Favelas
Favelas Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 4 Player Boards
- 4 Victory Point Trackers
- 1 Council Board with Point Track
- 55 Double Favela Tiles
- 5 End of Year Tiles
- 10 Single Favela Tiles
- 5 Color Council Dice
- 1 Clear 5 Color Bonus Council Die
- 4 50+ Tokens
Objective
The player who accumulates the most Victory Points (VP) over the course of 3 years wins.
Set-Up
A. Each player begins the game with a random Player Board, a single Scoring Token, and a 50+ Token.
B. Place the Council Board within easy reach of all players.
C. Each player places their Scoring Token at 0 on the Council Board's Victory Point track.
D. Shuffle all of the Double Favela Tiles face-down. Create 3 face-down stacks, using the chart below to determine the number of tiles in each stack per player. More tiles will be added to the bottom of these stacks in a moment. Set the unused tiles aside.
Initial Stacks:
- 2 Players = 8 Double Tiles
- 3 Players = 11 Double Tiles
- 4 Players = 14 Double Tiles
E. Take 3 of the unused Double Favela Tiles and shuffle them together face-down with one End of Year Tile. Place these under one of the stacks created in the step above. Repeat this for all Double Favela Tile stacks. The number of tiles in each stack (including the End of Year Tiles) should match the chart below.
Final Stacks:
- 2 Players = 12 Double Tiles
- 3 Players = 15 Double Tiles
- 4 Players = 18 Double Tiles
F. Take 1 of the 3 stacks and place it face-down in a location that all players have easy access to. Set aside the other two stacks for now.
G. Reveal 3 Double Favela Tiles face-up in the center of the play area, creating the supply.
H. Shuffle the Single Favela Tiles and place them face-down in a location that all players have easy access to.
I. The youngest player rolls the Council Dice and places them on their corresponding color spaces on the Council Board.
J. The person who has most recently been to Rio de Janeiro goes first. If this results in a tie, put the game away and never play it again. Or randomly pick a starting player.
Gameplay Overview
Favelas is played over the course of 3 years. Each year ends immediately when the End of Year Tile is drawn.
Players take turns placing tiles on their individual Player Boards. At the end of each year, Victory Points (VP) will be awarded to the players with the most spaces of each of the 5 different colors shown on their Player Board.
Additionally, bonus points will be awarded to any player with all 5 colors present on their Player Board. In any case, these VP values are determined by the current number on the Council Dice.
After 3 years, the player with the most VP will be the winner.
On Your Turn
Each player's turn consists of drawing a tile, placing it on their Player Board, and then refilling the supply if necessary. After each turn, play continues to the left.
During your turn you must take a tile using 1 of the following actions:
A. Take a face-up Double Favela Tile.
B. Draw a face-down Double Favela Tile.
C. Draw a face-down Single Favela Tile, increasing or decreasing the Clear 5 Color Bonus Council Die by 1.
After taking a tile, you must immediately place it on your Player Board. After placing your tile, refill the supply if needed. Once placed, all Favela Tiles remain on your board until the end of the game.
When Placing a Tile
You may orient the tile any direction. If you place a tile that covers a space with a matching color, you must increase or decrease the corresponding Council Die for that color by 1, your choice.
In this example, a purple tile is placed on top of another purple, so the Purple Council Die will be adjusted.
Tiles stack upward, but never extend beyond the perimeter of the Player Board. You may only place a tile on an area of your Player Board where the entire piece is at the same height. No tile can ever cross two different heights at once. Tiles must lie flat on the Player Board.
Tiles cannot extend beyond the Player Board. Tiles cannot cross two different heights at once.
Once a space on a Player Board is covered, the colors beneath no longer count. Only the top, visible level of each space is counted toward your score. Once placed, tiles cannot be re-arranged and remain on your Player Board until the end of the game.
Adjusting Council Dice
When a player covers a space with a matching color they must increase or decrease the corresponding Council Die by 1. Note: if your Double Favela Tile covers both spaces with matching colors, you will adjust the die or dice for both colors.
Similarly, any player who takes a Single Favela Tile must increase or decrease the Clear 5 Color Bonus Council Die by 1. In addition, if the placement of a single tile covers a space with a matching color they must also increase or decrease the corresponding Council Die by 1.
These adjustments are mandatory. A die's value can never be made higher than 6 or lower than 1, which may force players to lower the value of a die that favors them if they are not careful.
End of Year
Eventually, the End of Year Tile will be revealed. When the End of Year Tile is revealed the year ends immediately. If on a player's turn, they revealed the End of Year Tile by drawing from the face-down stack, the player finishes their turn, placing the End of Year Tile on their Player Board, adjusting the Council Dice if needed, and then the year ends immediately.
It is now time for players to score Victory Points (VP.) Determine which player has the most of each tile color visible on their player board. For each tile color they have the majority of, each player scores VP equal to the value of the corresponding Council Die. If more than one player ties for the most of a color, then they all score the full amount.
All players who have all 5 colors visible on their Player Board score VP equal to the value of the Clear 5 Color Bonus Council Die.
Here is an example of scoring, if the Beautification Council Guidelines dice look like this at the end of the year: Player 1 = 4 points, Player 2 = 7 points, Player 3 = 9 points.
- Player 1: 1 Point for Blue, 1 Point for Purple, 2 Points for Yellow — 4 Points Total
- Player 2: 1 Point for Purple, 4 Points for Green, 2 Points for 5 Color Bonus — 7 Points Total
- Player 3: 1 Point for Purple, 6 Points for Red, 2 Points for 5 Color Bonus — 9 Points Total
After each player has moved their score marker to reflect the VP they have gained this year:
- Remove any remaining Double Favela Tiles from the completed year.
- Put out a new stack of Double Favela Tiles previously set aside. (If no stacks remain, the game ends.)
- Reveal 3 Double Favela Tiles face-up in the supply from the new stack.
- Re-roll the Council Dice and place them in their corresponding spaces. Then, continue play as usual, picking up from where the turn-order left off at the end of last year.
End of Game
After 3 years have been completed, the player with the most Victory Points is the winner! If this results in a tie, break the tie using the following methods in order until the tie is broken:
- The player with the tallest stack of tiles on their Player Board.
- If the result is still a tie, do your best to try and enjoy your shared victory. But let's be honest, you should play again to find out who is the true winner.
Special Thanks
The designer would like to thank: Donald Shults, Niki Shults, Andrew Manson, Sean McCoy, UnPub, Darrell Louder, Travis D. Hill, J. Alex Kevern, Adam McIver, Kerry McIver, Randy Hoyte, Brandon Nichols, Brad Dougher, James Washington, Brittney Washington, Jerry Hawthorne, Isaac Vega, Sam Vega, Chad Hoverter, Colby Dauch, Brian Beyke, Emerson Matsuuchi, all of the playtesters, my parents Bill and Corinne Bryan, and my amazing wife Abby Sherrill.
Designer: Chris Bryan Graphic Designer: Brigette Indelicato Illustrator: Kwanchai Moriya Developer: Donald Shults Rules Editor: Travis D. Hill