Fragments: Fungataï Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Tutorial: The Greenhouse
  • Setup
  • Die-Cut Sheets and Fragments
  • Mandatory and Optional Instructions
  • Flip
  • Edge Symbols and Connections
  • Group Size
• Fungataï Rules
  • Game Flow
  • Viewing and Moving Fragments
  • Connecting Fragments
    • Possible Connections
  • Instructions
    • Die-Cut Symbols
    • Book Symbols
    • Black Symbols
    • Flip, Separate and Remove
  • Instruction Chains
  • Conditions
    • Condition: Connected Edges
• Setup
• Game End
  • How Do I Store the Game?

Tutorial: The Greenhouse

Setup

Welcome to the adventure The Greenhouse!

Place the adventure book and the tray. Leave the die-cut sheets in their tray!

• 1 adventure book
• 1 tray with die-cut sheets

This tutorial uses symbols that stand for "instructions". Whenever you encounter an unknown symbol (that is, an unknown instruction), look up what it means on these pages. You will find such instructions in the adventure book and on fragments (= puzzle pieces). Some are also hidden in the illustrations, so look closely, and trust your logic! Instructions can consist of one or more symbols and can be spread across several fragments.

You are now ready to play: open the adventure book to the first page (light-blue book symbol) and read it (aloud)!

Die-Cut Sheets and Fragments

Take the die-cut sheet with the corresponding symbol out of its tray. Punch out all fragments (= puzzle pieces) from it, and make sure you do not turn them over to the other side! Place them in your play area and the empty die-cut sheet at the edge. In this adventure, pink symbols always refer to die-cut sheets.

You may pick up fragments, but you must not turn them over to the other side. Otherwise you may rotate them freely. If you turn a fragment over without an instruction allowing it, you could reveal information too early and spoil the adventure.

On the front page of each fragment you will find the symbol of its die-cut sheet in white (instead of pink) in the top right corner.

Now read the sections on the new instructions that you find on the fragment.

Example: The first fragment shows the instructions pink double-arrow die-cut symbol and mandatory light-blue book symbol (lightning bolt plus book symbol).

Mandatory and Optional Instructions

• Lightning bolt: You MUST follow this instruction IMMEDIATELY. You may follow any instruction without a lightning bolt immediately or later (or even ignore it).
• Light-blue book symbol: Read the page in the adventure book with the corresponding symbol. The symbol is also shown at the top under the page heading, so you can check that you are on the right page. Light-blue symbols in this adventure always refer to pages in the adventure book!

Flip

Flip (dark brown box with a turning arrow): Turn this fragment over to the other side.

If this symbol on a fragment is incomplete, you must complete it before you may follow this instruction. Then flip all fragments that together form this symbol.

Printed label beside the flip symbol: "Don't confuse!"

Edge Symbols and Connections

Yellow edge symbol: If you place an edge with this yellow symbol perfectly against another fragment, you MAY flip the fragment with this symbol.

Yellow edge symbol with an action chain: If you place an edge with this yellow symbol perfectly against another fragment, you MAY:

• flip them together;
• then separate them from one another;
• and then remove the fragment with this symbol from the play area (even if the symbol is no longer visible after flipping).

Loose connection: If you place a fragment with jagged edges perfectly against another fragment, they are only loosely connected. If necessary, flip only this fragment, not the other one. You may separate these connections at any time.

Fixed connection: If you place a fragment with round puzzle tabs perfectly against another fragment, they are fixedly connected. If necessary, flip all fixedly connected fragments together. You may no longer separate these connections unless an instruction explicitly asks you to.

Group Size

Yellow badge with a number (here: 2) and light-blue book symbol: If this fragment is part of a connection (loose or fixed) made of exactly 2 fragments, you MUST IMMEDIATELY read the page in the adventure book with this symbol.

Printed note: "End the tutorial before you read on."

Printed tip: "Need a hint? Have you already spotted the pink symbol on the watering can?"

Fungataï Rules

After you have played the tutorial, you already know most of the rules of Fragments and what you can do with fragments. We still recommend that you read the rest of this rulebook carefully, as there are a few important differences and details you do not yet know.

Game Flow

Each game in the world of Fragments takes you on a narrative adventure in which you alternate between puzzling with the fragments and reading in the adventure book.

• Rotate, connect and flip fragments to explore your surroundings, find or craft objects and interact with your environment.
• Read in the adventure book to progress in the story and to receive new fragments, hints and tasks.

Puzzling with the fragments and reading in the adventure book interlock logically and together form the adventure. Once you have completed the final task, the game ends. There is no time limit and no score; only the enjoyment of experiencing the adventure counts.

Viewing and Moving Fragments

Look at all fragments carefully. Pay attention both to the symbols you find on them and to the illustrations. Think logically about how the fragments might interact with one another.

• You may rotate fragments at any time (clockwise or counterclockwise).
• Never flip a fragment unless an instruction explicitly allows you to (sometimes you must meet conditions first).

Make sure that you lay out new fragments with the correct side facing up. On most fragments the symbol of the die-cut sheet is then visible in one corner. This lets you assign the fragment back to its die-cut sheet when you pack the game away.

Connecting Fragments

You can connect fragments in different ways. For example, you can combine several objects, use an object in your surroundings, or join pieces of landscape.

Example 1: Placing an empty watering can under a running tap is a logical step to obtain a full watering can. If you rotate the full watering can 90° so that its spout points downward and place it over a flower, you simulate watering and receive a watered flower. This may take you to a new page in the adventure book.

Example 2: By combining the stick and the box with the tree, you can set a trap under the tree. If you now add an animal near the trap, the next scene shows the captured animal.

To count as two connected fragments, they must:

• match perfectly along 1 edge, ...
• without gaps, ...
• and close off cleanly at both corners.

Possible Connections

Loose connection: A connection counts as loose if you can separate the fragments from one another without lifting them (that is, by simply sliding them apart). You may connect fragments loosely at any time and separate loose connections at any time in order to use fragments in different ways. Loose connections have jagged edges.

Fixed connection: A connection counts as fixed if you cannot separate the fragments from one another without lifting them. You may not separate fixedly connected fragments unless an instruction asks you to. Fixed connections have round puzzle tabs.

Note: Do not worry about connecting fragments fixedly: you can never get stuck in the story that way. On the contrary, a fixed connection means you are making progress!

Instructions

Important: This section explains some details more precisely than the tutorial, so please read it particularly carefully. Whenever you see the symbol for an instruction in the play area, you may follow that instruction immediately or later (or even ignore it).

Instructions are generally optional, even when their condition has been met.

Exception: Whenever you see an instruction with the lightning bolt, you MUST follow it immediately (or as soon as possible).

Die-Cut Symbols

Colored symbols (except light-blue) in a brown box refer to die-cut sheets. Take the die-cut sheet (or sheets) with the corresponding symbol out of its tray. Punch out all fragments and make sure that you only see the front page (with the die-cut symbol in the corner). Place them in your play area and the empty die-cut sheet at the edge. Note the following:

• Each game or chapter uses a different color.
• Sometimes several die-cut sheets show the same symbol. In this case, take all die-cut sheets with this symbol.
• Sometimes an instruction asks you to take a die-cut sheet that you have already taken. In this case, ignore that instruction.
• Some instructions are hidden in the illustrations and then have no brown box. It is up to you to find them and take the corresponding die-cut sheet.

Book Symbols

Light-blue symbols in a dark-blue box refer to pages of the adventure book. Read the page in the adventure book with the corresponding symbol. The symbol is on the page tab and at the top under the page heading, so you can check that you are on the right page. Note the following:

• Light-blue symbols always refer to pages in the adventure book!
• Do not turn further pages in the adventure book unless you are instructed to. Instead, close the adventure book when you have finished reading.
• Once you have read a page, you may re-read it at any time, as long as the corresponding symbol is still in the play area.
• You will not necessarily read the pages in order from front to back. That is completely normal.

Black Symbols

Black symbols in a light-grey circle can appear on fragments and in the adventure book. On their own, they have no instruction. Their function is explained on page 10 (see Conditions below).

Flip, Separate and Remove

Flip (dark brown box with a turning arrow): Flip this fragment over to the other side. If the fragment is part of a group of 2 or more fixedly connected fragments, treat the whole group as one fragment and flip it as a whole. If the fragment is only loosely connected to other fragments, the other fragments are not flipped with it.

Diagram labels: Fixed connection (the whole group is flipped together); Loose connection (only this fragment is flipped).

Separate (dark brown box with a broken-link icon): Separate this fragment from all connections with other fragments.

Remove (dark brown box with a trash can): Remove this fragment from the play area (place it at the edge with the empty die-cut sheets). It is no longer available or no longer has any use. If the fragment is part of a group of 2 or more fixedly connected fragments, treat the whole group as one fragment and remove it as a whole. If the fragment is only loosely connected to other fragments, the other fragments are not removed with it.

Note: Removing a fragment is always a sign that you have made progress.

Instruction Chains

Sometimes several symbols form an instruction chain in a row. In this case, you must follow all instructions of the instruction chain (sometimes you must first meet a condition). Carry out each individual instruction in order, following the direction of the arrows within the instruction chain. Pay attention to the order of the instructions!

Example: The following two instruction chains lead to different results.

• Separate, then flip: Separate this fragment from the connected group first, then flip this fragment over. (Result: A stays in place, B is separated and then flipped.)
• Flip, then separate: Flip this connected group over first, then separate this fragment from the connected group. (Result: A and B are both flipped, and then B is separated.)

Printed labels in the example: "A face down", "B face down".

If a symbol is split across several fragments, it must be complete for you to follow its instruction. If it is complete, the instruction affects all fragments that contain parts of this symbol.

Conditions

Some instructions may only be followed when certain conditions are met. Note that a condition that was met at one time may no longer be met at a later time, because the play area has changed. As always, you may follow these instructions optionally, except when they appear in combination with a lightning bolt (then you must follow them).

Condition: Connected Edges

If you join an edge with this yellow symbol perfectly to another fragment (fixed or loose), you may follow the instruction in the box attached to it.

Special case: If both edges have opposite yellow symbols and you follow one instruction, you must immediately afterwards also follow the other instruction, before you follow any other instructions. (You decide which of the two instructions to follow first.)

Example labels: "By joining these two fragments, you may read a page in the adventure book." and "By joining these two fragments, you may read a page in the adventure book and remove the left fragment (in an order of your choice)."

Condition: Group Size

If a fragment with this symbol is part of a group of exactly the indicated size (in the example on the left, exactly 2), you may follow the instruction in the box attached to it. It does not matter whether the fragments in the group are fixed or loose. In the case of a split condition symbol, the instruction affects all fragments that contain parts of the condition symbol.

Condition: Required Symbol

Example for a required symbol.

• If the required symbol is visible in the play area (on fragments or in the adventure book), you may follow the instruction in the box attached to it.
• If the required symbol is not visible in the play area (on fragments or in the adventure book), you may follow the instruction in the box attached to it.
• If the required symbol and this instruction are in the same group of connected fragments (whether fixed or loose), you may follow the instruction in the box attached to it.

Editor's note: The printed text of the second bullet reads "may follow" the instruction when the required symbol is not visible. The example on page 11 shows that the instruction must not be followed in that case (the light bulb may not be flipped while the required symbol is not visible). This transcription keeps the printed wording; the example is the authoritative behaviour.

Example: The Light Bulb and the Switch

1. These fragments lie in the play area. The required symbol is not visible, so you may not flip the light bulb. You may, however, flip the switch.
2. The required symbol is now visible on the switch. You MUST IMMEDIATELY flip the light bulb.
3. As long as the required symbol is visible on the switch, the light bulb must stay on this side (that is, lit). You may, however, flip the switch.
4. After you have flipped the switch, the required symbol is no longer visible. You MUST IMMEDIATELY flip the light bulb.

Tips

1. Always try to connect fragments that depict your surroundings right away.
2. Keep your tasks in mind and think about how you could fulfil them (sometimes you have to think around the corner).
3. Think logically about your options and ask yourself which approach could make sense for the adventure.
4. Take your time and check whether you have overlooked or forgotten any instructions. You have no time pressure.
5. The story contributes just as much to solving the puzzles as connecting fragments does.
6. If you really cannot get further, use the solution booklet. On its back you will also find a summary of all instructions.

Setup

1. Take the drawer for the chapter you want to play out of the box.

Printed images: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4.

For a logical order of the story and increasing complexity, play the chapters in ascending order, from 1 to 4.

2. Take all game material for the chosen chapter out of the drawer and lay it out in front of you: the adventure book, the solution booklet and the trays with the die-cut sheets. Leave the die-cut sheets in their trays!
3. Now you are ready to play: open the adventure book to the first page and read it (aloud).

Game End

You will learn in the adventure book when you have reached the end of the story, and thus the end of the game.

How Do I Store the Game?

• Turn all fragments so that the die-cut sheet symbol in the top right corner is visible (where present).
• Put each fragment back into its die-cut sheet.
• Use the numbering in the bottom right corner of the die-cut sheets to sort them back into the trays.