Horizonte Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Goal of the Game
• Game Setup
• The Game
  • Phase 1: Dealing and Prediction
  • Phase 2: The Tricks
  • Example
• Scoring
  • Example 1
  • Example 2
• End of the Game

Components

• 59 cards
  • 50 numbered playing cards in four suits (Cloud, Mountain, Desert, Ocean)
  • 2 white Placement cards (Dog and Dragon)
  • 2 gray Initiative cards (Dog and Dragon)
  • 5 Prediction cards
• 5 cubes

Goal of the Game

Players play cards into two tricks: the Dragon Trick, in which high cards win, and the Dog Trick, in which low cards win.

After the cards are dealt, players must predict the difference in the number of tricks they will win between Dragon Tricks and Dog Tricks.

The ideal strategy is to win only one type of trick, since the Dragon and the Dog do not get along. The player who predicts the difference with the greatest accuracy is the winner.

Game Setup

1. Place the Dog and Dragon Placement cards in the center of the table, leaving a certain distance between them.
2. Give each player a prediction card and a cube.
3. In a 4-player game, remove the cards marked ●●●●● (five dots); in a 3-player game, also remove the cards marked ●●●● (four dots).
4. Each player randomly draws a card from the deck. Whoever draws the highest card takes the Dragon Initiative card; whoever draws the lowest card takes the Dog Initiative card. In case of a tie, the tied players draw additional cards until the tie is broken.

The Game

Phase 1: Dealing and Prediction

Shuffle the numbered cards and deal them equally among all players.

Each player predicts the difference between the number of Dragon Tricks and Dog Tricks they will win. Use the cube and the prediction card to make the prediction secretly. All players reveal their prediction simultaneously.

Phase 2: The Tricks

A trick is a set of cards in which each player places exactly one card. The first player may play any card. Then, clockwise, the others must play a card of the same suit as the starting card, if possible; otherwise, they may play any other card.

In this game, two tricks happen at the same time: the Dragon Trick and the Dog Trick.

1. Start of the Dragon Trick

   • The player with the Dragon Initiative card always begins.
   • They play any card next to the Dragon Placement card, in the direction indicated by this player's orientation at the table.
   • Clockwise, the next players must play in the Dragon Trick, following the same suit as the starting card, if possible, until it is the turn of the player with the Dog Initiative card.

2. Interruption for the Dog Trick

   • When it is the turn of the player with the Dog Initiative card, the Dragon Trick is temporarily interrupted.
   • This player plays any card next to the Dog Placement card, in the orientation corresponding to their position at the table.
   • Clockwise, the next players play in the Dog Trick, following the same rule of following the suit of this trick's starting card.
   • The Dog Trick continues until all players have played exactly one card in it.

3. Resuming the Dragon Trick

   • After the Dog Trick ends, the Dragon Trick resumes from where it was interrupted (the player with the Dog Initiative card).
   • The process continues until all players have also played exactly one card in the Dragon Trick.

When everyone has played a card in each trick, evaluate who won each trick:

Dragon Trick:

• The highest Cloud card wins the trick.
• If there are no Cloud cards, the highest card of the starting suit wins the trick.
• Whoever won takes the card they played and places it face down above the prediction card. Then they take the Dragon Initiative card to start the next trick.

Dog Trick:

• The lowest card, regardless of suit, wins the trick.
• In case of a tie, the last card played wins.
• Whoever won takes the card they played and places it face down below the prediction card. Then they take the Dog Initiative card to start the next trick.

If a trick is won with a card of value 3, 7, 13, or 17, the winning player must take an additional card, counting as if they had won two tricks. In games with 3 players, if there are not enough cards for this, use one of the cards that was discarded earlier.

Discard all other cards face down.

Continue playing as described above, unless a single person wins both the Dragon Trick and Dog Trick simultaneously. If this occurs, place the Dragon and Dog Placement cards side by side. Then players will play only one trick that will have two resolutions.

Starting with the player who holds both Initiative cards and continuing clockwise, each player plays a single card into the trick.

One winner will be determined by the Dog Trick condition and another by the Dragon Trick condition. (It is possible for the same person to win both again.)

After resolving the trick, if different people won each criterion, resume the normal flow with the Dog and Dragon tricks separated.

If there is a tie, each player draws a straight horizontal line on a piece of paper. The player whose line is closest to a perfectly straight line wins the game — or they simply share the victory while watching the horizon.

Example

North has the Dragon Initiative card and starts by playing an 8 of Ocean in the Dragon Trick. Next it would be East's turn, who has the Dog Initiative card; at this moment, the Dragon Trick is interrupted.

East then starts the Dog Trick, playing a 6 of Mountain. South plays a 2 of Mountain. West has no Mountain cards and so plays a 13 of Cloud. North also has no Mountain, so plays a 2 of Desert.

In the Dog Trick, North and South both played cards of value 2. Since North played last, North wins the trick. North places the card face up below their prediction card and takes the Dog Initiative card.

Once the Dog Trick is finished, the Dragon Trick resumes with East playing a 4 of Ocean. South has no Ocean and plays a 14 of Cloud. Finally, West plays a 5 of Ocean.

In the Dragon Trick, the winning card is South's 14 of Cloud, being the highest card of the Cloud suit. South wins the trick, places a played card face down above their prediction card, and receives the Dragon Initiative card to start the next Dragon Trick.

Scoring

• Discard each pair of cards formed by one card above and one card below the Prediction card. Receive 1 point for each discarded pair.
• Check the difference between the remaining cards (above or below the Prediction card) and the value marked with the cube on the prediction card. Receive 5 points for each unit of difference between these values.

Example 1

You made a prediction of 3. At the end of the round you won 4 Dragon Tricks and 1 Dog Trick.

• You discard one pair of cards (receiving 1 point).
• 3 cards remained above your Prediction card.
• The difference between the prediction (3) and the number of remaining cards (3) is zero, so you receive no additional points.

Total: 1 + (0x5) = 1 point

Example 2

You made a prediction of 2. At the end of the round you won 2 Dragon Tricks and 2 Dog Tricks.

• You discard two pairs of cards (receiving 2 points).
• 0 cards remained.
• The difference between the prediction (2) and the number of remaining cards (0) is two, so you gain 10 points.

Total: 2 + (2x5) = 12 points

After scoring, shuffle and deal the cards again. The players holding the Dragon and Dog Initiative cards keep them, and whoever holds the Dragon Initiative card starts the next round.

End of the Game

A round ends immediately when, after the resolution of a trick, all players have one or zero cards in hand.

After three rounds, the player with the fewest points wins.