Kraqua Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Goal of the Game
• Setup
• How to Play
• The Path
• Round Sequence
• End of Round
• The Sea Creatures' Superpowers
• What Happens at the Magic Gate
• The Game Board Opens and Closes
• End of the Game
• For Kraqua Pros

Components

• 1 colour die
• 3 hats (6 hats as spare material): bowler hat (Melone), top hat (Zylinder), sombrero (Sombrero)
• 6 magic gates
• 4 animal chips: jellyfish, seahorse, turtle, crab
• 8 shells
• 16 gemstones: 1 purple, 1 yellow, 2 red, 3 green, 4 blue, 5 clear (transparent)
• 3 fish: yellow, green, red
• 1 game board
• 6 hideouts, each with a treasure chest on the back
• 12 reef tiles

Goal of the Game

You win or lose together. Your task is to bring the 3 fish safely to the goal and, at the same time, to bring valuable gemstones into the hideout. Kraqua is after exactly these gems. As long as you find protection in the reef, nothing happens to you. But if you are unprotected, Kraqua strikes and steals your gemstones.

Setup

Before the very first game, carefully punch all the game parts out of the punch boards.

Take 3 of the hats (bowler hat, top hat and sombrero). The remaining hats are not needed; they are spare material. Now each fish gets one hat. Put the hat into the slot of the matching fish:

• The yellow fish gets the sombrero.
• The green fish gets the top hat.
• The red fish gets the bowler hat.

Unfold the game board completely and place it in the middle of the table. Make sure you can see the side with the octopus. Now fold the left side of the game board over, which covers the octopus. Now you can only see its eyes, and the start spaces come to light. The green goal spaces on the back are not yet visible.

Place the 3 fish with their hats on any of the 3 start spaces. Place the colour die in the window from which Kraqua looks out. This is Kraqua's cave.

Choose a hideout together and place it in the middle of the game board on the starfish. Now take another hideout and turn it to the side with the treasure chest. Place it on the right, in the large free window on the game board. Return all other hideouts to the box.

Take all 16 gemstones and place them on the treasure chest.

Now each of you chooses one animal chip (jellyfish, seahorse, turtle or crab) and takes it. Are you playing with two or three players? Then return the remaining animal chips to the box.

Shuffle the 6 magic gates face down and place them as a stack next to the game board. Draw the top magic gate from the stack. Place it gate side up on the first reef arch at the bottom right of the game board.

Place all the shells next to the game board as a supply. Depending on the difficulty level, each of you takes 1 or 2 shells from the supply in total and places them in front of you. These are your shells. For your very first game, it is best to start with difficulty level 1 (The First Journey):

Difficulty level	Your shells
1. The First Journey	2
2. The Great Adventure	1
3. The Challenge	1

Take the reef tiles. Depending on the difficulty level, you need the following number:

Difficulty level	Reef tiles
1. The First Journey	12
2. The Great Adventure	12
3. The Challenge	11*

* Have you chosen the 3rd difficulty level (The Challenge)? Then take one of the two reef tiles that show a snail in the top left and return it to the box.

Shuffle the reef tiles and form a draw pile. Place it on the sandbank at the bottom left of your game board. Now draw 2 reef tiles from the draw pile. Turn them face up and place them on the first reef slots, inner and outer. Make sure you place the reef tiles correctly: only the lower half of a reef tile fits to the path. Place it so that the sand on the reef tile borders the sand of the path.

Finally, each of you takes one reef tile from the draw pile, turns it face up and places it in front of you.

How to Play

The game is played over several rounds. Each of you takes exactly one turn per round. There is no fixed turn order. You always decide together who makes the next move.

The Path

Look at the game board. At the start, the fish stand on the 3 start spaces. From here, a path leads once across the game board to the goal spaces. You cannot see these at the moment. They are located on the back of the game board.

The path consists of different animal spaces (turtle, seahorse, jellyfish and crab), which alternate. The start spaces and the first 4 animal spaces lie in the reef and are protected. The following animal spaces lie open in the ocean and are unprotected. Along the path, inside and outside, you see reef slots. Each always covers 3 consecutive animal spaces.

During setup you have already placed 2 reef tiles. During the game, more reef tiles are added step by step. The reef tiles travel along with the fish and offer protection from Kraqua. But be careful: some reef tiles have gaps and do not protect the fish completely reliably.

Do you see one or more spots with water on a reef tile? Then the reef offers no protection for those animal spaces, and Kraqua steals your gemstones.

When is an animal space protected?

• Protected animal space: On the inner and the outer reef slot there is one reef tile each. Neither of the two reef tiles shows a gap with water at that spot.
• Unprotected animal space: There is no reef tile, or only one reef tile (on the inner or the outer reef slot), next to the animal space. Or there is one reef tile on the inner and one on the outer reef slot, but at least one reef tile shows one or more gaps with water. Then all those animal spaces at which you see the water are unprotected.

Round Sequence

In the game you have 2 tasks to complete: bring the fish to the goal and bring gemstones into the hideout. In total there are 6 different hideouts. Each hideout requires different gemstones. But be careful: some gemstones exist only once or twice!

Each turn consists of 3 steps:

1. Place a reef tile
2. Move a fish
3. Check whether Kraqua steals

1. Place a Reef Tile

Is it your turn? Then look at your reef tile. It shows one of the 4 sea creatures that also appear on your animal chips. It tells you the animal space to which you may move any fish. Place the reef tile on the nearest free reef slot. You may freely choose whether to place it on the inner or the outer reef slot. But you must observe the following:

You must always place a reef tile at the front, next to an adjacent reef tile. You may not skip a free reef slot. And do not forget: always place the reef tiles so that sand borders sand!

(The printed game board shows a note here: "No gap allowed here.")

2. Move a Fish

Have you placed your reef tile? Then you must now move any fish forward. Choose one of the 3 fish and move it to the next free animal space that matches the sea creature shown on your reef tile. The following applies:

• You may only move a fish forward.
• Only one fish may stand on each animal space.
• Occupied animal spaces are skipped, and you move to the next free matching animal space.

Shell move: Do you not want to move to the animal space that your reef tile gives you? Then you may instead move to the next free animal space that shows the sea creature on your animal chip. But this costs you: return one of your shells to the supply.

What do the special spaces mean?

Have you ended your move on one of the special spaces? Then the following happens:

• Shell found: Have you ended your move on an animal space with a shell? Very good. Take a shell from the supply and add it to your shells. The next player may use it immediately. You may have at most 6 shells.
• The Dolphin Express: Have you ended your move on a special space with the dolphin? Then you may use the Dolphin Express. The dolphin can bring one gemstone from the treasure chest directly into your hideout. Do you want to do that? Then, for its help, return one of your shells to the supply. Next, take any gemstone from the treasure chest and place it in the hideout. The gemstone is now safe from Kraqua.
• The Shark steals for you: Have you ended your move on a special space with the shark? And are there gemstones in Kraqua's cave that you need for the hideout? Then the shark helps you. It can retrieve any gemstone for you. Do you want to accept its help? Then, for it, return one of your shells to the supply. After that you may take any gemstone from Kraqua's cave. Place it back in your treasure chest.

Important: In your turn you may use the special spaces only once, even if you have several shells available.

3. Check Whether Kraqua Steals

Have you moved a fish forward? Then you must check whether this fish is protected. Look at the animal space on which you ended your move. There are 2 possibilities:

• The reef protects the fish? Good! Kraqua cannot see it and swims on.
• The reef does not protect the fish? Oh no! Kraqua steals a gemstone from you. Roll the colour die. Then you must take a gemstone from the treasure chest that matches the rolled colour and place it in Kraqua's cave. Is there no matching gemstone left in the treasure chest? In this case you may choose a colour.

Have you ended your turn? Then the next player is up. Decide together who should take the next turn.

End of Round

Has each of you taken a turn? Then you must do the following:

Draw reef tiles: Did you make the last move? Then you draw the first reef tile from the draw pile. Turn it face up and place it in front of you. Then you draw clockwise, one after another.

Is the draw pile empty? In this case, take the rearmost reef tile, either inside or outside the path. Turn it face up and place it in front of you.

Important: You must always take reef tiles from the back, and never from the middle or from the front.

Note for the last round: Can you not draw a reef tile? Because they all lie in the box? Then you come up empty in this round. But you may still advise your fellow players in the last round.

Kraqua steals: Are one or more fish now standing on an unprotected animal space? Then Kraqua steals from each of these fish! Did you make the last move of the round? Then roll the colour die once for each fish standing unprotected. After each roll, place the gemstone matching the colour in Kraqua's cave. Is there no gemstone of the matching colour left in the treasure chest? Then take any one.

Note: Are you the player who made the last move in the round, and do you have the seahorse? Good timing. You may use your superpower here (see The Sea Creatures' Superpowers).

Check whether the game board must be folded: Have you passed through the magic gate with all fish in this round? Then you must now open or close the game board, as described in The Game Board Opens and Closes.

Afterwards, a new round begins.

The Sea Creatures' Superpowers

Each sea creature on your animal chips has a superpower. You may use it whenever you are up to take a turn. Look at which superpower your sea creature has:

• Seahorse: Have you moved a fish and it now stands on an unprotected animal space? Then Kraqua steals from you, as you know. But the superpower of your seahorse is to roll a second time, if you want to. Perhaps you are lucky and roll a gemstone on the second try that you do not need for your hideout. Place in Kraqua's cave the gemstone that matches your last roll. Is that colour no longer in the treasure chest? Then choose any gemstone.
• Crab: Do you want to use the shell move? Or does your chosen fish land on a red special space (The Dolphin Express and The Shark Steals for You) that you want to use? Then you would actually have to return one of your shells to the supply. Actually. But the superpower of your crab is its skill: make a fist with your hand and tuck your thumb under your index finger. Take the shell and place it on your index finger and thumb. Then flip it, as in a coin toss, with your thumb upward and let it land on the table. Now there are 2 possibilities:
  • Very skilful: Does the shell land shell side up? Then you may keep it. You do not have to return it to the supply.
  • That was nothing: Does the shell land water side up? Then you must return it to the supply.
• Turtle: Normally, you draw a reef tile, turn it face up and place it in front of you. This does not apply to the turtle. Before placing it, the turtle may use its superpower to choose whether to use the sea creature shown on the front or on the back of the reef tile. Place the reef tile so that the sea creature you want is visible.
• Jellyfish: Are you up to take a turn and want to move to a different animal space than your reef tile gives you? The jellyfish has the superpower of a special shell move: you may move any fish to the next free animal space of your choice. You may therefore also use the seahorse, crab and turtle animal spaces. The superpower of the jellyfish is quite strong. Do you want to use the superpower of your jellyfish? Then this special shell move always costs you one of your shells. Return it to the supply.

What Happens at the Magic Gate

The game board has a special feature: it opens and closes twice during your game. This always happens at the end of a round, after all 3 fish have passed through a magic gate. A magic gate always lies on a reef arch. During the game you must pass the fish through a total of 3 magic gates in a certain order. There are 6 different gates:

• The Shape Matters: For these two magic gates you must pay attention to the shape of the hats. Move the fish through the reef arch in the order of their hat shape:
  1. First the bowler hat, then the sombrero, and then the top hat.
  2. First the top hat, then the sombrero, and then the bowler hat.
• The Colour Matters: For these two magic gates you must pay attention to the colour of the fish. Move the fish through the reef arch in the order of their colour:
  1. First green, then red, and then yellow.
  2. First yellow, then red, and then green.
• The Size Matters: For these two magic gates you must pay attention to the size of the fish. Move the fish through the reef arch in the order of their size:
  1. First the largest, then the medium-sized, and then the smallest fish.
  2. First the smallest, then the medium-sized, and then the largest fish.

Note: No cutting in line! You must keep the order exactly. It can happen that in your turn you cannot move certain fish, because they have not yet passed through the magic gate and therefore may not yet move to the next free animal space.

The Game Board Opens and Closes

Have you moved all fish through the magic gate in the corresponding order? Then finish the round. Afterwards, take the magic gate from the game board and return it to the box. Now the following happens:

• Magic gate at the first reef arch: Have you passed the magic gate at the first reef arch? Then fold the left side of the game board open. Your start spaces disappear and your path continues. Now draw a new magic gate from the stack and place it face up on the second reef arch.

  Note: Are there still reef tiles in the draw pile? Oh dear, you lose these reef tiles. Return them to the box.

• Magic gate at the second reef arch: Have you passed the magic gate at the second reef arch? Then fold the right side of the game board closed. You now see the goal spaces. Draw a new magic gate from the stack and place it face up on the third reef arch.

  Note: When closing, are there reef tiles on the right side of the game board? Or on the side with the hideout? Oh dear, then you lose these reef tiles. Return them to the box.

  Note: No free reef slots left? Shortly before the game board is folded, or before the end of the game, it can happen that there are no free reef slots left and you cannot place any reef tile. In this case you do not place your reef tile along the path. Instead, at the end of your turn, you return it to the box. Before that, you carry out your turn as usual.

• Magic gate at the third reef arch: The third magic gate is the entrance to the goal spaces. Each of the 3 goal spaces can be reached with any sea creature. Have all fish passed the third magic gate in the corresponding order? Then you no longer need to fold the game board. The game ends.

End of the Game

The game can end in 5 different ways:

1. Butter on the fish: Have you brought all the fish to the goal? Super! That is already half the battle. Are the gemstones you need for your hideout still on the treasure chest as well? Excellent! Place all the matching gemstones into the hideout. You have won.
2. Narrowly missed is almost won: Have you brought all the fish to the goal? But are gemstones missing from the treasure chest for your hideout? Oh well, that is a pity! At least you were able to save some of the gemstones from the thieving tentacles. You have almost won.
3. The reef is gone: Your fish are not in the goal? And you have no reef tiles left that you can draw? That is not good. The reef has disappeared and no longer offers you any protection from Kraqua. Unfortunately, you have lost.
4. Empty treasure chest: Is your treasure chest empty and your fish are not in the goal? Well, that's it. Unfortunately, you have lost.
5. Fish food: Are all the matching gemstones in your hideout? But your fish do not manage to reach the goal any more? A pity, then you have lost.

For Kraqua Pros

Are the 3 difficulty levels a piece of cake for you? Then start with 0 shells, and remove the two reef tiles that show a snail from the game. Otherwise, play as described above.

Note on this transcription: the printed heading "3. PRÜFEN I OB KRAQUA KLAUT" carries a stray glyph between "PRÜFEN" and "OB"; it has been rendered as "Check whether Kraqua steals". The credits block on the last page is attribution and is not transcribed.