile. Albert and Charlie each draw 1 Treasure tile from the supply.

2. Score Points

Score the VP of the tiles in any line you created and/or extended during this turn:

• The same tile can be counted twice as part of two different lines.
• If you covered a Castle Discovery token during this turn, the VP of each line the Castle Discovery token occupied are doubled. The token is then returned to the box. The Faction tile on the space remains on the board.

Note: When scoring, if a line covers 2 Castle Discovery tokens, the VP value of that line is quadrupled, then both tokens are removed.

Write the score obtained during this turn on the scorepad.

3. Earn Bonuses

Receive any bonuses earned in the following order:

A. Discovering a Treasure. If you covered a Treasure Discovery token during this turn, draw 1 Treasure tile from the supply. The Treasure Discovery token is then returned to the box.

B. Rack Emptied. If your rack is now empty, draw 1 Treasure tile from the supply.

C. Identical Faction tiles. When you create or extend a line of identical Faction tiles, you may claim the corresponding Power card.

1. If you do not already have it (i.e., it is in the supply or in front of an opponent), take the card and place it in front of you.
2. Regardless of whether you just took it, or you already had it, apply its effect, if possible (see Faction Powers in the Appendix).

If you create or extend multiple lines of identical Faction tiles, you can claim only 1 matching Power card. Its effect is applied once during a turn.

Ghosts do not have a matching Power card.

Treasure Tiles

Keep your Treasure tiles face down in front of you. You may secretly look at them at any time, but you will only reveal their values and score their VP at the end of the game.

If you must draw a Treasure tile when the supply is depleted, immediately score 7 points instead. Write this score directly on the scorepad.

Power Card Anatomy

Each Power card shows a VP value, a Faction illustration, and an effect.

4. Draw New Tiles

Refill your rack by drawing new Faction tiles from the bag so that you have 6 tiles again, if possible.

Note: If the bag does not contain enough tiles, but you still have tiles on your rack after drawing, continue the game with your remaining tiles.

It is now the next player's turn.

End of Game

At the end of a player's turn, the game ends if both the following conditions are met:

• There are no more tiles in the bag AND any player's rack is empty.

If so, proceed to final scoring.

Final Scoring

Reveal your Treasure tiles, then calculate your score by adding:

• The VP you earned by placing Faction tiles.
• The VP shown on the Power cards you end the game with.
• The VP shown on your Treasure tiles.

The player with the most Victory Points wins the game! In the event of a tie, the victory is shared.

Variants

Several variants are proposed on the scorepad. At the beginning of your next game, you can decide to use one or more of these variants (marking the chosen variants on the scorepad). They may modify the setup and/or rules for that game (see Variants in the Appendix).

Team Mode

(For 4 players only.)

All the rules described previously apply.

The only changes for the Team Mode are as follows:

• Before setup, players form two teams of 2, with players seated so that the teams alternate taking turns.
• During the game, record the team's score in a single column.
• Teammates may look at each other's Treasure tokens.
• Teammates can communicate with each other, but all communication must be made aloud, and not while placing tiles. Communication between teammates is limited to the board layout, activating Powers, swap requests, and requesting Fairy/Hammer tokens from each other. They cannot reveal the types or quantities of tiles on their racks to each other.

Swapping

At the start of your turn, you may swap tiles with your teammate. To do this, you may make a single request in one of the following two ways:

• State a Faction tile that you are looking for; or
• State a Faction tile that you are offering.

Your teammate then makes their own request.

Once each of you has spoken, if you choose to proceed with the swap, both of you select 1 of your tiles at the same time and place it face down in front of you. After both tiles are chosen, they are swapped.

NOTE: The chosen tiles do not have to match the requests. Additionally, your teammate may give you any number of their Fairy/Hammer tokens if they agree.

Once you begin placing tiles on your turn, you may not communicate with your teammate until the final tile has been placed.

In case of a deadlock, the opposing team receives only 1 Treasure tile.

Example 1: "Watch out, we absolutely must play there. We don't want to leave that opportunity for the opposing team!"

Example 2: — Albert: I'm looking for an Elf. — Charlie: I can give you a Goblin. — Albert: Let's swap anyway.

Example 3: Albert cannot say: "I'm looking for a Goblin OR an Elf."

Appendix: Powers

Wizard. Effect: Immediately swap this card with an opponent's Power card. You must immediately apply the effect of the swapped card. If none of your opponents has a Power card, swap this card for a Power card from the central row. End-game value: 8 VP.

Goblin. Effect: Choose an opponent. Look at their tiles and steal 1, adding it to your rack. The opponent does not draw a replacement tile. End-game value: 3 VP.

Elf. Effect: None. End-game value: 15 VP.

Dragon. Effect: Draw 1 Treasure tile from the supply (see page 6). End-game value: 9 VP.

Mermaid. Effect: Immediately find and take 1 tile of your choice from the Bag and add it to your rack. End-game value: 12 VP.

Dwarf. Effect: Take 1 Hammer token from the supply. If none remain in the supply, steal 1 from the opponent of your choice. You may have any number of Hammer tokens. End-game value: 6 VP.

Fairy. Effect: Take 1 Fairy token from the supply. If none remain in the supply, steal 1 from the opponent of your choice. You may have any number of Fairy tokens. End-game value: 3 VP.

Hammer Tokens

Before placing tiles, you may discard 1 Hammer token to the supply to remove 1 tile of your choice from the board. Return the removed tile to the box.

• You may discard multiple Hammer tokens; for each one discarded, remove 1 tile.
• You are not required to use a Hammer token to avoid being deadlocked.
• In a 4-player game, you may give a Hammer token to your teammate during their turn.

If a tile is removed from a Discovery space, do not place a Discovery token on it again.

Fairy Tokens

When placing tiles, you may discard 1 Fairy token to the supply to ignore terrain restrictions of Dwarves and/or Mermaids during this turn. You must still follow other placement rules.

Moreover:

• You are not required to use a Fairy token to avoid being deadlocked.
• In a 4-player game, you may give a Fairy token to your teammate during their turn.

Examples of a 2-Player Game

Turn 1

Albert is the first player. He must create a line covering one of the central spaces. He selects 3 different Faction tiles and places them, making sure to:

• Place the Mermaid on a Water space.

He immediately scores 6 VP (3 + 2 + 1). He then draws 3 Faction tiles to refill his rack to 6 tiles.

Turn 2

It's now Bea's turn. She selects 3 identical Faction tiles and 1 Ghost, making sure to place each Mermaid on a Water space (a Castle Discovery token is treated like a Water space).

She discards the Castle Discovery token and immediately scores 24 VP (12 VP x 2 because the Castle token doubles the value).

Since she created a line of Mermaids, she takes the Mermaid Power card and triggers its effect. She chooses to take 1 Dragon tile from the Bag. She refills her rack to 6 by drawing 3 more tiles at random.

Note: Players can no longer place tiles on the 3 spaces orthogonally adjacent to the Ghost.

Turn 3

It's Albert's turn again. He chooses to place all his Faction tiles to create a new line following the placement rules:

• His Dwarf is placed on a Mountain space and;
• The line created and each line extended is comprised of either all identical Faction tiles, or all different Faction tiles.

He adds the VP for each line created or extended to his score.

• Vertically: 11 VP (A)
• Horizontally: 4 VP (B)
• Horizontally: 1 VP (B)

On this turn, he scores 16 VP. His new total score is 6 + 16 = 22 VP.

Since he emptied his tile rack, he also draws 1 Treasure tile. He found the Treasure worth 13 VP! He keeps it face down until the end of the game.

His placed tiles also extended two lines containing identical Faction tiles:

• Wizards
• Goblins (thanks to the Ghost)

He chooses one of those 2 Power cards and must immediately apply its effect. He ends his turn by drawing tiles until he has 6 tiles on his rack.

Variants

Before setup, you may choose to incorporate one or more of the following variants. Check them on the scorepad.

Haunted Plains

The game is played as usual with the following setup addition:

• Setup: After step 2, take 4 Ghost tiles from the Bag and place each of them on the 4 Treasure Discovery tokens.

United We Stand

The game is played as usual with the following additions:

• When you place the 4th tile in a 2x2 square of identical Faction tiles, draw 1 Treasure tile from the supply.
• The effect of a Hammer token cannot remove tiles that are part of a 2x2 square (or larger rectangle).
• Only 1 Treasure tile may be drawn for each Faction per game, regardless of which player completed the square.

The Borderlands

The game is played as usual with the following additions:

• When you place a tile in one of the 4 corner spaces on the board, complete your turn as usual, and then take an extra turn.
• Each corner effect can be applied only once per game, even if a tile is removed by using a Hammer. Check the corner spaces where tiles have been placed on the scorepad.

Area Defense

The game is played as usual with the following additions:

• When you place tiles such that you enclose an area surrounded by tiles, score additional VP equal to the number of unoccupied spaces (i.e., spaces that do not contain a Faction tile) within that area.
• 2 tiles placed so they are only diagonally adjacent do count for enclosing an area.
• Each space can only score 1 VP per game in this way, regardless of who claims it.

Example: By placing these 4 tiles, Albert encloses an area of 3 unoccupied spaces. He scores 3 additional VP.

Example: The 2 Wizards are connected at their corners, as marked above, creating a closed area containing 2 unoccupied spaces.