Gazebo
Gazebo Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 Double-sided game board
- 81 Dominoes
- 54 Double-colored dominoes (18 of each color combination)
- 27 Single-colored dominoes (9 of each color)
- 96 Gazebos (24 of each color)
Setup
- Place the board in the center of the table. You may choose which side to play on. For your first game, we recommend the Aviary garden side.
- Shuffle the single-colored dominoes face down. Each player takes five of these and keeps them as a private, face-down draw pile. The remaining single-colored dominoes are kept aside as a reserve.
- Shuffle the double-colored dominoes face down and form a general draw pile. Each player draws three of these into their hand. Keep your hand of three dominoes hidden from your opponents.
- Depending on the number of players, each player gets a certain number of gazebos of one color:
| Players | Gazebos per Player |
|---|---|
| 2 Players | 24 |
| 3 Players | 19 |
| 4 Players | 15 |
Place the gazebos of your color in front of you so that every player can see them. Return any leftover gazebos to the box. 5. The last person to sit outside in the shade is the start player.
Board Spaces
- Starting Space — an open space where play may begin.
- Regular Patio Space — claim by placing one gazebo.
- Fancy Patio Space — claim by placing two gazebos (a double gazebo).
- Zen Space — an open space with no domino on it; covering it lets you draw an extra domino from the reserve.
Open spaces include blank, zen, and pedestal spaces with no domino on them. Dominoes and starting spaces are made up of terrain squares: flower, foliage, and water.
Gameplay
The start player takes the first turn. Then play continues in a clockwise direction.
On your turn, choose one domino from your hand and place it onto the grid of the board.
- The domino may only be placed onto open spaces.
- At least one terrain square of the domino must share an edge with an existing terrain square of any color (patios and vases are not considered terrain squares). In other words, the domino must be placed adjacent to a starting space or any other domino.
- You may rotate the domino (aligning it horizontally or vertically).
Not allowed:
- At least one terrain square of the tile must share an edge with an existing terrain square.
- It is not sufficient that only the corners touch.
- Patios are not considered terrain squares.
By placing your domino, you usually trigger one or more events that you must carry out (these are explained in more detail below):
- Create a nook
- Expand a nook
- Create a big nook
- Claim a patio
- Steal a patio
- Absorb a nook
At the end of your turn, refill your hand to three dominoes by drawing from either:
- The general draw pile of double-colored dominoes
- Your private draw pile of single-colored dominoes
Note: If both draw piles are exhausted, you cannot draw a new domino and must get by with the remaining dominoes in your hand.
Important: If you placed your domino on a Zen space, you may instead draw one domino from the reserve of single-colored dominoes. If you cover two Zen spaces in one turn, you may draw up to two dominoes from the reserve. You will learn later how it is possible to cover two Zen spaces in one turn.
Note: The single-colored dominoes are very powerful and thus great to have in your hand. But a wise gardener knows to pace themselves — you only have five of them in your private stack!
Then, it is the next player's turn.
Events
1. Create a nook
By placing your domino, you can create new nooks. A nook is any contiguous area of two or more same-colored terrain squares. Place one of your gazebos onto each newly created nook.
Example: By placing his domino, Purple creates two new nooks (one foliage, one flower). He places one gazebo onto each of them. By placing his all-foliage domino, Purple creates a foliage nook made up of three terrain squares and places one gazebo onto it.
2. Expand a nook
You expand a nook when you place at least one square of your domino adjacent to an existing nook of the same color.
Note: You may place your domino in a way that neither a new nook is created nor a nook is expanded (because only two single terrain squares form). However, this is seldom advantageous.
Example: By placing her domino, Green expands her foliage nook to four squares and her flower nook to three squares.
3. Create a big nook
As soon as a nook contains at least five terrain squares, it ranks as a big nook. Its owner indicates this by building a double gazebo (stacking a second gazebo on top of their existing gazebo). Big nooks can grow to any size but will only ever have one double gazebo.
Example: Because of the newly placed domino, Green's foliage nook is made up of five squares. She marks this big nook by stacking a second gazebo on top of her existing one.
4. Claim a patio
If, after placing your domino, the nook or big nook of any player shares at least one edge with an unoccupied patio, the owner of the nook claims this patio by placing one or two of their gazebos onto it, depending on the type of patio.
- For a regular patio, place one gazebo.
- For a fancy patio, place two gazebos (stacked as a double gazebo).
Note: All boards have patios on them, but they display a unique decoration in the middle of the patio to fit the theme of the garden.
Tip: You should usually try to connect unoccupied patios to your own nooks and big nooks. Also, try to avoid letting the next player connect a nearby patio to one of their nooks.
Example: Green creates a water nook. In doing so, she also connects to an unoccupied regular patio. Since she connected the patio to her own nook, she claims it by placing one gazebo onto it.
5. Steal a patio
A patio can change ownership when multiple nooks border it. If, on the patio's bordering nooks and big nooks, any player has more gazebos than the owner of the patio, that player takes control of it. The previous owner takes their gazebo (or gazebos) back, and the new owner places the same number of gazebos onto the patio.
Important, when determining the majority:
- Each double gazebo counts as two gazebos.
- The gazebo on the patio itself does not count.
General rule for claiming/stealing patios: As long as two or more players are tied for the most gazebos bordering a patio, this patio is not claimed/stolen.
Example: Green creates a flower nook adjacent to the patio. Because of this, more Green gazebos (two) border the patio than Blue gazebos (one). Green steals the patio.
Example: Green expands her foliage nook and creates a big nook. Due to the newly formed double gazebo, Green now has more gazebos (two) bordering the patio than Blue does (one). Green steals the patio.
6. Absorb a nook
By placing your domino, you can join separate nooks of the same color, forming a single big nook. The player with the highest total number of terrain squares from the original nooks takes control of this new big nook. (Do not count the terrain squares on the domino that joined the original nooks together.) Any other gazebos are removed from the big nook and returned to their owners.
Important: You are not allowed to join nooks if no player brings a majority of terrain squares to the newly created big nook. (Nooks controlled by three or four players can be joined even if two or more players have the same number of terrain squares so long as one player has more than any other single player.)
Also important: Big nooks are safe! They can never be absorbed. You are not allowed to join two or more big nooks. However, a single big nook may still absorb small nooks. And big nooks of different colors can of course border each other.
Example: Green joins her flower nook (b) with Blue's flower nook (a). Since Green's nook is larger, she seizes the newly formed flower big nook and also steals the adjacent fancy patio.
Example: Green joins her flower big nook (b) and her flower nook (c) with Blue's flower nook (a). Green brings seven squares to the newly formed big nook and Blue only brings two. Green takes control of the newly formed flower big nook, and Blue must remove his gazebo. Since each big nook can only have one double gazebo, Green must also remove her gazebo from her other nook (c).
Example: Purple joins his nook (b) with Blue's flower nook (a) and Green's flower nook (c). Purple brings three squares to the newly formed big nook and Blue and Green only bring two each. Purple takes control of the newly formed flower big nook — Blue and Green must remove their gazebos and Purple stacks a second gazebo.
Example: Green is not allowed to join nooks a and b since Green and Blue would bring two terrain squares each to the newly formed big nook. The new owner could not be determined since neither has a majority.
Game End
The game ends immediately when a player places their last gazebo onto the board. This player wins!
The game also ends immediately when a player starts their turn with no dominoes in hand or when there are no spaces left on the board where a domino could be placed. In that case, the player who has placed the most gazebos on the board wins.
If there is a tie, the victory is shared.
If you like, you can play a series of games (one on each board, for example). At the end of each game, note the remaining gazebos for each player. After you have finished the last game of the series, the player with the lowest overall number of remaining gazebos wins.
Four-Player Partnership Mode
When playing with four players, you may either play the game as a regular competition (as described above) or as this partnership mode. The game follows all the rules of the regular competition, but with the following changes:
The two partners sit next to each other so that their turns follow each other. In this way, the player who plays first can set up opportunities for the player who goes second.
The two players of a partnership play with their own gazebos, just like in a regular game, starting with 15 each. Each player also has their own private stack of single-colored dominoes.
The second player of one partnership starts the game.
As usual, the game ends immediately when one player places their last gazebo on the board. The partnership with fewer remaining gazebos wins. If there is a tie, the partnership with the player who placed their last gazebo wins.
Our recommended communication rules
Players may not reveal or disclose their dominoes, and the first player is not allowed to communicate with or be influenced by their partner until the first turn is complete. After that, players may freely communicate. If you wish to restrict communication for a greater challenge, you may.
The two roles of being first and second player in a partnership are quite different. The first player has a more leading role when it comes to deciding the opportunities/priorities for the two-turn sequence, while the second player works to take advantage of those opportunities.
The Gardens of Gazebo
Each of the boards of Gazebo features a different setting with unique gameplay elements, explained below.
Aviary Garden
This garden is great for beginners or for players who want to enjoy the standard gameplay of Gazebo.
The Aviary Garden includes a mix of both regular patios and fancy patios. As explained in the rules, players place a double gazebo on a fancy patio when they claim or steal it.
Butterfly Garden
This garden is best for experienced players, as it introduces more strategic complexity with the vases.
The Butterfly Garden introduces four vases, upon which dominoes may not be placed. A vase allows you to play a second domino on your turn, then draw two new dominoes at the end of your turn.
You can never play more than two dominoes on your turn — even if you trigger a vase feature again.
You trigger this feature if you create a nook that borders the vase, or if you connect one of your existing nooks to the vase for the first time. Essentially, the vase feature is triggered each time a nook makes its first connection with that vase.
You can connect several of your nooks to the same vase, each time triggering the vase feature. Also, a single nook can connect to more than one vase, and the vase feature is triggered at each vase.
If you absorb an opponent's nook that is already connected to a vase (to which your own absorbing nook was not connected), this also triggers the vase feature when you replace the opponent's gazebo with your own.
If your domino placement happens to connect an opponent's nook to a vase (by any of the means listed above), the vase feature is not triggered for your opponent.
Gazebo: Elevation Expansion
The Elevation expansion features two additional gardens with unique features! This expansion can be purchased directly from the Bitewing Games shop at www.BitewingGames.com.
Note: A raised patio displays two dots and a staircase to distinguish it from a regular patio. The two dots are a reminder of the unique claiming requirement (see below).
Botanical Garden
This garden works well for any level of experience. Notably, it increases the competitive pressure with the introduction of raised patios.
The Botanical Garden introduces raised patios. A raised patio functions like a regular patio, except that you must have at least two of your gazebos connected to claim it — two nooks each with one gazebo or one big nook with a double gazebo.
Even if you later lose one of your connected gazebos, you keep ownership of the raised patio — until another player steals it in the usual way.
Jungle Garden
This garden is best for experienced players, as it introduces more strategic complexity with the various features.
The Jungle Garden introduces pedestal spaces. If you place your domino on a pedestal space, you trigger a vase feature, as described for the Butterfly Garden.
Note From the Publisher (Nick Murray)
Gazebo started in a much different place compared to other titles in our Crown Jewel Selection. For one thing, the original design, Qin, is probably the most successful title of any game we have brought back. It is the best regarded of these hidden gems according to online ratings, and it saw the release of an expansion and multiple language editions.
Despite its relatively stronger history, Qin wasn't a game that I really fell in love with until Reiner Knizia redeveloped it into Gazebo. Normally, things happen in the opposite order — we discover and adore a hidden gem first, and then figure out how to improve the design and make it more appealing for a modern audience. The main reason we even considered this project is because it was such an obvious fit for our Travel Line.
One of my main complaints about Qin was that the box size and gameplay experience were at odds with each other. The large box alluded to a big, deep, meaty game of strategy akin to Knizia's Tigris & Euphrates. But the gameplay itself offered a quick, light, approachable competition of tactics akin to a "filler" game, as hobbyists put it.
These misaligned expectations caused myself and others to come away unsatisfied by the experience. For myself, I wanted Qin to offer tougher decisions, deeper strategies, and tighter conflicts. For others, many complained of "luck of the draw" being too big of a factor in determining the winner.
In Qin, the dominoes were half single-colored tiles and half double-colored tiles, all mixed into a general draw pile. Statistically, players draw enough dominoes over the course of the game that they roughly get the same amount of powerful single-colored dominoes. But statistics have a way of allowing for any possibility, and many players complained that luck of the draw frequently undermined the competition.
Although the problems were clear, Reiner Knizia and our team were in agreement that the simplicity and elegance of Qin were some of its greatest strengths that should be preserved.
Reducing the box size to recalibrate expectations was the easy fix; deepening and tightening the gameplay were less certain. But the solution seemed to lie in how the tiles were drawn and how the maps were designed. I presented our analysis and suggestions to Reiner, and off he went to work his magic once again.
As per usual, the design that came back after redevelopment managed to exceed our hopes and expectations. Qin was a game that I respected, but Gazebo was a game that I adored. Yet Reiner Knizia felt a bit differently about both designs. In an email to me, here is what he had to say (shared here with his permission):
"We have playtested the game with its new boards a lot, and I rediscovered what an honestly great game this is. Despite all its successes in the past, I feel the game is still underrated. I would certainly rate Qin and [Gazebo] as one of my top 10 designs ever. :)"
We here at Bitewing Games are honored to collaborate on this precious pearl from a master designer.
Gazebo is an evolution of the classic game, Qin, introducing many innovations by:
- Improving the method of drawing single-colored and double-colored dominoes for less luck and more tension
- Increasing the variety of gameplay features across the all-new base game maps and expansion maps
- Deepening the strategic possibilities with Zen spaces, vases, and pedestals
- Ramping up the conflicts with more valuable contested spaces and more tactical flexibility
- Debuting an exciting new partnership mode for four players
- Condensing a now bigger experience into a smaller and more portable package
- Broadening the appeal and approachability with a new garden theme beautifully illustrated by Alisha Giroux
We hope that like Reiner Knizia and our team at Bitewing Games you find much to love in playing this elegant and evolved game. Happy gardening!
Credits
- Game by Reiner Knizia
- Artwork & Graphic Design by Alisha Giroux
- Editing by Scott Darrington
- Gazebo Miniature by Daniel Profiri
- Published by Nick Murray & Kyle Spackman
Reiner Knizia thanks all the playtesters who contributed to the development of the original Qin game and to this new edition, Gazebo. Special thanks go to Iain Adams, Sebastian Bleasdale, Drak, Gavin Hamilton, Ross Inglis, Kevin Jacklin, Simon Kane, and Dave Spring.
Bitewing Games wishes to thank all Qintellectuals. Your Qintagious Qinthusiasm for Qin was the spark that led to Gazebo.
© Dr. Reiner Knizia, 2025. All rights reserved. © Bitewing Games LLC, 2025. All rights reserved.