Insectarium Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Components
• Setup
• Game Play
  • 1) Take a Specimen or Gear Card
  • Tokens
  • Important Note
  • 2) Pin a Specimen Card
  • Dragonfly Wild Cards
  • Display Tools
  • Turn End
  • Important Note
  • Example - Full Turn
• Game End and Final Scoring
  • Example - End of Game Scoring
• Solo Rules
• Quick Rules Overview
  • On a Turn
  • In-Game Scoring
  • End-Game Scoring

Objective

Welcome to the Insectarium, a museum of insects! You are tasked with creating a board of insect specimens for display in the Insectarium's main hall. You must use your gear, gather insect specimens, and collect tools to precisely arrange and pin your specimens in your display.

During the game, each player will take exactly nine turns to choose specimens and gear, and pin insects to their display board. At the end of the game, each row and column of specimens will be scored based on insect type and color categories.

Components

• 2 Bags
• 1 Score Track
• 4 Score Markers (in 4 colors)
• 4 Display Boards (in 4 colors)
• 27 Gear Cards
• 30 Glass Pieces
• 50 Type Tokens
• 55 Specimen Cards

Setup

1. Shuffle the Specimen deck and place it face down. Reveal the top two cards and place them face up below the deck.
2. Shuffle the Gear deck and place it face down to the right of the Specimen deck. Reveal the top two cards and place them face up below the deck.
3. Place all 50 Type tokens in the bag. Shake the bag and draw four tokens, placing one under each of the four face-up cards. Steps 1 through 3 create the Yard where the exploring and specimen collecting happens.
4. Place the Score Track and Glass Pieces within reach of all players.
5. Each player takes a Display Board and places their matching Score Marker next to the Score Track.
6. Each player takes two Specimen cards from the deck to form their starting hand. Each player blindly draws one token from the bag and adds it to their personal supply.

Now players are ready to collect insect specimens and create their displays for the Insectarium!

Game Play

The youngest player goes first and play proceeds clockwise. Each player will take exactly nine turns filling their Display Board with Specimen cards and tokens.

On each turn a player will:

1. Take a Specimen or Gear card and its token from the Yard
2. Pin a Specimen card from their hand into their Display Board

1) Take a Specimen or Gear Card

• On their turn, each player must take a card from the Yard and the Type token below it.
• Specimen cards go directly into the player's hand.
• Gear cards are either played immediately for their ability or saved for a future turn.
• Gear cards with only an Immediate icon (bolt) must be played and resolved immediately when taken.
• Gear cards that also have a Delayed icon (clock) may be played immediately or placed into the player's personal supply and played on a future turn. It may then be played on any future turn in addition to any actions taken on that turn.
• A player may only have one Delayed Gear card in their supply at a time.

Tokens

• There are 25 Color Type tokens and 25 Insect Type tokens (5 of each type). These match the types and colors found on each Specimen card.
• Tokens may be placed on one of the six circles of the player's Display Board at any point during the game or kept in the player's supply. They may be removed, traded, or moved as needed for Gear card abilities or spent to refresh the Yard. (See Important Note below.) Placed Specimen cards cannot move (except with certain Gear abilities). Tokens must be placed on a player's Display Board before final scoring for rows and columns of Specimen cards to score.
• Players will score the point value of each Specimen card that matches the token of that card's row and column. Each row and column will be scored this way at the end of the game.
• Any row or column that does not have a token will not score any points.
• At the end of the game, players will also score 1 point for every 2 unused tokens in their personal supply.

The token symbols are:

• Color types: Yellow (triangle), Red (square), Green (pentagon), White (hexagon), Black (ring).
• Insect types: Butterfly, Cricket/Grasshopper, Moth, Bee/Wasp/Hornet, Beetle.

Important Note

A player may choose not to take a face-up card and token set from the Yard, and instead may draw a Specimen or Gear card from the top of their respective decks and blindly draw one token from the bag.

A player may also choose to refresh all cards and tokens in the Yard by paying one of their tokens from their personal supply. They must refresh all cards and all tokens.

2) Pin a Specimen Card

• Each Specimen card is classified in two scoring categories, its Color Type and Insect Type. Each Specimen card has a Point Value for final scoring. Some Specimen cards also have Display Tools (Pin, Label, and Mat Backing).
• After taking a Specimen or Gear card and token from the Yard, the player must place a Specimen card from their hand onto any open space on their Display Board. Once a Specimen card is placed on a Display Board it cannot be moved except by a Gear card ability.

Players will keep track of turns based on how many Specimen cards are on each player's Display Board. Each player will have exactly nine turns during the game.

Dragonfly Wild Cards

The Insectarium is always excited to have dragonflies on display. These cards act as wild for both their Insect type and Color type.

These will score one point for both their row and column at the end of the game, unless that row or column does not have a token.

Display Tools

Some Specimen cards with lower point values come with Display Tools that will help to complete the Display Board. These tools are: Pin, Label, and Mat Backing.

Turn End

All removed cards and tokens are replenished after a player completes their turn.

If tokens were removed from a player's supply or the tokens from the Yard were refreshed during the turn, those removed tokens remain out of the bag until after the Yard has been replenished for the next player's turn.

Important Note

If a player has less than two Specimen cards in their hand at the end of their turn, they must draw from the Specimen deck back up to a hand of two cards. There is no maximum hand size.

If a player gains a full set of Display Tools (one Pin, one Label, and one Mat Backing) anywhere on their board, they immediately take an in-game bonus action.

For their bonus action, they may either:

1. Take a token of their choice from the bag OR
2. Gain five points on the score track.

Once a card's Display Tool has been used for a bonus, it cannot be used again for a future Display Tool bonus. A Glass Piece must be used to cover each Tool used for the bonus as a reminder.

Example - Full Turn

1. The red player chooses to take the Banded Pennant Dragonfly wild card and the yellow token under it from the Yard. The Specimen card goes into their hand and they choose to keep the yellow token in their supply.
2. They place the Cuckoo Wasp on their Display Board. This gives the red player a full set of Display Tools.
3. For the Display Tool bonus, they choose to take the immediate 5 points instead of choosing a token from the bag. They then move their marker on the score track.
4. They cover the three Display Tools in the full set with Glass Pieces. They cannot use these Tools for future bonuses.

Game End and Final Scoring

The game ends when each player has taken nine turns and their Display Board is full of Specimen cards.

In addition to any points scored for bonuses during the game, each player will score:

1. The point value for the Specimen cards in each row and column that match the token. Each Specimen card can potentially score twice if it matches both of the token types in its row and column. Each player will move their score marker along the track as each row and column are scored.
2. One point for every two Type tokens left in the player's supply.

The Display Board worth the most points is chosen by the Insectarium and that player wins. Their Display Board will be placed in the main hall of the Insectarium. If there is a tie, the player with the most Display Tools (covered or uncovered by Glass Pieces) is the winner.

Example - End of Game Scoring

Specimen Cards in Columns

• Green Column: 4 points
• Black Column: 4 points
• Yellow Column: 5 points

Specimen Cards in Rows

• Moth Row: 2 points
• Butterfly Row: 8 points
• Beetle Row: 5 points

Unused Type Tokens

• 2 tokens: 1 point

This player had two Display Tool bonuses during the game. They used one to take a token of their choosing from the bag and 5 points from the other.

The 5 points they earned during the game + 28 for columns and rows + 1 for unused tokens = 34 total points.

Solo Rules

The solo game is scored in the same way as a multiplayer game. After nine turns, the player's score is compared to this chart:

Score	Result
<25	Try again
26-35	Decent display board, considered for the Insectarium
36-42	Excellent display board, accepted for the Insectarium
43 +	Outstanding display board, accepted for the Insectarium and player's name is placed on the Insectarium plaque!

During setup, remove two tokens of each type (20 tokens total) from the bag and leave them in the box.

The Yard and score track are set up the same as in a multiplayer game. The player takes a Display Board, two Specimen cards, and a Token.

All nine turns are taken in the same way as a multiplayer game, with the ability to refresh the Yard by spending a Token. Cards and Tokens are only removed or refreshed when the player takes their turn normally, uses a Gear card ability, or pays a Token to refresh the Yard.

Cards and tokens are replenished at the end of the player's turn, just as in the multiplayer game.

Quick Rules Overview

On a Turn

1. Take a Specimen or Gear card and its token from the Yard.
   • Gear Cards: Immediate Action (bolt); Delayed Action (clock).
   • Specimen cards: go to hand.
   • Tokens: may be placed on Display Board or kept in personal supply.
2. Place Specimen card on Display Board.

In-Game Scoring

Display Tool Bonus: Choose 5 points or any token from the bag. Cover Display Tools with Glass Pieces.

End-Game Scoring

• Score Specimen cards in each row and column matching its token.
• Score 1 point for every 2 tokens in personal supply.