Mighty Magpies
Mighty Magpies Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
Game board, 25 tiles (19 berries, 3 silver rings and 3 gold rings), sticker sheet, 4 magpies in different colours, 2 colour dice.
Object of the Game
The magpies are stealing berries and rings out of the bird nests and also from other players. The magpies move from one nest to another (and steal berries and rings along the way) according to the roll of the two coloured dice.
Before the Game Begins
Assemble the game board on the table. When you are playing for the first time, attach the stickers to the round wooden tiles, one on each tile. Place the tiles on the table face down and mix them. Place three or four tiles in each nest (according to what is marked on the nest) and turn them face up. Each player chooses a magpie and places his/her magpie in the red nest.
How to Play
The youngest player begins. The play progresses in a clockwise order. On his/her turn, the player rolls both dice and moves accordingly.
Moving from Nest to Nest
The colours of the two dice will show which nests your magpie can fly to. For each colour shown by a die the magpie can move along a route of corresponding colour to a neighbouring nest. The magpie may fly to two nests on one turn. The magpie can also travel the same route forth and back, if both dice show the same colour. It's allowed not to move at all on one's turn, and it is also allowed to move only along one route and stop there. (Sometimes it's impossible to move because the dice are showing wrong colours.)
Stealing Berries and Rings from the Nests
The magpie can steal one berry or ring from each nest it stops in. Thus, a magpie can steal two tiles on each turn, if it stops in two nests and if there are tiles available in those nests. (At the end of the game when the points are counted similar-coloured rings are the most valuable, see The Winner.)
Example 1: Player 1 rolls a green and a red with the two dice. First he moves along the red route to a neighbouring nest and steals one ring from the nest. After this he continues his way along the green route to another nest and steals a berry from the nest, because there are no rings available.
Example 2: Player 2 rolls a blue with both dice. First he moves along the blue route to a neighbouring nest and steals one tile from the nest. Then he returns back along the blue route and steals one tile from the nest.
Example 3: Player 3 rolls a red with both dice. He is unable to move at all, because there is no red route leading from the nest he is in. He must stay put and wait for his next turn.
Stealing Berries from Other Players
If a player rolls a magpie with a die, he/she may steal one berry from any opposing player who has berries. However, the player is not allowed to steal a ring from another player. If none of the opponents have berries, the magpie shown by the die has no meaning. If the player is lucky enough to roll two magpies, he/she may steal two berries, either from the same player or two different players. If the player rolls a magpie with one die and a colour with the other die, he/she may steal one berry from any player, and in addition move to a neighbouring nest (according to the colour on the die) and take one berry or ring from the nest. After this the turn goes to the next player.
Example 4: Player 3 rolls a magpie and a red with the two dice. First he chooses to steal a berry from player 2. Then he moves along the red route to a neighbouring nest and steals a berry or a ring there.
The Winner
The game ends when all 25 tiles have been stolen from the game board. At this point the players count their points in the following way:
- 1 berry counts for 1 point
- 1 ring counts for 1 point
- 2 rings of the same colour count for 3 points
- 3 rings of the same colour count for 5 points
The player who has the most points wins the game. If it's a tie between players, then the player who has more rings wins the game. If it's still a tie, the player who has more golden rings wins.
Game Variant for Younger Children
The game is played in a same way to what is explained above, except here the berries and rings are of equal value (1 point). The winner is the player who has stolen the most tiles altogether, i.e. the berries and rings are counted together and each is worth one point. If it's a tie between players, then the player who has more rings wins the game. If it's still a tie, the player who has more golden rings wins.