Fountains
Fountains Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal
In Fountains, use the Basin pawns to select the tiles you want to add to your Fountain. Add various features in order to earn the most points and be celebrated as Florimelle's best Fountaineer!
Components
- 1 Basin Board with Support Base
- 1 Score Track
- 1 First Player Token
- 5 Starting Fountain Tiles
- 72 Fountain Tiles
- 26 Bonus Tokens
- 3 Wooden Basin Pawns
- 5 Wooden Scoring Meeples
- 15 Point Tokens
- 12 Pond Weed Tokens
- 1 Gear Wheel (Solo Mode Only)
- 5 Reference Cards
- 12 Fountain Design Cards
Set-up
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Place the Basin board on its stand in the center of the table in reach of all players.
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Each player starts with a reference card, starting Fountain tile, 1 wooden Scoring meeple, and set of 3 matching Point tokens. Return any unused Starting Fountain tiles, Scoring meeples, and Point tokens to the box.
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Separate the Fountain tiles by shape and randomly draw a number of each according to the player count chart below, returning any extras to the box.
Player Count # of Each Tile 1 12 2 8 3 10 4-5 12 Shuffle the tile stacks and place each face up beside the matching icon on the Basin board.
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Shuffle the Bonus tokens and leave them in a face down pile above the marked space on the Basin board. Then randomly draw five tokens and place them face up on the Basin board.
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Place the Green, Blue, and White Basin pawns onto the matching color spaces on the Basin board.
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Place the Pond Weed tokens in a pile within reach of all players.
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Place the Score Track board beside the Basin board. Place each player's wooden Scoring meeple on the "Start" space of the Score track. Players place their Point tokens in their play area.
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Advanced Variant Only. If playing the Advanced Variant, shuffle the 12 Fountain Design cards. Draw and place 3 face up beside the Score track. Return all unused cards to the box. For your first game, we recommend playing without these cards (see Fountain Design Cards below).
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Randomly choose a starting player and give that player the First Player token.
Gameplay
Starting with the first player, take turns in a clockwise manner. Each turn consists of 2 actions in this order: Drafting and Placing Tiles. On some turns, Rewards will be triggered. After placing a tile and resolving Rewards (if applicable), play proceeds to the next player.
1. Drafting
On their turn, players will draft a Fountain tile from the Basin board by moving one of the three Basin pawns onto an open space. The pawn moves clockwise one, two, or three spaces, skipping any spaces that are occupied by other pawns. Each space can only contain one pawn, so a player may not end their movement on an occupied space.
If the player ends their movement on a space beside a stack of Fountain tiles, they take the top tile from the stack and add it to their Fountain (see Placing Tiles). If they end their movement on the space beside the Bonus tokens, they instead draw a face up Bonus token (see Bonus Tokens on page 8).
Movement Example #1: Jean decides to move the Blue pawn, and can therefore move it onto any of the three open spaces marked with the checkmark. The spaces marked with an "X" are not available as they are more than 3 spaces away, and/or are occupied by another pawn.
Movement Example #2: Jean decides to move the Blue pawn and can move it onto the space immediately in front of its current position. Jean can also move the pawn onto the second and/or third open positions by skipping over the White and Green pawns, respectively.
2. Placing Tiles
Players add the Fountain tile they select to build their personal Fountain in front of them following these placement rules:
- A tile must lie beside another tile or completely on top of any number of tiles and must be fully supported by other tiles or by the table underneath.
- At least 2 dark bricks on the new tile must touch 2 dark bricks on an existing tile.
- Once placed, the tile may not be moved.
Example: At least 2 dark bricks on added tiles must touch dark bricks of a tile or tiles already in the Fountain.
Example: When stacking, each new tile must be supported completely by the table or by tiles underneath it. No part of a tile may hang over empty space.
Jets
Water flows from a jet through every open channel but only flows to the same level and/or down a level, and can never flow up a level. As long as pools are connected and water is flowing in this manner, there is no limit to how far water will flow from a jet.
Example: Pools not connected to a jet through a series of open channels have a Pond Weed token put in them and cannot be used for scoring.
Pond Weed
If a newly placed Fountain tile is not fed by a jet, or cuts off the water flow to another pool, a Pond Weed token is immediately placed as a reminder that water is not flowing into that pool. Pools and the features in pools with a Pond Weed token will not count for Rewards until the flow of water is restored, at which point the Pond Weed token is immediately removed.
Rewards
Throughout the game, the Mayor will take notice of your ingenuity and dole out Rewards to the Fountaineers. These Rewards are triggered either immediately after placing a Fountain tile with coins, or when a player ends their movement of a Basin pawn on its matching color space.
Coins
Immediately after placing a Fountain tile with a coin icon, the player scores 5 points, as long as the water is flowing to the pool with the icon. The coins score only once and only when placed. A coin icon in a pool that does not have water flowing into it will not score, even if the water flow is restored on a later turn.
Coins are the only feature that are not included in the Final Rewards step at the end of the game (see Final Rewards on page 9).
Reward Triggers
The other three features are rewarded when the following occurs:
Pools — The Blue pawn ends its movement on the Blue space: Players receive points for the pools in their Fountain.
Fish — The White pawn ends its movement on the White space: Players receive points for the fish in their Fountain.
Lily Pads — The Green pawn ends its movement on the Green space: All players receive points for the lily pads in their Fountain.
When triggering Rewards, the player should place their new Fountain tile as normal, and then all players will check the conditions of the rewarded feature and adjust their Scoring meeple on the Score track accordingly.
Feature Rewards
Pools
Pool Rewards are triggered when the Blue pawn ends its movement on the Blue space. At that point, all players count the total number of pools in their Fountain with water flow. A pool is any instance of water that is surrounded on all sides by bricks at any level, as viewed from the top down. Each Fountain tile contains one pool but can be subdivided into multiple pools when covered by other tiles.
Example: In this Fountain, there are seven pools as labeled.
After the pools are totaled by all players, determine the players' ranking from highest to lowest and players receive points according to that ranking:
| Rank | Points |
|---|---|
| Most Pools | 10 points |
| 2nd Most Pools | 6 points |
| 3rd Most Pools | 3 points |
| 4th Most Pools | 1 points |
| 5th Most Pools | 0 points |
In the event of a tie, all tied players take the highest point value. Other non-tied players receive the Reward of their pool rank.
Example: When Pool Rewards are triggered Jean has 11 pools, Kedric has 10, and Valley has 8. Jean receives 10 points (Most Pools), Kedric receives 6 points (2nd Most Pools), and Valley receives 3 points (3rd Most pools).
Two Player Pools. In a 2-player game, the player with the most pools earns 7 points and the other player receives 0.
Fish
Fish Rewards are triggered when the White pawn ends its movement on the White space. The player who triggered the Rewards determines which color of fish will receive points (Red, Black, or White). Then, all players count the total value of fish of the triggering player's chosen color in pools with water flow and receive points for their total. Fish are rewarded based on their level, so a fish on level one is worth one point, a fish on level 2 is worth 2 points, and so on.
Wild Fish: These fish count as all colors and always score when fish are triggered, regardless of what color the triggering player chose.
Example: In this Fountain, Jean triggers fish Rewards, and chooses Red as the scoring color. They receive 4 points for their Red fish and 3 points for their Wild Fish, which count towards all colors, for a total of 7 points.
Lily Pads
Lily pad Rewards are triggered when the Green pawn ends its movement on the Green space. Players identify the single largest group of lily pads in their Fountain. A group is defined as all of the lily pads in a set of adjacent pools that are connected by water flow, as viewed from above. Each lily pad icon in this connected group is worth points equal to the level of the pool where it's located, as long as that pool is fed by a jet.
Example: In this example, Jean receives one point for each of the three lily pads in adjacent pools on the first level (#1, 3, & 4), and 2 points for the lily pad on the second level (#2), for a total of 5 points. The lily pad on the far left is not rewarded as it is not connected to this adjacent group.
Bonus Tokens
When a player places any Basin pawn onto the space beside the Bonus tokens, they take one of the five face up Bonus tokens and immediately add it to their Fountain. A Fountain tile that contains a Bonus token is considered to contain the icons on the Bonus token for all Reward steps. Bonus tokens may be placed in the shaded areas on a Fountain tile, or they may cover up an existing icon.
Once a Bonus token has been placed, it may not be moved. If a player places a Fountain tile or another Bonus token in a way that covers a previously placed Bonus token, that token is removed from the game.
After drafting a Bonus token, replace it with a randomly drawn token from the supply.
When placing a Bonus Token with Coins, score those Coins immediately as long as the pool it is placed into is fed by a Jet.
Game End
The game ends after any stack of Fountain tiles or the supply of Bonus tokens is depleted. Once this occurs, continue playing the current round until all players have had the same number of turns. Then, Final Rewards will begin.
Final Rewards
Final Rewards are given at the end of the game. Pools, fish, and lily pads are all rewarded one last time. When tallying Final Rewards for fish, each player may choose which color fish they would like to personally score.
Additionally, if playing the advanced variant using the Fountain Design cards, check the scoring conditions on each card. Players earn points according to the conditions listed on each (see Fountain Design Cards below).
The Winner
The player with the most points wins the game. In the event of a tie, the tied player with the fewest Pond Weed tokens wins. If still tied, the player with the most Bonus tokens in their Fountain wins the game. If still tied, the tied players share the victory.
Fountain Design Cards
Once you're familiar with the game, you can add the Fountain Design cards to the game for more of a challenge. These cards are shuffled at the start of the game. Three cards are revealed face up, and all players will try to complete the objectives on the cards in order to score more points at the end of the game. Features indicated on these cards must be visible at the end of the game and should be scored without any dismantling required.
- Levels — Score points equal to the highest level that your Fountain has reached at the end of the game. If you've reached the 3rd level, score 4 points. If you've reached the 4th level, score 6 points. If you've reached the 5th level or higher, score 9 points.
- High Feature — Any visible feature that is on level 3 or higher scores you 1 point per feature at level 3 or higher.
- Stars — At the end of the game, any fully visible star-shaped tile in your Fountain scores you 3 points per fully visible star-shaped tile.
- Extras — Earn 3 points for every Bonus token in your Fountain. Bonus tokens that have been discarded from your Fountain during the game do not count towards this total.
- Lily Coins — For each visible set of 1 lily pad and 1 coin icon in your Fountain, score 2 points per visible pair of 1 lily pad and 1 coin.
- Wild Lilies — For each visible set of 1 lily pad and 1 Wild fish icon in your Fountain, score 3 points per visible pair of 1 wild fish and 1 lily pad.
- Visibility — For every Fountain tile that is not partially or completely covered by any other Fountain tile, score 1 point per fully visible Fountain tile.
- Feature Set — For every complete set of all 7 features that are visible in your Fountain, score 5 points per set of all 7 features. You may score multiple sets but may not count any feature in more than one set.
- Diverse Fish — For every complete set of all three fish colors (Red, White, and Black), score 4 points per set of Red, Black, and White fish. Wild fish do not count towards this card.
- Jets — Any jet that is visible in your Fountain scores you 2 points per visible jet.
- Coins — For every visible coins icon in your Fountain, score 2 points per visible coins icon.
- Straight Pools — Identify the longest straight line of visible pools in your Fountain at game end. For each pool in this longest straight line of adjacent pools, score 1 point per pool in your longest straight line.
Race Against The Machine (Solo Mode)
An ambitious industrialist has claimed that his newly developed Steam Machine, a cutting-edge robotic Fountaineer, can outperform any human. With unmatched efficiency, this machine threatens to make Florimelle's Fountaineers obsolete. Although it moves with automated precision, you sense a vulnerability in its mechanical patterns. It's up to you to defeat this false Fountaineer and prove humanity's superiority over machines.
Setup
Set up the game as normal, setting out 12 of each Fountain tile. Take the Gear Wheel token and place it in the space below the Bonus tokens on the Basin board. This will represent The Machine. Choose a Scoring Meeple and matching set of Point tokens for yourself and for The Machine. Place both Scoring Meeples on the Start space of the Score Track.
The Machine does not receive a Starting Fountain tile, and Fountain Design cards are not used in Solo Mode.
Turn Summary
You will take the first turn and then alternate turns with The Machine, taking your turns as normal.
The Machine's Gear Wheel token will either occupy a space by itself or a space that contains a Basin pawn. In either case, the space and the pawn in that space are not available to you. You cannot end your movement on a space that The Machine's Gear Wheel token occupies, and you cannot move a Basin pawn that holds the Gear Wheel token. When moving, treat the Gear Wheel token like a Basin pawn, skipping the space it occupies.
The Steam Machine's Turns
On The Machine's turn, it will always move one space in a clockwise direction, whether that space is occupied by a Basin pawn or not. When it moves onto a space with a Basin pawn, slide the Gear Wheel token over the top of that pawn.
After moving, The Machine will collect the top Fountain tile from the adjacent stack. The Machine does not build a Fountain, but collects tiles into its own supply. Leave all Machine tiles visible for Reward scoring.
The Machine will always trigger Rewards when it ends its movement on the White, Blue, or Green space on the Basin board. This occurs whether or not there is a pawn on that space. The associated Rewards will always be triggered.
Bonus Token Space
When The Machine ends its movement on the Bonus token space of the Basin board, it draws Fountain tiles from the spaces containing the other Basin pawns. All tiles that The Machine acquires in this manner are added to its tiles as normal.
If there is a Basin pawn on the Bonus token space when The Machine ends its movement there, add tiles from the spaces containing the other two pawns only.
When The Machine ends its movement on the Bonus token space, you may discard any of the face up Bonus tokens and replace them with tokens randomly drawn from the supply.
Rewards
You or The Machine may trigger Rewards, you according to the standard rules of the game, and The Machine as previously described. When this happens, score the associated feature in both The Machine's and your Fountain as follows:
Coins: Both you and The Machine score 5 points when placing a tile or Bonus token with the coin icon.
Lily Pads: When lily pads Rewards are triggered by either player, you score your lily pads as normal, and The Machine scores 1 point for each lily pad it has on its collected tiles.
Fish: When you trigger fish Rewards on your turn, choose the color that you wish to score. The Machine scores one point for each fish of your chosen color. When The Machine triggers fish Rewards, determine which fish color is most represented in its Fountain. You score that fish color as normal, and The Machine gains one point for each fish of that color, including Wilds. If The Machine has the same number of multiple colors of fish, the fish color that earns you the fewest points will be scored.
Pools: When either you or The Machine triggers pool Rewards, compare the number of pools in your Fountain with the number of Fountain tiles The Machine has collected. Whichever player has a higher number scores 7 points, and the other player scores 0. In the event of a tie, both you and The Machine score 7 points.
End Game
The game ends when The Machine moves onto the Bonus token space a second time, after completing its second full lap around the Basin board. When this happens, add the Fountain tiles at the other Basin pawn spaces to The Machine's area, and move on to Final Rewards. Final Rewards are scored in the same manner as above. If you have more points than The Machine, you win! If you cannot outscore it, you lose and humanity has failed against The Machines. Better luck next time.
Difficulty Levels
The Solo Mode of Fountains can be adjusted for a more challenging experience. If you want to increase the difficulty, you can modify the feature values according to the chart below.
| Difficulty | Points for The Machine's Fish | Points for The Machine's Lily Pads | Points for Most Pools | Points for Coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 |
| Medium | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 |
| Hard | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 |
Player Turn Reference
- Move a pawn 1, 2, or 3 spaces.
- Take the tile/token and add it to your Fountain.
- Check for Rewards triggers.
Rewards:
- Pools: All players count their pools, and earn points based on their rank (1st: 10, 2nd: 6, 3rd: 3, 4th: 1, 5th: 0). In a 2-player game, the player with the most pools gets 7 points; the other player scores 0.
- Fish: Triggering player chooses the scoring color. Fish score by level.
- Lily Pads: Largest connected group of adjacent lily pads score, each by level.
- Coins: Coin icons score 5 points when placed.
Credits
Game Design: Kedric Winks Illustration: Shaun Ellis The Op Hobby Games Team: Pat Marino (Hub Direction), Mondo Davis (Game Development), Carol Johnston (Brand Management), Adam Sblendorio (Creative Direction), Arlo Hitzemann (Art Direction), Pam Weirich (Graphic Design), Mark Soraci (3D Composition), Tyler Hargrove (Pre-Press), Emily Sim, Molly Varela, Paul May (Production), and Andrew Esposito (Marketing) Playtesters: The Op Games Playtesting Community Special Thanks from Kedric Winks: Ellie Dix, László Riba and Tina Mammoser. You know what you did.