Fly-A-Way Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Bird Cards
• Set-Up
• The Map
• Objective
• How to Play
  • On Each Turn
    • 1. Draw Phase
    • 2. Action Phase
    • 3. Clean-Up Phase
• Event Effects
  • Fowl Play!
  • Bird-tastrophe!
• Wing It!
  • Squawk!
• Habitats, Linkways and Links
  • 1. The Right Connection
  • 2. Completing Migratory Routes
  • 3. Last Link Trumps
• Saving Birds
• Using Bird Powers
• Freeing Caged Birds
• Tallying Scores
  • 1. Bird Points
  • 2. Link Points
• Game End
  • Last Round of Play
  • End-Game Scoring
• FAQ

Game Components

• 1 Map Board
• 1 Bird Board
• 1 Event Board
• 1 Rule Book
• 1 Quick Guide
• 14 Wetland birds (Bird cards)
• 14 Open Country birds (Bird cards)
• 14 Forest birds (Bird cards)
• 12 Tier 1 Fowl Play cards
• 8 Tier 2 Fowl Play cards
• 8 Tier 3 Fowl Play cards
• 6 Bird-tastrophe cards
• 15 Event Wing It cards
• 14 Squawk Wing It cards
• 2 Player Aid cards
• 6 Location Markers (2 for each colour)
• 4 Player Pawns
• 140 Links (35 for each colour)

Bird Cards

Each bird card shows the following information:

1. Habitat: Each bird is from the Wetland, Open Country or Forest habitat. Each habitat is indicated by a specific colour and icon. Certain event effects and bird powers are triggered by a bird's habitat.

2. Bird Points: These are the points you gain for saving a bird.

3. Start and End Locations: These indicate places on the map to be filled with location markers to indicate a bird's migratory journey.

4. Bird Power: This shows the power of a bird and the conditions for its use.

5. Bird Size: This shows the average length of a bird species, measured from bill to tail tip. Some event effects are influenced by a bird's size.

6. Trivia: This shows fun facts on the different bird species.

7. Conservation Status: This shows how threatened a bird species is. Some event effects are influenced by a bird's conservation status.

   • LC: Least Concern (LC)
   • NT: Near Threatened (NT)
   • VU: Vulnerable (VU)
   • EN: Endangered (EN)
   • CR: Critically Endangered (CR)

   Source:

Set-Up

1. Each player receives a pawn and 35 links of the same colour.

2. Shuffle the bird cards.

3. Place the top 3 cards face-up in the ROOSTING AREA.

4. Place the location markers on the map based on the start and end points indicated on the 3 bird cards. (See the example on page 3 of the manual.) Use location markers corresponding to the colours of each circle.

5. Use the correct number of Fowl Play cards, based on the number of players.

   No. of players	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3	Total no. of cards
   2	8	6	6	20
   3	9	6	6	21
   4	12	8	8

The Bird Deck, Roosting Area and Death Zone are on the Bird Board. Birds that are discarded during the game go face-up in the Death Zone.

The Map

• There are 7 zones, each containing 2 or 3 alphabets (zone letters). The numbers for each alphabet run horizontally across the map.
• To locate a start or end point, use the zone letters and numbers.
• Spread across the map are Wetland, Open Country and Forest habitats. Each habitat is shown by a colour and icon, and the legend on the Map Board shows the three types:
  • Wetland Habitat (blue circle)
  • Open Country Habitat (orange square)
  • Forest Habitat (green triangle)
• Some areas may be dual habitats, with 2 of these 3 habitats overlapping one another.
• Birds are native to different habitats, which determine certain card effects during the game.
• The lines between habitats are known as linkways. Each linkway can hold only 1 link. You place links on linkways.

Objective

To win, a player must collect the most number of points from placing links, completing migratory routes and saving birds.

Players will compete until the last round of play is triggered by one of 2 circumstances:

i) A player saves 6 birds.

ii) All Fowl Play cards are drawn.

(See page 13 of the manual for details on end-game scenarios.)

How to Play

On Each Turn

Each turn is played in three phases: the Draw Phase, the Action Phase and the Clean-Up Phase.

1. Draw Phase

• Start by drawing 1 Wing It card and 1 Fowl Play card. (See pages 6 and 7 of the manual for more details on event effects.)
• Resolve the Fowl Play effect immediately.

2. Action Phase

• You may use a Wing It card to:
  • i) protect yourself from a Fowl Play effect; or
  • ii) help you place links, save birds or/and gain points.
• Place used Wing It and Fowl Play cards face-up in their respective discard piles on the Event Board.
• You may use more than 1 Wing It card, but can only hold 5 by the end of your turn (unless a Fowl Play, Wing It, Bird-tastrophe or bird power states otherwise).
• Place the excess Wing It cards face-up in the discard pile on the Event Board.
• Place up to 3 links anywhere on the map, ensuring that a link you place connects with another link of yours. (See page 8 of the manual.)
• Save a bird by placing links and completing its migratory route. The person who places the last link gets the bird. (See page 9 of the manual.)
• Place saved birds face-up in front of you.
• You can use bird powers, based on the terms stated on each bird card. If a bird's power cannot be activated right after it is saved, you will have to wait one round before you can use its power. (See page 11 of the manual.)
• If a bird from the ROOSTING AREA or a bird you have saved has to be discarded due to a Fowl Play or/and bird powers, place it face-up in the DEATH ZONE on the Bird Board.
• Move your pawn along the score track on the map based on the points you:
  • i) gain from placing links, saving birds, using bird powers and playing Wing It cards; and
  • ii) lose from Fowl Play effects.

3. Clean-Up Phase

• At the end of your turn, draw new birds from the BIRD DECK to replace all birds from the ROOSTING AREA that you have saved or that have been discarded because of Fowl Play effects or/and bird powers.

  Do not replace birds during the Action phase. The only exception to this rule is when players resolve the effect of the Wildlife Disease card.

• Change the location markers on the map as birds are replaced, but do not remove any links.

  The route of a newly drawn bird may already be complete because of links placed in previous turns. See page 10 of the manual for rules on saving such a bird.

• Play then proceeds to the next player.

Event Effects

Fowl Play!

Fowl Play cards are divided into 3 tiers, based on the severity of their effects. Between the tiers are 2 disastrous events called "Bird-tastrophes".

After drawing a Fowl Play card at the start of your turn, you will have to resolve its effect before proceeding with play. You can either:

• perform the effect, as stated on the card; or
• neutralise the effect, using 1 or more Wing It cards called Squawk cards.

The neutralising cost for each Fowl Play is represented on the top right corner of the card.

Resolved Fowl Play cards go face-up to the Fowl Play discard pile on the Event Board.

Bird-tastrophe!

The tiers of Fowl Play cards are separated by 2 Bird-tastrophe cards. These are disastrous events that affect all players and cannot be neutralised with Squawk cards.

A Bird-tastrophe happens between players' turns and is not a substitute for drawing Fowl Play cards or performing actions. It is unveiled for everybody to resolve its effect, before play proceeds as normal and players go about their turns.

Wing It!

You can use Wing It cards during the Action phase of your turn to aid your efforts to place links, save birds and protect yourself from Fowl Play effects.

You can keep up to 5 Wing It cards in your hand at the end of each turn, unless certain cards specify otherwise. Discard the excess cards.

Wing It cards that are played or discarded go face-up to the Wing It discard pile on the Event Board. These can be shuffled and used again if all the Wing It cards are drawn before the end of the game.

Squawk!

These are special Wing It cards with values from 1 to 3 that allow you to neutralise Fowl Play effects.

You can play a Squawk card on its own or in combination with other Squawk cards to accumulate enough Squawks to neutralise a Fowl Play effect. You cannot, however, get a refund when your accumulated Squawks exceed the neutralising cost.

Habitats, Linkways and Links

1. The Right Connection

You can place a link only when it connects with another link of yours. This means that you have 2 options:

• Option 1: Place 2 or 3 links in a row that connect with each other anywhere on the map. They do not have to be connected to anything (1a), but can be connected to other players' links (1b).
• Option 2: Place 1, 2 or 3 links that connect to one of your own previously played links. They must join.

Links of 2 or 3 can fork in different directions. If a card allows for additional link placement, they do not have to join the links played in the same turn.

Single links are not allowed.

A link you place may connect to several habitats. Do note this when resolving habitat-specific effects or using bird powers.

2. Completing Migratory Routes

Players can place links in whichever direction they choose. However, they should note that migratory birds only fly downwards on their autumn journeys along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, from North to South. Birds can be saved only when the routes created by players abide by this principle.

• You can use side-facing links in a north-to-south route when saving a bird.
• But you cannot use upward-facing links when saving a bird.

During the autumn migration season, birds move from North to South and generally do not fly back in the direction they came from.

3. Last Link Trumps

The player who places the last link that completes a migratory route saves the bird. They can then collect it from the ROOSTING AREA!

Saving Birds

Once a bird has been saved by completing its route, the player who placed the last link takes the bird card from the ROOSTING AREA and places it in front of them.

On subsequent turns, the player can use the bird's power. (In some instances, bird powers are activated immediately, see page 11 of the manual.)

All links contributing to the route stay on the map, as the player completes their Action phase. Then, during the Clean-up phase, they draw a new bird to replace the one they saved. The location markers are changed accordingly.

What happens if the migratory route for a newly drawn bird is already complete?

In the event that the migratory route of a newly unveiled bird is automatically completed from links placed in prior turns, players can save this bird on their turn under certain conditions.

If it's the blue player's turn, for instance, and they have contributed links to the migratory route in question, they can save the bird by forfeiting all other actions, such as drawing event cards and placing links. They do not proceed with the Draw and Action phases. Play then moves on to the next player.

The blue player can also choose to skip saving the bird and play as normal. The option to save the bird by forfeiting the Draw and Action phases then carries over to the yellow player. If they decide not to, the option carries over again to the next player and so on.

However, if no one saves the bird by the time it is the blue player's turn again, the blue player will now be able to save the bird for free (without paying the cost of forfeiting the Draw and Action phases).

Using Bird Powers

The number of times and the conditions in which bird powers can be used vary with different bird cards.

• Some powers can be used right after you save a bird. Most, however, can only be used one round after you have saved a bird.
• Some powers are used on your turn, while others are used on an opponent's turn.
• Some powers can be used once every round of play, while others can be used only once in the whole game.
• Some powers can only be used at the end of the game, when tallying points.

The manual illustrates the power conditions with these example bird cards (the bird power text is printed on each card):

• Use: At the point of saving this bird. If you saved at least 1 other Wetland bird before saving the Chinese Egret, gain 5 bonus points.
• Use: On each of your turns. Swap 1 of your existing links with an opponent's link on the map.
• Use: On an opponent's turn. Gain 2 bonus points each time another player saves a bird.
• Use: On an opponent's turn, once every round. When another player uses or discards a Squawk! card, add it to your hand. If you have more than 5 Wing It! cards, discard 1.
• Use: On your turn, once in the game. Discard up to 3 Wing It! cards and gain 3 bonus points for each.
• Use: At the end of the game. Gain 2 bonus points for each other Forest bird you have saved. You may also add points for Forest birds you have stolen.

Turn the card: When a bird power is used, the bird is exhausted. Turn the bird sideways to show this. If the bird in question has a power that can be used more than once, turn the bird back to its original position, based on the terms of the power's use (i.e. once every round, on each of your turns).

Freeing Caged Birds

If you draw the Caged-Bird Trade card from the Fowl Play deck, you will have to place it over one of the birds in the ROOSTING AREA.

When a bird is caged this way, it cannot be targeted for any actions and cannot be saved until it is freed using Squawk cards or the Birders to the Rescue card.

If the migratory route of a caged bird is complete, saving it will not require you to place the last link on your turn. As long as you have contributed one or more links to its route, you may save it immediately after you have freed it using Squawk cards or the Birders to the Rescue card.

You cannot discard a caged bird.

Tallying Scores

1. Bird Points

When you save a bird, you get points equivalent to the value indicated on the top right corner of the card.

2. Link Points

For the player who places the last link: You also add points totalling the number of links you placed to complete the route you used to save a bird.

For other players: Other players who contributed links to the route (but did not place the last link to save the bird) also get points, based on the number of links they placed. Each link is worth 1 point.

Example from the manual: the pink player who placed the last link to save the Japanese Quail gets a total of 3 points (1+2) from the bird's 1 point value and 2 links placed. They then move their marker on the score track accordingly. The yellow player who contributed 2 links to the completed route gets 2 points.

Game End

Last Round of Play

The game proceeds until the last round of play is triggered by one of 2 circumstances:

i) A player saves 6 birds.

ii) All Fowl Play cards are drawn.

All players must take an equal number of turns. If the player who triggered the last round of play...

• ...is the last player, the game ends after their turn.
• ...is not the last player, all remaining players must play their final turns.

In the event that all Fowl Play cards have been drawn by this time, shuffle the Tier 3 Fowl Play cards from the discard pile and place them in the draw pile to form a new deck for the last round of play.

End-Game Scoring

Players tally their total scores, including any end-game points from certain cards. The player with the highest score wins.

The final scores may exceed the 100-point mark on the score track, when players tally their points to determine the winner.

In the event of a tie, the player who saved the most number of birds wins. If players are still tied on this front, the player who placed the most number of links on the map emerges as the winner.

FAQ

What happens to a caged bird in the ROOSTING AREA when the Natural Predators, Wildlife Disease, Wild Meat Trade or Sport Hunting card is drawn? The caged bird stays, while all the other birds are discarded.

Can I discard a bird that has the Snake card on it? Yes.

Can I count a bird that has a Snake card on it as one of the 6-birds that trigger the end of the game? Yes. If this bird has an end-game power, though, you will not be able to activate it.

The bird I wanted to save dies from the effect of a Fowl Play card. Should I retract the links I placed for its migratory route? No. Links stay on the map and are only removed when certain Fowl Play or/and Bird-tastrophe effects wipe them off.

Can I end the game with more than 6 birds? Yes. If during your turn, you have the option to save more than 1 bird and exceed the tally of 6 birds that triggers the last round of play, you may proceed to do so and complete your turn as normal.

Can I save more than 1 bird during my turn? Yes, you can save more than 1 during the Action phase, but you can only unveil new birds during the Clean-up phase.

Can I change the order of a Bird-tastrophe card when playing the Science in Action card? Yes.

Can I discard a bird whose power has been used and which cannot be reused? Yes.

Please refer to our online appendix at flyaway.sg/how-to-play/appendix for further queries on card effects and gameplay decisions.