Misty Valley
Misty Valley Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components and Game Setup
Components
- 4 tribe boards
- 14 skill markers
- 21 banner tokens
- 18 patrol tiles (9 per faction)
- 8 encounter tiles
- 1 starting tile
- 2 tribe captains
- 15 valley tiles
- 14 expansion tokens
Setup
- The youngest player chooses a tribe board and places it in front of them, on the side they prefer. Their rival does the same with the remaining board.
- Find the skill markers corresponding to your tribe board and place them on it in the appropriate spaces.
- Take 10 banner tokens and place them banner-side-up on top of your board. The extra token is a spare; return it to the box.
- Take the 9 patrol tiles of your faction, shuffle them face down, and form a stack in front of you. Draw 3 tiles from your stack without revealing them to your opponent to form your initial hand.
- Shuffle the 8 encounter tiles and form a face-down stack on one side of the table.
- Place the starting tile in the center of the table.
- Place both tribe captains on the starting tile.
- Shuffle all the valley tiles face down and randomly return two of them, without revealing them, to the box. Form a face-down stack with the remaining tiles and place it on one side of the table. Then reveal 2 of them and place them next to the starting tile, on opposite sides. If footprints appear on any of them, reveal an encounter tile from the encounter pile and place it adjacent to that valley tile and the starting tile. Finally, reveal two more tiles and leave them next to the pile.
- Place the 14 expansion tokens face down next to the valley pile if you include the "Walls and Flowers" expansion (see the last section). If not, leave them in the box.
Everything is now ready to play. The youngest player goes first.
Game Objective
In Misty Valley, the goal is to score more points than your rival by controlling the most valley tiles and the most advantageous encounter tiles. The more tiles you control of the same resource type, the more points you will earn. By controlling encounter tiles and fulfilling their requirements, you will earn extra points.
Controlling Tiles
When adding a tile next to another, check how many explorers from each tribe are in contact with the sides of the adjacent valley or encounter tiles. The tribe with the most explorers around takes control, placing their banner on the tile to indicate it is now in their power. If there was already an opponent's banner, it is flipped to the side of the new dominant faction. In case of a tie in the number of explorers, control does not change. A minimum of 1 explorer adjacent to a tile is needed to control it. If a tile has no explorers around it, no banner can be present; likewise, if at any point all explorers are removed or neutralized, the banner is removed.
Example: Marta (blue faction) plays the "Send Patrols" action and places one of her tiles next to the crystal and mushroom tiles. By outnumbering the rival patrols surrounding the crystal tile (2 against 1), she takes control and flips the banner to her color. She also places another of her banners on the adjacent mushroom tile (1). The control of the acorn tile does not change, as there is a tie (1 against 1).
How to Play
On your turn, choose one of these two main actions.
Explore
- Choose one of the two exposed valley tiles, or the one on top of the unrevealed pile.
- Place it adjacent to another tile already in play, with at least one of its sides in full contact.
- If the chosen tile has footprints on it, reveal the top tile from the encounter pile and place it next to it with one of its sides in full contact.
- If you took a visible tile, replace it by revealing the next tile from the pile.
Send Patrols
- Place one of your three patrol tiles on the board, rotating it as you prefer, with one of its sides in full contact with any other tile.
- Then, draw a new tile from your stack to always have three in hand.
Note: Patrol tiles have various purposes: they can conquer other tiles, reinforce control over some, create space for future tiles, or block rival patrols.
Types of Tiles
Valley tiles: There are 5 variants, with 3 copies of each: acorns, mushrooms, crystals, berries, and water (remember that 2 were returned at the beginning). You cannot place a tile in a space that is completely surrounded; there must be access to it.
Encounter tiles: These represent inhabitants looking for resources to ally with you. They are controlled following the same rules as valley tiles. In the end, they award more points if you control the valley tile along with the required resources (see "End of the Game and Scoring").
Example: The Troubadour Cat requests an acorn and control of another encounter tile at the end of the game.
Special Actions
On your turn, before or after your main action, you can perform one of these two special actions.
Move Your Captain
You can move your captain to a valley or encounter tile under your control. The presence of the captain on the tile adds +1 to the number of explorers you have controlling that tile. If your opponent takes control of the tile, or if the tile is moved, the captain returns to the original tile.
Use a Special Ability
Choose an ability and execute its effect by placing the marker on the affected tile or rotating it as indicated by the ability. Each ability can only be used once per game. An ability cannot break the basic rules of placement; that is, you cannot move a tile that is completely surrounded by other tiles, nor can you leave one or more tiles separated from the group.
After you have performed a main action and, optionally, a special action, the turn passes to your opponent.
Note: If it is your first game or a player is under 12 years old, you can play without these actions and leave the tribe boards, ability tokens, and captains in the box.
Example: Linus (red faction), before his turn action, uses the special ability "Counterorder," which allows him to move any of his previously placed patrol tiles to any location. By doing so, he checks the "abandoned" crystal tile, which in this case undergoes no change. He also checks the tiles he reaches (Troubadour Cat and water tile) and takes control of them by gaining the majority on both, placing a banner on them.
Special Abilities
Counterorder: Move one of your already played patrol tiles to another position. Then reevaluate the control of the adjacent tiles and the ones it was previously in contact with. Flip the ability marker over.
Mislead: Rotate an opponent's patrol tile one side to the right or left. Flip the ability marker over.
Smoke Bomb: Place the marker covering one of the sides of any opponent's patrol tile. All explorers on that side will be nullified. Reevaluate control on adjacent tiles.
Reinforcements: Place the marker on the patrol tile played in the same turn, pointing to a side that has one or more explorers. This marker adds two extra explorers to that side. Then reevaluate control on adjacent tiles.
Spyglass: Play an extra valley or encounter tile. Flip the ability marker over.
Diplomacy: Swap one of your banners from a tile under your control with an opponent's banner on any other tile. (Both tiles can change controllers normally by adding an adjacent patrol tile.)
Horn of Calling: Play a patrol tile from your hand. Flip the ability marker over.
Magic Scroll: Move any valley or encounter tile to another position. Then reevaluate its control and flip the ability marker over.
End of the Game and Scoring
When one of the two factions places the last valley tile, the end of the game is triggered: their opponent has one last turn in which they can play the "Send Explorers" action, but they cannot use any abilities. The game ends after this last turn. Next, lay out the tiles you control in front of you and count the points:
- 1 valley tile is worth 2 points.
- 2 valley tiles of the same resource: 6 points.
- 3 valley tiles of the same resource: 12 points.
- 1 encounter tile with 1 requirement met: 5 points.
- 1 encounter tile with 2 requirements met: 7 points.
Transcriber notes: the printed English reads "arze" for "are" in the next paragraph, corrected here; the printed English says "Send Explorers" for the action named "Send Patrols" elsewhere in the rulebook, transcribed as printed; the printed English setup label "Fichas de expansion" is left in Spanish in the source and is rendered here as "expansion tokens".
If not all requirements are met, they are worth 2 points (the same valley tile can be used to meet the requirement of several encounter tiles). Additionally, you get 2 points for each unused ability. The tribe with the highest score wins the game. In case of a tie, the winner is the one with the most patrol tiles in their hand. If the tie persists, play another game.
Remember: if you use all your patrol tiles and there are still valley tiles available, these must be played until they are exhausted and trigger the end of the game.
Example: Marta scores 1 mushroom tile (2 points), 2 acorn tiles (6 points), and 3 berry tiles (12 points). She also achieved the encounter tile of the mouse with an acorn as a requirement. As she owns at least 1 acorn tile, the encounter tile is worth 5 points. The bear (which requires water and berries) only earns her 2 points, as she controls berry tiles, but not water tiles. She keeps one unused ability which gives her 2 more points, making her total 29 points.
Expansion: Walls and Flowers
When you have mastered the game, include the "Walls and Flowers" expansion. During setup, mix the tokens and place them in a face-down pile next to the pile of valley tiles. Whenever a valley tile is played, reveal an event token and place it on top of the played tile. The way to place it depends on the type of token:
Wall token: Place it on one of the free sides of the tile (there cannot be an adjacent tile on the chosen side). The wall blocks the explorers placed adjacent to it, and they will not count when evaluating tile control.
Flower token: Simply place the token on the tile. At the end of the game, the player who controls the most valley tiles with flowers on them will gain an extra 5 points.
A token will remain on the tile until the end of the game, even if it is affected by a special ability.