Flaming Pyramids Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Set Up
• Taking a Turn
• Building Regulations (Placement Rules)
• Mayhem?
• Collapses
• Basic Game
• A Collapse Step by Step
• More Mayhem: Straw Fires
  • Example
• Wood Fires!
• Wood Fire Example
• Wild Tile
• Explosions
• The Curse
• Checking Order
• Competitive Game or Family Game? You Decide!
  • Family Game
  • Competitive Game
• Playing in Rounds
• A Strategic Tip
• Credits

Objective

Be the first to get rid of all your materials (i.e. tiles), no matter how much mayhem you may cause!

Set Up

• Turn the tiles face down and mix them up. Deal them evenly among the players, with each player putting theirs into their own facedown draw pile, then drawing a hand of 5 which they keep hidden.
• When there are leftover tiles (for example, in a six player regular game, each player receives 7 tiles: 6 x 7 = 42, so there are 3 tiles left over), place them next to each other in a face up row in the play area. If any of the leftover tiles are an Ember (1 yellow, 1 green, 7 blue or 7 red) remove it from (this round) of the game.

Example: 3 leftover tiles. Remove the Ember tile and begin the game with the 120 and 20 on the starting row.

[Diagram: a red 7 Ember tile marked with an X for removal, next to a blue 120 tile and a green 20 tile — the two tiles that start the row.]

• The youngest player takes the first turn.

Taking a Turn

Choose which of your five tiles you'd like to play. Each turn, you must play exactly one tile. If that tile does not fit with the ones below according to the building regulations, then you must suffer the consequences.

Place your tile on the pyramid (see next section), resolve any subsequent mayhem, then draw back up to 5 tiles (unless your draw pile is empty.)

Building Regulations (Placement Rules)

In general, place your tile to form a pyramid shape. Remember that all players are building on a single pyramid while competing to be the first to exhaust their cards.

In the following examples, the spaces outlined with green dotted lines show the place(s) where a tile can be played.

If there are no tiles (A) or only one on the table (B), you can play any tile you'd like. B has two possible places.

[Diagram A: an empty space outlined by a green dashed square — the tile can go anywhere.]

[Diagram B: a single red 100 tile on the table, with a green dashed square on each side of it, showing the two possible placement spots.]

As soon as there are two tiles next to each other with no tile on top of them, that is the place where you must put your tile. (C, D, and E)

[Diagram C: two base tiles (red 100, blue 120) side by side, with a green dashed square above the gap between them.]

[Diagram D: three base tiles (red 100, blue 120, yellow 30) in a row, with a green dashed square above the gap between the first two.]

[Diagram E: the same three base tiles (red 100, blue 120, yellow 30), with a green dashed square above the gap between the last two.]

If a pyramid shape is complete, extend the pyramid's base on either side (F and G)

[Diagram F: a two-tile base (red 100, blue 120) topped by a single red 40 tile, forming a complete triangle, with a green dashed square on each side of the base row to extend it.]

[Diagram G: a three-tile base (red 100, blue 120, yellow 30) topped by two tiles (red 40, yellow 2) forming a complete pyramid, with a green dashed square on each side of the base row to extend it.]

Sometimes (mainly after mayhem) there will be multiple free spaces on top of two tiles or between tiles in the bottom row, in which case you can choose which space to use (H and I).

[Diagram H: a bottom row of red 100, blue 120, a gap, then red 6, with two green dashed squares — one above the gap between the first two tiles, one filling the gap in the bottom row.]

[Diagram I: a bottom row of red 40, yellow 2, yellow 30, red 6, with two green dashed squares — one above the gap between the first two tiles, one above the gap between the last two.]

Mayhem?

Numbers on the tiles reflect their weight. Tiles played on the base level can be any colour and weight (number). Otherwise, when placing a tile on top of two others, it must match one of them in either colour (J) or number (K) AND the tile's weight must be equal to or lower than that of the sum of the 2 tiles below (L, next section)... or there will be mayhem.

[Diagram J: a red 40 tile placed atop a blue 120 tile and a red 100 tile, with an arrow labeled "Colours match" pointing from the red 40 down to the red 100.]

[Diagram K: a red 100 tile placed atop a blue 120 tile and a yellow 100 tile, with an arrow labeled "Numbers match" pointing from the top tile down to the yellow 100.]

L) Legal placement example: The top tile matches one or both bottom tiles in colour and its weight (40) is equal to or less than the sum of the weights of the bottom tiles (106).

[Diagram L: a red 40 tile on top of a red 100 tile and a red 6 tile.]

Collapses

If you have broken the building regulations and your placed tile mismatches the two under it and/or is overweight, the two tiles below it collapse. Remove them from the pyramid and put them at the bottom of your draw pile. The tile you just placed moves down and over to the right or the left, your choice.

That could be the end of the mayhem, but check each row of the pyramid carefully from top to bottom and left to right to see if any other tiles don't match or are overweight now. If so, another collapse is triggered. Continue this process until all of the tiles fit.

Remember that collapses occur when a tile:

• is overweight (its number is greater than the sum of the two tiles below it) OR
• doesn't match the colour or number of either tile below it

Resolving a series of collapses can be complicated work! See the next section for an example and for an example on video, visit flamingpyramids.com

Basic Game

If you'd like, you can stop reading the rules at this point and give the game a first go, using what you have learned so far. Just remove the four Ember tiles (1s and 7s) as well as the 200 wild tile. Once you've got the hang of it, you can try the variations further on to add more mayhem.

A Collapse Step by Step

1. The active player has placed a 100 on top of a 20 and a 6 so there is a problem with weight.

[Diagram: a bottom row of tiles (orange 20, red 20, yellow 120, red 40) with a blue 100 tile placed on top of the first two, marked "Too heavy so the 2 tiles under it are removed."]

2. The 20 and 6 collapse: put them under the active player's draw pile.

[Diagram: the bottom row now reads red 20, yellow 20, green 120, red 40, with the blue 100 tile floating above a "?" between two down-arrows, showing the choice of which way it falls.]

3. The 100 falls down to the next row. The active player decides whether to move it to the right or the left. They choose the left.

4. The 100 does not fit in its new place because it doesn't match in colour or number, even though it's not too heavy. The tiles below it collapse and go under the active player's draw pile.

[Diagram: the bottom row reads red 20, pale-yellow 20, pale-green 120, red 40, with the blue 100 now sitting on top of the first two tiles.]

5. The active player drops the 100 to the bottom row and chooses to move it to the left. The mayhem is over* and the active player has added four tiles to their draw pile. Whoops! The next player must put their tile in the gap on the bottom row.

[Diagram: the final row reads a red 100 tile marked with an asterisk, then a gap, then red 20 and blue 100 tiles, with a separate red 60 tile alongside.]

*This tile is still OK because it is the same colour and lighter than the one below.

More Mayhem: Straw Fires

The two Ember tiles of weight 1 can cause straw fires IF either of them is placed adjacent to one or more straw tiles. The fire can spread quite far, depending on the materials currently used in the pyramid and its size.

Example

1. The active player must place a tile on top of the 6 and 100.

[Diagram: a bottom row of red 6, blue 100, yellow 30, with a yellow 1 Ember tile on top of the first two.]

2. They choose a 2. The tile fits (same colour as the 100, not too heavy) but it catches fire from being placed next to the Ember tile.

[Diagram: a yellow 2 tile, on fire, next to the yellow 1 Ember tile on top of the row.]

3. The fire spreads down immediately to the 6, an adjacent straw tile.

[Diagram: the fire spreading down to the red 6 tile below.]

4. The tiles that caught on fire (2 and 6) go under the active player's draw pile. The Ember tile is removed from (this round) of the game.

[Diagram: the remaining tiles — blue 100 and yellow 30.]

Important note: Ember tiles are only removed from the game if and when they cause a fire. In case of collapse, they go under the active player's draw pile like normal tiles.

Wood Fires!

The two tiles with a weight of 7 can cause a fire when they touch straw and/or wood tiles. An example follows.

Wood Fire Example

1. The active player has placed a 7 Ember tile on top of a 40 and a 20. Its colour matches the 20 and it isn't overweight, but...

[Diagram: a pyramid with a blue 7 Ember tile on top of a red 40 and a blue 20; the row below reads yellow 1, red 40, red 20, blue 100, blue 100, blue 100, green 6.]

2. ...it causes a wood fire that spreads to four other tiles. The yellow 30 is shielded by the 1 Ember and the 100: Ember and stone tiles do not spread wood fires.

[Diagram: several of the tiles shown ablaze.]

3. The four burnt tiles go under the active player's draw pile. The 7 is removed from (this round) of the game leaving four tiles in the pyramid.

[Diagram: the remaining tiles — yellow 1, red 30, red 100, blue 100.]

Wild Tile

The 200 tile is treated as having every colour and does not burn. It can cause a collapse due to its weight but never because of a colour mismatch.

[Diagram: a tile split into four colour quadrants (red, green, white, yellow), marked 200 in two corners.]

Visit flamingpyramids.com for how-to-play videos.

Explosions

There is an explosion whenever two (or more) Ember tiles come into direct contact with each other. Every tile, no matter its material, that directly touches these Ember cards goes under the active player's draw pile and the Ember cards are removed. Then check for any subsequent mayhem.

1. The active player has placed the yellow Ember tile next to the blue Ember tile. This will cause all of the adjacent tiles to explode!

[Diagram: a pyramid with a blue 60 tile on top; the row below has red 60, a blue 7 Ember tile, and a yellow 1 Ember tile (marked with an arrow); the bottom row has green 20, red 100, blue 100, yellow 30.]

2. The five tiles which have exploded go under the active player's draw pile. Remove the two Ember tiles from (this round) of the game.

[Diagram: the exploded tiles marked with explosion graphics, except for the green 20 tile.]

3. Now only the green tile remains.

[Diagram: a single green 20 tile.]

The Curse

If three tiles of the same number form a mini-pyramid (two of the tiles next to each other, one on top of them), this activates the curse. The three tiles go under the draw pile of the player to the right of the active player. Any tiles from follow-up collapses or fires also go under the draw pile of the player to the right. That player decides the direction tiles fall after a collapse.

[Diagram: a mini-pyramid of three tiles all numbered 6 — a yellow tile on top of a red tile and a blue tile.]

Only check for the curse after checking for collapses, explosions, and fires.

Checking Order

Be sure to check for mayhem and resolve its consequences in the following order:

1. Check for collapses due to colour/number mismatches or overweight.
2. Check for explosions.
3. Check for fire.
4. Check for the curse.

Do another sequence of checks, top to bottom, left to right if any of the above resulted in mayhem.

Competitive Game or Family Game? You Decide!

Checking for mayhem can be a challenging task, especially for new or younger players. You can choose one of the variants below to best suit your group.

Family Game

This variant is best suited for mixed groups of adults, kids and new players. We suggest playing without the curse.

After someone has played their tile, all players check together if everything is OK or if some mayhem has been triggered. Once everyone is happy with the pyramid, it's the next player's turn to play a tile. If you realise later that you overlooked some mayhem, stop the gameplay and resolve the mayhem together. All tiles that would normally go under the active player's draw pile go out of the game instead.

Recommended player count: 2-6

Competitive Game

This variant is best for experienced gamers and those preferring a more cutthroat style of play.

After a player has placed their tile, the player to his or her left checks if everything is OK or if some mayhem has been triggered. Once they are happy with the pyramid, it's their turn to play a card. In case players later realise that some mayhem was overlooked, stop gameplay to immediately resolve the mayhem, with the currently active player suffering the consequences. Then continue the game.

In this variant you have to be very careful not to overlook any existing mayhem before playing your tile or you might end up suffering from someone else's play.

Recommended player count: 2-4

Playing in Rounds

If you play one time, the winner is simply the person who gets rid of all of their tiles first. If you want to play more than once, you can have everyone count their tiles at this stage and record the scores. The person with the lowest score after you finish your games is the overall winner.

If you're playing the Competitive Game, everyone should have one turn as the starting player.

To start a new game, collect, mix up, and deal out the tiles. The starting player should be the person sitting to the left of the prior game's starting player.

A Strategic Tip

Collapses are not always a bad thing. Sometimes they are your best friend. You might choose to cause a collapse to take a small amount of damage for strategic reasons:

• to get rid of Ember tiles or heavy tiles early
• to prevent your opponent from playing at the bottom of the pyramid (where the building regulations don't apply)
• to cause a curse

In this way, Flaming Pyramids can be a very strategic game. In general it gets more strategic with fewer players. With 5 or more players, it is much more random and luck-dependent.

Credits

Original game design: Norbert Abel (please visit abelgames.net)

Game production: Julia Schiller

Artwork & graphic design: Simon Fletcher

(c) 2018 Cheeky Parrot Games, Ltd. Auckland, New Zealand www.cheekyparrotgames.com @CheekyParrot