Footprints Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• General Setup
• Personal Setup
  • Player Board
  • Cards
  • Starting Positions
• Bonuses
• Advanced Personal Setup
• Objective of the Game
• Player Turn
  • 1. Play 1 Clan Card (and Optionally 1 Fire Card)
  • 2. Execute an Action (and Activate a Fire Card)
  • Top Action Explanation
  • Bottom Action Explanation
  • 3. Build (Optional)
  • 4. Activate One Engraving Power After Building (Optional)
  • 5. Discard Fire Cards
  • 6. Draw 1 Clan Card
• Completing Footprint Cards
• End of Game and Scoring
  • Scoring
  • Cave Tokens
• Solo Mode
• Tactical Tips
• Appendix
  • Fire Card Icons
  • Footprint Card Goals
• Game Variants
• Credits

Components

• 7 map tiles: 6 game tiles (example) and 1 cairn tile
• 6 player boards (two-layer, example)
• 6 reference cards: "Your Turn" and "Scoring"
• 6 house tiles (double-sided, example)
• 24 skill markers: 6 of each of the 4 colors
• 56 resource tokens: 44 worth 1 (11 of each type), 12 worth 3 (3 of each type)
• 1 first player token
• 10 cave tokens (front side, back side, example)
• 1 scoring notepad
• 30 creations (6 sets): 24 engravings, 4 of each color (example: blue), and 6 cave-painting tiles, 1 with each symbol (wooden)
• 6 figures
• 90 clan cards (6 sets): 78 followers, 13 in each set (example); 12 leaders, 2 in each set (example); card backs (example)
• 20 fire cards (front side, back side)
• 28 footprint cards (front side, back side)

Storing player components for a quick game setup

After each game, we recommend sorting player components as follows:

• In each small pouch: 1 figure, 4 engravings (of the matching color), and 4 skill markers.
• In each medium pouch: 1 clan card set (15 cards), 1 cave-painting tile (with the matching clan symbol), and 1 reference card.

General Setup

Fully assemble the map by following these steps:

1. Place the cairn tile with its straight edge to the right.
2. Place a randomly chosen map tile to the left of the cairn tile.
3. Place a randomly chosen map tile to the left of the last placed map tile. Repeat this third step until all map tiles have been placed.

Each map tile must be oriented so that the arrow on its back points left-right (it is randomly oriented one of two ways).

Place one random house tile to the left of the leftmost spaces of the assembled map. Randomly determine which side of each tile will be used in this game.

Place one random cave token face up next to each of the four map tiles closest to the cairn tile, in the space set aside for it (see the example above). Orient each cave token so that its footprint symbol is as close as possible to the cave marking on the map tile. Return unused cave tokens to the box.

Note: since each map tile has 1 or 2 caves depending on layout, there will be 6 to 8 cave tokens in play.

1-3 player game: Place cave tokens on the three map tiles closest to the cairn tile, the same way as described above (there will be 4 to 6 tokens in play).

Shuffle the fire cards and footprint cards separately and form two face-down decks next to the assembled map.

Place the resource tokens in the general supply next to the assembled map.

Note: resources are not limited by the number of available tokens. At any time during the game, you may exchange three resource tokens of the same type worth 1 for the matching resource token worth 3.

Personal Setup

Player Board

Give each player a random player board, along with the following components:

• A cave-painting tile matching the clan symbol on the player board (a horse, in the example on the right).
• 4 engravings matching the chosen color.
• 4 skill markers, one of each color.

Arrange your components as shown in the example on the right: place the cave-painting tile in the middle top space of the board (inside the dotted outline), the engravings in the spaces matching their background color (inside the dotted outline), and each skill marker in the leftmost space ("2") of the matching track.

Cards

Give each player all the clan cards for their clan (see "CLAN DECK" below) with the matching symbol on the back. Then each player does the following:

• Removes both leaders from their clan cards. Return leader B to the box (in your first game, you use only leader A).
• Shuffles the remaining 13 clan cards (followers) and places them face down to the left of their player board.
• Takes the top 7 cards of this deck and shuffles them together with leader A. Places these 8 cards face down on top of the clan deck. These 14 cards make up their clan deck.
• Reveals the top 4 cards of their clan deck and places them face up under their player board, forming their clan panel.

Give each player a reference card, as well as one random footprint card to start their footprint board, to the right of their player board.

See "ADVANCED PERSONAL SETUP" on the next page.

CLAN DECK

Clan decks (and player boards) are asymmetric. Each deck has a leader with a unique ability. The lower part of the player board describes how many cards of each terrain type are in your deck. At any time during the game, you may look through your played cards to see which cards remain in your deck.

Example: This deck contains the following cards: 1 leader, 4 swamp cards, 4 ice cards, 3 forest cards, and 2 mountain cards.

Starting Positions

• Randomly choose a first player. They take the first player token and keep it in their play area for the rest of the game.
• Starting with the player to the right of the first player and continuing counterclockwise, each player places a figure of their color on any unoccupied house tile. Place the figure on the hut symbol (closest to the map).
• After placing your figure, immediately collect the bonuses shown on the house tile you occupied (see "BONUSES" below).

Example: The blue player (Roman) places his figure on this house tile. He advances his grey and light green skill markers one space to the right.

Bonuses

The following bonuses can be found on house tiles, map tiles, player boards, and fire cards.

• Take a resource token of the matching type worth 1.
• Advance the matching skill marker 1 space to the right (in ascending numerical order) and collect the bonus of every space your skill marker passed through or stopped on, except for spaces 10 and 11.
• Advance any one of your skill markers 1 space to the right (in ascending numerical order) and collect the bonus of every space your skill marker passed through or stopped on, except for spaces 10 and 11.
• Take the top fire card from the deck into your hand (do not show it to anyone until you use it). If there are no cards left in the deck, shuffle the discarded cards to form a new deck.
• Take the top footprint card from the deck. This is a mission you may complete. Immediately decide whether to keep it face up on your footprint board OR discard it (at the end of the game you lose 3 points for each incomplete card on your footprint board). If there are no cards left in the deck, shuffle all discarded cards to form a new deck. If there are no discarded cards, the bonus is cancelled.

Advanced Personal Setup

After your first game, use the advanced setup rules:

• When building your clan deck, secretly choose which leader you shuffle together with the top 7 cards of your clan deck.
• Return the unused leader to the box.
• Instead of starting with 1 random footprint card, deal each player 3 random footprint cards. Each player chooses 1 card and places it face up on their footprint board.
• Shuffle the unchosen footprint cards back into the deck.

Objective of the Game

The objective of the game is to collect the most feet (🦶), from here on called victory points. You earn victory points throughout your journey in various ways: by making creations (with the "Build" action), by reaching the top of the skill tracks, and by reaching the cairns (rock formations) located far away. You also gain or lose points depending on whether you completed the goals shown on the cards on your footprint board.

All points are tallied at the end of the game.

Player Turn

Starting with the first player and continuing clockwise, players take turns until the game ends. On your turn, perform the following actions in order (details below):

1. Play 1 clan card (and optionally 1 fire card).
2. Execute an action (and activate a fire card).
3. Build (optional).
4. Activate one engraving power after building (optional).
5. Discard fire cards.
6. Draw 1 clan card.

1. Play 1 Clan Card (and Optionally 1 Fire Card)

• You must play one clan card, choosing it from the four cards on your clan panel, and place it face up on the clan discard pile above your player board.
• In addition, as long as the clan card was not your leader, you may play one fire card from your hand. Place this card next to your clan discard pile.

Note: each clan card is used only once per game, so play them wisely. This means the cards in your clan discard pile never return to your deck or to your panel.

Example: Roman plays one clan card and decides to also play one fire card.

2. Execute an Action (and Activate a Fire Card)

The 13 cards in your clan deck are followers with two basic actions (see the leader rules on the next page). If you play a follower, execute either its top action or its bottom action.

TOP ACTIONS

Move your figure the number of spaces of the depicted terrain (a swamp, in the example) equal to your skill level (the number on the space where your matching skill marker sits). Grey marker — mountains. Light blue marker — ice. Dark green marker — forest. Light green marker — swamp.

Note: some cards grant an extra move of 1 space of a different terrain type (ice, in the example).

The dominant terrain of each follower is shown in the top right corner (a swamp, in the example).

BOTTOM ACTIONS

In any order, perform these actions: advance your matching skill marker (light green, in the example) 1 space, and move your figure to the next unoccupied space of any terrain type.

Note: some cards grant an extra advance of the skill marker on a different track.

See the explanations and examples of these actions on the next page.

General movement rules:

• You cannot end your movement on an occupied space. However, you may move through other figures, treating occupied spaces as any other space. Spaces with an engraving (see "Build" on page 8) count as any other unoccupied space of that terrain type.
• After you have finished all of your movement, collect bonuses in any order from the unoccupied spaces you passed through or stopped on (see "Bonuses" on page 5).
• You may move forward and backward (horizontally or diagonally) during the same movement, but you only collect the bonus from each space once.

Top Action Explanation

Rules for actions that let you move according to your skills:

• Move the number of spaces of the stated terrain allowed by your skill level for that terrain type (or fewer).
• In addition, if the card shows a bonus move of 1 space of a different terrain, you may make that move before, during, after, or instead of your normal move.

Example. Roman's skill level in ice is 4. Performing this action, Roman moves 4 spaces across ice and 1 additional space across forest (5 spaces total). Along the drawn route, he does not collect the mammoth-token bonus, since that forest space is occupied; he collects a mammoth token for moving onto an unoccupied space with a mammoth bonus icon.

Bottom Action Explanation

Rules for actions that let you move to the next unoccupied space:

• You may move to an adjacent unoccupied space of any terrain type.

  OR

• You may jump over one or more adjacent figures in a straight horizontal or diagonal line to the next unoccupied space of any terrain type. If you jump over more than one figure, the first must be adjacent to you, and each following figure must be on the same line and adjacent to the previous one. Note: you cannot move onto a house tile, or jump over a figure standing on a house tile.

Rules for advancing skill markers:

• Move the matching skill marker 1 space to the right (in ascending numerical order).
• Collect the bonus for each space your skill marker passed through or stopped on, except for spaces 10 and 11 (see "Scoring" on page 10).
• If your skill marker is on level 11, then instead of advancing the marker, take one resource token worth 1 of the type shown to the right of space "11", for each advance you would otherwise have made.

Example. Roman jumps over two opponents and ends up on an ice space. He gets a footprint card for moving onto an unoccupied space with a bonus icon. Then he advances his light blue and light green skill markers 1 space each and gets 1 wood and 1 fire card as bonuses from the two skill tracks.

Using Fire Cards

If you played a fire card during step 1, you may activate that card before, during, or after your main action. If you use a fire card before or during your action, you must finish activating it before you continue performing the action. See "APPENDIX" on page 12 for a list of all fire card icons.

Example. Roman's skill level in ice is 3. First he moves 1 space across ice. Then he uses his fire card to move 3 spaces in the mountains. After finishing his fire card, he completes his main action by moving the remaining 2 spaces across ice. Having finished all of his movement, Roman collects 1 stone as a bonus from the unoccupied mountain space.

Using a Leader Card

If you played your leader during step 1, resolve its instructions during this step. All rules apply as normal, unless the card states otherwise. Remember that you cannot play or activate a fire card together with your leader, except for a special ability (such as the Shaman's).

3. Build (Optional)

You may build one creation, following these rules:

• Pay the resources shown next to the creation on your player board.
• To build an engraving, place it on any eligible space of the matching terrain type adjacent to your figure (for example, an ice engraving on an ice space). The eligible space must not have a bonus icon, a figure, a creation, or a cairn symbol on it.

Remember: once you build an engraving, that space counts as a normal space of the stated terrain type when moving (for you and for other players).

• To build a cave painting, place it on an unoccupied adjacent cave token, covering the footprint symbol.

Collecting Bonuses

After building, collect a bonus from every unoccupied space adjacent to the creation you just placed (see "Bonuses" on page 5).

Note: during this step, you may collect bonuses from the same spaces as during step 2. You do not collect bonuses from adjacent house tiles.

Example. Roman gives up 3 mammoth tokens to build an ice engraving (clothing) on an ice space. He gets 1 stone and 1 wood from the unoccupied bonus spaces adjacent to this engraving.

Example. Lera pays 1 of each resource type to build a cave painting on an adjacent cave token. She gets a fire card from the unoccupied bonus space adjacent to her cave painting.

4. Activate One Engraving Power After Building (Optional)

Every time you build an engraving, an engraving power is revealed. During this step, you may activate one of your revealed powers (if you built more than one engraving, you must choose which power to activate).

All powers work the same way: they grant an advance of the matching skill marker for each depicted resource you paid (with no limit).

Example. Lera gives up 3 stone to advance her grey skill marker 3 spaces. Since she cannot go past level 11, she gets berries for her last advance.

5. Discard Fire Cards

If you played a fire card during step 1, place it on the shared discard pile. In addition, if you have more than 3 fire cards in hand, you must discard fire cards until you have only 3 left.

6. Draw 1 Clan Card

End your turn by revealing the top card of your clan deck and placing it face up on your clan panel. If there are no cards left in your clan deck, you do not reveal a card (your clan panel will have fewer cards for the rest of the game).

Completing Footprint Cards

Each footprint card lists two or more goals (see "APPENDIX" on page 12 for a detailed description of all goals).

At any point during your turn, you may flip a footprint card if you have met all of its goals. This footprint card is now considered completed. Stack completed footprint cards face down until the end of the game (each is worth 6 points at final scoring). You may complete several footprint cards in a single turn, if you are able to.

Attention! There is no limit to the number of cards you may keep on your footprint board. But remember, you lose 3 points for each incomplete footprint card at the end of the game.

Example. Roman built an engraving in the forest, and his dark green and light blue skill markers are on level 6 or higher. He has therefore completed this footprint card and flips it.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends after any player's turn in one of the following cases:

1. Their figure ended its movement on a cairn space on the cairn tile.

   OR

2. Their clan panel no longer has any cards.

After this, keep taking turns in order until all players have taken the same number of turns.

Note about cairn spaces:

• The two cairn spaces belong to two terrain types (they count as both types).
• You may build from a cairn space (but never on one).
• You may move through one or more cairn spaces (and possibly end your movement on a different space, without ending the game).

Attention! If your figure is on a cairn space at the end of your turn, move it to the topmost unoccupied space of the cairn track on the cairn tile.

Scoring

Write down each player's victory points in the categories described below in the scoring notepad.

The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the tied player with the higher combined skill-marker total wins. If still tied, the tied players share the win.

• CAIRN. If you reached a cairn, score the points shown next to your figure on the cairn track (10-15 points).

• ENGRAVINGS. Points are shown on your player board for each engraving you built.

  Example. Lera scores 5 points for this engraving.

• SKILLS. Score 3 or 7 points for each track where your skill marker reached level 10 or 11, respectively.

  Example. Lera's grey skill marker stopped on level 11. She scores 7 points for this marker.

• FOOTPRINT CARDS. Score 6 points for each completed footprint card. Lose 3 points for each incomplete card.

• CAVE TOKENS. Score points for the cave token on which you built a cave painting (see details on the next page).

• RESOURCE TOKENS. Score 1 point for every 2 remaining resource tokens (rounded down).

• FIRE CARDS. Score 1 point for each unused fire card.

Cave Tokens

• 2 points, multiplied by your matching skill level (for example, at level 8 you would score 16 points).
• 3 points, multiplied by your lowest skill level (for example, if dark green is your lowest, at level 5, you score 15 points).
• 10 points, plus the points shown next to your figure on the cairn track (see "Cairns" on the previous page).
• 5 points for each engraving you built.
• 3 points for every bonus icon on the spaces adjacent to your built engravings (occupied or unoccupied).
• Points equal to your normal per-engraving score (see "Engravings" on the previous page).
• 5 points for each completed footprint card.
• Back side.

Solo Mode

Follow the rules above, with the following exception: at the end of the game, score 8 points for each unused clan card. Compare your result to the tables of achievement below. If you score at least 80 points, you win the game.

LOST GAME

Points	Achievement
39 or fewer	Try again
40-49	You can do better
50-59	Getting there
60-69	Pretty good
70-79	Good

WON GAME

Points	Achievement
80-89	Very good
90-99	Impressive
100-109	Amazing
110-119	Excellent
120 or more	You're from another era

Tactical Tips

• Keep track of how many cards of each terrain type you have in your clan deck (by checking your clan discard pile and your clan panel), and plan your next moves wisely based on this information.
• Don't be afraid to perform your clan cards' bottom actions (advancing skill markers) early in the game. This can later help you make longer moves and score points for certain footprint cards.
• Don't try to squeeze the maximum value out of every card at the expense of your progress.
• Fire cards are great — don't be afraid to use them! You'll typically get more of them soon.
• Collect bonuses! Try to move through terrain with bonuses. A quick dash across empty space is rarely a winning strategy.
• Build engravings as soon as you can. Gather the resources you need quickly, to activate engraving powers as many times as possible.

Appendix

Fire Card Icons

Examples:

• Move the matching skill marker back without collecting any bonuses. You will collect bonuses again later when advancing (even the ones you already collected).
• Give up the shown resource token.
• Move 3 spaces (or fewer) of the matching terrain (see "General movement rules" on page 7).
• If you play a follower with a dominant terrain matching either of the two shown types this turn, perform both actions on the card — the top and the bottom — in either order. You must finish one action before starting the other.

See the other icons on fire cards in the "Bonuses" section on page 5 and the "Player Turn" section on pages 6-7.

Footprint Card Goals

Examples:

• Build the depicted engraving.
• Build your cave painting.
• Own the depicted resource token. You may pay with this resource after completing the card (even on the same turn).
• Your matching skill marker is on the depicted level or higher. You may move this skill marker back to a lower level (using a fire card) after completing the card.
• The combined level of the matching skill markers is at least 15. You may freely move these skill markers to lower levels (using fire cards) after completing the card.

Game Variants

The two variants described below may be used together or separately, to give players a slightly different experience.

"SNAKE." You may assemble the map differently, so its shape resembles a snake. Make sure the cave markings on the four map tiles (or three, in a 1-3 player game) closest to the cairn tile are open at the edge, and that the second map tile has no starting positions with a clear advantage or disadvantage. All cairn spaces must be reachable (see the example on the right).

Important! In this variant, you cannot use the "Recluse" and "Scout" leaders (take other leaders from those clans instead).

"2 LEADERS." Play with both leaders. Draw 9 followers (instead of 7) and shuffle both leaders together with these cards, before placing these 11 cards back on top of your deck. As a result, your clan deck will have 15 cards, and the game may last one more turn (if it ends due to a lack of cards).

SOLO GAME VARIANTS. For each variant you choose, add 10 points to your final score. Special note for "Snake": make sure the minimum distance from a house tile to a cairn space is at least 30 spaces.

Credits

Chilifox Games and the designers would like to thank all the game's playtesters: Trond Arvid Reisse, Ellen Valkvist, Fritjof Buvarp, Kristian Bratsberg Olsen, Maria Berg, Vegard Eliassen Stillerud, Selma Valkvist, Einar Valkvist, Lill Katrin Berntsen, Howard Vilsgaard, Per A. Flotten, and Kristian Gustad.

Designers: Eilif Svensson, Geir André Wahlquist, and Åsmund Svensson

Artist: Andrea Alemanno

Proofreader: Van Willis

Graphic Design: Andrea Alemanno, Arthur Jacques

©2023 Chilifox Games. All rights reserved. ©StudioMatagot, 161 rue Fernand Audeguil, 33000 Bordeaux