Hornet Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setting Up the First Game
• Playing the Game (3-5 players)
• Action Round
• Action Cards
• Scoring Round
• Game End
• Gameplay for 2 Players
• Optional Starting Set-Up

Components

• 12 fields (10 with hives and 2 empty ones)
• 2 tied hive markers
• 1 starting player pawn
• 90 nectar
• 8 chance markers
• Per player: 2 hornets, 2 hive victory markers, 20 honey pieces (one color per player), 6 action cards (numbered 1-6), 4 nectar
• 1 turnboard with embedded action and scoring round tiles

Setting Up the First Game

• For your first game, do not punch out any tiles from the turnboard, unless stated otherwise below.
• Punch out all 12 hexagon shaped fields and place them next to each other as shown in the set-up picture on the separate sheet, with the following modifications:
  • In a 5-player game, as shown in the set-up picture.
  • In a 4-player game, use only 10 fields (remove fields I and J from the game). On the turnboard, punch out the scoring round tiles for hives H, I and J, and replace the blank scoring round tile above the "4 player" mark with scoring round tile H.
  • In a 3-player game, use 8 fields (remove fields G, H, I and J from the game). On the turnboard, punch out the scoring round tiles for hives F, G, H, I and J, and replace the blank scoring round tile below the "2-3 player" mark with scoring round tile F.
  • For setting up a 2-player game, see the set-up instructions and modified rules at the end of this rulebook.
• Punch out the chance markers and the hive victory markers.
• Place the turnboard next to the fields and the turn pawn on the first flower shaped action round step.
• Divide the honey by color and set them and all the nectar next to the game board.
• Place 3 nectar on each field (including the ones without a hive). Nectar is placed outside the hives.
• Each player takes one set of action cards (numbered 1-6), both hornet pieces and 4 honey pieces of one color as well as 4 nectar.
• The starting player pawn is placed in front of the youngest player.
• The starting player places one of his honey pieces in a hive of his choice, followed by the player to the left and so on, until all players have placed all their 4 honey pieces. During this phase, you cannot set more than 2 of your honey in the same hive (but many players can have honey in the same hive). The total number of honey in a hive is limited by the number of spaces available in each hive.
• After this, place the hornet pieces on the fields one at a time in the same manner. Hornets are placed outside hives. There can be more than one hornet on any field. You can also place hornets in fields with no hive.

Playing the Game (3-5 players)

The game is played in rounds. Each round is either an action round or a scoring round. The round type is indicated by the turn pawn. The flower shaped steps are action rounds and the hive shaped steps are scoring rounds.

A) Action round:

1. Each player selects an action card and places it face down in front of them.
2. The selected action cards are revealed simultaneously.
3. Players execute the actions (in the numerical order specified in the top right corner of the card) and suffer a possible penalty.
4. Players return the selected card to their hand.
5. Add 1 nectar in each field (unless the hive in that field has already been won).
6. Move the starting player pawn to the next player in clock-wise order.
7. Move the turn pawn 1 step ahead on the turnboard.

B) Scoring round:

1. Determine the winner of the hive corresponding to the letter on the scoring round tile.
2. Move the honey from the scored hive to the collected honey tracks on the turn board.
3. The winner places his victory marker on the hive.
4. The winner takes all the nectar from the scored field.
5. Move the turn pawn 1 step ahead on the turnboard.

Action Round

During each action round, one of your two hornets performs one of three types of actions: 1. nectar collection, 2. honey action or 3. flying. All players select their actions simultaneously and play them starting from the lowest numbered action card. Each action has a risky and non-risky version, so you can choose to play it safe or try to gain an advantage by playing the more powerful, but risky, action.

During each action round, each player selects 1 action card. The action cards are divided into three main categories (Nectar Collection, Honey Action and Flying). In each category, there is one card with a safe action and one with an aggressive action that has risks associated with it (marked by a red star). The players place the chosen action card face down on the table in front of them. The cards are then revealed simultaneously. The chosen actions are carried out in the order indicated by the numbers on the cards (starting from 1):

1. Nectar Collection - Safe
2. Nectar Collection - Aggressive
3. Honey Action - Aggressive
4. Honey Action - Safe
5. Flying - Aggressive
6. Flying - Safe

If two or more players choose the same action, the one with the starting player pawn (or the person closest clock-wise) plays his action first. When it is the player's turn to execute his action card, the player chooses which of his hornets carries out the action. Only the chosen hornet carries out the action.

If enough players choose an action within the same category (distinguished by 3 colors - Yellow for Nectar Collection, Orange for Honey Action, Blue for Flying), the players that selected the aggressive action in that category face a penalty, which they suffer on their own turn.

A penalty occurs:

• 3 player game: if 2 or more players choose an action from the same category
• 4-5 player game: if 3 or more players choose an action from the same category

EXAMPLE: Player A has the starting player pawn. The five players select the following actions:

• Player A: 3. Honey Action-Aggressive
• Player B: 1. Nectar Collection-Safe
• Player C: 1. Nectar Collection - Safe
• Player D: 5. Flying - Aggressive
• Player E: 2. Nectar Collection - Aggressive

The players carry out their actions in the following order: Player B > C > E > A > D, according to the numbers on the action cards (player B goes before Player C, because he is closest to the starting player pawn). Player E suffers a penalty, since 3 players chose an action from the Nectar Collection category. Players B and C do not suffer a penalty.

HINT: On the first game round, there is no need to collect nectar aggressively, since there are no more than 3 nectar on any field.

Action Cards

1. Nectar Collection - Safe

Take 3 nectar from the field that your hornet is in. If there are less than 3 nectar in the field, you receive only those.

2. Nectar Collection - Aggressive

Take all nectar from the field that your hornet is in. If another player collects nectar from the same field before you, you only get the nectar that are left, if any.

Penalty: Take only 2 nectar from the field that your hornet is in. In addition, remove 1 of your honey from any hive on the board (unless you have none).

3. Honey Action - Aggressive (Switching)

You can switch one or more opponent's honey for your own in the field that your hornet is in. Return the opponent's honey next to the game board and place your own honey in its place. Switching a honey costs 2 nectar and you can only switch 1, 2 or 3 honey in a round. If you have placed all your 20 honey pieces, you cannot place more honey.

Penalty: Instead of switching honey, you can only remove one or more opponent's honey (paying 2 nectar per honey up to 3 honey). In addition, remove 1 of your honey from any hive on the board (unless you have none).

4. Honey Action - Safe (Production/Destruction)

1. Choose and declare whether you will produce your own honey or destroy other players' honey. You can only do one or the other, not both.
2. Choose and declare how much nectar you will use: production or removal costs 2 nectar for each 1 honey. Alternatively, you can take a chance to produce or remove honey by paying 1 nectar to throw 1 chance marker. You can use a maximum of 8 nectar to perform this action, and in any combination of throwing chance markers versus risk-free production/removal of honey. You must declare the content of your action before executing it.
3. Throw as many chance markers as you paid for. For each marker landing green side up, you may place a honey in or remove an opponent's honey from the hive, as applicable.
4. Produce/remove the honey in the hive in which your hornet is in.

EXAMPLE: Anna wants to remove Joe's honey in a hive where he has 5 honey. Anna has 8 nectar to spend. She could play it safe and pay 2 nectar per honey and remove 4 honey from Joe. But Anna wants to get rid of all of Joe's honey, so instead she pays 4 nectar to remove 2 honey for sure, and pays 4 nectar to throw 4 chance markers. Anna gets very lucky and throws four chance markers that all land green side up, allowing her to destroy all of Joe's honey (in fact, just three green sides up would have been sufficient to do so).

5. Flying - Aggressive

Move your hornet from a field to another (up to a maximum of 3 adjacent fields away) and take 3 nectar from the field into which you land. The hornet may not move through a block (bush fence). A side of a field is blocked if there is a fence on the side of either field. It may land back into the field where it left from.

Penalty: Don't take any nectar from the field you land in. In addition, remove 1 of your honey from any hive on the board (unless you have none).

6. Flying - Safe

Move your hornet from a field to another (up to a maximum of 3 adjacent fields away) and take 1 nectar from the field into which you land. The hornet may not move through a block (a bush fence). It may land back in the field where it left.

Scoring Round

When the turn pawn is moved onto a scoring round tile, a scoring round is played and the winner of the hive is determined (e.g. tile with the letter H means that the hive marked H is scored). In this round, the players do not use their action cards, no nectar is placed on the fields and the starting player pawn is not moved. Instead, simply determine the winner for the hive by counting which player has the most honey in that hive. If two or more players have the same amount of honey, no-one wins the hive. Once you have determined the winner:

• All honey in the hive (including those players' that did not win the hive) is moved onto each player's collected honey track on the turnboard.
• The winner of the hive places 1 of his hive victory markers on top of the hive.
• The winner takes all the nectar from the scored hive tile.
• If there was a tie, place a tied hive marker on top of the hive, and divide the nectar equally among the tied players (the leftover nectar which cannot be divided is removed from the board).
• The turn pawn is moved one step forward.

Once the winner of a hive has been determined, no new nectar is placed on this field and players cannot produce honey in that hive for the rest of the game (even if the hive resulted in a tie). However, the field still counts as a step when moving hornets.

When there are two scoring rounds in a row, the winners of the hives are determined one after the other, but no actions can be carried out between the scoring of the hives.

Game End

The game ends when:

• In a scoring round one player wins his third hive, in which case the game ends immediately and that player wins the game.
• In case no player has won three hives by the last scoring round, the winner of the game is the player who has won two hives and has the most honey on the turnboard. In case of ties for produced honey as well, the winner is the player who has the most nectar left.

Gameplay for 2 Players

The gameplay is identical to the 3-player setup with the following exceptions:

• During each turn, both players select 2 action cards from any category: 1 safe and 1 aggressive action.
• The actions are carried out as in the multi-player game in the regular order, but with one action for each hornet. You cannot perform both actions with the same hornet and must choose which action each hornet carries out in the order of the action card number.
• Penalties occur if 2 or more cards from the same category are selected.

Optional Starting Set-Up

Once you are familiar with the game and want to introduce variability, during game set-up, mix the scoring round tiles and the action round tiles face down on the table.

With 2-3 players, randomly remove 3 action round tiles and 4 scoring round tiles (and their respective fields). With 4 players, randomly remove 1 action round tile and 2 scoring round tiles (and their respective fields). With 5 players, use all the components. Always use both empty fields.

Then the starting player takes one field and places it on the table face up. Each player in turn takes a field and places it on the board face up. The fields can be placed in any way, as long as at least one of its open sides (i.e. without a brush fence) connects with another open side of a previously placed field - all fields must be accessible from at least one entrance. The action round tiles and the scoring round tiles are placed randomly in the holes on the turnboard, following the route based on the number of players. Otherwise, set up the game up as described earlier.