Final Touch
Final Touch Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 25 Masterpiece cards (face: the painting with the required Colour Strokes and a money value in the corner; back)
- 60 Colour Stroke cards (12 of each of 5 colours)
Setup
- Shuffle the Masterpiece cards and place them as a pile face up (the side with two artists) so all players can reach it.
- Shuffle the Colour Stroke cards and deal each player 5 cards face down. Each player takes their cards into their hand. Place the remaining cards as a face-down draw pile within reach of all players.
- Take the top card of the Masterpiece pile and place it on the table, leaving room to its left and right for other cards. Because the Masterpiece pile lies face up, you always see the Masterpiece you are currently fighting for and the next Masterpiece.
- The first player is the player who was last in a museum.
Number of Players
- With two players, you simply play against each other.
- With three players, each artist plays for themselves.
- With four players, you play in teams of two (sit alternately around the table).
With three or four players, players take turns clockwise.
Turn Sequence
On their turn each player plays cards from their hand onto the current Masterpiece. When a Masterpiece is completed or ruined (by three smears), a new Masterpiece card is laid out and the game continues.
Players keep playing cards until one of them (or one team) has a total of $25 or more. On each turn a player must play at least one Colour Stroke card, choosing one of two actions:
IMPROVE THE PICTURE or SMEAR THE PICTURE
You cannot do both actions in the same turn, and you cannot pass. Then the next player takes a turn, choosing from the same two actions: Improve or Smear.
Improve the Picture
To improve a Masterpiece, play one or more cards from your hand into the Improvement Zone. Each card played must match a Colour Stroke that the Masterpiece still lacks.
Example: A Masterpiece can be improved by:
- one yellow stroke
- one green stroke
- two brown strokes
One player has already played one card to improve it. Another player improves the Masterpiece by adding one yellow stroke and one brown stroke.
Note: If that player had held another brown stroke card, they could have played that as well.
Smear the Picture
To smear the picture, play one card into the Smear Zone.
Notes on smearing:
- You may play only one card (no more).
- You may play only a card that cannot be used to improve the current picture (that is, not a card of a missing colour).
- A player must smear the picture if they have no way to improve it.
Refilling Your Hand
At the end of their turn, players draw cards up to five in hand.
If the Colour Stroke pile runs out, shuffle all discarded cards and form a new pile.
Scoring a Masterpiece
A Masterpiece is scored in one of two ways:
1) Improvement
When a player adds the last missing colour to the current Masterpiece (the final touch!), they turn the Masterpiece card over and place it in front of themselves. Their money increases by the amount shown in the corner of the painting.
Example: By adding one yellow stroke you complete this Masterpiece. Turn its card over and place it in front of you. You have just earned $4.
Note for four players: Only one player of a team collects the Masterpiece cards completed by that team.
2) Smearing
When a player plays the third card into the Smear Zone, they ruin the Masterpiece and give it to their opponents. The Masterpiece counts as ruined and is given to the opponents face up, increasing their money (but by a smaller amount).
Example: By adding the third Colour Stroke to the Smear Zone, the player ruined the Masterpiece. The Masterpiece card is placed face up in front of their opponent and brings that opponent the amount of money shown on the face side.
Note: In a three-player game the ruined Masterpiece is placed face up between the opponents. Thus both of them receive the amount shown on it (see "Reminders and Notes").
New Masterpiece
After a Masterpiece has been completed or ruined:
- Discard all cards from the Improvement and Smear Zones.
- Take the top Masterpiece card from the pile and place it on the table face up: it is now the new current Masterpiece.
- The player who completed or ruined the previous Masterpiece refills their hand to 5 cards and immediately takes another turn.
End of the Game
The game ends as soon as one player (or, in a four-player game, one team) has collected Masterpiece cards worth a total of $25 or more. That player (or team) wins the game.
Special case: If two players tie in a three-player game, those two players fight over one final Masterpiece. The winner takes all!
Reminders and Notes
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In a three-player game, a player receives all the money from the Masterpieces they completed, as well as the money for ruined Masterpieces (cards lying between two players) equally with their neighbours.
In the example, the blue player has $16 in total: $5 earned alone; $3 shared with the red player; $8 shared with the green player.
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If the Colour Stroke pile runs out, shuffle all discarded cards and form a new pile.
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A player cannot skip a turn. On their turn a player must play at least one card into either the Improvement Zone or the Smear Zone.
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When you complete or ruin a Masterpiece, you refill your hand to 5 cards and take an extra turn.
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The Masterpiece pile lies face up, so players know in advance which set of colours will be needed for the next Masterpiece and can use this information.