Fragments: Solara Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Spoiler Warning
• Tutorial: The Greenhouse
• Rules: Solara
  • Course of Play
  • Looking at and Moving Fragments
  • Connecting Fragments
  • Instructions
  • Instruction Chains
  • Conditions
  • Tips
• Setup
• End of the Game
• How Do I Store the Game?

Spoiler Warning

Printed heading: "SPOILER-WARNUNG".

Do not look at any game material until you are asked to!

Everything you need for the adventure is in this box. Looking at the materials beforehand could spoil your journey before you have begun it.

Read on here first!

Tutorial: The Greenhouse

Tutorial adventure "Das Gewächshaus" (The Greenhouse).

Welcome to the adventure The Greenhouse!

Lay out the adventure book and the tray. Leave the punch-out pieces in their tray!

This tutorial uses symbols that stand for "instructions". Whenever you encounter an unknown symbol (that is, an unknown instruction), look it up on these pages.

Such instructions are found in the adventure book and on fragments (= puzzle pieces). Some are also hidden in the illustrations, so look carefully 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 (marked with a star symbol) and read it aloud!

Punch-out pieces. Take out the punch-out piece with the matching symbol from its tray. Punch out all fragments (= puzzle pieces) in it, and make sure you do not turn them over to the other side! Place them in your play area, and place the empty punch-out piece at the edge. Pink symbols in this adventure always refer to punch-out pieces.

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

On the front of every fragment you will find the symbol of its punch-out piece in white (instead of pink) in the upper right corner.

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

Example: The first fragment shows the instructions [pink punch-out symbol, flip symbol] and [symbol 2].

• An instruction marked with a yellow lightning-bolt symbol is a "must" instruction: you MUST follow it IMMEDIATELY. Every instruction without the lightning symbol you may follow immediately or later (or even ignore).
• Light-blue symbols refer to pages of the adventure book in this adventure! Read the page of the adventure book with the matching symbol. The symbol is also shown at the top under the page heading, so you can check whether you are on the right page.
• Turn this fragment over to its other side (the symbol shows a double arrow turning the fragment over).
• If this symbol on a fragment is incomplete, you must complete it before you may follow this instruction. Then turn over all fragments that together form this symbol.
• Loose connection: if you lay a fragment with jagged edges perfectly against another fragment, they are only loosely connected. Turn over only this fragment if needed, not the other one. You may separate these connections at any time.
• Firm connection: if you lay a fragment with round puzzle tabs perfectly against another fragment, they are firmly connected. Turn over all firmly connected fragments together if needed. You may no longer separate these connections, unless an instruction explicitly asks you to.
• If you lay an edge with this yellow symbol perfectly against another fragment, you MAY:
  • turn over the fragment with this symbol (the symbol is not visible any more after turning);
  • turn both of them over together, then separate them, and then remove the fragment with this symbol from the play area (even if the symbol is no longer visible after turning).

For its own part, this symbol has no instruction. It will be explained later.

Connected fragments (2 fragments). If this fragment is in a connection (loose or firm) of exactly 2 fragments, you MUST IMMEDIATELY:

• read the page of the adventure book with this symbol.

Have you already spotted the pink symbol on the watering can?

(Tutorial ends here. Finish the tutorial before reading on.)

Rules: Solara

After playing 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 these rules attentively, because there are a few important differences and details you do not know yet.

Course of Play

Each game in the world of Fragments takes you on a narrative adventure in which you alternately work with the fragments and read in the adventure book.

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

Puzzling with the fragments and reading in the adventure book work logically together and form the adventure as a whole. Once you have completed the last task, the game ends. There is no time limit and no scoring; only the enjoyment of experiencing the adventure counts.

Looking at and Moving Fragments

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

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

Make sure you lay out new fragments with the correct side up; on most fragments the symbol of the punch-out piece is then visible in one corner. (This lets you assign the fragment back to its punch-out piece when putting the game away.)

Connecting Fragments

Printed headings: "Fragmente verbinden" and "Mögliche Verbindungen".

You can connect fragments in different ways. For example, this lets you combine several objects, use an object in the environment, or join parts of landscapes.

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

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

Two fragments count as connected only if they:

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

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

Firm connection. A connection counts as firm if you cannot separate the fragments from each other without lifting them. You may not separate firmly connected fragments, unless an instruction tells you to. Firm connections have round puzzle tabs.

Note: Do not worry about connecting fragments firmly: you can never get stuck in the story because of it. On the contrary, a firm connection means you are making progress!

Instructions

Important: This section explains some details more precisely than the tutorial, so read it especially 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 always optional, even when you have met their condition.

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

• Take out the punch-out piece (or pieces) with the matching symbol from its tray. Punch out all fragments in it, and make sure you see only the front side (with the punch-out symbol in the corner). Place them in your play area and place the empty punch-out piece at the edge. Note the following:
  • Each game or chapter uses a different colour.
  • Sometimes several punch-out pieces show the same symbol. In this case, take all punch-out pieces with this symbol.
  • Sometimes an instruction asks you to take a punch-out piece that you have already taken. In this case, ignore the corresponding 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 punch-out piece.
• Read the page of the adventure book with the matching symbol. The symbol is found on the page tab and at the top under the page heading, so you can check whether you are on the right page. Note the following:
  • Light-blue symbols always refer to pages of the adventure book!
  • Do not read further in the adventure book unless you are asked to. Close the adventure book again when you have finished reading.
  • Once you have read a page, you may read it again 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 entirely normal.
• These kinds of symbols can appear on fragments and in the adventure book. On their own they have no instruction. An explanation of their function can be found on page 10.

Turn this fragment over to its other side.

• If the fragment is part of a group of 2 or more firmly connected fragments, treat the whole group as 1 fragment and turn it over as a whole.
• If the fragment is instead only loosely connected to others, the other fragments are not turned over with it.

Separate this fragment from all connections with other fragments.

Remove this fragment from the play area (place it with the empty punch-out pieces at the edge). It is no longer available or no longer has any use.

• If the fragment is part of a group of 2 or more firmly connected fragments, treat the whole group as 1 fragment and remove it as a whole from the play area.
• If the fragment is instead only loosely connected to others, 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. Follow 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 this fragment first from the connected group, then turn this fragment over.
• Turn this connected group over first, then separate this fragment from the connected group.

If a symbol is divided across several fragments, it must be complete before you may follow its instruction. Once 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 point may no longer be met at a later point, because the play area has changed. As always, you may follow these instructions optionally, unless they appear in combination with a lightning-bolt symbol (then you must follow them).

Condition: Connected edges. If you connect a fragment perfectly with another fragment at an edge marked with this yellow symbol (firm or loose), you may follow the instruction in the box attached to it.

• Example: By connecting these two fragments you may read one page of the adventure book.
• Example: By connecting these two fragments you may read one page of the adventure book and remove the left fragment (in an order of your choice).

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

Condition: Group size. If a fragment with this symbol is part of a group of exactly the displayed 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 firmly or loosely connected. In the case of a condition symbol split across fragments, the instruction affects all fragments that contain parts of the condition symbol.)

Condition: Required symbol. Example of a required symbol (a black drop in a grey circle).

• 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 located in the same group of connected fragments (whether firmly or loosely connected), you may follow the instruction in the box attached to it.

Example (required symbol): 1. These fragments lie in the play area. The required symbol is not visible, so you may NOT turn the light bulb. You may turn the switch. 2. Now the required symbol is visible on the switch. You MUST IMMEDIATELY turn the light bulb over. 3. After you have turned the switch over, the required symbol is no longer visible. 4. You MUST IMMEDIATELY turn the light bulb over. While the required symbol is visible on the switch, the light bulb must stay on this side (that is, lit). You may still turn the switch.

Tips

1. Try to connect fragments that depict your surroundings immediately.
2. Consider how you can fulfil your tasks (sometimes you have to think around the corner).
3. Think logically 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.
5. You are under no time pressure. The story contributes just as much to solving the puzzles as connecting fragments does.
6. The solution booklet (Lösungsheft) is on the back of which you will find a summary of all instructions. If you cannot go on at all, use it.

Setup

Printed heading: "Spielvorbereitung".

1. Take all game material for Solara out of the box and lay it out in front of you: the adventure book, the solution booklet and the trays with the punch-out pieces. Leave the punch-out pieces in their trays!
2. You are now ready to play: open the adventure book to the first page and read it aloud.

End of the Game

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

How Do I Store the Game?

Printed heading: "Wie lagere ich das Spiel?"

Turn all fragments so that the symbol of the punch-out piece in the upper right corner is visible (where present).

Place each fragment back into its punch-out piece. Use the numbering in the lower right corner of the punch-out pieces to sort them back into the trays.