GRUNN: Pioniers in de Provincie

GRUNN: Pioniers in de Provincie Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Components

87 landscape tiles:

20 Wadden Sea area (green)
20 Dollard estuary area (yellow)
17 bog (brown)
11 forest (light green)
11 marshland (purple)
8 sand ridge (red)

39 action cards:

6x develop Dollard estuary area
6x develop Wadden Sea area
5x develop bog
4x develop marshland
4x develop forest
4x develop a landscape tile of your choice
3x relocate a tile to another empty spot
3x exchange 2 neighbouring tiles with each other
4x clover card

50 buildings:

16 milk factories (green)
9 churches (purple)
9 farms (yellow)
8 turf huts (brown)
8 esdorps (villages) (red)

Other components:

35 canals (blue)
45 coins valued 1 ducat
15 coins valued 5 ducats
1 arrow card
5 overview cards (non English)
1 score pad
1 game rules booklet

The Game in Short

Each turn players choose a combination of one tile and one action card from a shared pool, and add the tile to their tableau. In this way, each player creates their own four-by-four tile landscape during the course of the game. The different types of tiles score victory points in different ways. The action cards give players various strategic options such as developing landscapes or moving tiles around. During their turn, players may also construct a building or canal. This yields victory points at the cost of ducats.

See the Solo Game Variant and Game Rules for Six Players sections for additional rules for the solo game variant and how to play with 6 players.

Goal of the Game

The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins.

Preparation

Shuffle the landscape tiles and deal out four tiles at random to each player. Place the remaining ones as a draw pile on the table. Take five tiles and place them next to the draw pile in a row, with the undeveloped side face up (sand ridges only have a developed side).
Shuffle the action cards and place them as a face-down deck next to the landscape pile. Place one action card face-up next to each landscape tile.
Place the arrow card next to the rows of tiles and cards, at the end opposite the deck and draw pile, indicating their starting point of the pool.
Each player takes one overview card.
Each player takes five ducats. Place the rest of the ducats close by as a 'central bank'. Sort the buildings and place them next to the bank.
Every player positions their four starting tiles with the undeveloped side face up (barring sand ridges, which are always developed). Players can arrange the tiles however they like, as long as all tiles are part of one connected landscape. They need to connect to each other on at least one side.
Determine the starting player using your preferred method.

Playing the Game

The game is played in turns, beginning with the starting player and proceeding in clockwise order. During your turn you must pick a tile and accompanying action card from the shared pool and you may build one building or canal.

The chosen landscape tile must be placed next to another tile. The basic rule applies: each tile must connect with an existing landscape one on at least one side.
Tiles are placed with their 'undeveloped' side face up, excluding sand ridges which are always already developed.
Each player starts the game with a tableau of four landscape tiles and adds twelve over the course of the game. These sixteen tiles must form a four by four square. Keep some room between the tiles for canals to be constructed between them. Players will score their victory points based on the arrangement of their tableau (see Overview).
Tiles must always be placed with their icons at the bottom and may not be rotated!

The Shared Pool

The shared pool consists of a row of paired landscape tiles and action cards, with players picking one of these pairs.
The first tile/card pair (next to the arrow) can always be picked for free. If you want to select a pair further away from the starting point, you must place 1 ducat on each skipped tile. Ducats can accumulate on a tile if multiple players skip it. If you pick a pair that has ducats on them, you also gain these ducats.
(Example: Player A skips the first two tile/card pairs and pays a ducat for each. The front pair already had a ducat on it.)
After a player has selected a tile and card, move the pairs after the picked set forward to fill up the gap, and place a new card and tile as the fifth pair. (The now vacant spot is filled up by moving the cards and tiles forward. A new pair is placed at the end.)

Action Cards

Action cards (development, movement or clover) must be used in the turn they are chosen.
Developing a landscape tile is done by using an action card with the same indicated landscape. Doing so you collect the amount of ducats indicated from the 'central bank' and flip over the tile to its developed side. The question marked card allows you to develop any tile of your choice.
With an action card you can select any previously placed tile, but also the tile collected in the current turn. Note: sand ridges cannot be further developed for a reward and offer a building location right away.
Some action cards do not develop landscapes but offer the opportunity to move a tile around or switch two tiles. Again, these action cards must also be used in the turn they are taken and cannot be saved up for later.
The clover card immediately yields four ducats when chosen. (The game is expandable by picking up Dutch scenario cards at museums in the province of Groningen and some of these change the effect of this card.)
Action cards are discarded to a discard pile after use. If you choose not to use it, it is discarded as well.
Note: players can choose the order of placing the tile and using the action card!

Construction

After placing the tile and using the action card (optionally) you may build either one building or canal.
Buildings can only be constructed on developed tiles, except forests.
There is a different thematically appropriate building for each type of landscape. They all have a different cost and offer a different amount of victory points.
To construct a building, take it from the reserve and pay the associated costs to the 'central bank'. Buildings that run out cannot be built any more.
Developed forests cannot be built on, but generate one ducat for a player at the start of their turn instead. If a player forgot to take their ducat, they lost the opportunity for that turn.
Instead of a building, a player can construct a canal. Each canal costs 1 ducat and is placed in between two tiles or to the side of one. The first canal can be placed anywhere. However, subsequent canals must connect to the existing ones (either in a straight line or at the corners). At the end of the game each canal lying between two developed tiles is worth one victory point. (Example: Player B already has constructed one canal. Any further canals they build must connect to that one.)

End of Game and Scoring

When all players have taken twelve turns the game ends. Players add up the victory points from their landscape tiles, buildings and canals (using the score pad). The player with the most victory points has won the game. Ducats are of no value in determining the winner.

Game Rules for Six Players

Form a landscape tableau pattern of three by four tiles, instead of four by four. Each player receives two tiles at the start of the game instead of four.

Solo Game Variant

All the standard game rules apply, with the following exceptions:

You play against a so-called automaton, a fictional opponent that acts according to fixed rules. Set up the game as normal. As usual you start off with four starting tiles and five ducats.
You take the first turn and pick a tile and action card pair. After your turn your 'opponent' takes the front two pairs of tiles and cards, along with any ducats you placed on them. Set these tiles aside. Refill up rows as usual.
Repeat this until you have created your landscape tableau of four by four tiles and your opponent has twenty-four tiles (the automaton takes two more tiles after your last turn).
Count your victory points as usual. To determine the bonus points of the green Wadden Sea / grassland tiles, compare the sum of green tiles you have with the sum of green tiles the automaton has collected.

The amount of victory points you collected:

Points	Result
Less than 60	You can do better.
60 - 69 points	Reasonable.
70 - 79 points	Could be worse...
80 - 89 points	Well done.
90 - 99 points	A good result!
100 points or more	You are the ultimate pioneer!

Overview

A cluster is a group of tiles of the same landscape type connected with each other.
Landscape tiles yield victory points, regardless of whether they are developed or not or contain a building.
The forest / wood tiles are not worth victory points. Instead they generate one ducat per turn when developed.

Wadden Sea area / grass

For each green tile of this type in your tableau you gain two victory points. Besides this, the player with the highest number of these tiles gains nine victory points as a bonus. The runner-up gains a bonus of three victory points. If multiple players are tied for a bonus, they split the victory points among themselves, rounded down.

Bog / peat

Your longest uninterrupted line - either horizontal or vertical - of these brown tiles is worth three victory points per tile. A row means there has to be at least two tiles; one tile does not gain you victory points.

Dollard estuary area / grain

Each cluster of these yellow tiles is counted separately. The bigger the cluster, the more victory points:

Amount of tiles	1	2	3	4	5	6	+1
Victory points	2	4	7	10	14	18	+4

Sand ridge

These red tiles are worth the indicated amount of victory points for each neighbouring building their arrows point at. (Some can score four victory points once, others can score three victory points twice). Reminder: tiles must all be placed with their icons at the bottom, and cannot be rotated. You can immediately construct a building on these tiles.

Marshland / wierde

These purple tiles are worth one victory point per unique other type among the tiles surrounding them (so not counting other marshlands / wierdes). Multiple tiles of the same type next to a marshland / wierde are only worth a single point together.

Forest / wood

These light green tiles are worth no victory points. Developing a forest gains you six ducats. Afterwards at the start of each of your turns it generates one ducat. If you forget to collect this ducat, the opportunity is lost for that turn.

Constructions

Each turn players may construct either one building or one canal.
Buildings can only be constructed on developed landscape tiles.
Canals can be constructed along any tile edge.
If a certain building type is no longer available, it can no longer be constructed.

Amount	Landscape	Developed
20	Wadden Sea area	grass
17	bog	peat
20	Dollard estuary area	grain
8	sand ridge	x
11	marshland	wierde
11	forest	wood
87 total

Amount	Building	Cost	Points
16	milk factory	2 ducats	2 points
8	turf hut	3 ducats	3 points
9	farm	5 ducats	4 points
8	esdorp	7 ducats	5 points
9	church	9 ducats	7 points
50 total

Canals

There are 35 canals. They each cost one ducat to construct and are worth one victory point when lying between two developed landscape tiles.