Jurassic Parts
Jurassic Parts Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 6 Paleontologist Mats
- 12 Resource Cards
- 58 Fossil Tiles
- 5 Field Guides
- 20 Amber
- 1 Field Leader Board
- First Player Marker
- 72 Chisels (12 x 6 Player Colors)
Game Setup
- Set aside 1 of the 3 Pile of Bones Fossil Tiles (wild cards). Shuffle the remaining 57 Fossils.
- Cut the Fossils stack into nearly even halves. Flip one half over and shuffle both halves together again. You should end up with a mixed stack of face-up and face-down Fossils.
- Place the remaining Pile of Bones wild card face-up in the center of the table. Arrange the Fossil Tiles on the table in a hexagonal grid surrounding the Pile of Bones, face-up or face-down as they come, in any layout you prefer. They don't have to be in an exact hexagonal pattern, but try not to go too wild! Leave a small gap between Tiles. This is the Slab.
- (Each Player) Take a Paleontologist Mat and place it in front of you. Take 12 Chisels of one color and place them to the right of your mat, on the side marked "Dull Chisels." Take a Field Guide.
- Place the Fossil Leader board near the playing area in reach of all players, along with the 20 Amber resources.
- The starting player is the person who most recently saw a dinosaur fossil. Once determined, the second player begins the game with an extra sharpened Chisel (move a Chisel from the right side of your mat to the left side, indicating that it is no longer dull, but sharpened), third player receives an amber, and the fourth and fifth players receive both an extra sharpened Chisel and an amber.
You are now ready to play!
On Your Turn
1. Sharpen 3 Chisels
Move 3 Chisels from the Dull (right) side of your Paleontologist Mat to the Sharp (left) side. If this is not possible (if you don't have 3 dull Chisels to sharpen), move what you can and draw the remainder from your placed Chisels on the Slab.
2. Play Chisels
Sharp Chisels may be placed on the Slab to create cracks or used to break apart Rocks:
Create Cracks in the Slab
Chisels may be placed on any empty gap between two Fossil Tiles. When a Chisel is placed on the Slab, it creates a crack. Note that there are no gaps along the outside edge of the Slab. As cracks accumulate, the Slab moves closer to breaking into 2 pieces. When, where, and how the Slab breaks determines who gets which Fossils, and how many.
Chisels are played one at a time. Should a break occur, you must resolve the break before continuing to place more Chisels onto the Slab.
Break Apart Rocks
Each edge of a Fossil Tile may contain Rocks. This is hard terrain that is especially difficult to crack. If you want to create a crack between 2 Fossil Tiles and one of the Tiles has Rocks along the edge you want to crack, you must first use a Sharp Chisel to remove those Rocks.
If both Fossil Tiles have Rocks along the edge you want to crack, you must first use 2 Sharp Chisels to remove the Rocks, and then a third Sharp Chisel to create the crack.
Note: If you later pick up a Chisel that was along a rocky crack (because you didn't have enough dull Chisels at the beginning of your turn), anyone re-creating that crack must once more break apart any rocks along its edges.
Breaking Apart Rocks
No Rocks
Play 1 Chisel to the gap.
Rocks on ONE Edge
Spend (dull) 1 Chisel and play a second to be placed on the gap.
Rocks on BOTH Edges
Spend (dull) 2 Chisels and play a third to be placed on the gap. Creating any crack in the Slab therefore costs 1, 2, or 3 Chisels, depending on the number of Rocks in the way. You must completely pulverize the Rock in one turn. Leaving the job half-done is not an option! Remember that Chisels dulled in this way go to the Dulled side of your Paleontologist mat and only the last Chisel is played to the Slab in order to mark your color on the Crack.
Saving Chisels
One of your Chisels may remain sharpened between turns. All other unused sharp Chisels must be returned to the dull side of your Paleontologist mat.
Conduct Transactions with the Field Leader
During your turn you may also conduct business with the Field Leader, before, while, or after using your Chisels.
Purchase from the Field Leader
The first purchase each turn costs 1 amber. The second purchase that same turn costs 2 amber. Any additional purchases during the same turn costs 3 amber each.
Purchases available:
- Your next 2 Chisels this turn ignore Rocks. Place them on any available gap without needing to dull extra Chisels. Standard rules apply for placement and for saving of only 1 Chisel for your next turn.
- Sharpen 2 additional Chisels.
- Take any Fossil Tile from the Slab, excluding a Pile of Bones or any Tile that would cause a split.
- Take any Fossil Tile from the Field Leader.
Sell to the Field Leader
You may sell the Field Leader 1 Fossil for 1 amber. You may only sell 1 Fossil Tile per turn to the Field Leader. You may not sell a Tile from a complete dinosaur set after amber is collected for it, and you may not sell Plant Tiles.
Splitting the Slab
At some point the Slab will be completely split into 2 parts by a line of Chisels. Splits may happen in the middle of a turn; they must be resolved immediately before the turn may continue. In most cases, the Slab will split in 2 parts, one smaller than the other. Equal splits are considered separately below.
Splitting Into 2 Uneven Parts
The smaller part of the Slab is awarded to the players, according to their contribution to the split.
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Flip all face-down Fossil Tiles in this part face-up.
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Each player who contributed at least 1 Chisel (indicated by its color) to the Split has a chance to gain from it. Rank each contributor by the number of their Chisels that helped create the split. More Chisels = higher rank. If 2 or more players are tied, break each tie by starting with the current player and going clockwise. Closer to current player = higher rank.
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In rank order, each player takes 1/2 (rounded up) of the Fossils split from the Slab. In general, this means second place will take half of one-half, third place will take half that again, etc. Leftover Tiles that no player claims belong to the Field Leader. However, no player may take more than 6 tiles, regardless of the number of tiles in a split.
For example, in a 3-player, 9-tile split, the first player selects 5 tiles (half of 9, rounded up). Then the second player gets 2 tiles (half of 4), and the third player gets 1 tile (half of 2). The Field Leader gets the remaining tile.
In a 5-player, 19-tile split, the first player gets 6 tiles (since the maximum possible is 6), leaving 13, second player also gets 6 (again, that's the max), leaving 7, third player gets 4, fourth player gets 2 and fifth player gets the final tile, leaving none for the Field Leader.
Note: Collected Fossil tiles that are not part of a complete dinosaur may be concealed from other players. This does not apply to plants and Pterodactyls.
Note that a Chisel only contributes to a Split if it lies on the border between the two parts of the Slab. Chisels that contributed to a split are returned to their player as dull Chisels (after the rank order is determined). Chisels that are within the smaller part of the Slab are returned to their owners as Sharp Chisels. Chisels that are within the larger part of the Slab are left in place and might help create another Split.
Chisels may not exist outside of or along the edge of the Slab!
Splitting Into 2 Even Halves
The active player decides which of 2 even halves will be broken up and claimed. Thereafter, the rules are the same as before (see Steps 1-3, above).
Splitting Entirely Along the Interior
It is possible for a loop of Chisels to completely split the inside of the Slab from its outside. Novelty aside, this is an ordinary Split that can be resolved with Steps 1-3, above. Usually this will create a "hole" in the Slab, but if the exterior is the smaller half, it will be claimed instead!
Resource Cards
Resource cards are an optional element to enhance your Jurassic Parts fun. Unless it specifically says otherwise, each card can be used once during the game; discard it after use.
Give each player 1 card, or 2 for even more variety — the choice is yours!
During setup, shuffle the Resource cards and deal 1 or 2 cards to each player. These are kept hidden until they are revealed for use. Return any leftover cards to the box without looking at them.
Each Resource card shows an illustration, a title, and its ability. For example:
Backpack — You may carry over an additional Chisel between turns. (Remains in play)
Completing Dinosaurs
You may complete dinosaurs during your turn or during another player's turn after you receive Fossil Tiles during a split. When you completely assemble a dinosaur with all of its required Tiles, you immediately reveal the dinosaur and earn 1 amber from the Field Leader.
If you are the active player, you may choose to spend the amber as outlined in the "Conduct Transactions with the Field Leader" section.
Note: each Pterodactyl tile is a complete dinosaur and earns you an amber when you take it during a split. Pterodactyls purchased from the Field Leader do NOT earn you an amber. Plants do NOT earn players amber at any point in the game.
Plants (x10)
| Plant Tiles | Pts |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 5 |
| 4 | 8 |
| 5 | 11 |
| 6 | 15 |
| 7 | 20 |
| 8 | 25 |
| 9 | 30 |
| 10 | 35 |
Pterodactyl (x8)
1 pt.
Pile of Bones (Wild Card)
At any time during the game, Piles of Bones may be played as a "wild card" substitution for any missing Fossil piece. You can also wait until the very end of the game to commit the tile. Once committed, you cannot move the wild card to another dinosaur.
Dinosaurs
- T-Rex (x2) — 10 pts.
- Triceratops (x3) — 7 pts.
- Velociraptor (x5) — 4 pts.
- Brachiosaurus (x2) — 15 pts.
Meet the Paleontologists
Dr. Naomi Grant — A recent graduate from the University of Oxford, this is Naomi's first large scale excavation. She's a third generation Paleontologist and is so good she can spot amber in her sleep.
Dr. Ted Park — Ted originally wanted to be a rocket scientist, but after watching too many summer blockbusters on dinosaur parks, he transferred to the California Institute of Technology to get a doctorate in Geoscience.
Dr. Wilson Moore — A retired Geology professor from the University of Montana, Wilson has seen dig sites of all shapes and sizes. Rumor has it, he's been using the same radar tech since he was an undergrad at the University of Queensland in Australia.
Dr. Malcolm Stone — With a name like Stone, you could say Malcolm was destined to end up cracking rocks looking for bones. After earning his doctorate in Earth Sciences from MIT, he wrote several books on fossil excavation.
Dr. Barbara Murphy — Barbara recently graduated from the University of Chicago with a doctorate in Paleobiology. Her master's studies in Cartography at the University of Denver makes her an excellent scout to track and follow tectonic shifts. Mapping out patterns in the rock goes hand in hand with finding fossils.
Dr. Amy Liu — Amy received a doctorate from the China University of Geosciences. Their father worked in commercial construction, so they grew up around industrial machinery. If the handheld items aren't cutting it, they'll crack those rocks with some heavy-duty tools.
Credits
Game Design: Kevin Lanzing
Illustration: Andrew Bosley
Game Development & Production: Chad Elkins
Graphic Design: Matt Paquette Co., Crimzon Studio
Development Assistance: Eugene Bryant, Brian Dunkel, Matthew Goeke, Thomas Holt, Scott Lootens, Jim Pridgen, Andrew J. Smith, plus all of the wonderful playtesters along the way.
Rulebook Editor: David Ladyman
Playtesters: Tanya Canup, Harrison Fisher, Lindy Frank, Chris Hunt, Sarah Lanzing
From the Designer: Special thanks to my wife Sarah, for suggesting the title and for motivating me to get this game published.
End Game Scoring
The game is over when all Tiles have been claimed from the Slab. When only 2 Fossils remain, the current player splits them, chooses 1 to keep, gives the other to the Field Leader, and finishes the turn. This ends the game. Count up points to see who wins!
Dinosaurs
Each completed dinosaur is awarded the points shown in your field guide. Incomplete dinosaurs are awarded 1 point per Fossil Tile, including unused Piles of Bones tiles.
Amber
Collecting Amber is an additional source of points. Unspent Amber at the end of the game is worth 1 point each.
Ties
If the score is tied, the tied player with the most complete 5-tile dinosaurs wins. If the tie persists, continue comparing smaller and smaller dinosaurs among those still tied; if players have the same number for all sizes, all the way down to Pterodactyls, they are truly tied.