Kokopelli
Kokopelli Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- 192 ceremony cards
- Front side: 12x each of the 16 ceremonies
- Reverse sides: Shows the player colors. For each player there are 3x of each of the 16 ceremonies.
- The 16 ceremonies: Sun, Eagle Feather, Paw, Birth, Hunter, Warrior, Fire, Spider Woman, Vase, Snake Dance, Drummer, Lizard, Mother of Heaven, Shaman, Chieftain, Tortoise
- 24 Kokopelli cards
- Reverse side shows the player color. There are 6 Kokopelli cards per player.
- Front side: Kokopelli (wild card)
- 16 selection tiles
- Reverse side: shows a spiral
- 80 victory point tiles: 35x 1VP, 15x 3VP, 15x 4VP, 15x 10VP
- Reverse side: shows a spiral
- 4 village boards (1 for each player)
- 1 first player marker
- 12 Game End tiles
- 4 ability summaries (double sided)
- 1 rules booklet
Setup — Example for 4 players
1. Select ceremonies
Shuffle the 16 selection tiles reverse side up and randomly select 10 tiles. These selection tiles will determine which cards will be used in the game; the remaining tiles should be returned to the game box.
Arrange the selected tiles in the center of the gaming area. On each tile place a 3 victory point tile followed by a 4 point tile on top of it. All remaining victory point tiles should be stacked in the play area as a common supply.
First game: For your first game, we strongly recommend using the selection tiles (ceremonies) depicted in this illustration instead of drawing them randomly. This composition is especially well suited to learn the game. (Paw, Eagle Feather, Warrior, Snake Dance, Hunter, Fire, Tortoise, Mother of Heaven, Chieftain, Spider Woman)
2. Village boards and ability summaries
Each player takes a Village board and places it in front of them, along with a reference sheet which describes all of the card abilities and the iconography.
3. Prepare card decks
Each player prepares their deck by taking 3 ceremony cards of each of the 10 ceremonies along with 6 Kokopelli cards in their player color, then shuffles these cards together to form a 36 card player deck.
This deck should be placed in the middle of the village board. Finally, each player draws 5 cards from their draw pile as a starting hand.
All other cards are not used for this game.
4. Game End tiles
Stack a number of Game End tiles next to the selection tiles, depending on the player count:
| Players | Game End tiles |
|---|---|
| 2 players | 10 Game End tiles |
| 3/4 players | 9 Game End tiles |
Any remaining tiles are not used for this game, return them to the game box.
5. Determine the First Player
Determine a first player randomly and give them the first player marker.
The Play Area
Each player's play area consists of the 4 spaces of their village board as well as the two closest spaces of their left and right opponent's village board, for a total of 8 spaces.
The following restrictions apply when playing cards (unless modified by a ceremony ability):
- A player may only open ceremonies on their own Village board.
- A player may not open a ceremony that has already been opened in their play area.
- A player may only extend ceremonies in their play area.
Game Play
Kokopelli is played over a series of game rounds. During each game round, the first player begins and the other players follow in clockwise direction.
On their turn, the active player always performs two actions. For each action, they choose one of these 5 options:
a) Draw card | b) Open ceremony | c) Play card | d) Cancel ceremony | e) Exchange cards
It is allowed to perform the same action multiple times on a turn.
Note: In the first game round only, both the first player and their left neighbor may perform one action only.
After performing all their actions, the player must return cards in excess of 5 to the bottom of their draw pile, placing them face down in the order of their choosing.
Bonus: Playing all Cards from Hand
If the player ever has no cards in their hand, they immediately score 1 victory point and draw 3 cards. This should be done immediately and does not count as an action.
The game ends at the end of a game round that at least one player's draw pile is exhausted, or the last Game End tile has been placed on a selection tile.
The player with the most victory points at the end of the game is the winner! In case of a tie for the most points the tied players share the victory.
The 5 options in detail
a) Draw card
The player draws the top card from their draw pile into their hand.
b) Open ceremony (Own Village only)
The player must have an empty space in their village to perform this action. To open a ceremony, the player takes a ceremony card (not a Kokopelli card) from their hand and places it in the empty space.
Important: A player may not open a ceremony if an identical ceremony already exists in their play area.
Example: The green player has two free spaces on their village board to open the Hunter ceremony. Before opening, they have to check if another hunter ceremony is not already in their play area.
Card Abilities:
When a ceremony has been opened, it immediately grants a special ability to the player whose Village is has been opened in. This special ability will remain as long as the ceremony remains on the Village board.
Each ceremony grants a different special ability, which are described on the card and detailed at the end of the manual.
Important: If an ability contradicts the basic rules of this game, the rules on the card override the basic rules!
c) Play card (Play area)
The player chooses a card from their hand and plays it to an already opened ceremony in their play area. The card has to match the ceremony card(s) that it is played on.
Kokopelli cards are wild and can be played on any ceremony.
When playing the second or third card to a ceremony, the ceremony is extended. Finally, the ceremony is finished by playing the fourth card, which will score victory points and remove the ceremony from the player's Village board.
Extend a ceremony
The player may extend an existing ceremony anywhere in their play area.
In order to do so, the player places a matching ceremony card or a Kokopelli card (which acts as a wild card) onto the appropriate ceremony.
Cards should be stacked offset so that it is apparent how many cards have been played on the ceremony.
Extending a ceremony has no necessary consequences, but may be done for strategic reasons based on an ability or the need to finish yours or an opponent's ceremony.
Example: The blue player can either extend their own Tortoise ceremony or play the Spider Woman on either of their neighbor's ceremonies, since both ceremonies are within their play area.
Finish a ceremony
By playing the fourth card on a ceremony, that ceremony is finished. Immediately perform the following steps:
- The player who played the fourth card claims the top victory point tile from the selection tile that matches the finished ceremony, if one is available.
If they take the 3 victory point tile, a Game End marker is placed on the selection tile.
If a Game End marker is already on the selection tile, they take 1 victory point instead.
Example: The player finishes the Paw ceremony and takes the remaining 3 VP tile from the selection tile, replacing it with a Game End tile.
- The owner of the just finished ceremony (i.e. the player whose Village board the ceremony was on) takes all cards of the ceremony and places them in their discard pile in any order they like. If they are not the active player (this happens when you finish another player's ceremony), they also receive 1 Victory point.
Example: Since green finished yellows ceremony, yellow gains 1 VP from the supply.
d) Cancel celebration
The player chooses one ceremony on their Village board and places all cards of that ceremony on their discard pile in any order they like.
e) Exchange Cards
The player takes all of their hand cards and places them under their draw pile in any order. Then they draw the same number of cards from the top of the draw pile.
Game end and final scoring
The game will end at the end of a game round in which at least one player's draw pile is exhausted, or the last Game End tile was placed on one of the selection tiles. Final scoring then takes place, with players earning additional victory points as follows:
- All players put their remaining hand cards on their discard pile and count the number of cards of their draw pile.
The player or players with the fewest cards gain 5 victory points. The player or players with the second fewest cards gain 3 victory points. All other players gain nothing. Zero cards in a player's draw pile is the lowest number possible.
- For each of their own totem boards with a ceremony at it (no matter how many cards) the player gains 1 victory point.
All players total their victory points – those gained during the game, and those gained during final scoring.
The player with the most victory points is the winner of the game. In case of a tie for the most points the tied players share the victory.
Changes for two players
At set-up stack 10 Game End tiles next to the selection tiles.
The number of ceremonies and the play area for each player is changed:
- Each player can open 5 instead of 4 ceremonies on their village board. The fifth space is underneath the draw pile.
- The play area of a player includes their 5 ceremonies as well as every ceremony of the other player's village board, except the ceremony under the draw pile.
Example: Green can play cards to all ceremonies, except the one ceremony under the draw pile of the other player.
Game variant
Players may decide to play with up to 12 ceremonies per game, making the game more tactical.
At setup just choose 1 or 2 extra selection tiles.
Select the correct number of Game End tiles from the following table.
| 11 Selection Tiles | 12 Selection Tiles | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 players | 11 End Game Tiles | 12 End Game Tiles |
| 3/4 players | 10 End Game Tiles | 11 End Game Tiles |
The rest of the rules remain unchanged.
Overview of ceremony cards
Chieftain
Play Card Action: Play any number of cards to a ceremony as one action.
Note: Each card you play on a ceremony is considered individually for gaining VP or other effects.
Example: Green uses the chieftain ability and plays the hunter and the Kokopelli in one action to their neighbor's ceremony. For each played card, they gain 1 VP due to their Paw ceremony.
Warrior
Play Card Action: Play 2 cards to different ceremonies.
Note: You cannot combine the Warrior with the Chieftain to play multiple cards to two different ceremonies. The Warrior only allows to play exactly two cards to different ceremonies.
Birth
Draw Card Action: Drawn cards may be immediately played to a ceremony.
Birth & Hunter combination: In this case, the player may play both drawn cards to different or the same ceremony, if possible.
Hunter
Draw Card Action: Draw 1 card extra.
Fire
Open Ceremony Action: You may open ceremonies in your neighbors' play area.
Note: You can only open ceremonies on a neighbor's board that is not present in their play area (see page 2-3).
Spider Woman
You may play cards on all 4 of your neighbors' ceremonies.
Note: When opening a ceremony only the normal play area is considered, the Spider Woman only enlarges the play area when playing a card to a ceremony of a neighbor.
Two player: You can play cards to all 5 ceremonies (6 with Sun ceremony) of the other player.
Paw
When you play a card to another player's ceremony, you are awarded 1 VP.
Lizard
When you play a card to another player's ceremony, draw 1 card.
Eagle Feather
If your hand is empty, draw 5 cards and earn 3 VP.
Note: You draw 5 cards and gain 3 VP instead of 3 cards and 1 VP as normal.
Tortoise
When you complete a ceremony, you are awarded 1 VP.
Note: You are awarded the 1 VP regardless if you finish a ceremony on your village board or on one of your neighbor's village boards. If you finish your Tortoise ceremony you are also awarded 1 VP.
Vase
Any player who plays a card to at least one of your ceremonies receives an extra action.
Example: 1) Blue plays the Tortoise on their neighbor's (red) ceremony, thus gaining an extra action because of the vase. 2) Blue plays the vase onto their neighbor's (red) vase not gaining another extra action.
Note: A player can gain only one extra action per player who has opened a Vase ceremony. No matter how many cards they play to that player's ceremonies on a turn. The extra action can be used for any of the 5 options.
Sun
You may open a fifth ceremony.
Note: The fifth ceremony must be opened beneath your draw pile. This ceremony belongs to your play area as well as your left and right neighbor's play area. The fifth ceremony stays in play until it is finished or discarded, regardless if the Sun ceremony is still in play or not.
Example: Red can open a fifth ceremony due to their sun ceremony. They open the shaman ceremony beneath their draw pile.
Two player: You may open a six ceremony also under the draw pile. Both ceremonies under the draw pile do not belong to the other player's play area.
Mother of Heaven
Each time a Kokopelli is played on your ceremonies you are awarded 1 VP.
Note: You are awarded 1 VP regardless if you or one of your neighbors plays a kokopelli on one of your ceremonies.
Drummer
Your ceremonies are completed with only 3 cards.
Example: Blue plays the birth ceremony card to their neighbor's (yellow) ceremony finishing it with 3 cards, since yellow has the drummer ceremony opened.
Important: Ceremonies that currently consist of three cards are not automatically finished, when the Drummer ceremony is opened. A ceremony is only finished when a card is actively played on it. In these cases the ceremonies are finished normal with the fourth card.
Shaman
When one of your ceremonies is completed, you are awarded 1 VP.
Example: Yellow finishes the Spider Woman ceremony from green. Green therefore gains 2 VP, one because their ceremony was finished by another player and one because they have the shaman.
Note: You are awarded 1 VP regardless if you or one of your neighbors finishes one of your ceremonies. If the Shaman ceremony is finished you are still awarded 1 VP.
Snake Dance
Your Kokopelli cards count as two Kokopelli cards, only the moment you play them.
Example: Green gains 2 VP for playing the Kokopelli to their ceremony since they have the Snake Dance and the Mother of Heaven ability.
Reference Summary
Choose two actions on your turn. It is allowed to perform the same action multiple times on a turn.
- Draw card
- Open ceremony (Own Village only)
- Play card
- Cancel ceremony
- Exchange cards
Icon key: your own village; active player; your play area in neighbors' Village; all 4 spaces of your neighbors'; open a fifth ceremony; play a card to a ceremony (extend or finish); finishing a ceremony; cards in your hand; draw 1 card; draw 5 cards; any number of cards; Kokopelli card; Action; Victory Points.
6 additional ceremony choices after your first game
- Draw Card Action: Drawn cards may be immediately played to a ceremony. (Birth)
- Play Card Action: Play any number of cards to a ceremony as one action. (Chieftain)
- Open Ceremony Action: You may open ceremonies in your neighbors' play area. (Fire)
- You can start a fifth ceremony. (Sun)
- Any player who plays a card to at least one of your ceremonies receives an extra action. (Vase)
- When you play a card to another player's ceremony, draw 1 card. (Lizard)
Ceremony selection for your first game
- Draw Card Action: Draw 1 card extra. (Hunter)
- Play Card Action: Play 2 cards to different ceremonies. (Warrior)
- When you complete a ceremony, you are awarded 1 VP. (Tortoise)
- When you play a card to another player's ceremony, you are awarded 1 VP. (Paw)
- Your ceremonies are completed with only 3 cards. (Drummer)
- When one of your ceremonies is completed, you are awarded 1 VP. (Shaman)
- You may play cards on all 4 of your neighbors' ceremonies. (Spider Woman)
- If your hand is empty, draw 5 cards and earn 3 VP. (Eagle Feather)
- Each time a Kokopelli is played on your ceremonies you are awarded 1 VP. (Mother of Heaven)
- Your Kokopelli cards count as two Kokopelli cards, only the moment you play them. (Snake Dance)
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