Mâamut
Mâamut Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 37 hexagonal tiles
- 4 hunter pawns (1 per colour)
- 1 mammoth pawn
- 16 trap tokens (4 per colour)
- 36 movement cards (8 cards of 3 spaces, 16 cards of 2 spaces and 12 cards of 1 space)
Tiles
- 7 "rock" tiles: neither the hunters nor the mammoth may enter them.
- 18 "grass" tiles: accessible to the hunters and the mammoth. Hunters may place their trap on them.
- 11 "snow" tiles: accessible to the hunters and the mammoth. They cannot receive a trap.
- 1 "cross" tile: acts as a "snow" tile. It is the mammoth's starting tile.
Setup
Place the cross tile in the centre of the table. Shuffle the other tiles and place them face up at random in a circle around it, to form the game board.
Note: Take care that there are no more than 4 rock tiles around the starting tile, otherwise the mammoth will not be able to move. If this happens, take the tiles back, shuffle them again and repeat the placement.
An example of tile placement is shown in the rulebook.
Shuffle the movement cards and deal 3 cards to each player. Place the rest of the cards face down beside the board as a draw pile. Place the mammoth pawn on its starting tile (the tile with a cross). Each player places their hunter pawn on one of the outer spaces of the board, starting with the player who imitates the mammoth's cry best and proceeding clockwise.
A hunter pawn must be placed following two rules:
- A hunter pawn may not be placed on a rock tile.
- A hunter pawn may not be placed on a tile already occupied by another pawn.
Object of the Game
Be the first hunter to make the mammoth fall into one of their traps.
Turn Order
On their turn, each player may perform only one of the following four actions, of their choice.
1) Play a Movement Card and Move Your Hunter
Play a movement card and move your hunter in any direction, in a straight line, by as many spaces as the number of symbols shown on the card. Note, however, that a hunter may not enter a rock tile, and must move the full distance of the card. It is therefore possible that a hunter cannot move at all.
Example in the rulebook: if the player plays a "2 spaces" card, the hunter can only move in one direction.
Note: Several hunters may occupy the same space, and a hunter may pass through a space occupied by a trap or by another hunter during its movement.
2) Place a Trap of Your Colour
Place a trap of your colour on a space where your hunter pawn is located. Only one trap token may be placed per space. Note that trap tokens may only be placed on grass tiles.
Note: To place a trap token, the hunter must be alone on the tile.
3) Destroy an Opponent's Trap or Recover One of Your Own Traps
To do this, your hunter pawn must be positioned on the tile where the trap is located. The trap token is then removed from the board and returned to its owner, who may use it again.
Note: As with placing a trap, the hunter who wants to destroy a trap must be alone on the tile.
4) Discard a Card and Pass
Discard one movement card and pass your turn.
Drawing Cards
After completing the action, if the player has played or discarded a card, they draw a new card from the pile so as to return to three cards. Then the turn passes to the next player. When all the cards in the draw pile have been dealt, shuffle the discard pile to form a new draw pile.
Mammoth Movement Rule
The mammoth, as everyone knows, fears man, even Cro-Magnon man. If a hunter enters, during its movement or at the end of it, the same tile as the one the mammoth is on, the mammoth flees in the opposite direction, by a number of spaces equal to the movement (card) of the player who entered its tile.
Note: the mammoth may not enter a rock tile, and it must not be hindered for the whole of its movement. If the hunter has not finished its movement, it continues to the end.
Example in the rulebook: the hunter pawn moves two spaces and enters the tile occupied by the mammoth. The mammoth therefore flees two spaces in the direction opposite to the hunter's arrival.
If the direction is blocked by an obstacle (a rock or the edge of the board), the mammoth takes the first possible direction in which it will not be hindered for the whole of its movement, turning clockwise, excluding the direction from which the hunter arrived.
Example in the rulebook: the hunter moves 2 spaces. Positions 1, 2, 3 and 4 are blocked by rock tiles and the edge of the board. The mammoth therefore takes the next direction clockwise, excluding the direction from which the hunter arrived, that is direction no. 5.
If, in its flight, the mammoth enters the space of a hunter, the hunter is frightened (a mammoth running towards you is always frightening, even for Cro-Magnon) and flees to an adjacent free space, excluding the direction from which the mammoth arrived and respecting the movement rules. If the hunter cannot flee, it is its end. That hunter is removed from the game.
If the mammoth cannot flee, it turns to face the hunter, and it is the end of the reckless hunter who entered its tile (one should not bother the great mammoth too much). The hunter is removed from the game.
If the mammoth enters a tile with a trap, it falls into it (it must be said that the mammoth does not have very good eyesight), and the game ends. This is so even if the mammoth had not finished its movement, because, as we keep telling you, the mammoth does not have very good eyesight.
Special Case
If the mammoth becomes blocked, with the hunters unable to lead it towards a trap, then the mammoth has survived the hunt and emerges as the winner of the confrontation. This is the greatest dishonour for the hunters, and the clan will remain without a guide for the hunts, at the risk of endangering its survival (a heavy responsibility that will then be yours).
End of the Game
The hunter who owns the trap into which the mammoth falls wins the Sacred Lance, even if it was not that hunter who pushed the mammoth into the trap. The other hunters applaud them as a sign of respect. As for the hunter who pushed the mammoth into the wrong trap, they can only bite their fingers at their blunder.
Two or Three Players
Mâamut can be played with 2 or 3 players. The rules are identical. However, the more hunters there are, the more fun there is (at the misfortune of the other hunters, of course).