Marabunta Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Goal of the Game
• Setup
• The Territory Board
• The Player Boards
• Game Structure
  • Rounds
• Resolving the Dice and Tile
  • Dice
  • Writing a Number on the Territory Board
  • Tiles
• Hexes with Special Effects
• Crate Powers
• Game End
• Tallying Victory Points

Contents

• 2 erasable colored markers (red and blue)
• 2 double-sided Player boards (1 per player)
• 1 double-sided Territory board in three parts
• 8 tiles
• 6 custom dice (1 for each region color) with the following sides: 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – blank-circle face – crate face

Goal of the Game

Your goal is to score the most victory points.

To do so, you must strategically divide the dice into 2 pools and use them to send your ants to conquer new territories, accumulate cupcakes, and unlock powers by seizing crates.

Setup

1. Decide which side of the Territory board (with or without the snail symbol) you want to play on and place it between you.

2. Each of you chooses a color (red or blue) and takes the corresponding marker and Player board.

3. Place your Player board in front of you and attach it to the Territory board. You should both use the same side of the Player boards (with or without the ant symbol).

   Note: For your first game, place the Territory board with the snail symbol faceup (see illustration on the left) and the Player boards with the ant symbol faceup.

4. Next, take the 8 tiles, set aside the "crossed-out cupcake" tile, and shuffle the remaining 7 into a facedown stack. Place this stack on top of the "crossed-out cupcake" tile.

5. Finally, randomly determine the first player and give them the dice.

The game is ready to begin!

The Territory Board

There are 6 regions on the Territory board, matching the dice colors. A score leaf is paired with each of these regions, each of which has 10 circles: 2 red, 2 blue, and 6 blank.

Each region is divided into hexes. A hex is available if it is not crossed out and there are no numbers written in it. This means that all hexes are available at the start of the game, some of which contain a cupcake or a crate.

Throughout the game, both players will be marking available hexes by filling them in with numbers or by crossing them out.

Important: You can never erase or change a number during the game.

Note: The board side without the snail symbol displays a fragmented blue region. This is simply another configuration that offers different possibilities and strategies. However, the game rules remain unchanged, and the blue hexes are all considered to be a single region for scoring.

The Player Boards

Each Player board is made up of the following elements:

• 2 anthill spaces.
• Groups of crates that indicate different powers you can unlock during the game.
• 1 cupcake row.
• A score track which allows you to mark off your victory points.

Game Structure

Marabunta is played over a series of rounds, and the game will end when any of the conditions described in Game End are met. On each round, the 6 dice and 1 tile are split into 2 pools. Each player then applies the results of the pool they select by marking different areas of the Territory and Player boards. By doing so, each player will expand their territory, unlock powers, and score victory points.

Rounds

To begin each round, the first player reveals the top tile of the stack and rolls the 6 dice. They then split the dice and tile into 2 pools however they see fit. Each pool must contain at least 1 game element (tile or die).

Their opponent then chooses 1 of the 2 pools and applies the result of each element, one at a time, by marking the boards.

Once the opponent has resolved all the elements from the pool they chose, the first player resolves the effects of the game elements in the second pool in the same manner. After they are finished resolving their pool, the round ends, and a new one begins, with the opponent becoming the first player for the new round.

Example: Julia is the round's first player. She draws the top tile of the stack, reveals it, and rolls the 6 dice. She then splits these game elements into 2 pools. Benedict chooses the pool circled in blue and resolves the dice, one at a time. Julia then takes the other pool and resolves the dice and tile in it.

The next round then starts, and Benedict draws the next tile from the stack, rolls the dice, and splits them into 2 pools, and so on.

From the 8th round onward, only the "crossed-out cupcake" tile will remain in the stack. It must be placed in one of the pools each round until the game ends.

Resolving the Dice and Tile

Apply the results of each die or tile in your pool, one after the other, in the order of your choosing.

You must fully resolve a die or tile before resolving the next one. If the tile is in your pool, it is discarded after applying its effect (except the "crossed-out cupcake" tile, which is instead returned to the stack).

Dice

• Blank-circle face: Fill in a blank circle on the score leaf matching the region's color.
• Crate face: Cross out a crate of your choice on your Player board. If you cross out the last crate in a group, the displayed power is unlocked and must be used immediately. See "Crate Powers" below.
• 1 / 2 / 3: Write the corresponding number in any available hex in the region matching the color of the die, following the rules below.
• 0: Write a 0 in any available hex in any region, following the rules below.

Writing a Number on the Territory Board

Adjacency rule: When you write a number in an available hex, it must be written in a hex adjacent to a hex that contains another number of your color.

When using a colored number, it must be written in a hex of the region matching the color of the die; however, the adjacent number can be in a different region. When writing a 0, you must comply with the adjacency rule, but there is no restriction regarding which region you can write it in.

You can ignore the adjacency rule if you use an anthill. To do so, cross out an available anthill on your Player board, then write the number in any available hex in the region matching the color of the die.

Note: When you use a 0 with an anthill, you can write it in any available hex on the board.

Example: Julia writes the 3 result from the blue die in an available hex within the blue region, adjacent to a hex previously filled in with a number of her color (the 0 in the pink region).

Benedict crosses out an anthill on his player board to write the 2 result from the orange die in an available hex within the orange region. Using his other dice, he then writes a 0 in the adjacent hex just below the 2, followed by the green 1 in the cupcake hex below that.

Using an anthill (provided you still have one) is never mandatory, though usually you will need to use an anthill during the first game round in order to write your first number.

Note: At the beginning of the game, you only have 2 anthills available. Use them wisely and expand quickly to access as many regions and hexes as possible. Some of your powers may include an anthill as well; when using these powers, you do not need to cross out one of your available anthills. Reminder: When you use a 0 with an anthill, you can write it in any available hex on the board!

If you cannot or do not wish to resolve a die or tile, you can simply ignore it; if you choose to ignore the tile, it is discarded with no effect (except the "crossed-out cupcake" tile, which cannot be ignored and must be resolved, if possible. See "Hexes with Special Effects" below.)

Tiles

• Cross out any 2 crates on your Player board. The crossed-out crates may be part of the same or different groups.

• Fill in one blank circle on 2 different score leaves.

• Write a 1 in any available hex in any region; you must comply with the adjacency rule or cross out an anthill.

• Write two 0's on the board. The first 0 must be written in any available hex in any region; you must comply with the adjacency rule or cross out an anthill. The second 0 must be adjacent to the first (you cannot use an anthill to place it elsewhere). If you use this effect, you must write both 0's.

• Write a 0 in any available hex in any region; you do not have to use an anthill or comply with the adjacency rule.

• Cross out any 2 available hexes in any region; the 2 chosen hexes must be adjacent to each other, but you do not have to use an anthill or comply with the adjacency rule.

• Use a die from your pool a second time.

• Cross out any available cupcake hex on the Territory board, but do not cross out any cupcakes on your Player board. If the last cupcake hex is crossed out in this way, it will trigger the end of the game. See "Game End" below.

  IMPORTANT: Using this tile effect is MANDATORY unless all cupcake hexes on the Territory board are either filled in with a number or crossed out.

Crossed-out hexes: A crossed-out hex does not count as a hex of your color when determining adjacency. Any cupcakes or crates in these hexes are ignored. These hexes are inaccessible for the rest of the game.

Hexes with Special Effects

When a number is written in a cupcake hex, cross out the next available cupcake space on your Player board (starting with the one on the far left). If there is a number above this space, cross out that many victory point spaces on your score track.

Example: In the previous example, Benedict wrote the 1 from the green die in a cupcake hex in the green region. He therefore crosses out the first cupcake space on his Player board. Since it has a +0 above it, no spaces are crossed out on the score track.

When you write a number in a crate hex, cross out any crate on your Player board. If you cross out the last crate in a group, the displayed power is unlocked and must be used immediately. See "Crate Powers" below.

Note: There is no end-of-game penalty for not crossing out all crates within a group, so you could begin crossing out crates in multiple different groups. If, during the same round, you cross out multiple crates, you cross out crates on your Player board one at a time, in any order you want, immediately using powers as you unlock them.

Crate Powers

• Write a 1 in any available hex in any region; you must comply with the adjacency rule or cross out an anthill.
• Write a 2 in any available hex in any region; you must comply with the adjacency rule or cross out an anthill.
• Write a 0 in any available hex in any region; you do not have to use an anthill or comply with the adjacency rule.
• Write a 3 in any available hex in any region; you do not have to use an anthill or comply with the adjacency rule.
• Cross out the next 2 available cupcake spaces on your Player board. For each such space with a number above it, cross out that many victory point spaces on your score track.
• Cross out 2 victory point spaces on your score track.
• Cross out 3 victory point spaces on your score track.

Example: Julia uses the crate from a die to cross out the last crate for the power shown on the right of her Player board. She scores 3 victory points by crossing out the next 3 spaces on her score track.

• Write a 1 in an available hex, complying with the adjacency rule or crossing out an anthill. Then write a second 1 adjacent to the first, and finally write a third 1 adjacent to both of them (you cannot use an anthill to place the second or third 1's elsewhere). When using this power, you must write all three 1's.
• Cross out any 2 available hexes in any region; the 2 chosen hexes must be adjacent to each other, but you do not have to use an anthill or comply with the adjacency rule.
• Fill in one blank circle on 2 different score leaves.

Game End

The end of the game is triggered as soon as one or more of the following conditions are met:

• All hexes within any region are either filled in with a number or crossed out.
• The last circle on a score leaf is filled in.
• All 12 cupcake hexes on the Territory board are either filled in with a number or crossed out.

Finish the current round, then tally your victory points.

Tallying Victory Points

Cupcakes and some powers allow you to score victory points during the game. It is easy to tally each player's victory points just by looking at the Territory and Player boards.

Now, tally the scores earned from each of the 6 colored regions. For each region, the sum of the red numbers written in hexes within that region are compared to the sum of the blue numbers there. Whichever player has the higher total wins that region!

In the event of a tie, neither player scores victory points for that region.

Example: Julia's total is 7, while Benedict's is only 4. Therefore, Julia wins the pink region.

The player who wins the region scores a number of victory points equal to the number of circles filled in with their color on that region's score leaf (between 2 and 8). They cross out the scored victory points on their score track.

Example: Julia, who has had the greater total in the pink region, scores 3 victory points, as there are 3 red circles on the pink leaf. Benedict could have scored 4 victory points, but since he did not have the higher sum in the region, he scores nothing.

Note: If a player surpasses 25 victory points, they should wipe off all marks on their score track and circle space 25. Then they cross out additional victory points starting from 1, and will add 25 to their resulting score.

Once you have tallied the victory points for each of the 6 regions, the player with the most victory points wins the game. In the event of a tie, the player who has crossed out the most cupcakes on their Player board wins. If there is still a tie, the player who triggered the end of the game wins.

Important: After playing, carefully wipe off all markings from the Territory and Player boards, being careful not to press too hard. Do not skip this step. Do not use water, as this may damage the boards.