Make Make
Make Make Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components and Key Terms
In the game's box, aside from these rules, you will find:
- a. 1 Boardgame. Board that represents the dusk on the island of Rapa Nui. It is divided into Territories (hexagons). The Ceremonial Center is located at the center of the board, surrounded by the six Sacred Territories. The Ceremonial Grounds are the corners marked on the board, which are formed between 3 Territories.
- b. 1 Make Make. Amulet that represents Spiritual Supremacy on the island. When a clan obtains this amulet, their Chief is prepared to pray to the God, Make Make.
- c. 12 Moai. Monoliths that represents the Island's ancestors. These give protection to all the clans. They are built in the Territories.
- d. 20 Tangata Manu. Birdmen who have earned the honor of spiritually representing their clan before the Gods. They celebrate their ceremonies in the Ceremonial Grounds.
- e. 4 Clan Chiefs. Political and spiritual leader of the clan. They are placed in the Territories. They are worth 3 Dominance Tokens.
- f. 44 Dominance Tokens. These represent the political control of a clan within a territory. You will also find 4 extra tokens in case you lose some of them.
Goal of the Game
Make Make is a strategy game where every clan seeks political control of the island's territories to guarantee social stability, that will allow the clan to hold ceremonial rituals dedicated to the God Make Make, to seek the God rules in their favor to turn their Chief into the new Ariki of the island, who will rule over and bring prosperity to the Rapa Nui people.
In Make Make, every player represents one of the clans who live in Rapa Nui. They will have control of all the pieces of their clan. To win the game, a clan must position their 5 Tangata Manu tokens on the board and have the Make Make amulet. Only in this way may the clan's Chief receive the God Make Make, who will appear once the sun sets.
Preparation of the Game
- Place the board in the middle of the table.
- Leave the Moai and the Make Make amulet next to the board, within the reach of all the players. These pieces are for common use during the game.
- Each player chooses a clan color and takes all the pieces of this color (1 Chief, 5 Tangata Manu, 11 Dominance Tokens).
- The player who goes first will be that who has seen the dusk most recently. The next turn will be taken by the player to their left.
Game Play
The game is played in turns. Each turn has two phases: the Dominance Phase, where the political strategy of each clan is outlined, using the Chief and the Dominance Tokens; and the Ceremonial Phase, where the ceremonial activities of the clan take place, placing the Tangata Manu on the Ceremonial Grounds and building the Moai in the Territories.
To hold Tangata Manu ceremonies and win the Make Make Amulet, you need to have the political control of the Territories. At the start of the game, all the territories are politically neutral and are later controlled once a clan positions any of their Dominance Tokens on it.
The ceremonial center of Rapa Nui is the most sacred place on the island. This is where the God Make Make appears. No human can be placed here.
It is very important that you read this out loud to all the players.
Dominance Phase
You must do one and only one of the following actions:
a. Take control of a neutral territory
To take control of a neutral territory, you must place at least one of your available Dominance Tokens on the Territory. Also, if available, you can add the Chief to them.
It is not possible to control a territory only with the clan's Chief.
b. Take control of a territory controlled by another clan
To take control of a territory that is already under the control of another clan, you must place a higher number of your available Dominance Tokens. The clan that loses control must remove all their pieces from this territory. Also, if any Tangata Manu ceremony is no longer protected, it must be removed from the board. These pieces are now available for future use.
It is not possible to control a territory just with the clan's Chief.
The Clan's Chief is considered as 3 Dominance Tokens.
A territory can only contain pieces of a single clan.
c. Remove political forces from a territory you control
To withdraw your forces from a territory, you must remove all the pieces there are leaving just one Dominance Token. The pieces removed are now available for future use.
The Clan's Chief cannot be left alone in that territory.
Spiritual Supremacy
The clan obtains Spiritual Supremacy when both the following conditions are met:
- They control at least 3 Sacred Territories.
- They exceed the number of Sacred Territories controlled by any other clan.
In the example, green clan obtains Spiritual Supremacy.
To declare that a clan has obtained Spiritual Supremacy, a player takes the Make Make amulet and treasures it on their side. Having the amulet is a sign of having Spiritual Supremacy.
If another clan later meets both conditions, it automatically obtains Spiritual Supremacy and receives the Make Make amulet. Only one clan can have it at a time.
Spiritual Supremacy is not lost if the player no longer complies with some the conditions needed to earn it. The only way to lose it is if another clan meets both conditions to achieve Spiritual Supremacy.
In the example, green clan does NOT lose the Spiritual Supremacy.
Only the clan with Spiritual Supremacy can receive Make Make and win the game.
Ceremonial Phase
You must perform these two actions in the following order:
a. Building a Moai
Political dominance is strategic and necessary to provide the social stability needed for the sacred construction of a Moai.
When a Territory under the control of the clan is completely surrounded by territories dominated by the same clan, and if the clan's Chief and at least one Tangata Manu is in any of these territories or Ceremonial Grounds, you must build a Moai in the surrounded territory.
To build a Moai, you must remove from the board all the pieces that are in the surrounded territory and place one of the available Moai on it. The pieces that are removed are now available to be used in the future.
This action is obligatory as long as there are Moai available. It may happen that several Moai can be built simultaneously. You must build them in the order you wish.
b. Tangata Manu Ceremonies
Political dominance provides enough social stability so that Tangata Manu can begin their sacred summoning ritual to the God, Make Make.
When you control the three territories that surround a Ceremonial Ground, you must place one of your available Tangata Manu there.
The ceremonies will remain active while you control the 3 Territories that protect them, in other words, if another clan takes control of one of those Territories, the ceremony abruptly ends and the Tangata Manu must be removed from the board, becoming available for future use.
This action is obligatory as long as there are available Tangata Manu. It can happen that several Tangata Manu can be placed simultaneously. You must place them in the order you wish.
You cannot change the location of a ceremony that has already begun.
Protection of the Moai
The Moai are sacred community constructions. They are permanent on the board and cannot be destroyed or replaced by Dominance Tokens or the clan's Chief.
The Territory that now has a Moai is considered as a Territory controlled by all the clans. This condition will be useful for the building of other Moai or for holding ceremonies.
It may happen that up to 3 different clans use the same Moai to protect different Ceremonial Grounds.
(Printed beside the End of the Game section:) If a Tangata Manu in a ceremony is completely surrounded by Moai, this ceremony cannot be interrupted, and you have achieved that the Tangata Manu permanently stays in this Ceremonial Ground.
End of the Game
The game ends with the victory of the first player whose clan manages to summon the God Make Make. For this, they must have the 5 Tangata Manu of their clan in ceremonies on the board and the clan must have the Make Make amulet. Make Make will only appear at this moment, above the night sky of the Island, choosing the Chief of that clan to become the island's Ariki, leading the Rapa Nui people towards a better future.
In the image, the red clan wins the game. (The source prints this caption in Spanish: "En la imagen, el clan rojo gana la partida.")
WARNING!! Only read this if you have been victorious: Once the sun has completely set, in the darkness of the night, without any further presentation, the spirit of Make Make will appear in front of you. Take the amulet that you have won and place it in the only place of the island where it must be. Only in this way can you be crowned as the new Ariki of the island. If you do not know what its place is, you are not worthy of such an honor.
Quick Instructions
Set Up
- Place the board in the center of the table and the Moai and the Make Make amulet next to the board.
- Each player chooses a clan color and takes all the pieces of this color.
- The player who has most recently seen the dusk will start. Turns continue to their left.
In Turns
Dominance Phase (choose between a), b) or c)) (see page 12)
- a) Take control of a neutral territory; or
- b) Take control of a controlled territory; or
- c) Remove Political Force
Only one territory per turn. You must carry out one and only one of the 3 actions.
Ceremonial Phase (see pages 14 and 15)
- a) Build Moai, and then
- b) Start Tangata Manu ceremonies.
Build all the Moai and then start all the Ceremonies possible.
End
To win the game your 5 Tangata Manu of your clan must be on the board and you must have the Make Make amulet. See page 17.
Spiritual Supremacy. See page 13 / Protection of the Moai. See pages 16 and 17.