Komodo
Komodo Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 50 Terrain tiles (including a 'Starter' tile with a blue border)
- 32 Animal cards
- 32 Animal markers and 32 marker stands (to assemble)
- 20 Wild cards
A game for 2-4 players. Age 10+. Duration: 45-60 mins.
Overview
Players must assemble the terrain needed to house their animals. All players use the same playing area and combine their tiles to form a large shared terrain in which to house animals. Each tile contains eight or nine blocks of land, made up of various terrain types. Animal cards state how many blocks of land each animal needs.
The colour on the left of the Animal card indicates which type of terrain the Animal needs: Rainforest, Grassland, Water or Desert. The Starter tile has two blocks of each terrain. Example: the Hornbill requires 15 blocks of grassland.
Game Set Up
Basic game: see the Variations section for how to play the Collaborative and more Strategic versions.
Put the starter tile in the centre of the play area. Stand the Animal markers out on display. Mix the tiles and shuffle the cards and deal facedown as follows:
- Animal cards: three per player, from which players choose two to start the game; the returned cards are shuffled back into the draw pile.
- Wild cards: two per player. Ensure the 'Recycling' cards are not given out in the initial deal.
- Terrain tiles: five per player.
The person who visited a zoo or wildlife sanctuary most recently starts.
Game Play
On your turn you may:
- Play Terrain tiles and/or Wild cards and house animals if you can.
- Re-house your own animal 'on the loose' (see 'Animal Escapes' Wild card info).
OR, instead of the above, you may exchange either Terrain tiles OR Animal cards. Any number can be swapped for new ones. Returned ones go to the bottom of the draw pile.
OR, instead of the above, you may re-house another player's animal 'on the loose'.
When you cannot house any more animals, your turn ends and you replenish your hand.
Playing Terrain Tiles
You can place up to three Terrain tiles per turn: they are added to the playing area with the aim of creating an area large enough to house one of the animals you hold.
- Most Terrain tiles contain nine blocks of land (or water) in a 3 x 3 grid. However, tiles with the Grey rock in the middle are only worth eight blocks.
- A tile must adjoin an existing tile in play, and each one added must match the colour of an adjoining tile by at least one block on any edge.
- Terrain tiles must not be placed so as to merge two animal enclosures together, unless the animals are the same species.
- You can add tiles to enlarge an existing area containing an animal.
- Tiles with padlocks on them are valuable as they prevent the animal from escaping. The lock protects the inhabitant of the terrain that has the lock symbol, but not other terrains on the same tile. For the example tile (3 Forest, 6 Water), any animal in the water is protected from being released.
Playing Wild Cards
(See below for details about the Wild cards and the powers they convey.) You may choose to play one or more Wild cards at any time during your turn. As soon as you replenish your hand you cannot play any more until your next turn.
- Once played, Wild cards are put face up in the Discard pile.
- You can hold up to three Wild cards at a time. Players start with two.
- You can play any, none, or all three during your turn.
- You can discard one Wild card without using it.
- You can collect one new Wild card when replenishing but only IF you had housed an Animal from your hand during your turn.
Housing Animals
When you can assemble enough terrain to meet the needs of an animal in your hand, or one 'on the loose', then you can house it.
- Put the Animal marker on the terrain.
- Put the Animal card face up in front of you.
- The animal now counts towards your points.
- The area must be at least that stated on the Animal card, it may be more.
- You may house one or both animals from your hand on your turn.
- In addition, you can attempt to house an animal 'on the loose' if it's your own. (See 'Animal Escapes' Wild card info.)
- Remember: Different species of animals cannot share the same territory.
Replenishing Your Hand
Top up your hand so you hold five Terrain tiles and two Animal cards. If you housed any animals from your hand during your turn you can also collect one Wild card, up to a hand limit of three Wild cards. Replenishing indicates that you have finished and the turn moves to the next player.
- When the Wild cards have all been taken, shuffle the discard pile and turn it over to create a new draw pile.
- When there are no Terrain tiles left to take you can choose whether or not to take new Animal cards. At this stage, if both of your animals were housed, you can opt to replenish just one.
Fives and Tens Have Friends... But the Weta Lives Alone
Eight of the 24 species have two Animal cards, with different size requirements: a five and a ten. If you create a suitable area for a ten-block Penguin this will satisfy the needs of the five-block Penguin, so whoever holds it can, on their turn, house it in the same territory. In this case, both Penguin markers co-exist in the territory and both players score points as stated on the cards. If the five-block Penguin is housed first, any player can, on their turn, extend its territory to a minimum of ten in order to house the ten-block Penguin in the same area.
Scoring and Winning
Game End
When a player holds fewer than three Terrain tiles, then every player, including that player, takes one final turn.
Scoring
- Add up the point values for the animals you have housed, excluding any that are 'on the loose' (they will have the marker standing on them).
- Deduct points for any animals in your hand that did not get housed.
The player with the most points is the winner. In the event of a tie for total points, the player with the most unique species housed is the winner.
Hints for New Players
- Try to house animals whenever you can. You won't lose any points if an animal is relocated later to a more convenient space, by you or another player.
- Housing animals allows you to get more Wild cards.
- Using a Wild card just to get rid of it, or discarding one, may let you collect a more useful one.
- Padlocks are most valuable when used to lock in a big value animal.
- Look at the animals yet to be housed (the small markers) for a clue as to what may be coming up.
- Placing the five and ten point animals in the same terrain requires less land overall, and protects them from escape unless someone has two 'Animal Escapes' cards.
- You can play tiles without using them to house an animal: it lets you take new tiles when replenishing, and may help you make a start at building a large area from small blocks. The danger is that an opponent might use all that lovely free space before you can.
Wild Card Details
- Animal Escapes: Release a single animal (your own or an opponent's) so that you can use the freed-up land. The released animal is 'on the loose'. The marker is moved to the Animal card in front of the player who housed it. For the rest of the game this player can try to re-house it in addition to other actions in their turn. You cannot release a padlocked animal. You cannot release an opponent's animal and then re-house it in your turn; however, you can do this with your own animal. Freed land can be used either as is or by extending or rearranging the terrain. You may use your turn to re-house another player's animal 'on the loose'. In this case you may not house any animals from your hand. Take the Animal card; it is now yours but if you don't lock him in he may be stolen back.
- Animal Exchange: Everyone passes one Animal card from their hand to the player on their left. A good way to get rid of that pesky Dingo. Do not pass the one you are given. The player using the Exchange card has the option of housing their new animal immediately. If a player is not holding an Animal card then they are not given one in an Exchange, the card being passed goes on to the next person who does hold an animal.
- Animal Request: Request to see all opponents' animals of a particular type, e.g. Grassland animals. All players must show you any of that type they hold. If you like one you see, swap it for one of your animals of any type. If you don't see any you like you can choose to discard the Wild card or keep it to try again later. Animals 'on the loose' are not part of this deal.
- Animals on Tap: Replenish Animal cards within your turn. If you can house them you can keep taking more Animal cards. No more than two in your hand at a time though.
- Land Barter: Show one or two Terrain tiles to your opponents and ask for trades, e.g. "Here's my offer and I want rainforest". If a player offers you tile(s) that you like, you can negotiate a trade. In this case, swap the tile(s), either two for two with a single player or one for one with one or two separate players. If you don't see any offers you like OR if you cannot agree on a trade, you can choose to discard the Wild card or keep it to try to barter again later.
- Land Lover: Allows you to place all the Terrain tiles you hold in one turn, i.e. up to five if you are holding five (or six if you are also a Land Thief). All tiles held must be played.
Variations for Experienced Players
Once you have mastered the Basic game, move onto the Strategic or the Collaborative version.
Tame the Wildness!
Reduce the element of luck by selecting the Wild cards you need at the time you need them. This variation requires more strategy to plan the best use of your resources.
- Remove the two 'Recycling' Wild cards from the game. Put the other Wild cards faceup on display so everyone can see what is available. Do not deal any out. Otherwise, setup is the same as for the Basic game.
- When players have looked at their Terrain tiles and Animal cards, each player in turn takes one Wild card of their choice from the available ones.
- Play then commences as normal. The hand limit for Wild cards is two, however.
- If you house an animal from your hand (not one on the loose) you can take a Wild card of your choice at the end of your turn before replenishing your Animal cards.
- When used, Wild cards are put back on display for reuse.
- You cannot use a Wild card and take one of the same type in the same turn. However, you can hold and play two of the same type of Wild cards.
Collaborate to Save the Animals
Work as a co-operative team to try to house all 32 animals. Random threats from the compulsory Wild cards will hinder the mission.
Game play: Each player must house at least one animal during their turn.
- Give each player two Animal cards and Terrain tiles depending on the desired difficulty level:
- Medium: 5 tiles
- Difficult: 4 tiles
- Extreme: 3 tiles (see how many animals you can house)
- Remove these ten Wild cards from the game: Animal Request, Animals on Tap, Land Barter, Relocation and Recycling.
- Shuffle the remaining Wild cards and place them facedown in a pile. When the pile is used up, reshuffle and replace to form a new draw pile.
- All players play open-handed, i.e. with all of their Terrain tiles and Animal cards face up.
- Players decide jointly who will go first, considering the hands dealt and the likelihood that the first player can a) house an animal and b) assist the next player(s) to house theirs.
- Players must continue to take Animal cards and attempt to house the animals even when Terrain tiles are all taken.
Hints:
- Plan ahead by constructing larger areas before the large animals appear.
- Optimise land use as most of the terrain will be required to complete the mission.
Random threats: In your turn, after placing animal(s), and before replenishing, you MUST turn over the top Wild card and deal with it:
- Animal Escapes: an unlocked animal of your choice escapes to you and MUST be re-housed on your next turn; don't replenish for this animal.
- Animal Exchange: all players MUST pass an Animal card to the left. If you just housed both animals, replenish and then pass one.
- Land Lover: you MUST place any remaining tiles you hold.
- Land Theft: the top tile from the unused pile is removed, unseen, from the game.
- Remodeling: as in the Basic game.
Winning: The team wins when all 32 animals have been housed. The team loses if a player cannot house an animal on their turn OR cannot complete the challenge posed by the Wild card OR at the end of the game any animals remain unhoused or on the loose.