Ike No Koi
Ike No Koi Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 78 Pond cards, consisting of:
- 65 numbered Koi cards, values 2 to 11 (2 cards of value 2, 3 cards of value 3, … 11 cards of value 11)
- 13 Garden cards (5 bamboo, 3 lotus flowers, 2 bridges and 3 lanterns)
- 14 Challenge cards
- 5 pontoons
- 10 Honour Lotus tokens
- 3 wooden silhouettes (2 bridges and 1 lantern)
Object of the Game
You must gather the finest collection of Koi carp.
On your turn, gain as many cards as possible by taking calculated risks. Arrange the Koi cards around your pontoon according to their variety. The higher the value of a Koi card, the more cards of that value are in play, and the more lotus the majority will earn.
Garden cards will give you significant help.
The common challenge and your individual challenge can also earn you additional lotus if you meet the required conditions at the end of the game.
At game end, your objective is to be the player who owns the most cards of the same variety, to earn the corresponding victory points (the lotus).
Setup
Preparation
Give 1 Pontoon to each player.
Separate the cards into two piles according to their backs: the Pond cards on one side, the Challenge cards on the other.
Shuffle all the remaining Pond cards. Then set aside the first 3 cards of the deck to form the pool (the bassin). Place the lantern silhouette on the pool.
The other cards form a face-down draw pile in the centre of the table. The space to the right of the draw pile is called the river.
At 2 and 3 players, remove the Koi cards numbered 11.
Shuffle the Challenge cards and turn one face up in the centre of the table. This is the common challenge, which concerns all players.
Then deal one Challenge card to each player, who looks at it secretly before placing it face down near their pontoon. This individual challenge concerns only the player who drew it.
Challenge cards not used during this game are removed from the game.
Place the 2 bridge silhouettes and the Honour Lotus tokens on the table near the players.
At 2 and 3 players, remove the token 11.
The youngest player is the first player.
Gameplay
Play in turn, clockwise.
On your turn:
- Draw Pond cards one at a time and place them in the river.
- You must draw at least 2 cards, but you may draw up to 4. You may stop whenever you want.
- If a card you draw is identical to another card already in the river, your turn ends and a Sharing (Partage) is triggered (see below).
- If you decide to stop by yourself (as long as all the cards in the river are different), you take them all and may place them around your pontoon, next to the zone of the same value.
After that, your turn is over, and the player to your left may play their turn.
Special case 1: If the first two cards you draw are identical, your turn ends, but you may keep these two cards and place them around your pontoon.
Special case 2: If you manage to draw four different cards, integrate these 4 cards into your pontoon, then, if you wish, perform an Exchange (Échange) before ending your turn.
Sharing (Partage): The player to your left takes the card of their choice from the river and adds it to their pontoon. The next player does the same, and so on until all the cards have been distributed. (If the turn comes back around to you, you also take a card.)
Exchange (Échange): If you have just revealed 4 different cards, you may impose an exchange on another player: choose ONE Koi card from an opponent's pontoon and give them TWO Koi cards from your own pontoon in return, without the opponent being able to refuse.
Warning: it is forbidden to exchange Garden cards.
Challenge Cards
Challenge cards earn additional lotus at game end if you fulfil the condition shown in the middle of the card. These cards serve both for individual challenges and for the common challenge.
- Your individual challenge: if at game end you fulfil the condition shown, you earn the number of lotus shown at the bottom left of the card.
- The common challenge: if at game end you fulfil the condition shown, you earn the number of lotus shown at the bottom right of the card.
There are different types of Challenge cards, each symbolised by the pictogram at the top of the card. The types are detailed in the Detail des Défis section at the end of this rulebook.
Garden Cards
There are 4 types of Garden card. If you have just gained one of these cards, read its abilities and apply its effects.
Bridge (x2): The bridge symbolises the frontier. Discard this card when you take it and immediately place a bridge between 2 adjacent zones of your pontoon (horizontally or vertically). The bridge protects against exchanges: opposing players cannot choose Koi cards in these 2 zones.
Lotus flower (x3): The lotus flower symbolises purity. Keep this card. During one of your turns, you may discard it to secretly look at the first 2 cards of the draw pile and rearrange them in the order you choose. If you still have it at the end of the game, earn 1 lotus.
Lantern (x3): The lantern symbolises light. Place the card to the left of your pontoon. The lantern allows you to look at the cards making up the pool at will. If you possess at least 2 lanterns at game end, gain the cards of the pool before the Honour Lotus tokens are awarded.
Bamboo (x5): The bamboo symbolises happiness and luck. Place the card immediately in front of one zone of your pontoon. This card now counts as one additional Koi card of that variety.
End of Game and Victory Conditions
The game ends when there are no more cards either in the Pond (Étang) or in the river. The player who reveals the last card of the Pond finishes their turn by taking all the cards in the river if they are all different, or by carrying out the Sharing if applicable.
Award each Honour Lotus token to the player who has the most Koi cards of the variety in question around their pontoon. If there is a tie, the token is not awarded.
Each player then works out the value of their Koi carp collection by adding up the lotus shown on:
- the common challenge, if they fulfil its conditions;
- their individual challenge, if they fulfil its conditions;
- the Lotus flower cards they possess at game end;
- their Honour Lotus tokens.
The player whose collection accumulates the most lotus wins the game.
In case of a tie, the player who possesses the most Koi cards wins.
Detail of the Challenges
The challenge reference page ("Détail des Défis") shows eight symbol panels, each with two symbols. The symbols are pictograms with no printed name, so the conditions below are listed in the order they appear on the page, top to bottom, left column first, then right column for each row. The condition text is transcribed as printed; the page does not name the symbols.
- Row 1, left: Each pair of Honour Lotus tokens won earns 1 additional lotus.
- Row 1, right: If you are the player who has the fewest varieties of Koi cards.
- Row 2, left: Each Honour Lotus token won is now worth three lotus.
- Row 2, right: If you are the player who has the most varieties of Koi cards.
- Row 3, left: If you have the same number of Koi cards of these two varieties.
- Row 3, right: If you are the player who has the most Koi cards of this variety.
- Row 4, left: If you are the player who has the fewest Koi cards of the total of the varieties indicated.
- Row 4, right: Per pair of Koi cards associating these two varieties.