Mahé
Mahé Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 game board
- 7 turtle figures
- 24 egg-laying cards with 1–6 eggs
- 3 dice
- The rules you are holding
Setup
Each player chooses a turtle and places it on the raft next to space "1" of the game board. Shuffle all 24 egg-laying cards face down and, without peeking, return the top 4 cards to the box — they are not needed in this game. Place the remaining deck of 20 cards face down on the beach space of the island (marked with 7 eggs). Turn the top card of the deck face up.
Players take turns in order. Choose the first player by any method you like. This person is the first to receive the three dice.
Gameplay
The dice roll determines how far around the island you move your turtle. Dice are rolled one at a time, in order. This matters, because the total of the numbers rolled must not exceed 7 (obviously, you cannot bust with a single roll of 7).
After rolling one die, you decide whether to roll a second. If the total of the two rolls does not exceed 7 after rolling the second die, you may roll a third die. However, if the total exceeds 7 after the second or third roll, your turtle moves to the raft and the turn passes to the next player.
Example: The first die comes up 2. The odds look good, so you decide to roll the second die. It comes up 6. The combined total of the two rolls is 8, which is more than 7, so your turtle returns to the raft.
Turtle Movement
Turtles move around the island counter-clockwise. They may cross spaces occupied by other turtles. Turtles travel in an unbroken loop, so space "1" follows space "21."
If you rolled only one die, move your turtle forward by the number shown on the die.
If you rolled two dice and their total is 7 or less, double that total and move your turtle forward that many spaces.
Example: The two dice you rolled show 4 and 2. The total is 4 + 2 = 6. You therefore move the turtle forward 6 × 2 = 12 spaces.
If you rolled three dice and their total is 7 or less, triple that total and move your turtle forward that many spaces.
Example: The three dice you rolled show 2, 1, and 4. The total is 2 + 1 + 4 = 7. You therefore move the turtle forward 7 × 3 = 21 spaces.
In this case, the turtle sails all the way around the island and returns to the very space it started its move from. However, if the turtle was on the raft, it now ends up on space "21," the beach space.
Riding Along
Turtles may move onto spaces occupied by other turtles. However, if a turtle ends its move on a space occupied by another turtle, its figure is placed on top of that other turtle's figure.
Once the turn passes to the owner of the bottom turtle, the decision on whether to roll the second and third dice is no longer theirs to make — it belongs to the owner of the top turtle.
If the dice roll is successful (the total is 7 or less), the bottom turtle moves together with the top one. But if the combined total of the rolls exceeds 7, both turtles return to the raft.
During the game, two, three, or even more turtles can climb onto a single turtle. On each turn of a stack, the decision on whether to roll the second and third dice always belongs to the owner of the very top turtle.
Turtles carry on their shell only the turtles above them; every turtle below them stays where it is.
This also holds for a failed dice roll, when the combined total exceeds 7. Every turtle below the turtle making the move stays where it is; the moving turtle itself, together with every turtle riding on top of it, moves to the raft.
Example: It is the turn of the owner of the red (middle) turtle. He rolls the first die and gets a 1. The owner of the yellow (top) turtle asks him to roll the second die. The second roll comes up 2. The owner of the yellow turtle asks him to roll a third die. The third roll comes up 3. The owner of the red turtle moves the red turtle, with the yellow turtle riding on it, forward (1 + 2 + 3) × 3 = 18 spaces. The blue (bottom) turtle stays where it is. The group of the red and yellow turtles finishes its move on space "15," crossing space "21" along the way — so the owner of the yellow turtle takes the open egg card, showing that his turtle has just laid 5 eggs. (See the illustration on the last page.)
Egg Cards
Every time a turtle finishes its move on or crosses space "21," its owner takes the top card, face up, from the deck. The card shows the number of eggs that turtle has just laid. If space "21" is crossed or occupied by a group of turtles, the egg card goes to the owner of the very top turtle — the rest come away with nothing. A new egg card is then turned face up from the deck.
End of the Game
When a player takes the last egg card, the beach space with 7 eggs becomes visible on the board. The game continues until a turtle (or a group of turtles) finishes its move on space "21" or crosses it. The player whose turtle must lay eggs there places its figure on the 7-egg beach space, and the game ends.
Players then count how many eggs their turtles have laid. The player who ends the game receives 7 bonus eggs for landing a turtle on the beach space. The player whose turtle has laid the greatest number of eggs is declared the winner.
In case of a tie, the tied player with the greatest number of egg cards wins.
Example: During the game, Marina received 6 egg cards showing 1, 3, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This gives her 22 points. Evgeny received 5 egg cards showing 1, 2, 4, 4, and 6. He scored 17 points. Darya received egg cards showing 2, 3, 4, and 6, plus 7 bonus points for the beach space, for a total of 22 points. Andrei received 5 egg cards showing 3, 3, 4, 5, and 5. He scored 20 points.
Marina and Darya scored the same highest number of points. However, Marina has more egg cards (6, against Darya's 5 — 4 cards plus the beach space), so she is declared the winner.
Playing with Two or Three Players
In games with two or three players, each player controls two turtles at once (otherwise the reptiles would not get to ride on each other very often). On your turn, you first roll the dice for one turtle, then for the second. Before each turn, you may choose which of your turtles moves first.
Combine the egg cards earned by both of your turtles together. At the end of the game, you total up how many eggs both of your turtles have laid.
Variant
Instead of rolling the next die, you may use one of the egg cards you have already collected. The card replaces the die's result. You may not use more than one card per turn.
You may use a card in place of the second or third die, but not the first — and, of course, the combined total still must not exceed 7.
Cards used this way are removed from the game and no longer earn you points at the end of the game.
Example: You have already collected several egg cards, including one showing 2 eggs. The result of your first die roll is 5. If you decide to use the card showing 2, you move the turtle forward (5 + 2) × 2 = 14 spaces. However, in that case you lose the card — it goes back into the box.
If several turtles are stacked, the owner of the topmost one may replace a die roll with one of their own egg cards. In other words, no other turtle's owner in the group can be forced to use their egg card.