Minecraft: Builders & Biomes – Junior Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Setup: Level 1
• Object of the Game
• Gameplay: Level 1
• Blocks
• What Kind of Card Did You Turn Over?
• End of Your Turn
• End of the Game
• Further Levels and Challenges

Contents

• 2 Tools: pickaxe and shovel
• 27 Blocks: 6 wood (brown), 6 sand (beige), 4 stone (gray), 5 coal (black), 6 emerald (green)
• Structure in the box base with 2 inserts, 2 platforms, and 4 plastic corners
• 1 Support structure
• 1 Farm game board
• 25 Cards: 17 animals and 8 monsters
• 16 Shovel tiles: 12 iron shovel tiles and 4 diamond shovel tiles
• 1 Torch
• 3 Meadows
• 1 House
• 12 Challenge tiles

Setup: Level 1

Get an adult to help you set the game up. Before you play the game for the first time, carefully remove all of the game contents from the punchboards.

1. Set up the game as shown in the assembly instructions. Scan the QR code at the top left of the instructions to watch the assembly video.

   Tip: You don't need to dismantle the platforms when you've finished playing. Simply remove them from the recess in the inserts and push them to one side of the box base. The cards and other game contents then fit next to them.

2. Shuffle the 25 cards and lay them out in a 5 x 5 grid with the grass backs facing up.

3. Take the farm game board and place it next to the card grid with the dirt side facing up. Place the house on the space at the center.

4. Each player takes 1 iron shovel tile. Place the remaining iron shovel tiles next to the card grid.

   Very young Minecraft fans should take a diamond shovel tile instead of an iron shovel tile.

5. Place the torch and the two tools (pickaxe and shovel) nearby.

6. You won't need the remaining playing materials for this level (diamond shovels, 3 meadows, and 12 challenge tiles).

   Played a few times before? Then demonstrate your skills and play with the rules detailed under 'Further levels and challenges'!

Object of the Game

Set up your farm together by filling all of the empty spaces on the farm game board with animal cards. If you manage to do this before all of the paths to your farm are blocked by monsters, then you all win together!

Gameplay: Level 1

The last person to mine a block in Minecraft starts. If no one has ever done that before, then the youngest player goes first.

When it's your turn, take the pickaxe and turn over a card. The card features either an animal or a monster. They're explained in more detail later in these instructions. Either way, you must attempt to mine the required blocks.

Use the pickaxe to remove blocks from the large cube. To successfully mine blocks, you need to use the pickaxe to move them from the large cube to the lower grass platform. Think about how you wish to mine them. You can knock or push blocks, for example. Be sure to keep the following two rules in mind though:

• You can only touch the blocks with the pickaxe, not with your hands.
• Try not to let any blocks fall into the lava! Any blocks that fall into the lava are removed from the game!

Continue using the pickaxe until either...

• ... all of the blocks you need are on the lower grass platform (might be just one block);
• ... one or more blocks have fallen into the lava at the same time.

These two scenarios can also occur at the same time.

Blocks

You'll need the following blocks to build barns for your animals: wood (brown), sand (beige), and stone (gray).

You'll need black coal blocks to build a torch.

Green emerald blocks are wild. So you can use them as any block when building a barn or torch.

It's easier to mine with two people! Want help with the mining? If you have a shovel tile, you can get someone to help you mine.

• If you have a diamond shovel tile, you can always ask another person to help you mine.
• If you have an iron shovel tile, you must discard it and return it to the supply pile if you want someone to help you.

You can choose any other player to help you mine. That player takes the shovel. You can now use both tools (the pickaxe and the shovel) to mine blocks. Discuss together how you wish to mine. You can, for example:

• hold blocks still with one tool while the other person moves blocks with the other tool;
• use the pickaxe to push blocks onto the shovel, then place the blocks on the lower grass platform.

What Kind of Card Did You Turn Over?

If you turned over an animal card:

Great, you've found animals for your farm! Can you build a barn for them?

You can see which block(s) you need to build the barn at the bottom right of each card. Try to mine the required blocks with the pickaxe!

• Were you able to mine the required blocks? Great, then you've built a barn for your animals! Place the animal card on an empty space on the farm game board.
• Were you unable to mine the blocks because they fell into the lava? Then unfortunately, you can't build the barn. Turn the card over again and take an iron shovel. There is no limit to the number of iron shovels you may have. (If you have a diamond shovel, there is no need to take an iron shovel.)

Have you uncovered an animal that you can no longer build a barn for? This can happen if no more blocks are available for this barn. Remove the animal card from the game and put it aside. Then take back a block of your choosing from the box lid and place it anywhere on the large cube. Then turn over another tile.

If you've turned over a monster card:

Oh no, you've run into a monster! To prevent it from following you to the farm, use a coal block to build a torch. Try to mine a black coal block with the pickaxe.

• Were you able to mine a coal block? Great, then you've shaken off the monster. Turn the monster card back over and place the torch on it. The monster will leave you alone until you turn this card over again. As soon as you turn over another monster card and successfully build a torch, move the torch to the new monster card. So remember together where the monsters are hidden!
• Were you unable to mine a coal block? Then unfortunately, you can't build a torch. The monster follows you back to your farm! Place the card on one of the paths on the farm game board. Careful though: If all four paths are blocked by monsters, you've unfortunately lost the game! If you have not lost the game, take an iron shovel. There is no limit to the number of iron shovels you may have. (If you have a diamond shovel, there is no need to take an iron shovel.)

If you uncover a monster and there are no more coal/emerald blocks, you must place the monster on one of the paths of the farm game board as you can no longer build a torch.

End of Your Turn

Clear the blocks up at the end of your turn. You can use your hands for this.

• If one or more blocks fell into the lava, place them in the box lid—they are out of the game.
• Remove the blocks you needed to build from the lower grass platform. Place them in the box lid—they are out of the game.
• If other blocks that you didn't need for building fell onto the lower grass platform, return them to anywhere on the large cube. Blocks that fall into the lava while you are clearing up can be removed from the lava and added back to the large cube.

Then pass the pickaxe to the player to your left. It's now their turn.

End of the Game

The game can end in two ways:

• If you build enough barns and collect enough animal cards to fill all of the spaces on the farm game board, the game ends and you all win together!
• If monsters ever block all of the paths on the game board, the game ends and you all lose the game together.

As soon as you've won at least once, you can try out the other levels and challenges in the next game!

Further Levels and Challenges

Once you've completed a level, you can tick it off on the left-hand side!

Level 2: Don't place the house on the farm game board. In this level, you have to collect nine animal cards (instead of eight).

Level 3: Turn the game board over to the biome side. Place the house on the space at the center of the game board. You have to collect eight animal cards that match the biomes below.

• Collect the animal cards showing blocks of wood on the spaces for the meadow biome.
• Collect animal cards showing blocks of sand on the spaces of the desert biome.
• Collect animal cards showing blocks of stone on the spaces of the ice biome.

Example: Once you've successfully mined a block of wood for the llamas, place the llama animal card on an empty space in the corresponding meadow biome.

Have you uncovered an animal that you can no longer build a barn for? This can happen if the biome for the animal card is already fully occupied. Remove the animal card from the game and put it aside. Then take back a block of your choosing from the box lid and place it anywhere on the large cube. Then turn over another tile.

Level 4: Play with the biome side of the game board, like in Level 3, but without the house.

Level 5: Play like in Level 4, but add up to three additional challenges. You can combine these as desired.

Challenge 1: You can only use iron shovel tiles (no diamond shovel tiles). Make the game even trickier by not distributing any iron shovel tiles when you set up the game.

Challenge 2: Cover from one to three of the paths on the game board with meadows. There are now fewer than four paths to the farm, so there can't be as many monsters blocking paths before you lose!

Challenge 3: Lay out the 12 challenge tiles when you set up the game. Turn them face down and shuffle them. Draw a challenge tile before each turn and turn it over. The challenge means an additional rule for your turn. The rule always also applies to the person with the shovel if you're using an iron shovel tile. Place the challenge tile on the discard pile at the end of your turn. As soon as the challenge tile pile is empty, shuffle the discard pile and reuse the tiles.

The manual illustrates the challenge tiles with these six pictograms (the tile faces are shown as icons, transcribed here as their printed captions):

• You're not allowed to use a shovel and have to mine with just the pickaxe.
• Cover one of your eyes with your other hand as you mine.
• Only hold the tool with your two index fingers.
• Only hold the tool with your thumb and index finger.
• Hold the tool without your thumb, so you can only use your four other fingers.
• Hold the tool in your weaker hand.