Melodies
Melodies Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 72 Playing Cards numbered 1 to 9 (8 copies of each).
- 1 Melody Marker used to track the current note.
- 1 Starter Pack containing all necessary contents to start the game:
- A. 3 Song cards
- B. 5 Instrument cards
- C. 1 Starting poster
- D. 5 Audience cards (Fans)
- 10 Venue Packs that include more songs, instruments, and audience members!
Setup
- Remove the poster and all cards from the Starter/Venue Pack.
- Shuffle all Instrument cards and give one face up to each player. Return the rest to the Starter Pack.
- Stack the Song cards with the one-dot icon on top and the three-dot icon at the bottom. Place the Melody Marker above the first note.
- Place as many Fans as there are players in a row near the songs. Return the rest to the Starter Pack.
- 2-Player Rule: Use 3 Fan cards.
- Shuffle all Playing cards and deal each player as many cards as indicated by the Song (7, 9, or 11). Place the rest in a pile within reach.
- Unless allowed by a game effect, players cannot sort or shuffle their hands.
- Insert the Venue Poster on the side of the game box.
Cards
Songs
Song cards are series of notes that must be played from left to right.
A. Venue Icon and Set List. Indicates which Venue Pack the card is from and the Set List: first song (one dot) to last song (three dots).
B. Starting Hand. The number of cards each player has at the beginning of the song. At the end of the song, all players must have emptied their hand.
C. Notes. These dots represent the undefined Melody. Their position is relative to one another and each one represents a turn (i.e., a song with 5 notes is 5 turns).
Instruments
Each of you has one Instrument per Venue. Each of them has a special effect you use once per song.
Audience
Fans show up first at the Venues and they'll be joined by different kinds of other Audience members to listen to your songs. Any player may use them. They do not refresh between songs.
At any point, any player may use (turn face down) their Instrument or an Audience card for its effect.
There are three types of abilities:
- ANYTIME may be used at any moment during the game and can interrupt other players' actions.
- WHEN PLAYING may only be used as you play cards from your hand on your turn.
- START/END OF TURN may be used before (Start) or after (End) all players have either played or passed.
Playing a Song
Tune: You may move 1 card from your hand to any other position in your hand. Before each song, Tune one card.
1. Play Cards
Once per turn/note in any order, each player chooses one of the following actions:
- Play a single card.
- Play a set of 2 or more adjacent cards of the same number (e.g., 3 3, or 3 3 3).
- Play a run of 2 or more adjacent and consecutive ascending or descending cards (e.g., 2 1, or 4 5 6 and more).
- Pass and play no cards. ("I'm passing this turn." / "I've got nothing for this one.")
After everyone has either played or passed, set the Melody.
2. Set the Melody
Check which number was played the most. That number defines the Melody for the current note. In the event of a tie, the highest tied number becomes the Melody.
Place the card defining the Melody under the Song card (forming a row as more cards are placed there). This Melody card will be used as a reference as you play the other notes in the song. Discard all other played cards. Then, move on to the next note.
Track the current note using the Marker. The Melody notes set in earlier turns stay in the row.
Example: Player 1 plays 3, 4, 5. Player 2 plays 2. Player 3 plays 4, 3. The number 4 was played the most (twice), so the 4 becomes the Melody.
Rare case: If an effect creates a Melody note that has no corresponding playing card, get that card from the deck and place it in the row. For example, this can happen when using the Bass.
3. Follow the Melody
After defining the Melody, continue with the rest of the song!
Each turn/note, the new Melody note must either be lower or higher than the previous Melody notes, following the relative position of the notes on the Song card.
Repeat steps 1 through 3 until you successfully play a Song or fail.
False Notes: After phase 3, if the Melody is equal to another note defined earlier in the song or does not follow the relative position of the previous notes on the Song card, the band fails the song.
Example: The Melody row so far is 8, 6, 4. Player 1 plays 4, 3. Player 2 plays 2. Player 3 plays 2, 3, 4. The number 4 was played the most, so it would become the Melody, but a 4 is already defined earlier in the song, so this is a false note.
Talk It Out!
Strategize: Before and during each song, the band should discuss how they will attempt to succeed the song.
A player's hand must always be kept secret. Limited information may be shared at any time during play if it does not tell or hint at which exact cards you have in hand.
- OK: "This note should be a 4 or a 6."
- OK: "I want to wait before playing."
- Not OK: "I have a 5 for this next one."
- Not OK: "Play a double so I can get rid of my 9."
You have all you need to play the Starter Pack! Grab your cards and get this show on the road!
Succeeding a Song
You succeed if you have defined all notes, and played or discarded all cards in hands.
Then refresh (turn face up) all Instruments and set the finished song aside. Fans and Audience cards do not refresh between songs.
Played all 3 songs from the Starter Pack? Time to GO ON TOUR as described in the next section.
Failing a Song
If the band plays a false note, any player has 1 or more cards left in hand at the end of a Song, or cannot complete a Song, you have failed and must attempt the Song again. Do not refresh the Fans and Audience cards.
Difficulty Adjustment
- Easy mode: Struggling with a Song? Refresh one facedown Audience member (or more, we won't tell) after failing a Song more than once.
- Expert mode: Go through the game without tuning at the start of Songs for an intense challenge!
Going on Tour
After the Starter Pack, your band will go on tour and unlock new content as you play through new Venues.
Each Venue Pack contains:
- 1 Poster with rules introduced in this Venue.
- 3 Song cards you play at this Venue. Always play these light side up.
- Instrument cards: The featured instrument that someone must play.
- Audience cards: The new followers you encounter at this Venue that are added to the Fans.
Exceptionally, the star Venue contains no new instruments and the diamond Venue contains no new Audience card.
Your band will travel from your Mom's Garage to The Last Gig in the Sky. Play the Venues in this order (by symbol): star, heart, diamond, cat, flower, cocktail, bow tie, bird, sparkle, skull-and-star.
Venues and their contents show a symbol for easy reference.
Restrictions
Song cards from Venues feature some notes with symbols beneath them. These are conditions that must be followed. They take precedence over the normal rules.
There are two types of restrictions:
- A. On/Before Play Restrictions affect how players play their cards.
- B. Melody Restrictions affect how the Melody note is set.
If your band cannot follow a note's restriction, you fail the song.
New restrictions are explained on the Venue Poster in which they are introduced. A complete summary can also be found in the back cover of this rulebook.
Example: A song card note has a "face down" symbol (On/Before Play: cards must be played face down) and another note has an "even" symbol (Melody: the Melody note must be an even number).
Playing Venues
For each Venue Pack after the Starter Pack, modify Setup instructions as follows:
- Step 2: One player must take the Venue's Featured Instrument card. Shuffle all other Instrument cards and deal 1 Instrument to each player that does not have one.
- Step 4: Place as many Fans as there are players (3 Fans with 2 players) and the Venue's Audience card, in a row near the songs.
When you successfully play all 3 songs, you complete the Venue. Bravo!
- Place all unlocked Instrument cards into the Starter Pack for use in other Venues.
- Return Audience and Song cards in their Venue Pack.
- Move on to the next Venue Pack!
All Restrictions
On/Before Play Restrictions
- Play face down.
- Draw and tune 1 card.
- Play at least 2 cards.
- Play a number equal to or higher than the previous player.
- Play different cards from the previous player.
- Play a number of cards equal to or higher than the previous player.
Melody Restrictions
- Melody must be even.
- Melody must be odd.
- Melody must be the same.
- Melody must be exactly 1 more or exactly 1 less.
- Ignore highest played number.
- Least-played highest number becomes the Melody.